Weight loss normal?
So i was vegetarian off and on for years, and me and hubby recently made the full plunge into veganism.
It's been about 3 weeks I would say, and we have each lost so much weight! I've lost close to.... 12-15 pounds and he's lost about the same.
I just wanted to check and see if this is normal... I mean, I'm happy, i've been wanting to shed some weight, it's just happening so quickly!
I feel great, I mean, I have more energy and I am STUFFED. I haven't been really snacking at all because I feel like I'm eating tons of food already.
Also when I was just vegetarian, I had to really watch my soy intake because it would interfere with my medications and cause my metabolism to slow way down. I mean, I was limited to one soy product/week. This week alone I have had tofu twice and soy pudding twice with no adverse affects on my thyroid whatsoever. I mean, I think it swelled slightly once for about an hour or two, but then it was fine.
Here's a sample of what I would eat in a day:
Today I had:
Breakfast: two pieces of vegan whole wheat toast with nooch dip spread on it, and a handful of strawberries
Lunch: Mixed greens/Spinach with cucumber, carrots, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, a lime wedge, salt and pepper
Dinner: I will have a bowl of stew with carrots, squash, potatos, barley, lentils, onion, spices, etc. (the veggies were sauteed in a little oil first)
Does that sound pretty good, or am i lacking something?
I mean I really like all these changes that are taking place, I just wanna make sure I'm losing weight in a healthy way and not because I'm like... not eating enough of something.
Any one else had experiences like this when going to vegan? The soy thing has REALLy thrown me...so weird...
I think I lost 10 pounds total when I went vegan. For you, it might the difference between the types of food you ate then to the types of food you eat now. It looks like you're eating lots of veggies and fiber, which could make you feel more full with fewer calories, than say, cheese.
Yes, it sounds like you're doing everything right....Only be concerned if you're still losing weight like this in a month. It could be your hypo-thyroid turning into hyper-thyroid....
I'm not too concerned for me right now because I gained a lot of weight with my hypothyroid, so I can totally stand to lose a fair amount, but my hubby isn't all that big to begin with. I may have to add more avacados/nut butters to his diet help him out a bit. Last time my thyroid was checked my doc said my levels were slightly up but wasn't concerned because she said if we lowered it it would be too low. She said it be better for my health if it were slightly high than slightly low. I FEEL great. Better than I ever have really.
And I'm totally not missin cheese like I thought i would =-)
it doesn't seem like you are eating very much. i don't know what portion sizes you are eating for the most part, and i know that i eat more than the average-joe (just because and because i generally am pretty active). do you have examples of what you were eating pre-vegan?
if i were you i would do a nutrient analysis somewhere like fit-day (from this you should be able to tell if you are getting a decent amount of calories, macro, and micronutrients). if you are getting everything you need and feel like what you are doing currently is something you would be happy with as a lifestyle change than i would say go for it (p.s. you should be getting AT LEAST 1,200 calories a day). if you feel like you can not eat the way you are eating now forever (or, like you are currently "dieting" to lose some weight and then going to start eating more) , then i would say that the weight loss isn't healthy.
basically, if you are losing weight you should be doing it as a lifestyle change (it sounds like that is the case for you, but i'm making sure), not a diet. also, you do generally want to lose weight a little slower (about 2 lbs/wk) in order to keep it off, which is why i am emphasizing that you want to make sure that whatever you are doing is sustainable for you!
congrats on going vegan!!
I'm small-framed and lost some weight too without trying. It made me realize how much fat, cholesterol, chemicals and crap is in the dairy milk, cheese and eggs I had been eating before.
During my first year of going vegan I went to see a doctor twice to make sure I was getting all my nutrients. After blood and thyroid tests, my doctor, who is not vegan, told me I was a very healthy eater. She told me not to change a thing, except to eat more fat and salt. No problem, Doc. More cookies, nuts and avocados for me.
it doesn't seem like you are eating very much. i don't know what portion sizes you are eating for the most part, and i know that i eat more than the average-joe (just because and because i generally am pretty active). do you have examples of what you were eating pre-vegan?
if i were you i would do a nutrient analysis somewhere like fit-day (from this you should be able to tell if you are getting a decent amount of calories, macro, and micronutrients). if you are getting everything you need and feel like what you are doing currently is something you would be happy with as a lifestyle change than i would say go for it (p.s. you should be getting AT LEAST 1,700 calories a day). if you feel like you can not eat the way you are eating now forever (or, like you are currently "dieting" to lose some weight and then going to start eating more) , then i would say that the weight loss isn't healthy.
basically, if you are losing weight you should be doing it as a lifestyle change (it sounds like that is the case for you, but i'm making sure), not a diet. also, you do generally want to lose weight a little slower (about 2 lbs/wk) in order to keep it off, which is why i am emphasizing that you want to make sure that whatever you are doing is sustainable for you!
congrats on going vegan!!
I agree that she doesn't seem to be eating very much but 1200? that's starvation diet level isn't it? I would have thought for a woman 1700 (I changed what you said and put that in bold) at least. And for a man 2000. Furthermore if exercise is happening increase that all by at least 300-500 kcals.
I'll presume you mean kcals, and not cals (the ammount of times I write that mysefl and get ripped to shreds on fitness topics on other forums ::))
Losing or gaining substantial weight in short periods of time is never a good thing. I've heard reports although unconfirmed, that soya can be a digestion inhibitor.
What I'd recomend is upping the ammounts of nuts you eat, try and eat an avacado 1-2 times a week, don't be afraid to fry things up (shallow fry) with a bit of oil, so on so forth. Upping your higher calorific foods.
My husband and I both lost lots of weight pretty rapidly when we became vegans!
I upped my fats and now I'm not losing any weight, so I think that was the problem. So now I just need to find the equilibrium where I still lose weight, but at a healthy pace. ~^_^~
going vegan ur bound to lose weight cause ur not eating the things that make u fat anymore... i think i lost like 12 pounds but i go to the bathroom so much more than I use too... u'll be ok... losing weight is a good thing but not too much of course
When I switched from vegetarian to vegan I lost about 2-3 kgs in about a month (not sure how much that is in lbs) but after that I stopped losing weight and actually put the kilos back on. I'd say it's fairly normal if you just all of a sudden stop eating dairy & eggs because they do have quite a few calories (& vegetarians sometimes eat quite a lot of it).
I dropped about 10 pounds in my first month but it stabilized after that and I don't think I've gained or lost anything in that last 11 months. My weight has stayed stable even though during this time I have trained for two marathons, so I must be eating and using the same amount of calories! (I tend to eat A LOT, it's just now I'm not eating garbage like cheese and eggs, and I'm just eating a lot of the good things!)
When I first noticed I'd lost that much weight so quickly I posted my concern on another veggie message board, and much like this board there were MANY people who had the same experience and then had their weight stabilize. I think it's normal as long as it doesn't continue after a month or two. That's my completely unprofessional opinon!