Be a healthy vegan and follow these tips to lose weight while on a vegan diet
First it was vegetarianism and now its veganism! The vegan principles dictate absolute abstinence from any kind of animal products, especially in diet. While the philosophies’ corner stone is founded on noble intentions, veganism as a practice has been highly debated; its pros and cons constantly refuted and supported.
What is veganism?
- Veganism is a way of life that shuns the use of any kind of animal products. People who follow veganism are called vegans. In a lay man’s terms – a vegan will not consume regular ice-cream, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, cheese or any dairy product for that matter.
- The philosophy of veganism even extends to the use of animal products in daily life.
A vegan diet is tough to follow, but not impossible! However, there are certain downsides to it if not followed properly, especially for weight watchers and exercisers.
Here are five tips to lose weight while on a vegan diet.
1. Opt for herbs as seasoning – While on a vegan diet, there are already restrictions in terms of adding cheese of mayo (because it contains milk and eggs respectively), hence for the sake of flavor, many resort to overloading their food and salads with non-dairy sauces and oils.
However, this isn’t the best idea if your planning on cutting down those extra kilos, flavored sauces are packed with high amounts of sodium which leads to bloating.
Instead, opt for an array of fresh herbs like parsley and thyme to add flavor to your food.
2. Avoid becoming a vegan junk food eater – Usually associated with healthy food, veganism too has its fair share of budding junk foods. Frozen organic pizza, non dairy cheese, soya bacon and pepperoni, soy ice cream, soy burgers…the list goes on! All these might be vegan, but not healthy from any angle. Instead, opt for fresh fruits and veggies that are vegan and healthy.
3. Ditch the supermarket – Supermarkets are a haven for junk. The unending alleys have stocked foods which aren’t going to help your weight loss plan at all. Instead, shop at the local farmers market, not only does this help support the local economy, but will also help you get trim and thin.
Think about it – Freshly grown local produce or frozen factory food?!
4. Eat fruits with high fiber content – Fruits are already a vegan’s best friend, however, fiber rich fruits should be your BFF’s! Fruits like apples and pears have high fiber content, hence, help keep you full for longer.
5. Be careful of calorie dense vegan foods – Many food items might be vegan, but not low on calories. Calorie counting is the corner stone of weight loss, hence, low calorie vegan foods must be consumed. Too much of peanut butter, fruity soy smoothies, non- diary butters and nuts are all calorie rich foods. These need to consumed in proportion.
Don’t get carried away with just the vegan tag on foods and be extra cautious if you are a vegan weight watcher.
