My Big Fat Vegan Booty
Posted by Anonymous on Mar 09, 2009 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
OK. So I've been vegan for 5 months, and I love the lifestyle. I feel great and have a ton of energy.
In fact, I have so much energy that I do an hour of yoga every morning and up to an hour of circuit training every evening. I don't use drugs (including caffeine) so the endorphin boost has become pretty addictive!
My question is this: why am I gaining weight? I don't think I've changed how much I'm eating. I drink more water, but other than that I don't know what's going on. The scale shows that I've gained at least 5-6 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Is this the vegan Twilight Zone?
Thanks!
Maybe you're just eating more calories than you're burning. Portions are key, too much is too much even of healthy food.
Or you could have a health issue. I discovered that tofu made me gain weight like mad, because I have thyroid disease. A pound of tofu eaten over a week's time can make me gain 5 lbs. Which makes me furious cuz I love tofu!!
Maybe you are gaining muscle? That might account for part of the extra weight...
I gained a little when I first went vegan, but I think thats because I was heavily relying on carbs....like pasta, bread, and potatoes....
But soon I learned how to eat healthier, even though I still have my moments...and I'm not skinny by any means....I'm pleasantly plump....always have been....I just love food....so I eat it, constantly.
Maybe you're just eating more calories than you're burning. Portions are key, too much is too much even of healthy food.
Or you could have a health issue. I discovered that tofu made me gain weight like mad, because I have thyroid disease. A pound of tofu eaten over a week's time can make me gain 5 lbs. Which makes me furious cuz I love tofu!!
That is SO unfair!
I'll try to cut out tofu for a few days and see how I feel...
Thanks for the support, this is all very helpful!
Maybe you are gaining muscle? That might account for part of the extra weight...
Came to post this.
I have had a heck of a time keeping my weight under control since I turned 50 and I think being vegan 80-90% of the time has little to do with it. (Living in rural Texas, I sometimes have no choice but to eat something with dairy or eggs in it or go hungry.) I am once again trying the only thing that helps me lose weight, counting calories! I figure out how many calories are in what I eat and set a daily limit. I use a program called FitDay that has a standalone version and an on-line version. The last time I looked at Fitday.com, you couldn't input a recipe like you can on the standalone one. I keep the program on a flash drive and I can input what I eat as the day goes on (as long as I have access to a computer). If you want to discuss this, email me privately. I have a few other "thoughts" that I can share with you.
tonialmo
at yahoo
dot com
As long as you're feeling healthy and your weight is within healthy limits, don't worry about it.
I step on a scale once a month MAXIMUM. It's not about the number, it's about health.
Lots of things can make you gain pounds... muscle is more compact but weighs more than fat, indigestion or water retention can cause you to gain a few pounds that will end up going away on their own (and indigestion can be part of any major diet change), and the list goes on.
So, don't worry about the number. If you're feeling healthy and energetic, you're fine. If your clothes are still fitting properly, you're fine. You only get one body, so just take care of it, and enjoy it!
As long as you're feeling healthy and your weight is within healthy limits, don't worry about it.
I step on a scale once a month MAXIMUM. It's not about the number, it's about health.
Lots of things can make you gain pounds... muscle is more compact but weighs more than fat, indigestion or water retention can cause you to gain a few pounds that will end up going away on their own (and indigestion can be part of any major diet change), and the list goes on.
So, don't worry about the number. If you're feeling healthy and energetic, you're fine. If your clothes are still fitting properly, you're fine. You only get one body, so just take care of it, and enjoy it!
You know, it might be PMS ... last night I just sat on the couch watching Bolt and crying.
Oh, well, yes, there is that. I never kept a watch on my cycle weight until the thyroid thing started doing my head in a few years ago. Noting down my weight and comparing with my cycle helps. But I'm weird--I lose beforehand and gain some after. Go figure. At least knowing what's going on helps keep you sane.
I think tofu may have caused me to gain a few back when I became vegan and thought that tofu was, like, the only source of non-animal protein out there. Poor, uninformed me. Fortunately, I have a little better understanding of nutrition now, so I keep the tofu intake to a minimum. Also, I just cut down on a lot of soy products. It seems to help.
I only weigh myself once a month, the Sunday after my period, so I won't get thrown off my the changes in my cycle.
I have to be very careful to make sure I eat tons of veggies and fruit before a second helping of rice or potatos. Especially since I still need to loose the baby weight. I write down on a dry erase board on our fridge every thing I put in my mouth during the day, that keeps me accountable, and also helps me see where I might be lacking in my diet. I also am on a medication for my fibromyalgia that makes me hungry all the time! I have NO sense of fullness, even after a huge meal, so I snack a lot. I really have to make those snacks filling but low calorie. Plus I need to get exercising more.
I only weigh myself once a month, the Sunday after my period, so I won't get thrown off my the changes in my cycle.
;)b
That's how you do it! Don't obsess, just stay informed about your weight! I didn't even own a scale for a long time, but Wii Fit is a scale... pretty much... so I only do the Body Test once a month, and the rest of the month I play the fitness games.
ALSO... you should weigh yourself at the same time of day. I gain like 3lb over the course of the day, and it's gone again by morning.
Oh, right, and I forgot PMS. That can REALLY muddle things up.
Weigh yourself on the same day of the week, at the same time. I tend to do it before breakfast and after...uh, "visiting the back room"...and I weigh au naturel since I'm not interested in how much today's outfit weighs.
My question is this: why am I gaining weight? I don't think I've changed how much I'm eating. I drink more water, but other than that I don't know what's going on. The scale shows that I've gained at least 5-6 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Thanks!
yeah, it happened to me. I kept gaining on my vegan dieat and workouts didn't help.
It turns out it was a thyroid issue. After I started the correct medication - thyroid medication T3 + working out 3x a week + a restrained vegan diet, I began losing weight immediately. I've lost about 50 lbs in one year.
What I mean by "restrained": whole grain carbs ONLY, no baked goods except bread, no candy or cookies, no deep-fried foods, no
giant helpings, lots of water, diluted fruit juice, minimal sugar, no potatoes, etc. I've not held back on oil, margarine or toast, luckily. But, much more water than before. I'm still eating great, delicious, vegan food, but the pounds are coming off!
OK. So I've been vegan for 5 months, and I love the lifestyle. I feel great and have a ton of energy.
In fact, I have so much energy that I do an hour of yoga every morning and up to an hour of circuit training every evening. I don't use drugs (including caffeine) so the endorphin boost has become pretty addictive!
My question is this: why am I gaining weight? I don't think I've changed how much I'm eating. I drink more water, but other than that I don't know what's going on. The scale shows that I've gained at least 5-6 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Is this the vegan Twilight Zone?
Thanks!
Just a guess but I wonder have you increased your intake of processed foods....They can be tough to digest by the body and often get stored as fat.....
People (meat-eaters) always assume that us vegans are going to be a bag of bones...so not the case, for me! I gain weight like crazy! It gets worse the older I get too! >:(
Luckily, I don't really care all that much. I don't own a scale, I never have! I can just tell because I have to go buy new pants, lol
Just cut back on the sweets, the carbs and sadly enough, it could be the tofu (like others have said). Too much soy for women is not good and causes weight gain (which is probably my problem). It's such a bummer because in being a vegan we eat a lot of soy & tofu. :'(
Shannon :snail:
I just really started to study what I should be eating as a vegetarian. I can't eat soy or dairy (unless it's buried in a small piece of cake), so I am not truly vegan. I will say that I could never understand why my stomach stayed upset and I gained a ton of weight after becoming vegetarian about 17 years ago. All that cheese, sugar and eventually soy caused me to stay sick. My mother kept telling me it was what I was eating. I cut out the cheese, the soy and most of the sugar. I lost twenty pounds without even exercising. Who would have thought that there were other options for vegetarians besides cheese and soy? I didn't think so for a long time and it kept me from being healthy.
I am still not skinny, but my skin is absolutely glowing and my tummy is happy again. I eat more pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds and a little seitan here and there, but mostly beans, rice and greens (collards, mustards, etc). I am not a pasta fan, but I do eat it sometimes. Again I am still learning what I should be eating, so I have a lot of reading to do. I am at a body weight that I can say that I am vegetarian without people snickering behind my back or looking a little shocked. I am proud of that.
ShannonVirgo, I am in my late 30's and when I cut out the soy, it threw my hormones completely out of whack so I had to start taking a supplement with Chasteberry as an ingredient. Just giving you a heads up in case you stop eating soy as abruptly as I did.
I think tofu may have caused me to gain a few back when I became vegan and thought that tofu was, like, the only source of non-animal protein out there. Poor, uninformed me. Fortunately, I have a little better understanding of nutrition now, so I keep the tofu intake to a minimum. Also, I just cut down on a lot of soy products. It seems to help.
You may be allergic to soy, but I doubt that it caused you to gain weight!
I have had a heck of a time keeping my weight under control since I turned 50 and I think being vegan 80-90% of the time has little to do with it. (Living in rural Texas, I sometimes have no choice but to eat something with dairy or eggs in it or go hungry.) I am once again trying the only thing that helps me lose weight, counting calories! I figure out how many calories are in what I eat and set a daily limit. I use a program called FitDay that has a standalone version and an on-line version. The last time I looked at Fitday.com, you couldn't input a recipe like you can on the standalone one. I keep the program on a flash drive and I can input what I eat as the day goes on (as long as I have access to a computer). If you want to discuss this, email me privately. I have a few other "thoughts" that I can share with you.
All I can say is I encourage everyone here to get your thyroid function checked out. Thyroid disfunction is a hugely unrecognized cause of unexplained weight gain. And do get 2nd and 3rd opionions on treatment.
There's a symptom list at wilsonssyndrome.org that's very very interesting!
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