Been a veggie for 2 weeks and have not lost an ounce.....

What is up with this? I have been vegan for 2 weeks, walk 3-4 times per week, 2-4 miles. I take in about 1200 - 1400 cals daily and have not lost ONE OUNCE!!!!
Breakfast-Ezekial bread and organic Peanut butter
Lunch-Salad, or a soy burger on ezekial bun
Snack-nuts, seeds and dried fruit
Dinner-Same as lunch
Snack-Sometimes nothing, just depends.

HELP!!!! Maybe it has not been long enough! And today I binged a bit! Ate cake.....kind of a lot. And coffee cake. Back to normal tomorrow, but boy am I frustrated!!!

Let me guess, you read Skinny Bitch.

you're probably not eating enough.

also, veg diets do not guarantee weight loss.

the soy burger is most likely really high in sodium! take a look at the foods you are eating- processed foods tend have loads of sodium. make sure you are getting enough water.

Nuts are a great snack but really have to be done in moderation- pay attention  to serving sizes.

are you sure you are eating enough? it doesn't seem like you are getting much of your veggies (especially green veggies). protein is a must when you are exercising- that is what is going to help build the muscle that will help you get lean!

how about whole grains? full of not only protein, but also fiber which is going to help you flush your digestive track.

again, water is so important with all of these, staying hydrated is the first step to weight loss.

are you eating enough? it doesnt' look like that would add it up to too much, but i dont' know your portions... also vegetarianism does not GUARANTEE weight loss. it's more likely, but if you were already eating meat and eating healthy, you might not lose much.

Calories in < calories burned = weight loss

You can gain, lose or maintain on a vegetarian diet, depending on your calorie intake/burn.  Also vegetarian diets usually consist of vegetables... I couldn't detect any in your diet other than a possible salad.  Try adding these to your diet.  The good thing is, not only are they really good for you, but you can eat a lot and feel more full without a lot of calories.

Perhaps you should try to do more of a workout - walking is good, better than nothing, but really doesn't burn much in the way of calories.   Also, as other posters have said, you may not be eating enough and your body thinks it's starving and is therefore "holding on" to fat and calories out of self preservation.

Well, let me see if I can hit everything....hgiel....Yes, I did. Cool book!
Eww, no, but I figured eating 1200 cals and walking would get me SOME weight loss.....veg or not.
sunkist....I eat 1/2 a cup of dried fruit and nuts for a snack.
As far as veggies, my salad is huge and in between meals I eat, sauteed or raw veggies, sometimes with a little hummus.
I get TONS of whole grains, ezekial bread is a sprouted wheat bread that I eat two to three times daily.
I drink about 80 ounces of water daily. Sometimes it is decaf green tea. About 20 ounces of the 80 .
jmc.....I log my cals and it comes to around 1200 to 1400 usually.
I get about 35-40 g of protein each day. I would say my diet it about 50%whole grains, 30% protein and 20% fat. (Nuts, organic PB, veg oil, and avacados.)
I don't have time for a ton more working out, and I LOVE to walk, it is one of the few things I will stick with long term. I do a little weight lifting at times.
I tried to up my calories today to confuse my bod.....we shall see what happens!
Thanks beyond words for all the input! So cool that ppl will take time to help someone they do not know!

hgiel....were you not impressed with the book? I did not take it as gospel, definate "grain of salt" on that one, but it did enlighten me quite a bit!

You became a vegetarian to lose weight?  That's just crazy.  One of my good friends was a vegan and morbidly obese- she continued to gain and gain.

 

I'm not particularly interested in the Skinny Bitch book (I hate fads) and I'm not opposed to a vegetarian diet or healthy foods, but just being a veggie or eating healthier foods will not make you lose weight.

Keep in mind that nuts and peanut butter - organic or not - have a lot of fat and calories, but limited amounts of protein.  They are a good addition to your diet in reasonable amounts but are NOT a good protein substitute because  of the fat content.

 

I've found that simply sticking to a diet with a lot more veggies and fruits and limited lean meats - while limiting calories and making sure to maintain a good 50/25/25 balance of carb/fat/protein calories has done the trick to get my weight down.

Also - are you exercising?

Original Post by carie87:

hgiel....were you not impressed with the book? I did not take it as gospel, definate "grain of salt" on that one, but it did enlighten me quite a bit!

 I think that she was probably thinking more about how alot of people lately have become vegetarian/vegan to lose weight and because of that book.  The only thing about becoming vegetarian to lose weight is that it doesn't always work that way...kind of what the others above me have said.

I'm a little doubtful that you are measuring your foods correctly. You say that you are eating only 1200 or 1400 cals, yet where is your protein coming from? How can you have 30% protein while still eating all these whole grains and fruit? Nuts, PB, veg oil, and avacados are high in calories. Bread is high in calories, even if it's healthy whole grain. Where is this 40g protein?

If you are not measuring these foods by weight, I highly suggest moving from measuring by cup/tablespoon to doing it by weight. A normal tablespoon can hold anywhere from 2 to 4 "real" tbs...so it's especially tough with things like peanut butter.

Are you actually overweight? i.e. BMI 25+

A. I did not "Become a vegetarian to lose weight". I realize that is how I sounded from my original post, but the book go me thinking about the treatment of animals and how meat affects our bodies. I feel clean, no more headaches....I can't get over how amazing I feel and how much better I sleep. I just figured that with the number of calories I consume along with my diet being lower in fat, (I eat 1 TEASPOON of peanut butter a day and have switched to some recommended meat substitues for protein) along with adding about 2-5 miles 4 days a week of walking a side affect would be weight loss.

B.I measure foods by site....(deck of cards for protein, etc....) I actually count the nuts I eat....(30 pistacios, or 15 pecans etc....)

C. gi jane, Yes, I am "slightly" overweight. I am 5'6" and 156 pounds. I would love to be 140.

Thank you all again for the input, I am taking it all in and will apply some of the great advice. Just know that I have not expected great weight loss all because I read a fad book. I took the info in the book to heart and made a concious decision to not eat animal flesh anymore. Again, I was just hoping weight loss would be a side affect.

Original Post by feanor:

I'm a little doubtful that you are measuring your foods correctly. You say that you are eating only 1200 or 1400 cals, yet where is your protein coming from? How can you have 30% protein while still eating all these whole grains and fruit? Nuts, PB, veg oil, and avacados are high in calories. Bread is high in calories, even if it's healthy whole grain. Where is this 40g protein?

If you are not measuring these foods by weight, I highly suggest moving from measuring by cup/tablespoon to doing it by weight. A normal tablespoon can hold anywhere from 2 to 4 "real" tbs...so it's especially tough with things like peanut butter.

Everything has protein in it... even veggies.

I just looked at my peanut butter (8g protein for two tablespoons) and my bread (4g protein per slice), if I were to eat peanut butter on toast I'd get 12 grams of protein right there.

Edited to add- all I've eaten today is cereal, soymilk, and coffee and I'm already at 11g protein for 250 calories. 200 of those calories were whole grains (cereal)... whole grains have lots of protein.

Original Post by carie87:

I feel clean, no more headaches....I can't get over how amazing I feel and how much better I sleep. I just figured that with the number of calories I consume along with my diet being lower in fat, (I eat 1 TEASPOON of peanut butter a day and have switched to some recommended meat substitues for protein) along with adding about 2-5 miles 4 days a week of walking a side affect would be weight loss.

Carie, sounds like you have made a choice and are doing really well with it. The positive effects of the vegan diet do feel incredible, and I'm sure if you keep going with the healthy diet and walking you will start shedding pounds in no time. It's only been 2 weeks, it takes a while to gain the weight in most cases, so I'm sure it will take a little bit to lose it, but you will! :) Congrats and good luck, sounds like you are well on your way.

YEAH! Thank you for the positive happy input! brighteyes, you are so right! What is two weeks in a lifetime of feeling better. Even if I never lose weight I suppose I should enjoy this feeling!

And disease....I cannot thank you enough for pointing out all the other sources of vegan protein!

Just keep it going , you seem to know what you're doing.. I'm sure you'll see results soon. :)

Thanks snot! (Awesome screen name by the way!!!)
Any views on meat substitutes? Yeah or nay? Too much sodium? What are the good ones?

I wonder why NOT eating meat has given me so much energy?

I eat a similar diet to yours. I can maintain my weight by eating your menu. If I want to lose a couple pounds, I'll eat a huge salad with lots of veggies for either lunch or dinner. I snack on carrots or other veggies and fruit. They're usually low calorie so you can eat a lot of them!

A small portion of nuts is fine, sometimes. Are you eating raw nuts or roasted/ salted?

But really, eating a lot more vegetables helps me lose weight. You might want to check out Eat to Live.

Apple, lately I have tried to go with fruit or veggies when I am hungry, especially between meals.

Some nuts raw, some roasted, never salted though. And I am REALLY careful about portion size.

I will check out that book!
Thanks!

I gained weight when I first went vegetarian because all I did to change my diet was swap out processed substitutes (veggie burgers, veggie breakfast links, etc) for all the meat in my diet.  Several years later, I depend much more heavily on nuts, beans, and grain for my protein.  Of course I eat plenty of The Holy Trinity (tofu, seitan, and tempeh), but I make my own seitan.  Also, it's easy to prepare these things in large batches.  So fr'instance, you could marinate and bake a large batch of tofu for the week's lunch sandwiches.  This would save you the icky processed stuff and the expense of using soy burgers.  At Whole Foods, tofu is .99/14 oz!  Get on that!

Also, I find that when I focus on grains and protein, I rarely lose any weight.  Add some smoothies, fresh fruit, and a lot of raw veggies to your diet.  I find that eating a ton of fresh/raw produce melts the fat away.  Whenever I feel the impulse to eat a sandwich, I think, "Would this work as a salad?"  Usually it would, and usually it's quite a bit better that way.  (My favorite smoothie consists of bananas, frozen unsweetened strawberries, fro/unsw blackberries, fro/unsw peaches, soymilk, bee pollen, a little peanut butter, and a little plain soy or dairy yogurt.  The bee pollen isn't vegan, but neither am I, and the combination of tons of vitamins, protein, and pollen gives me loads of energy.)