How to lose weight on a vegan diet (20 vegan foods to avoid becoming a fat vegan)

written by Nina Shantel, blog: RealDietHelp.com, published March 14, 2023

It is true that there are fat vegans, and a vegan diet may not be healthy. People who have complained that they couldn’t stick to a vegan diet, is because they were doing it wrong.

Vegan diets can fail and vegans may not lose excess weight and get sicker because they are consuming too much of certain vegan foods.

The following list of foods will not only contribute to weight gain, but also lead to a decline in health.

Alcohol. Alcohol is highly caloric and toxic and may lead to weight gain. Since alcohol is a poison, the body will stop metabolizing fat into order to metabolize alcohol because its priority is to remove toxins.

Not all alcohol is vegan. Some beer, wine and cider manufacturers use animal products in the filtration process, such as isinglass (from fish), gelatin (from cows or pigs), or casein (from cows or sheep).

The following alcoholic drinks aren’t vegan, so if you are vegan make sure not to drink Baileys, White Russians, Irish Coffee, and Bloody Mary’s (contains Worchester, which has fish as an ingredient).

Oil is 100% fat, processed and contain very little nutrition and can cause weight gain. Per Dr. McDougal’s book, The Healthiest Diet on the Planet, “Vegetable oils are the strongest promoters of cancer of all commonly consumed foods; they make people fat, cause bleeding and suppression of the immune system and severe damage to the arteries (p 123).

In addition, oil consumption increases insulin resistance, and inflammation, so all oils should not be consumed, even in small amounts.

Vegan spreads are made primarily from oil and are high in calories and may cause weight gain.

Hummus is high in fat because it contains oil and tahini and may cause weight gain. Make your own hummus without oil with small amounts of tahini (crushed sesame seeds. Seeds are high in fat).

Mock meats and vegan cheeses contain oil and can lead to weight gain. Some fake meats and cheeses contain isolated soy protein (aka TVP), which increases IGF-1, a hormone that grows fat and cancer cells. A Beyond Meat Patty’s third ingredient is canola oil. The fourth ingredient is coconut oil. One Beyond Meat patty contains 14 grams of fat, 25% is from saturated fat. Per the Mastering Diabetes experts, they recommend no more than 30 grams of fat per day.  

Nuts and nut butters are healthy, concentrated delicious high fat snacks, but can lead to weight gain. One ounce of dry-toasted almonds contains 170 calories and 15 grams of fat. By eating one ounce of almonds, you’ve already eaten half the amount of fat that day.

Coconut is a high fat food and 13% fat and can lead to weight gain.

Smoothies can be a healthy meal, but it can also be a high calorie drink and can lead to weight gain. Online you will find high calories smoothies to help people gain weight. One vegan smoothie’s ingredients that add up to 1000 calories contains 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, protein, powder, 4 dates, 1 cup of coconut milk, one tablespoon of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder. All those little ingredients add up fast.

Soda is a sugar bomb that will make people crave more sugar and isn’t filling. Chose water or add your favorite tea bag to your bottle of water if you want to flavor it.

Sweeteners like sugar, agave, maple syrup, stevia, and monk fruit make us crave sweets more, and can lead to weight gain, so limit sweeteners. Avoid fake zero calorie sweeteners as they contain chemicals and increase harmful gut bacteria

Bread can lead to weight gain since one slice usually contains over 100 calories , and most sandwiches use two slices, add some peanut butter and your sandwich can easily contain over 400 calories. In addition to paying attention to calories, make sure to read ingredients. Wonder Bread contains HFCS, soybean oil and sugar. Dave’s Organic Whole Grain bread contains cane sugar as the third ingredient. Many breads are not vegan as they may contain eggs, butter and/or non-fat dried milk.

Pasta is tasty but extremely high in calories and can contribute to weight gain because most people consume more than the measly two ounces listed as a serving size on the package.

Flour tortillas are high in calories and can lead to weight gain. A Mission flour tortilla contains 140 calories and that’s without the filling or guacamole. A better wrap choice are lettuce cups or baked or microwaved plain corn tortillas.

Pizza Crust can be high in calories, contain unhealthy ingredients and lead to weight gain. Pillsbury Pizza dough contains hydrolyzed vegetable oil, which is a trans-fat. A manufacturer can list zero under trans fat if the amount of trans fat is less than .5 grams per serving. No amount of trans fat is acceptable. Chose thin crust pizza dough. A low-calorie pizza crust I like to use for pizza is lavash that I buy from Trader Joe’s market.

Dried fruit is easy to overeat, lead to tooth decay, and contribute to weight gain. Dried fruit can also include added oil and preservatives, such as sulfur dioxide. Chose whole fruit, not dried fruit.

Juice should be avoided because it doesn’t contain the fiber from the fruit, can elevate triglycerides and contribute to weight gain because it’s easy to overconsume. Eat the whole fruit, not just the juice.

Cacao nibs are healthy chocolate but are 47% fat and can lead to weight gain. If you are trying to lose weight, avoid cacao nibs. 

Avocado and guacamole are delicious healthy fats, but should be avoided if you have heart disease or are trying to lose weight. One California avocado is 228 calories and has 21 grams of fat. A California avocado is 83% fat.

The more fat you consume, the fatter you will be. Even thin individuals can be overly fat. Excess fat on the inside is unhealthy, leading to poor blood sugar control and heart disease.

Nut, seed and fruit bars are high in calories due to nuts being high in calories, contain oils, and lead to weight gain. Some bars also contain soy to boost the amount of protein as a selling point but adding protein to foods just means excess calories and excess protein is consumed. High protein diets tax the kidneys and liver, which is why doctors recommend a low protein diet.

Medications all have side effects and some of those side effects may include weight gain or muscle damage. Make sure to read the entire list of side effects on all drugs and supplements before buying or taking them. There may be medications that have less harmful side effects that you can ask your doctor to prescribe. A whole food, plant-based diet may allow you to get off medications.

A vegan diet may lead to weight gain, but a whole-food, low-fat, plant-based 100% vegan diet results in weight loss and improved health.  

The video below goes over what causes vegans and non-vegans to weight gain and how to lose excess weight for good. We also discuss other strategies, go into more detail, and talk about the psychology of food and diet. Press the play button to watch the video and share this post and video with anyone you think may be interested in these topics.

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