New Vegan & weight loss

[Da_Bear]

G'day,

Well, as I mentioned in my introduction, I have been making the transition from a vegetarian to a vegan diet over the last few months. It hasn't really been hard for me because I don't eat eggs (the smell of them cooking makes me feel ill) and on the odd occasion I had cows milk I paid for it, stomach cramps, frequent trips to the loo and blocked sinuses... since the transition to soy milk I feel much better.

Anyways, I am also trying to lose weight that I put on over two years ago (have always been a bit of a chunky butt but really plumped up when I met ex b/f # 3 aka the Antichrist... LOL) and I found that with the exercise from karate, gym workouts and constant walks have really helped, along with the small changes in my diet. I have about 98 lbs to lose, so it will be a long journey.

Besides the normal advice for weight loss, does anyone else have any hints, or personal stories to share? I realise that I am changing my lifestyle to change my body, so never fear, I don't want any special diets!! Perhaps anyone knows of a good website with low fat vegan recipies (or reccomend any good cookbooks?)

Da_Bear

[xsnapcasezx3x]

check out vegsource.com, they have all sorts of recipes. Most of the ones i have tried have been excellent. They also have a lowfat section of recipes.

[JP]

BUMPing for more replies & advice for da_bear!

[rubysoho]

A book with some really nice vegan recipes (all low fat) is Food by Susan Powter, try amazon or e-bay for it as it is about 9 years old!

[kettlebellnut]

"Becoming Vegan" was the essiential book for me. It tought me how to create a successful Vegan diet and has a section dedicated to Weightloss and a section dedicated to athletes.

You've made a step in the right direction and I offer you my complete and total support on your endevor.

I would recommend that you set goals - set a goal for where you want to be in 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. These aren't #'s on a scale goals, although that can be "part" of it.

For example, set goals around a getting back into that special garment you've outgrown or being able to complete some fitness goal by a certain time.

Be realistic in setting your goals, but set them high enough to push yourselt hard. For example, I know I won't run a marathon, but I've set the goal to run in a charity 5k next spring.

I suggest only weighing yourself once a week. Do it on a set day in the am. Other than that STAY OFF THE SCALE.

Stay focused, stay positive, stay healthy and believe that you can do what you set out to do.

[Strix]

[quote="vegmason"]" STAY OFF THE SCALE.

quote]

That's great advice: I stay off the scale most of the time. I can feel every pound I gain when I run . Plus I think it's detrimental to go by the scale...I think going by one's own comfort level is better. I notice how my clothes fit too; that always helps

[funfetus]

A book with some really nice vegan recipes (all low fat) is Food by Susan Powter, try amazon or e-bay for it as it is about 9 years old!

A word of warning about Susan Powter: If you meet her at Six Flags, coming off Batman: The Ride, and she takes a bunch of pictures of you and your friends, and you give her your address and she says she'll send them to you...she's lying.

[Strix]

What?

[funfetus]

Yep.

[Fruitbat]

[quote="vegmason]

STAY OFF THE SCALE.

[/quote]

If you lose weight in a healthy way, chances are you will gain muscle and lose fat which makes you denser and therefore weigh more so going by the scales is a bad idea. Monitor your progress in hte mirror (as long as you don't get a distorted self-image) and by your sports perofrmance

[ultra_whippet]

Yeah I agree. If you want some indicator of progress it would probably be more useful to have your bodyfat % measured now and again in a few months time.

[tylerm]

A word of warning about Susan Powter: If you meet her at Six Flags, coming off Batman: The Ride, and she takes a bunch of pictures of you and your friends, and you give her your address and she says she'll send them to you...she's lying.

haha, I take it you know from experience?

I saw her on tv, I think it was on an 'I love the 80's' show on VH1, and she had facial piercings and dreads.. totally different from the last time I saw her on tv years ago with a short bleach blond hairdo doing workouts

[funfetus]

A word of warning about Susan Powter: If you meet her at Six Flags, coming off Batman: The Ride, and she takes a bunch of pictures of you and your friends, and you give her your address and she says she'll send them to you...she's lying.

haha, I take it you know from experience?

I saw her on tv, I think it was on an 'I love the 80's' show on VH1, and she had facial piercings and dreads.. totally different from the last time I saw her on tv years ago with a short bleach blond hairdo doing workouts

Yeah, that quote above is what happened, back in summer of 97 or so. I didn't recognize her at the time, because her hair was a bit longer, and sort of dark maroon, rather than the bleach-blonde buzz she usually had, until my friend Serena blurts out "Hey! You're that lady on TV whose husband left her and then she lost all that weight!"

I remember she had a mouth like a sailor, too.

[ematurtle]

G'day,

Besides the normal advice for weight loss, does anyone else have any hints, or personal stories to share? I realise that I am changing my lifestyle to change my body, so never fear, I don't want any special diets!! Perhaps anyone knows of a good website with low fat vegan recipies (or reccomend any good cookbooks?)

Da_Bear

From my own experience, I know that it really helped to keep a diary for a while of what I was eating. It's much harder to fool yourself into saying "oh, I can have just one more" when you know you're going to have to write it down. This can also help you to figure out if you have any nutritional gaps in your diet, and can help you monitor your progress!

Other than that, don't let little lapses get you down. If you have a day when you don't meet your goals (for exercise, eating, or anything else), just use it as motivation for the next day, not as a sign that you're failing and might as well give up.

I hope this helps a little!

[Cuguacuarana]

Joanne Stepaniak has some low fat cookbooks. Bryanna Clark Grogan has a book called Twenty Minutes to Dinner that is pretty low fat. She also has low fat recipes in her other books.