Does Being a Vegan Guarantee Weight Loss Success?

What do Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Madonna and Miley Cyrus all have in common?  Besides being A-listers all of these celebrities follow a strict vegan diet.  Given that all of these women have amazing physiques, you would be led to believe that becoming a vegan is the key to your weight loss success….but is it really the key to life-long weight management? Let’s take a look at the facts and see if you really have to give up all things ‘animal’ to achieve weight loss success.

Firstly, there is a BIG difference between being a vegetarian and being a vegan.  A vegetarian will avoid meat only (and some may even eat seafood).   However, a vegan’s diet is much more restrictive. A vegan’s diet will exclude meat, dairy products, eggs honey or any product derived from an animal.   Not only that, foods that processed with additives that contain animal enzymes or gelatine are also not consumed.  Some vegans don’t wear leather, fur, silk, or wool & many refuse to use products that are made with animal ingredients and products that have been tested on animals.

A lot of vegans turn to foods like bread, cereal, pasta, or other carbohydrate-heavy foods to satisfy their hunger.  Although a vegan diet automatically eliminates many foods that are highly processed or high in saturated fat, there are still many unhealthy vegan options out there.  Foods such as potato chips, hot chips and lollies all fall naturally into the vegan category, but aren’t exactly healthy. Also, as more people embrace a vegan diet, it is relatively easy to find vegan versions of baked goods and other treats.  As a result, a person may end up eating a diet that’s technically vegan, but high in sugar and refined carbohydrates. The limited category of things vegans can eat can lead to nutrient deficiencies as well so vegans need to be extra vigilant about getting enough calcium, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and omega-3 fats.

Another potential downfall of going vegan you run risk of becoming deficient in protein. Proteins are made up of 20 different kinds of amino acids, nine of which the body can’t produce on its own. These nine are called ”essential amino acids.” All meat is considered a complete protein because it contains all nine of these amino acids. However, there is no plant based food that contains all nine amino acids so vegans need to properly combine foods in order to form a complete protein in a meal.  Vegans who do not eat complete proteins at each meal may risk putting on weight due to their body ‘craving’ foods to compensate for their protein deficient intake.

So if you think becoming a vegan is the answer to your weight loss problems, think again.  A vegan diet can only help you lose weight if you are just as careful with your food choices as you would be on your everyday diet…so veganism is NOT the magic solution to your successful weight loss.    

This is where The Natural Way can help you – we do not expect you to ‘change your life’ to lose weight.  Instead we look at your lifestyle and the way you eat now and work on a plan that we know you will enjoy.  After more than 40 years’ of helping people lose weight, we know that we have the expertise to get you to your goal.  Get ready for Spring now by calling The Natural Way today on 1300 SLIMMER (1300 754663) OR visit our website www.thenaturalway.com.au

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