It is not rocket science to know that not all food is the same, some food is highly calorific, whereas other food is low in calories. Some may go through a variety of metabolic pathways in the human body which give you a variety of effects when it comes to your hormones, appetite, and how many calories you can burn.
When it comes to vegan diets, there is often a stereotype that vegan diets are extremely good for having brilliant health benefits, which are top tier if protecting eaters from heart disease, cancer, and being overweight. However, you should never expect to magically lose weight just because you turned vegan!
Even a vegan diet can be extremely unhealthy if you choose your foods wrong! Processed foods like cookies, vegan sausages, chips, and vegan cheese are not going to be good for you, even though they are vegan!
When you are on a weight loss journey, and you want to shed some fats, you should always be aware of which foods are going to do you justice, and which are going to make things worse.
So, today, with my thinking cap on, I have decided to go through the best vegan foods you should be eating if you are on a weight loss journey!
Let’s get chewing!
Which Foods Help To Burn Fat?
Everyone knows that cookies, chips, soda, and processed veggie meats are not going to be great for your health. Sure they will contain some essential nutrients that you cannot get from a bowl full of kale and broccoli. However… They are not exactly healthy food options.
So, what food options should you be scoffing at to help you burn off that body fat and lose the weight you want to?
Would you hate me if I told you that most of these options are green?
Probably.
It’s a bit of a cliche, isn’t it? But, in truth, green things contain so much that is good for you, but they are also low in calories. High nutrition plus low calories? What more could you want?
But, don’t worry. While most of us think to pop these in a salad and just eat them as they are, you needn’t make boring recipes with these. Check out some of my recipes here to level up your greens game and make eating healthy more delicious and exciting.
Cruciferous Veggies
Cruciferous veggies include sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.
These veggies might give you the toots, but they are great for your gut! They are also low in calories, but high in fiber, and it is this high fiber content that does your gut justice. They are also very filling, so they can help you minimize your calorie intake.
Cruciferous veg is unlike leafy veg as it also has a fair amount of protein in it. While it is not quite as high as legumes and things such as seitan or tofu, it still outweighs a majority of veggies.
With such a good combo of fiber, protein, and low calories, cruciferous veggies are the ideal food to be putting into your dinners to shed those lbs.
Oh, do not forget their high antioxidant, vitamin, and mineral counts!
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens include food types such as collards, kale, spinach, and swiss chards. These all have many aspects that make them super choices of foods to help you lose weight. One of these factors is that they are low in calories (as well as being low in carbs), but they are high in fiber, so are very gut friendly!).
A great strategy for losing weight is chowing down on many leafy greens. Your stomach will end up thinking it is actually eating tonnes of food, but because these are low in calories, you are actually eating much fewer calories.
The meals and diets that have a lower energy density tend to actually make people eat much fewer calories.
Another epic thing about these foods is that they are very high density when it comes to antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, making them a perfect food choice to get what you need but lose weight too!
Soups/Broths
Meals that have few calories often make us eat fewer calories. A majority of low-calorie foods will also have a much higher water content, and will usually also be high in minerals and vitamins. These are typically vegetables and fruits.
One of the best ways to cook veggies is to boil them until they are soft and then puree them with a blender to craft the creamiest dreamiest soups.
Many studies show us that eating foods made into soups instead of as solid food can often make us a bit satiated and help us to ingest fewer calories. However, just be careful not to throw a tonne of dense-calorie foods into your soups!
Beans & legumes
Nothing is quite as good for us as a bean or legume, some of these can be very good for losing weight, especially black beans, lentils, pinto beans, chickpeas, and kidney beans.
These are all high in fiber, and high in protein too. These two nutrients are the ones best known for making us feel satiated, which is the absolute BEST thing you could ask for when you are on a journey to lose weight.
Funny enough these foods also have something that is known as resistant starch, which is a collection of starch molecules that help to resist digestion and better function in a way that is similar to fiber.
Of course, you should always prepare legumes and beans properly, if you do not it can be more challenging for the body to tolerate them during digestion and absorption. So, always be mindful of doing so properly!
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are great for those who are dieting. They are especially are very high in good fats, however, these healthy fats are not the fats responsible for us gaining weight we did not ask for.
Nuts such as:
- Almonds.
- Cashews.
- Hazelnuts.
- Peanuts.
- Pecans.
- Pistachios.
- Walnuts.
…These are all good for you. In fact, these nuts especially will offer you a great balance of fiber, fats, and protein, making them one of the best snacks you could eat.
Throw away the ridiculously sized chocolate bar, or bag of chips, and pick up some nuts, they are better for you than you thought!
In fact, nuts can actually promote weight loss and improve your metabolic health. Studies on the population have found that those who eat nuts are often healthier than the people who do not eat nuts.
Oh, but do remember you should not overdo it. Abusing nuts can end pretty poorly, as these are pretty high in their calorie count. If you tend to eat huge amounts of nuts, then this could be a reason why you are taking in too many calories!
Whole Grains
Whole grains are not always great, but some can be absolutely fantastic for losing weight. Some of these include quinoa, oats, and brown rice, these are all packed with insane amounts of fiber, and plenty of protein, which help you feel satiated.
Oats also contain beta-glucans, or, soluble fibers that increase metabolic health and satiety.
Brown rice, as well as other rice, can contain a lot of resistant starches, especially if you cook it and proceed to cool it after, which also helps to make you feel satiated!
Eating grains is great, but make sure that you always choose whole grains, as these are way better for you, and are more beneficial thanks to their hefty nutritional content. If you use refined grains then the nutritional content is voided. So, go whole or go home!
Avocado
Avocados are technically a fruit. (Don’t argue with me on this one, I don’t make the rules.) And as a fruit, they are different from most others. Fruits are usually packed with carbs and sugars, but avocados are actually high in fats instead.
Specifically, they are high in monounsaturated oleic acid, which is a fat that is very abundant in olive oils!
While they have a lot of fat, they are also plentiful when it comes to fiber and water as well, so they are not actually as dense in calories as most of us would typically assume! So, they are a brilliant addition to a weight-loss diet!
Aside from fiber and fat they also have a lot of other goodness in them such as magnesium, folate, potassium, and so on. Of course, you shouldn’t eat avocados like it’s your last day alive, but introducing them into your diet more is not a bad idea when you want to lose weight!
Chili Peppers
Most of us know that chili peppers can be a great ingredient for weight loss diets. Why? Well, it is all thanks to capsaicin, which is well known to decrease appetite and increase the fat burned.
Actually… Capsaicin is also used in a lot of supplements which suggests that they can burn fats.
Studies have suggested that eating only a gram of red chili peppers can actually reduce your appetite and increase the amount of fat burning in your body, especially if you do not eat pepper regularly.
However, if you do eat chili a lot then the effect will be reduced, as a tolerance can be built up.
Sweet Potato
Although these potatoes are delicious and sweet, they can serve as a great way to get your carbs in without worry of weight gain. They are a good source of calories and are packed high in nutrition and fiber that ensures you stay healthy while also helping weight loss.
Be mindful that you should think about how you cook them. As delicious as sweet potato fries are, this is not a healthy way to indulge in them, and they can be very addictive, so you should watch how you eat them or you could end up gaining more weight!
Smoothies
Smoothies can be an awesome way to get the nutrition, fiber, and calories you need without putting on extra weight. Just make sure that whatever you put into your smoothies is carefully selected to go into them.
Not everything will work well in a smoothie. Blending often also changes how you receive your fiber, so make sure that you are making smoothies, the nutrition and form of what you are going to be ingesting are beneficial for you.
You Cannot Lose Weight With These Foods Alone Though…
Remember that even though these foods will help you lose weight, eating these alone will not work. If you eat too much, you will still not lose weight, if you still eat bad things too often you will not lose weight, even if these foods make up the rest of your diet.
Be mindful, exercise, and watch what is on your plate.
FAQs:
How Do Vegans Lose Weight Fast?
Vegans can easily lose weight fast if they eat a whole food plant-based diet. This means eating whole unprocessed plant-based foods.
Does Vegan Food Help You Lose Weight?
Eating a well-balanced vegan or veggie diet can be associated with weight loss, but even on a diet like such, you still need to watch what you eat and how you eat.
How Can A Vegan Lose Belly Fat Fast?
Making sure you maintain healthy gut bacteria and get enough sleep while ingesting plenty of fiber overall helps to reduce belly fat.
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