Going Vegan.. help?

Question

I am going vegan and I'm wondering how to make sure that I don't gain weight. (I gained a decent amount going vegetarian)
I've heard that you can divide up meals so that you have just fruit in the morning, starch for lunch, and protein for dinner (order doesn't matter)
I've also heard that eating too many carbohydrates is the main reason for gaining weight when you're vegetarian or vegan. But if I ever got hungry and ate apples (5-6, excluding any that I would have for breakfast) throughout the day could I gain weight off of that since apples are simple carbohydrates?
Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to make sure that I lose the extra weight that I gained and stop from gaining anymore??
Or what is a good way to arrange food during the day? Or is there?

Answer 1

The difference between going vegetarian and going vegan is that most people who move from an omnivore diet to a vegetarian one replace almost all of the meat fish and poultry in their diets with eggs and dairy products, and those are at least as bad as are the meat, etc.

A vegan diet eliminates all animal products, and it helps. So does making these changes properly. Please se the links below:

Answer 2

I've never heard of splitting up your meals like you mention ... I'll have to look into it ...

But too many carbs is pretty much the main reason people gain weight when they start a veggie diet. However, overeating anything is not the answer. Apples are anywhere from 60 - 120 calories (depending on how big the apple is) and actually they are a complex carbohydrate. While eating fruits are definitely a good thing ... they are also loaded with sugar.

I would start an exercise plan that includes 2 or 3 sessions of 30 minutes of cardio a week, with some light strength training thrown in. A bit of muscle does wonders for burning off a little extra fat. I know that's not really what you asked but it's what I do and it works very well for me :)

Answer 3

For a vegan, you cannot split your food up like that-most vegetable proteins have to be combined with complementary proteins to provide all the requisite amino acids for a complete protein. If you weren't aware of that it may be why you gained weight-you weren't giving your body what it needed so you probably overate (yeah, 5-6 pieces of any fruit is too much for a whole day, much less one sitting). There is tons of information on the Internet on how to eat a balanced plant based diet-you really have no business trying to become vegetarian or vegan without educating yourself. First, I recommend you learn the basic difference between simple and complex carbs-fruit qualifies as a complex carb but you just ate way too much of it! Whole grains like whole wheat, barley, amaranth, quinoa and oats and all non starchy vegetables are the good carbs (e.g. not potatoes, yams and NO-corn on the cob is not a vegetable). Beans and legumes must be combined-and I mean within the same bite-with grains to provide complete protein. E.g. beans and cornbread,beans and rice, beans and tortillas.
Learn these simple facts about plant based eating before you do yourself harm.

Answer 4

I suspect you are gaining weight because you are eating junk food on the side. Drop the junk food. Don't worry about the weight. It will take care of itself.

Answer 5

Has it occurred to you that the weight gain could be your body reacting to the stress of not getting the nutrition it needs by your stopping of eating certain food groups?

Answer 6

Just eat alot of salad believe me it will work!