How to Stop Gaining Weight on a Raw Vegan Diet

Many advocates of the raw vegan diet are slim, fit, and glowing with energy and vitality. So why are you getting squishy and down on yourself when you're eating fruits and vegetables - two foods that are supposed to be the most healthy? It seems so wrong. And it is. Because fresh, ripe, water-rich produce is one of the most nutritious things you can eat! Just look at how Alan Dill lost over 1lb/day incorporating fruit and vegetables as the base of his diet.

So what gives?

Why are you not embodying the youthful glow, perky booty, and slim limbs of the raw vegan influencer?

Simply, it's all about calories!

And even though raw foods take your body more energy to digest, and your body is able to extract less calories out of them than their cooked counterparts (and this is proven by research), we still need to be mindful that we are not drastically overshooting how much we should be eating to reach our desired goals.

So does that mean you have to start counting your calories again and meticulously weight every gram of food? Not necessarily. It just means you have to be more mindful of which raw vegan foods you are overconsuming that you should be limiting, and which ones you should favour and can eat in abundance.

You can still eat fresh, ripe, water-rich, colourful produce. You can still eat tons of nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables that flood your body with the beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants that protect your heart, your cells, your gut - your whole body - from disease and malfunction. You can be healthy, happy, and lose weight. You can have it all! Let me explain how.

When on a raw vegan diet, there are certain eating habits that make weight gain more likely, and certain ones that favour weight loss.

Although people often despair that you can't just eat anything you want and lose weight, even on a diet of fruits and vegetables, what is good about this, is that you can adjust your diet accordingly depending if you want to gain, maintain, or lose weight. In this way, you can always tailor the diet to your body's current needs, no matter what goals you would like to achieve at the time.

And this is not just exclusive to raw veganism - in any diet, you can easily modify or make small tweaks in order to gain or lose weight. Omnivore. Carnivore. Keto. Vegetarian. Vegan. The twinkie diet. Any diet. You do not inherently need to gain weight on a raw vegan diet - even if you have in the past. Please remember this before you potentially give up because of weight gain and miss all the important benefits you may receive mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and physiologically from maintaining this high-nutrient diet.

So what are the tips for stopping weight gain (and even losing weight) on a raw vegan diet?

To Avoid:

• Nuts and seeds (try to keep your fats below 10% of calories)
• Coconut products
• High-calorie dense, sweet, and/or high-glycemic fruits such as bananas and dates. Grapes and figs, as well as pineapple, mango, and other tropical fruit varieties can be quite easy to overeat as well.
• Avoid juice like the plague. It won't fill up your stomach like whole foods will and the sugars will hit your bloodstream much faster without the accompanying fiber. This can lead to blood sugar highs and subsequent drops which result in further hunger and cravings for more food. Instead, choose to eat your fruit whole or blend into low-calorie smoothies.
• High-calorie, concentrated smoothies loaded with bananas and/or dates (see which kind of smoothies to embrace below).
• High-fat fruit such as durian or avocado (limit avocado to 1/4 a day at most for weight loss).
• Any dehydrated foods or fruits - without the water to increase satiety, they are concentrated calorie bombs and are very easy to overeat without realizing it.
• Avoid adding extra salt and sugar to your foods - the intense flavours will make you eat more than you would otherwise. Plus some studies have actually shown that salt can cause weight gain irrespective of calories consumed!

To Embrace:

• Basing your meals on fresh vegetables rather than fruit-based meals.
• Big, huge green meal salads with a low fat dressing.
• Plates of spiralized cucumber and/or zucchini with low fat tomato-based sauce.
• Enjoying more low-glycemic, low calorie fruits such as berries and melons. Grapefruit, apples, or pears can also be your fruits of choice.
• Low calorie-dense smoothies which include lots of greens (spinach or romaine are tasty), more water, more ice, and less fruit. If you are not as strict with additions, you can use xanthan gum to help thicken your smoothies for very few calories and/or add small amounts of stevia or another calorie-free sweetener to help add that extra sweetness without the extra calories.
• Work with your body - don't just eat what someone else tells you will work best, or stick to someone else's calorie recommendations. Eat the amount of calories that works in your favour. Drastically eating minimal amounts will not be beneficial for you in the long term, but there is need to overfill yourself, as some people advise. See which foods satisfy you for less calories, and avoid high-calorie foods you find addictive and easy to overeat (a.k.a get the most bang for your calorie buck in terms of satiety!). Some people respond differently to certain foods than others - so find what works for you!
• Move your body daily. Find exercise that you enjoy and you will not only boost your metabolism, build muscle, and increase blood flow to your entire body, but you will make it even easier for yourself to stay in a calorie deficit as well. In addition, adding daily steps to your day (walking to the store or parking your car further, biking as transportation, gardening, doing household chores, etc.) all add up. Plus when you walk or bike instead of driving you not only save money you save the environment as well.
• Drink enough water. And drink it regularly. Keep a bottle with you and drink throughout the day, between meals. Drink a glass in the morning before breakfast to activate your digestive system and hydrate your body after a long sleep. Thirst can easily be confused as hunger, and studies have shown that drinking water before meals decreases the calories consumed during that meal. In addition, drinking enough water will keep your bowels running smoothly, your skin soft, and will help you feel more energetic and awake throughout your day.

I hope this helps you become more optimistic about your raw vegan weight loss journey! Let me know what your experiences have been on a raw vegan diet, and if any of the above tips have worked for you to turn things around!

Best to you!
Amanda