Simple Question: Has anyone ever known a fat Vegan?

[Dirty Hippie]

Any experiences with Vegan diets and weight?

[Catchawave]

1. Only pregnant ones n/t

[Gothic Sponge]

2. Vegetarians yes, Vegans no.

I'm sure it's possible.

[Dastard Stepchild]

3. How fat is "fat'?

I've always been 15-20 pounds off my weight range scale. Course, I'm a muscular babe :) Seriously though, for a vegan, I'm no feather.

[vinessa4freedom]

4. come to think of it...

no. I can't think of one vegan who has any weight issues at all. I can't think of a vegan with coronary disease either. Hmmmm...:think:

[Radical Activist]

5. No, never...

some of the vegans I know have had trouble keeping their weight up at a healthy level. They have to eat the right vegan food to gain weight.

[Dirty Hippie]

6. A word of explanation

I'm about 50-60 lbs overweight. Was Vegetarian at one point in my life and my weight was unaffected. Thinking about vegan, wondering if it might normalize my weight. Not looking to be thin, just healthy.

[magdalena]

12. I knew a chunky vegan

not morbidly obese or anything... but on the larger side. He always binged on vegan treats and didn't exercise very much. Like flvegan said below...eat alot of calories and don't expend them you'll ultimately put on weight. Although, I really do think your weight would normalize if you made the switch. You'd be that much more conscious of what you were eating and you'd obviously be cutting out a lot of the fat ie. a lot of the calories. Couple that with some exercise and the pounds would come off in no time. :D

Besides that guy though, I have never seen a vegan with a weight problem. In relation to some folks out there, even this guy was quite svelte.

[JackieO]

7. I guess so

I wouldn't call her "fat" though, she's just a big girl.

[LeftyMom]

8. I'm a bit overweight

because I've had a hard time working off the last 5-10 lbs of postpregnancy weight. I really ought to walk more.

[Piperay]

9. Not vegans but

I have known vegetarians who are trying to shed a few pounds like 10 or so maybe even up to 20 lbs.

[flvegan]

10. Vegan obesity is a possibility

Most vegans, I think, are more concerned with their food choices, so I think it's probably much less likely to become fat or obese. However, the same rules apply. If you consume too many calories, and burn too few, you'll get fat (metabolism, etc notwithstanding).

So, no consuming a pint of Soy Delicious and chasing that with a faux BLT right before bed, mmmkay?

For the record, when I went vegan from vegetarian, I lost 18 pounds I didn't know I had to lose. I didn't look sickly, I just lost the weight. I'm 215 now, but I have a pretty low bodyfat (my gym is my second home).

[smurfygirl]

11. well, I'm vegan and about 15 pounds overweight

But I used to only be a veggie. I have been vegan for over a year now and have lost about 15 pounds. It's strange. I don't exercise like I should but when I do I have no problem maintaining a normal weight. I get lazy though and eat alot of sugar, but I'm in no way fat I guess. Just a little chub in the gut and on my thighs. But, I like losing the weight really slow. Then it usually never comes back. So, 15 pounds to go and my bikini will look good again.B-)

[bullimiami]

13. oddly enough. At our dfa meetup last night I met dave

who ran for a florida house seat (and lost unfortunately in the primary)

read this article

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/16/health/main623561.shtml

[pink-o]

14. I've known young girls

Who use vegetarianism and vegan diet to justify their eating disorders. A lot of girls starve themselves to try to fit into the image the magazines foist on them, and that messes up their metabolisms so they store fat no matter what they eat! And if you live on Indian food, with all the oil and refined rice and breads--oh, yeah, you can get pretty hefty.

I know for a fact, because I was one of those girls! I've not eaten meat since I was 22 (which was 28 years ago!) but I struggled with my weight up until I was 37, learned to love the gym, and threw away the cosmos and glamours. Even today, my metabolism is screwy and I have to keep up the vigilance or I can gain weight eating broccoli sprouts! (also, for both men and women, getting older means you gotta work harder, no matter how healthy you eat.)

FTR, I'm ovo-lacto, although I was vegan for about 5 years. I still can't deal with cheese, it rips my stomach apart even though I'm not lactose intolerant. Anyone else have that problem?