A Guide to Healthy Weight Loss (& Opportunities You Might be Missing)

weight loss opportunities in your daily routine

If you think a plant-based diet is a step on the path towards healthy weight loss, you’re absolutely right!

Combine a healthy diet of plant-powered foods with regular physical exercise and you’re sure to lose weight.

Not only that, you’ll keep it off!

This is my handy guide to reaching your weight loss goal with plants as your fuel.

What’s the ideal diet for healthy weight loss?

A vegan diet is not necessarily healthy if it includes processed convenience foods and sugar-laden soft drinks. With all the fabulous faux meats and vegan treats out there, it’s easy to get tempted. But these foods are high in calories, fat and sodium. And definitely not healthy!

The magic words here are whole plant-based foods. This includes whole grains, lentils, nuts, seeds and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Frozen fruits to throw into your morning smoothies qualify too, as do minimally processed whole soy products like miso, tofu and tempeh.

Your approach to vegan weight loss should be to include lower-calorie, high-fiber, and nutrient-rich foods in every meal.

Carbs get a bad rap, but there’s no reason to shy away from them. Carbs are the body’s main source of energy! Read more about the importance of carbohydrates.

What about protein? Will you need to up your intake? This is another common question…

As long as you eat a variety of whole foods, including pulses like beans, lentils and chickpeas, you don’t need to worry about your protein intake. Tofu and quinoa are other great sources of plant-based protein.

As for drinks, beware of the liquid calories in soft drinks. If you drink soda pop, it’s time to kick this habit! Even fruit juice is high in added sugar. It’s always better to eat a piece of fiber-rich fruit instead.

Keeping hydrated with plenty of water is essential. You don’t have to give up your coffee and tea, but do consider replacing the caffeine with decaf or herbal teas.

Vegan fitness for healthy weight loss

Weight loss is a simple formula. You lose weight when you use up more calories than you consume. This is why combining a diet of whole plant-based foods with regular exercise is essential.

This is also the best way to achieve healthy weight loss. Crash diets are a recipe for disaster. Slow, steady, and consistent wins the race.

As your vegan weight loss coach, I’ll help you work out a healthy weight loss plan. Together we’ll come up with an exercise program that would work best for you, based on your favorite activities and ideal workout frequency. We can then calculate how many calories your body needs and put together a plant-powered meal plan.

The rest will be up to you: stick to your workout schedule and power your body with nutrient-rich and health-boosting plant foods and the pounds will melt away!

Read about how to avoid seven common diet pitfalls.

Don’t miss out on weight loss opportunities

Once you have your exercise and meal plans all figured out, you can take advantage of everyday activities to burn a few extra calories. This is a fun and easy way to reach your weight loss goal even faster!

The idea is to move as much as possible throughout your day. Here are a few ideas:

Always take the stairs.

During your subway commute, take the stairs instead of the escalator. Adopt the same approach at work: don’t bother waiting for the elevator and head for the stairwell instead. Climbing stairs is an excellent way to burn a few more calories, increase oxygen levels, and give you a burst of energy.

Move while you watch TV.

While you’re watching television, do lunges, or walk around your living room while keeping an eye on the screen. During commercials, do jumping jacks!

Take your dog for an extra walk.

Your dog will surely not whine in protest if you decide to squeeze in an extra walk. Their tail-wagging enthusiasm will be the motivation you need to get outside and get moving!

Power clean your home.

Don’t underestimate the calorie-burning potential of housecleaning. Turn on some high energy music and get at it. Put some extra elbow grease into scrubbing your tub, switching arms so you can work both sides. Engage your core as you sweep and vacuum. While dusting, add jumping jacks or push ups in between each piece of furniture.

Park far away.

Choose the furthest parking spot at the mall or office. This is another easy and painless way to get a few more steps in and burn extra calories.

Check out my Ultimate Guide to Vegan Health and Fitness