A plant-based diet is the best diet for weight loss. But it’s not quite as simple as just going vegan. In fact, without the right formula, you might end up putting weight on instead of shedding those extra pounds. Don’t worry, I’ve got some tips to help you find your vegan weight loss formula… without going on a diet.

Don’t Think of it as a Diet

One of the worst things you can do is step into diet mentality, because it’s almost guaranteed to make you fail. When we think of dieting, we think of restriction, missing our favorite foods, being hungry, and counting calories. Unfortunately, this means we see our new habits as a short-term fix, something we put ourselves through until we reach that magic number, after which we go back to our old eating habits (and usually put the weight back on).

That’s why if you want to find your vegan weight loss formula, the first thing you need to do is change your mindset. This is not a diet. It’s a lifestyle. This is not a short-term fix, it’s a new way of eating that you can stick to for the rest of your life. And for that to be the case, you need to make it delicious. In other words, you can’t survive on just lettuce and lentils. You have to include foods that you enjoy (more on that later).

The other problem with the diet mindset is that it makes the way you are now wrong. We go on a diet because we are unhappy with ourselves. But that just creates more bad feeling. What if we changed our diet because we loved ourselves enough to get healthier, instead of doing it because we hated what we saw in the mirror? When you decide to change from a place of self-love, it’s much easier to make those changes.

Get inspired

Eat what you love, and what you eat will love you back. But this is where it can get tricky, because many of those foods may not be vegan or healthy. So it’s time to get your research hat on. There are so many great resources out there offering simple recipes to help you veganize your favorite meals.  

I absolutely love Nutriciously. They offer tips and tricks to guide you through your journey to optimum health through plant-based food. From a 6-week online course, to e-books and recipes, you’re sure to find a ton of vegan inspiration here.

Take the Guess Work out of Vegan Cooking

Going vegan can be confusing. Where do you begin? Do you even have time to search through a million recipes online, and then spend hours in the supermarket trying to find these unfamiliar ingredients? Probably not. That’s why I love vegan meal delivery boxes, which contain everything you need to create a delicious, healthy, plant-based meal within minutes. No fuss, no hassle, no half-day spent behind a shopping trolley, and no guess work!

My favorite is S A K A R A L I F E

• The Sakara Life organic meal delivery program is based on a whole-food, plant-rich diet that includes fresh, nutrient dense and delicious ingredients.

• Sakara, perfect if you don’t have any spare time to cook. They deliver 100% organic, clean, plant-based, ready-to-eat meals straight to your door. No cooking, no guessing, no time wasting. Sakara can even deliver detox teas and supplements to maximize your weight loss. What’s more, you can get guidance and support from their team of nutritionists and coaches.

Try Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a way of planning your meals to give your body some time in a fasted state. Three to five hours after eating, your body is in “fed” mode, it’s busy digesting and absorbing food. Eight to twelve hours after eating, however, you enter the fasting state. Here, your body is able to focus on rejuvenating, healing and detoxing. Fasting does not mean you have to go a whole day without eating. Start small and see how you feel. The easiest way to begin is to wait twelve hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. So if you eat at 7pm, have breakfast after 7am. Then experiment and see what feels comfortable. Intermittent fasting doesn’t just help with weight loss, it also fights inflammation and premature aging. Win-win!

Check The Label

Just because it’s vegan, doesn’t make it healthy. A good habit to get into is simply to check the label. You might be surprised what’s lurking in that plant-based biscuit. Sugar is vegan. So are refined carbs like white flour, white rice, and pasta. Here are a few things to look out for:

• Sugar - if it appears as the first or second ingredient on the list, it means this food contains mostly sugar. It hides behind other names like glucose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, invert syrup, maltodextrin, etc.

• MSG - this additive triggers your brain to want more food, and is therefore best avoided. Look out for its other names, like yeast extract.

• Unpronounceable ingredients - man-made chemicals used as colors, preservatives and flavor enhancers can have a negative impact on your health and disrupt your appetite. If you can’t pronounce it and you don’t know what it is, you probably don’t want to eat it either.

Do you know anyone who would benefit from these five tips to help you find your vegan weight loss formula? Where will you start? What’s helped you on your vegan journey? Let me know in the comments!