Six words you won’t hear me say…

…’I just lost too much weight’

The actress Megan Fox reportedly said that she is no longer vegan because she lost too much weight. I think it is fantastic that a woman in Hollywood says she wants to be bigger. To be rounder, curvier and healthier. Yet Fox says, “I followed a strict vegan diet based on raw fruits and vegetables, no bread, sugar and coffee. But I had lost too much weight.” Fox didn’t lose excessive weight because she ate a vegan diet. It was most likely because she did not consume enough calories from the foods she was eating and, in my opinion, because of the vegan foods she chose not to eat.

You will not hear me say “I quit eating vegan because I got too skinny.” I’m not a skinny vegan. I gained 15 pounds when I went vegan but not because of vegan foods. I began eating vegan and it changed my relationship with food. After years of trying to fight my way down to a weight that required dieting and excessive exercising I decided to get comfortable with the weight my body bounced back to every year and simply enjoy food as nourishment and fuel for my body.

I didn’t gain weight from a vegan diet. I’m in control of what vegan foods I choose to eat and I choose beans, greens, grains, healthy fats (and some unhealthy!), healthy treats, raw foods, cooked foods, green juices, smoothies and the occasional vegan junk/indulgences. I’m responsible for what I put into my body.

What are your thoughts on the premise that one must abandon a vegan diet due to weight loss?

–
JL

http://profiles.google.com/kate.estivill Kate Estivill

I’m so glad you wrote this! When I read in the news she quit from weight loss I sighed exhasperated.

I went vegan a year ago, night to day. I did loose quite a bit of weight, about 5kg in a month and a half. However, I didn’t quit, I simply educated myself on how to go about doing it well. I’d pretty much cut out carbs in the process, I didn’t eat any subsitutes and I was going through a rough patch personally.

That was six months ago. I now regained most of the weight, am super healthy and love being vegan. I love researching different foodstuffs to get every nutrient I need, I love experimenting with flavours and creating dozens of dishes from everyday veggies.

The same way in which a meat-eater might have an unhealthy diet due to too much cholesterol or not enough vitamins, a vegan can also have an unhealthy diet. Both are caused by lack of information, not by the food itself. What Megan Fox proclames is ridiculous. Moreover, my boyfriend competes in martial arts and work out several times a week; he’s also vegan and healthier now than ever without having suffered muscle or weight loss.

Abandoning the vegan diet claiming weight loss is a massive excuse. Come clean and say “I’m craving burritos” or “I can’t live without cheese”, but please, don’t pull that BS!

http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

Kate, thanks for your comment. I think it really is about having solid information.

http://moxieorganix.com Amber Bates

Well that’s a very silly thing for her think! It’s not being vegan that would make her too skinny, it’s like you said… not consuming enough calories in general, or the right food choices for her body. Sounds like she was eating raw vegan and possibly not even doing that right.

She could have called any vegan pro athlete, trainer etc and they would have helped set that straight.

If you simply abandon a vegan diet and go back to eating animal products, you weren’t vegan for the right reasons anyway.

Being vegan isn’t a fad. Being vegan is a way of life.

http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

I agree, Amber! I don’t think she ever said she was eating vegan for ethical reasons. So perhaps she approached it as “health” choice and just didn’t have good information.

Anonymous

Great post. When I tell people I’m vegan, I (and I’m sure you too) get the response, “oh I could never do that!” To which I respond, well if you need to, you don’t have to be vegan all the time, which they are then much more receptive. Personally, I’m a 24/7 (not raw) vegan. But if someone likes the idea of being vegan, but for whatever reason, can’t do it 100%, then do it 80%. It’s still 80% in the right direction.

Obviously, she should’ve seen a vegan dietician to have her diet evaluated for a comprehensive, well rounded meal plan. But, if she didn’t like raw vegan, why not try non-raw vegan? The article said, “‘She follows the 5-Factor diet which is to eat five small meals a day which include the five dietary factors including healthy fats, lean protein, fibre and a non-sugar drink.” But all of that is the *basis* for a well rounded vegan diet! And then she said, “So now I eat a bit of everything.” Why couldn’t she have said, “Now I eat mostly vegan, with a few animal products every once in a while.”

While I’m 100% vegan, I think the all-nothing mindset keeps people from even considering alternate lifestyles.

Sarah E

Hi, JL. This is a really important post. I think the relationship between veganism and weight is super complex. I wrote an article “Why Are There So Many Ex-Raw Vegans” exploring the reasons why many raw vegans (sounds like Megan was eating mostly raw) end up jettisoning the diet. http://vegansaurus.com/post/1662378610/sarah-e-brown-on-ex-raw-vegans Additionally, I wrote an article called “The Problem With Veganism For Weight Loss” which Gena Hamshaw featured on Choosing Raw – http://www.choosingraw.com/raw-tomato-bread/. I remember a while ago Angelina Jolie also publicly stated “veganism almost killed her.” While that may be true (who am I to say?), I think for many of us just adjusting our vegan diets to suit our personal health and social needs is the answer. Not everyone does well on an exclusively raw diet (I’d say few do, actually, based on what I’ve seen from working at a raw vegan retreat center for almost two years), and breaking out of concepts about veganism as an exclusionary diet (excluding bread, stimulants, etc.) can be rough on some people and cause them to let go of the moral and ethical underpinning to the lifestyle. Sadly, when people feel they can’t handle the extremeness of a raw vegan diet, they often turn to animal products. I think it’d be far better to turn to more cooked foods and/or calorically dense plant foods than go back to diets that promote cruelty towards animals. Anyway, thank you for sharing all of this, JL. Always appreciate you and your clear-thinking. Love, your friend Sarah E.

http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

Sarah, I loved your post on Choosing Raw. Thank you for sharing these links and for your important input. I particularly find your take on raw foods compelling — considering I met you at that very raw vegan retreat center!

http://skinny-vegan-food.blogspot.com/ Claire

Nuts anyone? She’s silly. I hate that when I tell people I’m vegan they assume I’ll be ‘over it’ in a few months because of people like her. She was making some mistakes but instead of fixing them gave up all together… disappointing but her call I guess. & I agree with Amber.
I love that your relationship with food changed in a positive way since going vegan, I’m more mindful of what I fuel myself with now, but I can’t seem to grasp the allowing yourself unhealthy food vs killing yourself with unhealthy food thing… still working on not hating myself for it!

http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

“but I can’t seem to grasp the allowing yourself unhealthy food vs killing yourself with unhealthy food thing… still working on not hating myself for it!”

It’s a process, Claire, no doubt about it!

http://www.thesnarkychickpea.com Meg – The Snarky Chickpea

I agree with you, JL. There is such an incredible array of foods that aren’t low-fat…avocados and nuts, anyone? I also use some oils when I cook. And, I can’t eat vegan biscuits without some Earth Balance. And don’t even get me started on the splendor that is Vegenaise! When I first went vegan, I did lose 25 pounds.I think that happens when you go from eating at least 8 ounces of cheese a day to none. But, it has been over a year and I am maintaining a very healthy weight…actually about 10 pounds over the doctor’s recommendation for my height. My relationship with food changed drastically when I went vegan, and still changes as I discover new foods and ways of cooking. I love it! I’m a much more adventurous eater now than I ever was before going veg. And it is lovely!

I agree with some of the other commenters that if she was limiting herself to raw, excluding breads, caffeine, etc, that was probably why she had so much trouble. I think that transition from omni to ultra-strict raw would cause many a dieter/eater to shun the vegan lifestyle simple because they felt overwhelmed.
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http://forthehealth.com Faith

Gosh it drives me insane when “vegan” is thrown around as an accused adjective, as though it makes the situation more intense or dramatic than it really is. Same concept: the “vegan” couple who fed their child a “vegan” diet of soymilk and apple juice, and it starved…had it been an omnivorous couple with cows milk, do you think *that* adjective would have been deemed necessary? It’s all in the perspective.
http://twitter.com/RunCrissieRun RunCrissieRun

I think it shows a lack of education/understanding about what a vegan lifestyle is when a statement like that is made. Unfortunately, I think her motivations for eating vegan were misguided and uniformed – and she’s spreading that misinformation. It’s a shame.
Leslie

I think you can certainly control your weight loss/gain while eating vegan! Frito’s are vegan, after all!
http://www.choosingraw.com Gena

Love. LOVE. Linking today.
http://bittsblog.blogspot.com bitt

People like this really shouldn’t be using the word vegan. They were on a diet plain and simple. There are so many variations of vegan diets, and I have heard of people losing and gaining on vegan diets, and on raw diets for that matter! It is possible for some people to only eat fruits and veggies, but you can’t undereat them, you must have enough calories! So even that pisses me off. I hate people using the term vegan as an excuse for their true eating disorder or issues.
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http://achoiceforhealth.wordpress.com Katie

This is a great site! Just found you from Choosing Raw.

And I agree with you completely. While I do like that she’s saying she needs to put weight on, I don’t believe she was eating a vegan diet. Well technically she was, if there were no animal products in the mix. But she was really just restricting calories. I also don’t like that she seems to draw a link between a “strict vegan diet” and “no bread, sugar or coffee.” As if those are not vegan. I know my diet includes all three items.

I too gained weight when I became vegan. And I think it’s because I relied heavily on processed food. A vegan cookie can be just as unhealthy as a non vegan cookie. I’m still trying to lose, but the veganism is an ethical choice that I make. Not a way to crash diet.

Thanks for this post, and creating this site!

http://jlgoesvegan.com JL

Katie,thank you for stopping by and saying hello! I hope you continue to join in on the conversation!

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http://www.tiedyefiles.com Kaitlyn@TheTieDyeFiles

Losing weight in most cases is simple math: burn more calories than you take in. This is possible on any diet. I have no trouble maintaining my weight on a healthy, balanced vegan diet! No one should, particularly not someone with the resources Meghan Fox has.
http://www.ohsheglows.com Angela

This is such a great post & topic. I also read that quote earlier this week and I found it to be misleading of the vegan diet. I don’t think I lost an ounce, in fact like you, I probably gained a bit of weight because it’s when I stopped obsessing about my weight and depriving myself.