{"id":34255,"date":"2014-11-13T07:15:10","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T12:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=34255"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:06:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:06:57","slug":"vegan-diet-weight-loss-111314","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/vegan-diet-weight-loss-111314\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Vegan Diet the Best Way to Lose Weight?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_34259\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34259\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-34259 \" title=\"Vegan Diet\" alt=\"Vegan Diet\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-life.dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/10044705\/Vegan-Diet-2.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn-life.dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/10044705\/Vegan-Diet-2.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn-life.dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/10044705\/Vegan-Diet-2-300x193.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-34259\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pond5.com\/photo\/35152289\/raw-vegetables-and-kitchen-utensil-close.html\" target=\"_blank\">Pond5<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Attention, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/recipes\/healthy-pork-turkey-beef-recipes\/\" target=\"_blank\">meat and cheese<\/a> lovers. The best way for you to shed unwanted pounds might be to give up your favorite omnivorous treats in favor of a vegan diet (at least for a little while), according to a new study from the University of South Carolina. The good news: You can keep your <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/carb-diets-101\/\" target=\"_blank\">carbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Research published this week in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nutritionjrnl.com\/article\/S0899-9007(14)00423-7\/abstract\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Nutrition<\/i><\/a> followed a group of 50 overweight or obese adults looking to <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/expert-weight-loss-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\">lose weight<\/a> over a six-month period. Their plan of attack in the battle of the bulge included sticking to one of these five eating regimens:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Vegan:<\/b> No poultry, meat, seafood, eggs <i>and <\/i>dairy, but these participants could still fill up on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.<\/li>\n<li><b>Vegetarian:<\/b> Dairy and eggs were allowed, but meat, poultry and seafood were strictly banned on this plan.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><b>Pesco-vegetarian:<\/b> Fish, dairy and eggs were a yes; meat or poultry, a no.<\/li>\n<li><b>Semi-vegetarian:<\/b> These dieters could still eat red meat, as long as they <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/flexitarian-diet-less-meat-better-health\/\" target=\"_blank\">limited it<\/a> to once a week. Poultry consumption was restricted to five times per week or less.<\/li>\n<li><b>Omnivorous:<\/b> All food groups were a go.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the end of the six-month study period, the people placed on a vegan diet lost <i>significantly<\/i> more weight than the dieters on other plans \u2014\u00a0by about 4.3 percent or 16.5 pounds on average. And the study\u2019s authors think the vegan dieters were more successful for a few simple reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne, they were consuming more <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/how-much-fiber-high-fiber-foods\/\" target=\"_blank\">fiber-containing foods<\/a>, which helped them feel fuller, preventing them from being hungry and overeating,\u201d says study author Gabrielle Turner-McGrievy, Ph.D, RD. \u201cSecondly, their diets were <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/how-to-measure-body-fat-percentage\/\" target=\"_blank\">lower in fat<\/a>, and therefore, most likely had fewer calories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>RELATED:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/recipes\/vegan-cookie-recipes\/\" target=\"_blank\">12 Vegan Cookie Recipes for the Holidays<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What may surprise many folks (especially <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/carb-cycling-diet-weight-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\">Atkins aficionados<\/a>) is that the vegan dieters still shed pounds, even though they were allowed to eat carbs. Why? Participants were told to focus on consuming <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/recipes\/low-carb-pizza-recipes\/\" target=\"_blank\">low glycemic index<\/a> (GI) carbs, such as whole grains, fruits and beans, rather than high GI carbs, like white rice or pastries.<\/p>\n<p>When you consume high GI carbs, your blood sugar spikes and then crashes, leading you to become hungry again very quickly, according to Turner-McGrievy. But with low-GI carbs, blood sugar stays more stable over a longer period of time. \u201cSoda and whole-wheat pasta are both high in carbs but the pasta is low GI, high in fiber, and will keep you fuller longer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p><b>RELATED:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/worst-fast-food-drinks-most-calories\/\" target=\"_blank\">12 Fast Food Drinks That Aren\u2019t Worth the Calories<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The vegan diet didn\u2019t just melt away pounds either; it also helped improve other markers of health. People on a completely plant-based plan experienced the greatest decreases in fat and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/saturated-fat-good-or-bad\/\" target=\"_blank\">saturated fat<\/a> levels both two months and six months into the study, and had lower BMIs and improved <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/nutrients-athletes-need-most\/\" target=\"_blank\">macro-nutrient<\/a> levels by the end of the research period.<\/p>\n<p>While giving up meat and dairy might seem difficult, it may be worth it if you\u2019re looking for a weight loss plan that actually works, according to this study. Just stick to the right foods, and a slimmer physique will follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forget cleanses and that low-carb diet plan: A new study shows that adopting a vegan diet might be the best way to lose weight. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":34258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[51,251,71,345,356,284,285],"class_list":["post-34255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-food-choices","tag-news","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1conditions","tag-tax2cholesterol","tag-vegan","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}