Food

The Unexpected Vegan Food You Should Never Eat For Weight Loss

February 4, 2022 by Marissa Matozzo
shefinds | Food

Frozen vegan breakfasts, lunches and dinners are undeniably convenient, as they can provide you with a full meal (without any animal byproducts) within minutes. If you’re trying to lose weight, however, there are various types of frozen meals to look out for that are certainly speedy to prepare, but lack essential nutrients. For more information on healthy vegan weight loss, we reached out to registered dietitian Trista Best, MPH, RD and vegan wellness coach Yelina Perez, who both explain why these meals should be avoided.

 

 

 

 

 

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Drawbacks of Frozen Vegan Meals: Their Unnatural Ingredients

Whether you head to Trader Joe's or a local supermarket, you're bound to find a plethora of frozen meals, many of which labelled as vegan options. Many of us see these meals and assume, if they're primarily veggie-based, that they are healthy. Best notes that it's important to read vegan meal ingredient labels closely when grocery shopping, and while doing so may surprise you, it's still better to know exactly what you are consuming.

 

"The sodium, fat, and calorie content in most of these meals makes them among the worst vegan foods to purchase," Best says, noting that they can offer little in the way of essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals, and are significantly dense in calories and fat.

 

Perez agrees, saying that "one vegan food you should avoid" if you're trying to lose weight is "highly processed" vegan food. She details her own vegan weight loss journey, and how consuming "processed" and "vegan junk food" contributed to weight gain. "The reason I was ever overweight as a vegan is because I was eating a lot of the alternative processed foods," Perez says, listing "Beyond Meat burgers, vegan cheeses, frozen Gardein dinners and vegan chicken tenders" as culprits for weight gain when eaten often or excessively.

 

"These foods hinder weight loss efforts because they are very high in calories due to the oils and other added unnatural ingredients, therefore it's easy to go over your maintenance calories," adds Perez. "They also lower your energy levels because they cause bloating and your body needs to use up a lot of energy to digest these foods." She acknowledges that while it's "extremely difficult" to have the energy or motivation to workout or cook a healthy meal when feeling bloated and tired, there are still other choices out there apart from vegan frozen meals.

 

What To Try Instead For Vegan Weight Loss

You may be better off preparing your own meals, Best says, with plant-based pastas or whole-grain wraps and "lots of veggies to be frozen and easily accessed." This, she says, can be a more beneficial approach, rather than relying on "these frozen meals that are dangerously high in sodium" and will "leave you feeling hungry shortly after," due to their refined carbohydrate content.

 

Regarding her own weight loss plan, Perez says that she "made the decision to step up my game and lose weight," and that she "cut out the processed vegan junk foods." She adds, "I fueled up on primary whole, plant-based foods."

 

Overall, if you follow a vegan diet and are in a pinch, a microwaveable meal can be undoubtedly be easy and fast, but eating too many of these and very often won't help in your weight loss efforts. As Best and Perez say, you can still freeze foods for later, and ones that are fresh and without added unnatural ingredients.

Author:

Staff Writer

Marissa is a Brooklyn-based culture journalist and staff writer at SheFinds, covering edgy celebrity style, timeless beauty trends, lifestyle and entertainment news. Her coverage of indie music, NYC fashion, underground and pop culture is featured in PAPER Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Knockturnal, Bandsintown and more. You can reach her at [email protected]

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