Hi, my name is Erin and I’m the Vegan Weight Watcher. I’m 32 and live in San Leandro, CA with my (omni) boyfriend and cat. I’ve been struggling with my weight most of my life; read more about it in this post.
I joined Weight Watchers in July 2011 at 173.4 pounds (on my 5’5″ frame). I had a hard time finding information about following the Weight Watchers plan on a vegan diet, so I’m hoping this blog can be a resource to others, as well as a tool to help me to work through the process.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at veganhomemade@gmail.com.
Before pictures:
New Year’s Eve 2010
June 2011. Please ignore the ridiculous hat and weird look on my face.
The Vegan Weight Watcher 
I’m glad you created this blog! I’ve been really considering joining Weight Watchers, but I wasn’t sure if it would work for vegans. I’m hesitant to pay WW for access to their list of point values because the cost seems kind of high to me. I’m currently on the prowl for a master point list for food and activities. Do they determine your point amount by how much weight you have to lose? My starting weight is about 10 lbs higher than yours and I’m about an inch and a half taller than you are so we’re pretty much on the same page. Again, just wanted to thank you for doing this!
Hi Lacey! Your daily points allowance is set according to your current weight and height. If you start heavier you might get more points plus per day, and that will decrease as you lose. Even at my starting weight I only got 29, which is the lowest amount they will assign anyone. The weekly points and activity points definitely help me feel that I’m not restricted to a low amount every day.
If you can find a master list, it would be interesting to try to follow the system without access to their website! Points plus values are calculated on protein, fat, carbs and fiber, so it can get complicated. For me, the site and the app are invaluable. I have definitely used the app in the grocery store aisle to help me make better choices more than once.
I started on 26 points at 80 kilos (12 stone 8 lbs) and I can have 32 points on a maintenance diet!
Erin – do you do WW online or do you go to meetings?
I do online only. I’m sure I would like going to meetings, but don’t really have room to add anything else to my schedule right now!
How do you fill the “dairy” health checks? with soy milk or something else? I have been on the points plus program as a vegetarian (6 years and counting) but I have the urge to cut out dairy all together.
PS: LOVE this blog
Hi Catherine! I actually don’t use the health checks. I did when I first joined to make sure I was on track, but I’m confident enough that my diet is balanced without using the checks. The way I see it, the real usefulness of the dairy checks is to make sure you’re getting calcium. Good vegan sources of calcium include blackstrap molasses, tofu, greens and sesame seeds or tahini, and I also take a multivitamin and drink fortified almond milk on occasion, to make sure I’m covered.
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