



We asked our favorite vegan athletes and fitness experts for their number 1 fat loss tip. They really came through with a wide variety of answers filled with priceless knowledge and insight, including our favorite which came in the form of a rhyme from stic.man of, rap duo, Dead Prez.

Mac Danzig – Champion UFC Fighter

“The best fat-loss tip I can give anyone is to make exercise a part of your lifestyle. It should be a positive part of your everyday life, not a laborious thing you “must” do, but something you “want” to do. Find that and commit to it for life.”

Robert Cheeke – Founder of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, Author

“Many people grossly underestimate the value of getting into a proper fat-burning zone to support their fat-buring exercise efforts. Having a basic understanding of the best scenarios to achieve fat-loss can go a long way. My advice would be perform cardiovascular training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, and/or performing cardiovascular training immediately following a weight training workout.

Avoid consuming sugary drinks or calories of any sort during your fat-burning workout. Drink water to hydrate your system and use varying levels of intensity from steady state to high intensity interval training to perform cardiovascular training.

Ensure the foundation (the true bulk of your calories) of your diet is comprised of plant-based whole foods and exercise regularly and you’ll be well on your way to getting shredded.”

Ed Bauer – Founder of PlantFit Strength & Conditioning, Fitness Coach, Elite Crossfit Athlete

“Earn your carbs. This simply means, if you exercise intensely, you earn the right to consume non-fiber carbohydrates. If you do not exercise intensely, do not consume non-fiber carbohydrates. As long as you eat low carb while at rest (and low intensity exercise), then body fat will fuel your life, and you will be leaner for it.”

Samantha Shorkey – WNBF Bikini Pro, Founder of Jacked on the Beanstalk

“Stay away from all those high-calorie, sugary salty sides and condiments! Instead, use lemon, lime and fresh herbs to your little vegan hearts’ content. If you need some kind of sauce or dip, opt for mustard, Bragg liquid aminos or hot sauce.”

Ashlee Harrison – Figure Competitor, Member of Plant Built

I Would say my biggest “fat loss” tip would be to make sure you are eating enough! It seems like somehow, somewhere people got this idea that they should only be consuming 1200 calories per day and they’ll lose weight.

The problem with this logic is that most people burn 1200 calories during homeostasis, so if you don’t fuel your body properly then it will hold on to the fat, instead of burn it, because the body is in starvation mode. Eating enough calories, through a whole foods, plant based diet in conjunction with a weightlifting routine will allow your body to build muscle, which will burn off fat.

You may not necessarily lose weight per say, but muscle takes up less space then fat in the body and your shape will definitely change.

John Lewis aka Bad Ass Vegan – Fitness Coach, Founder of Bad Ass Vegan, and creator of the famous Bad Ass Power Cookie

“I know it may sound crazy but the best trick that always works is… be able to talk one on one with yourself about what your goal is. When you are ready to skip that workout, when you are ready to cheat on your nutrition, when you are ready to only give a half ass workout out… talk to yourself and ask what am I doing this for. Talking to one’s self will always keep your goal in front of you so that you don’t slack or give up.”

Mike Mahler – Strength Coach, Kettlebell Expert, Hormone Optimization Expert

“Trying to lose fat? Take a page from Byron Richard’s outstanding book Mastering Leptin and stick to two to three meals a day, with five to eight hours between meals. The extended food-free meal breaks provide opportunities for the body to call on stored fat for energy. Instead of snacks, your body will fuel itself with free fatty acids, as long as you’re not in the aerobic zone.”

Tia Blanco – Professional Surfer and Member of USA Surf Team

“My answer would be to eat only raw vegetables & fruits and drink lots of water for a month and you’ll for sure lose weight. I learned this from a book called Eat to Live.”

Tricia Kelley – Fitness Coach, Athlete

“When it comes to burning fat, high-intensity interval training in a fasted state is the way to go! Go as hard as possible, keeping the workouts short and you will see and feel results almost instantly!”

Thomas Tadlock – Fitness Coach, Host of Vegan Body Revolution

“Most people struggle with losing fat because their diet and workout strategies aren’t working together. Most people typically make these two mistakes: 1) they do muscle building workouts on a fat-loss diet or 2) they do fat-loss workouts on a muscle building diet. The result is very slow or no results. When you combine fat-loss workouts with a fat-loss diet, you get fast fat-loss.”

Torre Washington aka Tha Vegan Dread – Professional Bodybuilder, Fitness Coach

“Don’t be afraid to eat calories and push some heavy weight. Nutrition is key when it comes to fat loss.”

Derek Tresize – WNBF Pro Bodybuilder, Fitness Coach, Co-Founder of Vegan Muscle & Fitness

“Sure! Focus on low fat, whole plant foods. If you base your diet around fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes you can eat an ample volume of food without over consuming calories – and if you like big portions you’ll just be taking in extra nutrients and metabolism-boosting complex carbohydrates!”

Scott Shetler– Author, Fitness Coach, Owner of Extreme Performance Training Systems

“The easiest way to lose fat is to get control of your diet. Speaking from experience I followed a predominantly raw vegan diet-basically I was eating raw vegan foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds 75+% of the time and cooked vegan foods for the rest-and in 4 months I had lost 50lbs. I was actually working out less intense, and less frequently than when I was competing in powerlifting and eating a ton of meat. Not only did I lose all that body fat but my health improved dramatically.”

Giacomo Marchese and Dani Taylor– Founders of Vegan Proteins, Founders of Plant Built Vegan Muscle Team

“Our one fat loss tip would be to lift heavy weight. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so by having more of it, you are basically much more efficient at burning fat. Lift heavy weights even as you diet. Low weights/high reps for fat loss is a myth.”

Freelee Banana Girl– Nutrition Coach, Health Advocate, Author of “Go Fruit Yourself” ebook

“My biggest fat loss tip is to SMASH IN THE CARBS! Meaning fruit, rice, potatoes, pasta with a low fat vegan sauce. These foods are low in fat so don’t make you fat while keeping you satisfied and away from fattening junk food and animal products. Do this long enough and you will melt the excess jiggle from your wiggle.” 😉

John Joseph – Author of Meat Is For Pussies, Frontman for the Cro-Mags

“My one fat loss tip is to sweat every day and keep that PMA. Positive Mental Attitude. Stress is a killer it produces the hormone cortisol in the body which causes weight gain. So with exercise, proper diet and a good mental attitude you won’t end up a chubby vegan.”

Ben Buhrow – Animal Rights Activist, Elite Crossfit Athlete, Member of Plant Built



“Try not to stress out too much. I always incorporate stress relieving practices into my daily routine. It helps ward off unwanted cortisol production which slows your metabolism & increases fat storage. Plus, less stress makes it easier to be happy and that’s just awesome.”

stic.man – Acclaimed Hip Hop Artist, Songwriter and Producer, Member of Hip Hop Duo Dead Prez, Author and Founder of RBG FIT CLUB

“Everybody’s different

So it’s more than one way

But if I had to summarize it this is what I’d say

Eat Lean and Clean

Lots of water fresh greens

Some long Distances Runs

sprints mixed in between

Drink green tea

Season meals with fresh herbs

Fried foods and white sugar

Kick em to the curb

Cardio is crucial

So keep ya heart pumping

Hot yoga, try boxing, cross fit

Do something

Burn ya abs all angles

Front, obliques and back

And like a candle loses wax

You can Melt away fat.

Fat is just fit just waiting to be freed,

If you work your plan

Success is yours guaranteed.

[Tweet “”Fat is just fit just waiting to be freed.”- Stic.man”]

Sally Andersen – Fitness Coach, Figure Competitor

“Find a balance between cardio and strength. The two have to work together in harmony to maximize your body’s fat burning potential.”

Sabina Skala – Strength and Conditioning Coach, Massage Therapist

“My #1 tip for fat loss is ” Eat real, natural food, its really hard to overeat on broccoli or spinach but very easy to eat too many cookies. Fresh, organic food gives you more nutrients, keeps you full for longer and reduces cravings, and it tastes great too”



Joshua Katcher – Founder of Brave Gentleman and Discerning Brute, Crossfit Athlete

“Cardio alone can feel like an endless run with no results. Muscles burn more calories, so one easy thing to do is to lift weights or do exercises that build muscle. Also, snacking smart all day keeps your metabolism revving. Graze between meals on handful-size servings of fruits, veggies, and nuts! This will also help prevent the type of intense hunger that causes binging at meals.”

Holly Noll – Chef, Writer, Athlete

“My favorite fat loss tip is infusing water with delicious additions like cucumber, orange, lemon and mint. These add benefits such as improved metabolism and taste that will help you drink lots and lots of water. Drinking more than a gallon a day helps to fill you up, flush out toxins, make your skin look its best, as well as help release salt from your cells, helping you look tighter and leaner. “

Nick Diener – Frontman for the Swellers, Producer, Strength Athlete



“My newfound favorite way to lose fat is 15% incline, 3 mph pace on the treadmill for 45 minutes. 5 times a week. I’m still eating 3000 calories and losing weight slowly but surely and my core is looking better than ever. Try to include HIIT every once in awhile though to really become superhuman!”

Austin Barbisch – Owner of Solid Personal Training, Competitive Bodybuilder

“Sounds terrific Phil. I’ll create a good answer to this great question and get back. My simple answer would be to eat as many cruciferous vegetables as possible thought the day. It’s an excellent way to satiate appetite as well as provide powerful phytochemical micronutrients. These vegetables provide the major components to my contest diet.”

Christy Morgan- Founder of the Blissful & Fit Chef, Cookbook Author

“Get your diet on track and cook your own food. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet! No need to do anything fancy or bizarre; keep your diet whole food based, both cooked and raw foods, eat the rainbow everyday, and have fun!”

Erin Fergus – Figure Competitor, Fitness Coach

“You have to learn the difference between hunger and appetite. Hunger is the physical need to eat, while appetite is the emotional or psychological desire to eat. If you want to eat but wouldn’t feel “hungry” if a plate of green veggies was in front of you, then it’s just appetite and you can “win” by distracting yourself from food until you are truly hungry.”

Marisa Buchheit – Miss Illinois 2014

“If you’re a normal human, you love to eat. Personally, I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth of anyone I know, so staying trim is a constant challenge. My #1 tip for losing weight would be this– don’t deprive yourself. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Having tried many diets, detoxes, and methods of deprivation, I have found that moderation truly is key. Don’t starve yourself–just work daily to form better lifestyle choices and sustainable habits. Also… go vegan (I lost 40 lbs. as a 12 year old girl when I first went vegan!).”

A big thank you to all of the experts for their informative fat loss tips. You all inspire the fuck out of us to level up our game, and represent for the animals and our movement in general.

Welcome to Vegan Bros. We are raising up an army of fit, sexy vegan soldiers to spread the cruelty free gospel of peace and compassion to a lost and a dying world. Join us!



If you found this post useful click below to download a copy of our free ebook, “Top 6 Mistakes Preventing You From Losing Belly Fat.” and find out what our fat loss tips are.



