Marco's story: 44 pounds lost while still eating his favorite carbs
Marco, a Mavy Wellness client in Italy, lost 44 pounds in about 11 months while still eating carbs like sweet potatoes and the occasional pizza with family. Vegan for almost ten years, he had been stuck between about 80 and 97 kilos until he switched from processed vegan food to whole food plant based meals with Mavy Wellness.
Where he started: Marco relied on processed vegan foods and eating out for work, and earlier attempts at cutting carbs and eating one meal a day never lasted.
What changed:
Whole food plant based meals. Processed vegan foods replaced with whole foods.
Carbs kept in. Sweet potatoes and whole grains instead of carb cutting.
A plan for a busy job. A grocery list and prep schedule he didn't have to think about.
Early morning workouts. Training at 5 or 6 AM before work.
Quick resets after travel. Back on plan the day he got home.
Life now: Marco is down to about 74 kilos, eats so much food he sometimes can't finish dinner, and is doing more pull ups than he has since he was 18. He shared his story on the Forever Fit Podcast.
What the research says. A 2019 NIH study found that people ate about 500 more calories a day on an ultra-processed diet than on an unprocessed one, without trying to. [1] A 2016 study in the journal Obesity found that contestants who lost weight very fast on a TV weight loss show still burned fewer calories than expected six years later, and most regained much of the weight. [2]
"Forever Fit gives you everything you need to excel in your athletic endeavors and achieve the best of health simultaneously. Maxime Sigouin packs evidence-based science, integrity, and compassion into this volume."
Neal D. Barnard, MD, FACC, Adjunct Professor of Medicine, President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, on Forever Fit
If you've tried cutting carbs and it didn't last, book a call with our team at mavywellness.com.
Sources
Hall KD et al. (2019). Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: an inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism 30(1):67-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.05.008
Fothergill E et al. (2016). Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition. Obesity 24(8):1612-1619. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4989512/
About the author. Maxime Sigouin is the founder of Mavy Wellness (formerly FitVegan Coaching) and the author of Forever Fit, a book endorsed by physicians including Neal D. Barnard, MD, Laurie Marbas, MD, and James F. Loomis, MD. He has coached for more than six and a half years and, with his team, has coached nearly 1,300 adults over 50 on a whole food plant based diet. He hosts the Forever Fit Podcast, with more than 450 episodes.
Last updated: October 26, 2026. Results vary from person to person. This page is for general education and is not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a new exercise or nutrition program.
