Want to lose weight..but im a vegeterian

[SaRaHmArIe8588]

I have recently become a vegetarian after having a very bad experience on a farm...

 

But anyway... I want to lose weight and tone up. I am worried though, because i am not eating meat. If i eat all the other food groups: vegetables, fruit, bread, dairy, etc. will that be ok nutritionally? Is meat necessary?

 

I know there are alot of people who are vegetarians but are any one them dieting?

[DN]

Ask Scout to send you some of her recipes. She has been a vegetarian for some time and is very healthy. I am sure she will give you good advice.

[Dako]

I was a vegetarian for about 10 years nad had problem except for finding low cholesteral protein. If your LDL is low, you may have no problem.

 

I still won't eat mammals, after a promise I made to a cow.

[rocio]

I still won't eat mammals, after a promise I made to a cow.

 

You're special.

[smiles21]

Diet and exercise. I work out 5 days a week, for an hour or so a day. I do strength training though, to bulk up and pack on muscle. But for toning you are going to have to do some cardio.. running, jogging, walking.. It's all about burning more calories than you are putting in.

 

Being a vegetarian is OK. You can get all your nutrients from those foods. Drink lots of water as well..

[RayKay]

I was a vegetarian for many years, and never had a problem maintaining weight or losing or anything. As for losing weight, it is about burning calories with exercise (and not eating more than you burn!) and proper nutrition - whether you eat meat or not. Unless you were sticking with lean meats anyway (chicken breasts, fish, sirloin cuts) many meats are high in fat. You do need to make sure to eat protein for your muscle growth/strength (which also burns more calories) but there are other ways to get it then from meat.

 

If you are going to be vegetarian, it means however making sure you are getting the essential amino acids, proteins and the like so research what other products you can get these from.

[HellFrost666]

Meat is one of the most fattening things out there. If you are strict to your vegetarian principles that is strict a diet enough.

[Cardinal]

Merry Sarah,

 

It is vegans that have trouble maintaining adequate protein intake, not vegetarians. You can still get plenty of pure lean protein sans meat.

 

Eggs (particularly egg whites are nearly pure protein with almost 0 CHO)

Whey protein

Casein protein

Any vegetable protein powder (you can even mix in such a way to make sure you have a complete amino acid profile)

 

You don't even have to rely on protein powders and bars that much if you don't want to. There are natural sources of casein and whey (like cottage cheese, milk, etc).

 

I find lean protein sources however to be super beneficial. Then you will never be tempted to overeat on calories just to get protein requirements if you get my drift. So many veggie foods have a higher concentration of fat and CHO than is optimal.

[Cardinal]

Meat is one of the most fattening things out there. If you are strict to your vegetarian principles that is strict a diet enough.

 

I am sure you already know all of the following but....

 

Not to be argumentative but a strict diet doesn't imply an effective diet or even a healthy diet. A vegetarian diet can be just as unhealthy as any other diet. The only thing that can be 'fattening' is consuming excess calories. Protein itself is the most thermic and most filling macronutrient you will find. And of course, it is very easy to select lean meats over calorie filled fatty meats.

 

Moderation, balance and variety are good for any diet. As is making certain you get a good balance of the needed macro and micro nutrients.

 

I am sure where the sex reference is here? Perhaps this should go in the health forum. Anyone want to start talking about sex?

[HellFrost666]

I am sure you already know all of the following but....

 

Not to be argumentative but a strict diet doesn't imply an effective diet or even a healthy diet. A vegetarian diet can be just as unhealthy as any other diet. The only thing that can be 'fattening' is consuming excess calories. Protein itself is the most thermic and most filling macronutrient you will find. And of course, it is very easy to select lean meats over calorie filled fatty meats.

 

Moderation, balance and variety are good for any diet. As is making certain you get a good balance of the needed macro and micro nutrients.

 

I am sure where the sex reference is here? Perhaps this should go in the health forum. Anyone want to start talking about sex?

 

 

Yes, maybe I should have gone into a little more detail. Bottom line what I was saying is meat is fattening. Someone who does not eat meat is less likely to gain wieght then your average carnavore. But too much of anytrhing will make anyone gain weught.

[Dako]

I had no problem with protein when I was in control of my diet, such as eating at home from my own kitchen. In that respect it's a breeze.

 

When you eat out, work long hours and have an unprectable life, it gets harder to just have a soy protein or eggwhite based meal. I found it awkward to expect friends or family to understand why I didn't chow down on their generously offered meals. In time I questioned whether my choice of diet was more important than the social aspects of sharing meals with others. After ten years, I realized how I was interrogating people about the ingredients of their offerings.

I then became more critical of myself.

 

I'm in no way knocking the meatless diet. We each choose our own path.

 

Ironically, I now live and eat alone, so I may return to my old diet.

[Scout]

Hi...I'm a vegetarian, mostly vegan, and I can tell you whether you're a veggie or not, the best way to lose weight is to stay away from white flour and sugar. They have other health problems associated with them, too.

 

As Ray Kay said, what you want to make sure you get enough of is your essential fatty acids (and ground flaxseed is an excellent source - you can sprinkle it in smoothies, soups, over salads) and B12 and iron. If you're taking a vitamin supplement with B12 once a week, that's sufficient. Iron is available in fortified cereals like Raisin Bran, Total, & Cream of Wheat, soy burgers, potatoes (with skin on), broccoli, green leafy vegetables like spinach, dates, and believe it or not, watermelon. Do a little research and you'll discover even more veggie foods provide iron. You also want to make sure you get plenty of vitamin C, as this helps absorption of iron. As a vegetarian, this probably won't be a problem, if you're eating citrus, tomatoes, etc.

 

 

It is vegans that have trouble maintaining adequate protein intake

 

This isn't accurate, and it's a common misconception. The fact is, the Standard American Diet (SAD) often gets too much protein, which some studies have indicated can lead to serious health problems. At any rate, a vegan diet offers plenty of protein options. Check this link out for more information: link removed (The link removed site is an excellent source of information in general about vegetarian/vegan diets and health issues.)

 

Some wonderful recipe sites you can also check out are:

 

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Hope this gets you off to a good start. Oh...and welcome to the club!

[turqoise]

Yay, good for you, you`re going to feel so much cleaner! And have more energy I`m no nutritionist, but having been almost vegetarian (not totally, because I felt bad having to refuse food that was cooked by hosts) apart from a balanced diet, if you`re worried about nutrition, you could always take a multivitamin a day- these replenish you up to but not in excess of, lots of what your system might be lacking. Don`t eat too many carbs if you want to lose weight, btw, and I have also heard that vegetarians can be prone to develop quite a sweet tooth which can prevent weight loss.

[Cardinal]

This isn't accurate, and it's a common misconception. The fact is, the Standard American Diet (SAD) often gets too much protein, which some studies have indicated can lead to serious health problems. At any rate, a vegan diet offers plenty of protein options. Check this link out for more information: link removed (The link removed site is an excellent source of information in general about vegetarian/vegan diets and health issues.)

 

Excessive amounts of any macronutrient will cause problems. However, it is extremely difficult to substantiate negative health concerns about protein intakes at or below about 1.5 grams/lb bodyweight. So long as a person doesn't have a preexisting kidney condition, the claims against kidney health don't hold at all. There just isn't evidence to back it up. I didn't even see any solid references for the article posted. In fact, I would challenge most of the claims there. They didn't even give a reference number for adequate protein intake. I wonder if the author even knew that protein needs are based on lean body mass and activity levels?

 

If maintaining muscle muscle mass while losing bodyfat is the primary goal of the diet, significantly greater amounts of dietary protein intake are needed for good results in the short run. Weight can be lost easily in any hypocaloric diet, but at the expense of valuable muscle tissue. I'll put a number on it even. 1-1.5 grams protein/lb lbm is an excellent starting place for dieting. Combine that with a moderately hypocaloric diet and sensible weight training program and muscle retention is quite good for anyone over their bodyfat setpoint (typical overweight person) and under their genetic limit for muscle capacity (read non-drug users).

 

Any other diet plan using insufficient protein intake (in this instance insufficient meaning anything substantially less than 1g/lb lbm) will spare less muscle tissue ceteris paribus. High protein intake becomes essential as caloric intakes drops further.

 

Vegans can certainly get enough protein to maintain adequate health, but bodybuilding can be a very tough challenge for them (powdered proteins will work for anyone though so there is at least one solution). Suggesting that > 100 grams protein in a given day for a 'normal' 200 lbs male is somehow excessive is quite ludicrous. If you estimate a 3000 kcals a day maintenance intake, 100grams protein is only about 13.3333% protein, quite a small percentage!

 

It makes little sense to claim the SAD gets too much protein. The SAD includes too many calories and too little activity. The SAD is very high in refined CHO and unhealthy fats (including transfat). If anything protein intake would be lacking. Too many people fill up on refined sugars, sweets, high carbohydrate junkfood, candy, soda, too much butter, too many n-6 fatty acids, not enough n-3 fatty acids etc.

[Scout]

Cardinal, I agree that the general SAD diet is lacking in a lot of nutrients in general. As for the source I referenced (from a panel of doctors) that's just one of many. Do some research on vegetarianism/veganism and protein, and you may revise some of your opinions about the whole protein issue with this group.

 

As for bodybuilding, the original poster is just concerned with dieting at this time. But if you're curious, here' s a link I found to a bodybuilder that's not only vegan, he's a raw foodist. link removed

[mitch17]

u need protien and loads of it to tone up. protien feeds the muscles, so eat eggs if u eat it, 2 a day is enough or atleast 30 grams before exercise. to tone up upperbody, use light weights, 2 to 5 kilos and about 50 reps. run for the lower body and with in a week u will have result ghuaranteed. some say to only work out every second day cause working out everyday is bad, but thats bull * * * *. everyday for atleast 2 months for definate result

[Paper Tiger]

Welcome to the fold! the secret meeting is next tuesday, i'll send you the address later... just kidding of course I have been a veg head for 5 years now and I have never felt better. eggs are an excellent source of protein, although I don't eat them because I'm vegan. another good protein source is rice and beans. you have to eat them together because apart they have only part of the amino acid chain that makes protein, but together they form complete protein molecules. (learned all this in medical school when I was studying gastrointerology and general healthy eating.)

[Karen555]

I am a vegetarian and working on losing weight. I have been a vegetarian for over 3 years. I have lost 53 so far. I use a online free program (link removed) to monitor my calories, protein, cholesterol, salt, fiber. My personal cholesterol is 146. I dont eat alot of eggs though, I have them 1 or 2 times every 2 weeks. I have learned to enjoy some of the veggie meats by boca and morningstar. Not all of them but some. It took a while though. But I also make beans and cheese burrittos with veggies in it. I make sandwhiches with veggies and add 1 oz of cheese and a veggie deli meat.

 

Here is an example of a day of my eating. This was about 1800 calories more than I usually eat I usually eat 1400-1600.

 

The numbers at the end are first one is grams and second is calories. The Grade is on nutritional value for that food.

 

Sat, Mar 03 2007

Breakfast

A fiber One - Bran Cereal 30 60

C+ Ultra-Pasteurized - Milk and Cream/Reduced Fat 2% Milk 120 65

A Bananas 101 90

B V8 - V Fusion Strawberry Banana 100% Juice 227 120

Lunch

C+ Ultra-Pasteurized - Milk and Cream/Reduced Fat 2% Milk 180 98

Mission Thin "Soft Taco", 8" Flour tortilla, 30ct. 40 120

Kraft - Miracle Whip 15 40

A Pepper, Black 0 0

C- Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Shredded Cheese - Shredded Cheese 28 110

A Lettuce, Iceberg - (Includes Crisphead Types), Raw 10 1

A Cucumber, Peeled - Raw 21 3

A Peppers, Sweet, Red - Raw 10 3

A Tomatoes, Red, Ripe - Raw, November Thru May Average 15 3

A Onions - Raw 10 4

Dinner

Mission Thin "Soft Taco", 8" Flour tortilla, 30ct. 40 120

C- Sargento 4 Cheese Mexican Shredded Cheese - Shredded Cheese 28 110

A Mushrooms - Raw 18 4

A Strawberries 18 6

B+ American Farms - Vegetarian Beans 130 130

Snacks

D+ Girl Scout Cookies - DoSiDos Peanut Butter Creme Cookies 24 110

A Pears 166 96

A Strawberries 54 17

A Strawberries 18 6

A Melons, Cantaloupe 138 47

C+ Ultra-Pasteurized - Milk and Cream/Reduced Fat 2% Milk 180 98

A Rich Chocolate 5 19

C- Girl Scout Cookies - DoSiDos Peanut Butter Creme Cookies 24 110

C- Girl Scout Cookies - DoSiDos Peanut Butter Creme Cookies 24 110

B- Crackers, Saltines, Fat-free, Low-sodium 45 177

Total Calories Consumed 1,876

 

For that day I had the following:

Daily Sodium Intake - 2,644 mg

Daily Cholesterol Intake - 95 mg

Daily Fiber Intake - 40 grams

 

Sodium you should try to stay below 2000mg, Cholesterol below 300mg and fiber to have at least 25.

 

As you can see I bought the some girl scout cookies for the family and that is why I went over my calories by about 300. hahaha But that doesnt bother me because I allow myself to have treats off and on. But usually I dont push myself to far over my calories.

 

Here is one other day you can look at. 1300ish calories

 

Mon, Mar 05 2007

Breakfast

C+ Ultra-Pasteurized - Milk and Cream/Reduced Fat 2% Milk 360 195

A Rich Chocolate 11 42

Lunch

A SaraLee Heat Healthy Plus 100% Whole Wheat Bread 64 150

C Safeway - Creamy Peanut Butter 16 95

Triple Fruits - Strawberry Light Preserves 18 30

A Pears 166 96

Dinner

A Peas, Sweet - Canned Goods 125 60

ICBINB! Regular (Soft) - I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Regular 14 80

Meatless Riblets - Meatless Specialties 142 160

A Yam - Raw 225 266

Snacks

Tangerine Natural Soda - Natural Soda 160

Total Calories Consumed 1,334

 

Daily Sodium Intake - 1,680 mg

Daily Cholesterol Intake - 30 mg

Daily Fiber Intake - 29 grams

 

I am not a nutritionist. I am sure alot of people may not like how I eat but it works for me and using the program I do. And I know as a vegetarian I have to make sure I get enough protein and minerals.

 

And resently because I had not been able to lose anyweight anymore, I finally had to start exercising. haha I hated that I started slow and just started walking a little bit, 5 minutes and kept working up each day a minute and now I do alot more as well as I go to the Ymca gym where I have a membership and I use the machines there and the weightroom. And next week I am going to start a yoga class there! But you need to do this stuff at your pace, find what works for you and take it a little at at time.

 

Warmly,

Karen

[Scout]

Hey, Karen...thanks for giving this dormant thread a "bump." It's good to see there's fellow veggies around here...

 

Also, many congratulations on the weight loss. It sounds like you're really sticking to your goals, and you should be incredibly proud of yourself!

[Brittanyxvx]

If your Vegetarian and want to lose weight..

Go Vegan?

 

I mean, entirely Vegan.

I was Vegetarian for 2 years before going Vegan..

I went Vegan on January 31st and have lost 47 lbs since then..

[just M.E.]

Actually someone eating lean meat will not gain weight at all, it is the fat associated with certain meats and cuts of meat that will cause gain.

 

When Louis and Clark made their trek accross the country, each man ate more than 9 lbs of elk a day and they were losing weight. They could not get enough calories from that diet to sustain them during their excursion which was physically intensive.

 

One could eat fried tofu daily and gain weight, it comes down to a balance of protein and unrefined carbs being the healthiest diet.

 

No one food is the culprit even though I have a natural aversion to fried foods.

[lola11792]

As long as you maintain a sufficient amount of protein in your diet, you should be fine. A friend of mine (who's an RN and personal trainer) told me I should have 20g of protein with each meal. Try not to eat carbs at night. Earlier in the day is better when you're still active and can burn it off. Do some kind of cardio at least 3-4 days/week for 30 minutes. Lifting weights will also burn calories and build muscle.

 

On a different note, I was reading one of your earlier posts regarding your cousin and would like to talk privately with you if possible. I had a similar experience recently. Thanks.

[Beth Tudor]

I too am trying to loose weight and get into shape and likewise am a veggi, I have been advised the usual, exercise and cut out fatty foods and eat low gi foods where possible, however I have also been advised to take casein protein before i go to bed, does anyone know if this will really help? l take a vegetarian protein shake in the day as a mid day snack before going to the gym.

[hosil]

Hey sara don't worry, this is good one to be the vegetarian and want to have the best one physique.... Being a vegetarian you should first of all use the fresh veggies and also have some fruit's with this natural one foods... Also drink water in excess quantity and have the best one fat burner like the green tea... This will help you much... Also do some Cardio exercise's and walking, jogging and running will help you much in this session of weight loss....

[parnell]

I have recently become a vegetarian after having a very bad experience on a farm...

 

But anyway... I want to lose weight and tone up. I am worried though, because i am not eating meat. If i eat all the other food groups: vegetables, fruit, bread, dairy, etc. will that be ok nutritionally? Is meat necessary?

 

I know there are alot of people who are vegetarians but are any one them dieting?

Hi,,,

Yeah,you can easily do so.Vegs are not rich in fat but they are rich in other nutrients require by the body in certain amount.You can easily lose plenty of weight with the vegetarian diet.In addition to this all you have to do is to make a routine of exercise and hope so soon you are start feeling change in your body weight.