Overweight Vegetarian! Yes it is possible.

1HappyRedhead

Yeah, I work with a vegetarian who eats a whole pizza for breakfast, so it's no surprise to me since she's as wide as she is tall....

JoeyFrappuccino

I don't know how much I subscribe to the idea that your macros significantly, though indirectly, affect your weight, but vegetarian diets do seem to trend more towards high-carb than high-protein or -fat. And the large majority of vegetarians and particularly vegans I've known have been overweight or obese. I think the diet has maintained its association with health-freaks and continues to appeal to people looking to be healthier, and some probably think that as long as they're not eating meat, they'll be healthy (and not overweight).

janejellyroll

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

I don't know how much I subscribe to the idea that your macros significantly, though indirectly, affect your weight, but vegetarian diets do seem to trend more towards high-carb than high-protein or -fat. And the large majority of vegetarians and particularly vegans I've known have been overweight or obese. I think the diet has maintained its association with health-freaks and continues to appeal to people looking to be healthier, and some probably think that as long as they're not eating meat, they'll be healthy (and not overweight).

I can't speak to the vegans that you've known, but studies tend to indicate that vegans -- on average -- have a lower BMI than lacto-ovo vegetarians or omnivores. Of course, individuals can vary significantly from trends. I am unaware of any studies showing that vegans are -- as a group -- heavier than omnivores.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/dxmarkers#bmi

JoeyFrappuccino

janejellyroll wrote: »

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

I don't know how much I subscribe to the idea that your macros significantly, though indirectly, affect your weight, but vegetarian diets do seem to trend more towards high-carb than high-protein or -fat. And the large majority of vegetarians and particularly vegans I've known have been overweight or obese. I think the diet has maintained its association with health-freaks and continues to appeal to people looking to be healthier, and some probably think that as long as they're not eating meat, they'll be healthy (and not overweight).

I can't speak to the vegans that you've known, but studies tend to indicate that vegans -- on average -- have a lower BMI than lacto-ovo vegetarians or omnivores. Of course, individuals can vary significantly from trends. I am unaware of any studies showing that vegans are -- as a group -- heavier than omnivores.

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/dxmarkers#bmi

Interesting! That's definitely contrary to what I've seen, must be confirmation bias on my part. It doesn't look like the BMIs of vegans have increased at the rate of meat-eaters from 2003-2009 either.

angelexperiment

Well cutting down on prepackaged meals and processed stuff. I realized my husbands diet (vegetarian) was very unhealthy the way he eats anyway. He barely eats veggies! He likes the fakin bacon, chicken patties, veggie burgers, bread, chips, hashbrowns, eggs, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, soda. So I stopped eating it bc I found that too much soy is not good for pcos. It was heavy in soy protein, soy milk tempeh tofu seutan. Tons if carbs too.

try making your own veggie burgers, quorn products are low carb, eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese if u eat them. Lentils, beans, quinoa is a complete protein. Edamame is a good protein source and som other veggies. Lots of good stuff in sea vegetables. Make kale chips! Possibility is endless!

Ready2Rock206

My vegetarian co-worker hates all vegetables so there's that for you - not all vegetarians eat only veggies. She's actually not really over weight though. I am pretty convinced she eats chocolate for 99% of all her food intake.

My other vegetarian friend is quite overweight.

When I'm eating vegetarian entrees it is usually Indian food or Thai food - so not always the lowest cal or healthiest either probably. So not much help there.

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AshleyCMoody

angelexperiment wrote: »

Well cutting down on prepackaged 10-14s and processed stuff. I realized my husbands diet (vegetarian) was very unhealthy the way he eats anyway. He barely eats veggies! He likes the fakin bacon, chicken patties, veggie burgers, bread, chips, hashbrowns, eggs, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, soda. So I stopped eating it bc I found that too much soy is not good for pcos. It was heavy in soy protein, soy milk tempeh tofu seutan. Tons if carbs too.

try making your own veggie burgers, quorn products are low carb, eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese if u eat them. Lentils, beans, quinoa is a complete protein. Edamame is a good protein source and som other veggies. Lots of good stuff in sea vegetables. Make kale chips! Possibility is endless!

Yeah, I think the key is making the time to make my own food. I'm pretty bad about that because I work 10-15 hours a day 5 days a week, but I need to stop making excuses and get back in the kitchen. Thanks for the feedback!

Nony_Mouse

AshleyCMoody wrote: »

Lol. I actually pretty much did until I joined this app. People have this crazy notion that vegetarians only eat vegetables for the most part. I have a huge sweet tooth. How many sweets can you think of that have meat in them?

I can think of loads. Not meat, but gelatine is a by-product of the slaughter process, so...I remember an ex-partner being really annoyed when they took gelatine out of Skittles and he had to share them with me . Every now and then I pick up packets of old favourites to see if the manufacturer has got with the programme and switched to something veg-friendly.

Nony_Mouse

D'oh! Rainbow beat me to it!! I see Skittles on her list though, NZ ones definitely changed to pectin or something.

Nony_Mouse

AshleyCMoody wrote: »

angelexperiment wrote: »

Well cutting down on prepackaged 10-14s and processed stuff. I realized my husbands diet (vegetarian) was very unhealthy the way he eats anyway. He barely eats veggies! He likes the fakin bacon, chicken patties, veggie burgers, bread, chips, hashbrowns, eggs, cheese, sour cream, yogurt, soda. So I stopped eating it bc I found that too much soy is not good for pcos. It was heavy in soy protein, soy milk tempeh tofu seutan. Tons if carbs too.

try making your own veggie burgers, quorn products are low carb, eggs, yogurt or cottage cheese if u eat them. Lentils, beans, quinoa is a complete protein. Edamame is a good protein source and som other veggies. Lots of good stuff in sea vegetables. Make kale chips! Possibility is endless!

Yeah, I think the key is making the time to make my own food. I'm pretty bad about that because I work 10-15 hours a day 5 days a week, but I need to stop making excuses and get back in the kitchen. Thanks for the feedback!

Do you have a freezer? Set aside a cooking day every now and then, make things in bulk and freeze in individual portions . Also handy to pre-cook beans and freeze them so you have them on hand to chuck in something you're making.

timwaagh

track calories. its really easy to eat too much. cut down on sugar. thats the most important one i think. Don't eat too much bread or pasta either.

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mazdauk

I've found some yummy roasted broad beans by Cypressa which are about 1/4 the calories of roasted (not dry roasted, but dry, if you see what I mean) nuts. The Food Doctor has a roasted pea and bean mix which is similar calories to the broad beans, but a lot healthier than Doritos when you want a savoury nibble.

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JoeyFrappuccino

billieljaime wrote: »

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

I don't know how much I subscribe to the idea that your macros significantly, though indirectly, affect your weight, but vegetarian diets do seem to trend more towards high-carb than high-protein or -fat. And the large majority of vegetarians and particularly vegans I've known have been overweight or obese. I think the diet has maintained its association with health-freaks and continues to appeal to people looking to be healthier, and some probably think that as long as they're not eating meat, they'll be healthy (and not overweight).

So wrong Joey.... yesterday I netted 130 grams of carbs and my proteins and fats were on point. I chose this way for moral reasons.

If slaughter houses had glass walls you would chose this way too.

I am plant based that eats dairy. Occasional fish, very rarely I may have meat, only from a very specific local source in my area.

Not all of us are obese or overweight. Judgey mcjudgersonpants

Well great, I'm glad you found an agreeable amount of carbs, but what I said had nothing to do with you specifically. I was saying what I had found to be typical in my own experiences, and never tried to make it seem like anything but that. So not only am I not wrong, I conceded in a later post here that some studies showed the opposite of what I had seen. I've known many people who've tried going vegan for a few weeks to lose weight, more people than I've known to adopt it for ethical reasons. Again, this was not a personal attack on you.

I don't like doing the whole pious vegan thing, but I actually am vegan for moral reasons, and if slaughterhouses had glass walls you wouldn't eat dairy. As someone who is both vegan and a normal weight I understand that it's possible. I also understand that most plants are higher in carbs than in fats or protein. Nothing I said was judgmental, so it's unfortunate that you took my post as an attack rather than the opinion it was presented as.

By the way, my post was about vegetarians and vegans, so if you eat fish and meat (apparently fish are not animals?) none of this would apply to you anyway.

sarahlifts

rainbowbow wrote: »

gdelrosa wrote: »

I am no expert since I still haven't lost the 10 lbs I'm trying to lose. But I'm trying to reduce my sugar intake and processed carbs. Pita chips and hummus are my downfall. Today I ate pretty healthy. 3 pita crackers with a smidge of hummus. Then the rest of my food. I exercised alot today too. Hopefully, tomorrow I can resist more processed carbs. And I didn't eat dessert today either.

I can eat an entire bag of stacy's pita chips and container of sabra hummus "spicy" in one sitting. that's 700 calories in hummus and 1050 calories in chips.... >_>

omg, I used to eat this + a bottle of wine. I would convince myself it was healthy. I must have been crazy.

Mediocrates55

I switched out pasta for spaghetti squash and haven't looked back. I also haven't tried it with marinara, only alfredo, so I may be eating my words too. At least they're low-cal.

AshleyCMoody

billieljaime wrote: »

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

I don't know how much I subscribe to the idea that your macros significantly, though indirectly, affect your weight, but vegetarian diets do seem to trend more towards high-carb than high-protein or -fat. And the large majority of vegetarians and particularly vegans I've known have been overweight or obese. I think the diet has maintained its association with health-freaks and continues to appeal to people looking to be healthier, and some probably think that as long as they're not eating meat, they'll be healthy (and not overweight).

So wrong Joey.... yesterday I netted 130 grams of carbs and my proteins and fats were on point. I chose this way for moral reasons.

If slaughter houses had glass walls you would chose this way too.

I am plant based that eats dairy. Occasional fish, very rarely I may have meat, only from a very specific local source in my area.

Not all of us are obese or overweight. Judgey mcjudgersonpants

I love this comment and I am almost the same with my diet, although I never have meat. It just bothers me mentally too much.

Kalikel

Lots of fat vegetarians. Vegans, not so much. I have yet to meet a fat vegan in real life.

You just diet like the rest of us - find what works for you.

softblondechick

Vegans are the same as every one else with the wide spectrum and diversity in their diets. I have seen fat vegans who load up on carb laden food, and eat "natural" sugars like date, coconut...it is the same, carbs and sugar. Geez, one guy I knew, fried plantains in coconut oil and drizzled them with maple syrup! Vegan, yes, natural, yes, calorie laden, huge!

Vegan, pagen, meatatarian, it is all about CI-CO. Do the math.

Dawn410

When I was a vegetarian, I would eat a lot of black beans. My favorite go-to was a bed of brown rice mixed with cilantro, too with black beans and a scoop of salsa. Very filling and yummy. I also ate a lot of vegetarian stir fries, and grilled portabetlla love "steaks". Whole wheat pasta with marinara, salads with chickpeas and white beans, white chili, red chili, tortellini soup.

I had and still have a subscription to vegetarian times and use to make a lot of their recipes.

I was a size 2 when I was veg. Sigh. I just couldn't sustain. Lack of b12, complete protein, and iron did me in. I started having major issues with energy and anxiety and my nervous system.

sendmenewsletter

Hi:)
I m vegetarian for 7 years and through most of thistime I was yoyoing but mostly on a chubby side . I started to lose weigt once I realised that diary products are kind of designed to make you fat. Cut on these and cheese and you ll be good. Also I recommend not eating soy products cause they are extremely processed and unhealthy.

pepperellg

Hi I'm a vegan and I'm trying to lose weight and I'm finding it really hard I'm 175 cm and around 67 kgs or 150 ish pounds, I do over and he of exercise daily but not losing weight any diet advice?

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shkehoe

I am not vegetarian or vegan but I might have a few suggestions. I have digestive issues which does include some fruits and vegetables so I have to be inventive also. NOW Protein Whey Isolate is a great source of non-fat protein and also can be used by some people who have cow's milk sensitivities (I'm not one) It's just whey protein isolate and nothing else. I blend it up with fruits and or veggies, 0% fat greek yogurt. The yogurt is also another source of good protein. I use a lot of lentils in my cooking and other legumes. And spices. And as fresh as I can get. Fresh herbs when possible.

NOW also makes a soy protein isolate but I can't eat soy but that's another alternative for those who are vegan. I watch carefully on the fat consumption and try to choose healthy fats most often. Most of my fats come from raw nuts and seeds. I always was pretty quality conscious with most of my food not being processed but like you Ashley, I still struggled.

Today, it's QUANTITY AND QUALITY I work on. MyFitnessPal has really helped me with balance. For instance, I knew that avocado was high is calories/fat but who knew it was 300 + calories? LOL I still eat it but using MyFitnessPal has helped in the quantity of it or planning my day around it. Again balance and variety has been a key for me to get all my nutrients.

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Celticgal100

I know what you mean! I have been fighting the overweight fight most of my life. I'm 47, and have been a lacto ovo vegetarian since I was 8! I think some people DO think we just eat veggies! When I go out and need a vegetarian option (if not on a menu), I always get offered a steamed veggie plate. REALLY? Or the question: "What do you eat???" Seriously? ~sigh~

haleyjones7

I too have had the same problem.
I am a vegetarian and I found myself filling up on carbs and junk food.
After I cut all of the junk food out of my diet and white carbs, I lost 10 pounds within two weeks.
Try eating more vegetables, almonds, nuts, and fruits and less fill up carbs and dairy.