Overweight Vegetarian! Yes it is possible.

high_carb_daisy

Hey Ashley,
My problem is my sweet tooth too! Have been veggie for years and vegan for the past couple, and its so easy to put on the weight! Anyways I find dairy can hinder the weightloss (cheese,cream, butter) whats working for me anyways is a high carb/low fat diet. Loads of whole grains like oats, wholemeal pasta, couscous, brownrice with beans n veg, i dont limit at all. And for sweet fixes mostly dried fruit, prunes are good and dried apple slices. Of your looking for easy recipes I can advise some veg friendly websites
Lg, Daisy

AshleyCMoody

high_carb_daisy wrote: »

Hey Ashley,
My problem is my sweet tooth too! Have been veggie for years and vegan for the past couple, and its so easy to put on the weight! Anyways I find dairy can hinder the weightloss (cheese,cream, butter) whats working for me anyways is a high carb/low fat diet. Loads of whole grains like oats, wholemeal pasta, couscous, brownrice with beans n veg, i dont limit at all. And for sweet fixes mostly dried fruit, prunes are good and dried apple slices. Of your looking for easy recipes I can advise some veg friendly websites
Lg, Daisy

Thanks, I love dried apples. Good idea!

tiffpileg

Go vegan girl! It is a lifesavor to your health. Trust me, the pounds will melt off

ffbrown25

AshleyCMoody wrote: »

Lol. Yeah, that's the goal. I'm looking for more specific foods that vegetarians can eat and still be full and get the proper nutrients without going over on calories.

More veggies and less dairy, pastas and breads. It all comes down to CICO--calories in, calories out, meaning that theoretically it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you burn more. But when I meet vegetarians who are overweight, they are almost always overdoing the breads, the dairy, the pastas. Veggies will fill you up! Make giant salads with fruit and beans for lunch, eat eggs for breakfast, eat more veggies for dinner. Buy a good protein powder. You'll get it!

AshleyCMoody

Thanks ladies.

rwhyte12

Hi. I'm not vegetarian but I was until recently just getting more and more overweight while doing exercise and eating 1200 calories a day without eating exercise calories back. I found that it is not the calories in and calories out but the composition of what I eat.

I find that 100 grams of carbs or less is all I can eat. 50-60 grams of fat (mostly olive oil) makes me full. I eat protein at 80 to 100 grams, really limitless. Then, I just only eat sugar from fruit in an incidental way.

So I went from just having a bad metabolism to having one that is burning through weight. I'm 21 pounds down in five weeks. It's the same level of exercise but I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories. I am full all day. For snacking, I have whey protein once or twice a day and I also eat a mixture of seeds (about four tablepoons) that is filling.

At 100 grams of protein, I can get two slices of bread and then whatever is in veggies and fruits.

So I think composition is the key. Hope that helps.
Good luck.

JoeyFrappuccino

rwhyte12 wrote: »

Hi. I'm not vegetarian but I was until recently just getting more and more overweight while doing exercise and eating 1200 calories a day without eating exercise calories back. I found that it is not the calories in and calories out but the composition of what I eat.

I find that 100 grams of carbs or less is all I can eat. 50-60 grams of fat (mostly olive oil) makes me full. I eat protein at 80 to 100 grams, really limitless. Then, I just only eat sugar from fruit in an incidental way.

So I went from just having a bad metabolism to having one that is burning through weight. I'm 21 pounds down in five weeks. It's the same level of exercise but I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories. I am full all day. For snacking, I have whey protein once or twice a day and I also eat a mixture of seeds (about four tablepoons) that is filling.

At 100 grams of protein, I can get two slices of bread and then whatever is in veggies and fruits.

So I think composition is the key. Hope that helps.
Good luck.

Weight loss is calories in < calories out. It's not "bad metabolism" or "composition". If you're eating 1500 calories and losing weight, then you were eating more than 1200 calories while you were gaining weight.

rwhyte12

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

rwhyte12 wrote: »

Hi. I'm not vegetarian but I was until recently just getting more and more overweight while doing exercise and eating 1200 calories a day without eating exercise calories back. I found that it is not the calories in and calories out but the composition of what I eat.

I find that 100 grams of carbs or less is all I can eat. 50-60 grams of fat (mostly olive oil) makes me full. I eat protein at 80 to 100 grams, really limitless. Then, I just only eat sugar from fruit in an incidental way.

So I went from just having a bad metabolism to having one that is burning through weight. I'm 21 pounds down in five weeks. It's the same level of exercise but I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories. I am full all day. For snacking, I have whey protein once or twice a day and I also eat a mixture of seeds (about four tablepoons) that is filling.

At 100 grams of protein, I can get two slices of bread and then whatever is in veggies and fruits.

So I think composition is the key. Hope that helps.
Good luck.

Weight loss is calories in < calories out. It's not "bad metabolism" or "composition". If you're eating 1500 calories and losing weight, then you were eating more than 1200 calories while you were gaining weight.

Hi. I speak for myself when I put anything down. So prior to changing the composition of what I was eating, I was gaining at 1200 calories with exercise. I felt doomed. It took a bit of changing around the composition but it's awesome that the weight is now coming down. That's why I passed this on. It could be the thing that is needed to help someone else with weightloss.

AnnPT77

I've been vegetarian (ovo-lacto) since 1974 - before a lot of you were even born . And I've been overweight for most of that time (highest BMI around 32, now down to 25.1).

One of my main strategies for getting calories down while keeping nutrients high has been to eliminate pointless carbs. I'm not on a low-carb diet, but there are a lot of carb-intensive things that don't IMO contribute enough nutrition to be worth the calories.

I'm talking about breads, pasta, rice, that sort of thing - even whole grain types. (Please note: I do know these do have nutritional value! It's just that other things do more for nutrition & satiety for the same calories.) Instead of a sandwich, I eat what I would've put in the sandwich. Same deal with pasta - eat the topping.

I do get quite a bit of my protein from milk products, especially greek yogurt, which I eat virtually every day. Other protein staples are legumes (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts (especially peanut butter)), nuts (reasonable portions), quinoa, and eggs. I try not to overdose on soy (reasons too complicated to go into here), but do eat edamame (frozen or dry roasted), tempeh, and miso a few times a week.

I find protein and fat satiating, so try hard to get adequate protein, and to eat some healthy fat with (nuts, avocado, olive oil . . . ) with each meal. And of course I eat *lots* of non-starchy veggies.

JoeyFrappuccino

rwhyte12 wrote: »

JoeyFrappuccino wrote: »

rwhyte12 wrote: »

Hi. I'm not vegetarian but I was until recently just getting more and more overweight while doing exercise and eating 1200 calories a day without eating exercise calories back. I found that it is not the calories in and calories out but the composition of what I eat.

I find that 100 grams of carbs or less is all I can eat. 50-60 grams of fat (mostly olive oil) makes me full. I eat protein at 80 to 100 grams, really limitless. Then, I just only eat sugar from fruit in an incidental way.

So I went from just having a bad metabolism to having one that is burning through weight. I'm 21 pounds down in five weeks. It's the same level of exercise but I eat between 1200 and 1500 calories. I am full all day. For snacking, I have whey protein once or twice a day and I also eat a mixture of seeds (about four tablepoons) that is filling.

At 100 grams of protein, I can get two slices of bread and then whatever is in veggies and fruits.

So I think composition is the key. Hope that helps.
Good luck.

Weight loss is calories in < calories out. It's not "bad metabolism" or "composition". If you're eating 1500 calories and losing weight, then you were eating more than 1200 calories while you were gaining weight.

Hi. I speak for myself when I put anything down. So prior to changing the composition of what I was eating, I was gaining at 1200 calories with exercise. I felt doomed. It took a bit of changing around the composition but it's awesome that the weight is now coming down. That's why I passed this on. It could be the thing that is needed to help someone else with weightloss.

Hello. I'm happy for your success, and I believe that you've found something that worked for you, but if you're losing weight eating 1500 calories from protein and fat, it is simply impossible that you would not have lost even more weight eating 1200 calories from any source, even pure sugar. Many people find weight loss/maintenance easier with a diet heavier in fats and proteins than in carbs, but that's only because they find those nutrients more satiating and therefore consume fewer calories. I agree that it can be helpful advice, but the claim that eating more calories causes more weight loss only contributes to the misinformation and confusion that many people face when attempting to lose weight. If eating 1500 calories caused you to lose more weight than eating 1200, why not eat 1800? 2100?

AshleyCMoody

Thank you for the comment about composition and metabolism. There is a lot more to nutrition and not only weightloss but FAT loss than just calories in and calories out. I am not going to be full and have proper nutrients to fuel my metabolism if I just eat a few candy bars a day, even if I burn those calories off. I really appreciate your comment.

AshleyCMoody

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Instead of a sandwich, I eat what I would've put in the sandwich. Same deal with pasta - eat the topping.

I find protein and fat satiating, so try hard to get adequate protein, and to eat some healthy fat with (nuts, avocado, olive oil . . . ) with each meal. And of course I eat *lots* of non-starchy veggies.

Thanks for the advice about leaving the bread off sandwiches and avoiding starchy vegetables. Good ideas!

Kimegatron

You know what really gets me at parties... They know I'm a vegetarian, or ask... And then get cheese pizza. Like... Where's mah veggies?!?!?!? Where's my coveted mushyrooms and onions I like toppings too

Or at family gatherings, all I ask is if there will be anything vegetarian, because if not, I can eat before or on the way(I'm not fussy, it's my lifestyle, not theirs, so if they don't want to get something, it's totally fine)... SO they say say they will get me salad. I will die on just salad. I will drink the entire dressing bottle just to be full. I WILL EAT ALL THE DINNER ROLLS.

Kimegatron

By the way, check out Pinterest. I LOVE zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. I have a HUGE herb garden on our deck, and so I make all my own sauces. I love me some pesto, even though its usually a bit fatty. The spaghetti squash makes up for it. There are also VERY low calorie soy noodles(I think they're soy) in the organic/vegetarian section at my grocery stores. I can't remember what they're called, but they come in a bag of liquid and "noodles." I haven't tried them yet.

Kimegatron

AshleyCMoody wrote: »

moodyfam9 wrote: »

Look what you've started Ashley. For me I confess that I love meat. After calorie counting I decided I didn't love meat for a while. After actually reviewing my calorie counting with more interest I found that many meats weren't the problem. A harmless peanut butter sandwich almost killed my day! Calories in vs. Calories out along with exercise seem obvious. To answer your question about specific foods . . . I often eat the same foods and just change spices. I made a Greek salad the other day with homemade dressing. Even the kids went back for seconds!

Keep posting. You'll find more support when asking. There will always be misunderstandings when reading rather than talking. It's easy to misunderstand without hearing tone or reading body language.

So true. Greek salad is delicious! Wish I could have been there. And I know what you mean with the peanut butter. I used to eat it straight out of the jar. Not anymore!

Be careful with greek dressings. A lot of them contain sardines. I can't have it at restaurants unless the servers double check the ingredients. It usually ends with me not having greek dressing, but I do put italian on it. Try cottage cheese instead of dressing, too! Also, my go to dinner at work is this:
one of those half pocket whole wheat pita things
3-4 TBSP of humus
a little of chopped onion
a little bit of feta, you don't need a lot
chopped tomato,
spinach leaves
about 3 falafal balls. Kroger has pre-packaged ones, but they are out a lot, so sometimes I will bake my own while cursing the jerks that bought all my falafel balls, or I will use a patty of the Morningstar Meditarranean Chickpea stuff. It's not as good, but it will do.

Kimegatron

SnarlToothSeether wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

SnarlToothSeether wrote: »

I'm a very overweight vegetarian. Just because I love animals. Not because I don't love cookies, ice cream, and other sweets that don't contain meat. I think if I could go vegan, I'd be a rail, but I love cheese. I get a lot of the shocked "Omg, YOU'RE vegetarian?????" comments and gape mouthed faces when I tell people. I think the stereotypical image of a vegetarian is healthier and thinner than I am.

It isn't necessarily easier for vegans to be thin -- we still have access to all kinds of sweet and savory foods that are easy to consume in excess.

You're 100% right...but for me if I committed to being vegan I would have to give up, for example, ice cream. They do make vegan ice cream, but it's freaking expensive, so that would deter me. I would have to give up, another example, pizza. Since I hate to cook I wouldn't make it myself...lol. And being unable to pick up the phone and order it from any number of places would cut that out of my diet. I know there's soy cheese, but most pizza places don't offer it. That's all I was saying.....personally for ME, I hate to cook and bake and I'm too broke to buy tons of specialty ready made stuff...so it would definitely help ME.

That sucks, we have vegan pizza options here! And cauliflower crust isn't TOO hard. Check your neighborhood for artisan pizza places, a lot more of them may be around than you think!

AshleyCMoody

Man, I know what you mean about the cheese pizzas and salads. And I did not know that about Greek dressing. That's a big surprise to me.

vadimknobel

I find eating high protein food like yogurt, tofu, eggs, quinoa, whey protein mix, lentils, beans helps with satiety.

AshleyCMoody

Yes I agree. I need to incorporate more protein for sure.

breathebelievejen

I was vegan for about 6 years, vegetarian for a few after and I'm now a pescetarian. Things I found helpful to keep my calories down without compromising my sanity/ enjoyment of food:
- write a list of your favourite (or tolerable) veggies and use these as the bulk and basis of your meals. For example, I eat a crap load of broccoli, cauliflower carrots, peas, sweetcorn and chick peas. I can eat a plate of these with minimal seasoning but I pick out a few ways to vary the flavour (gravy, garlic puree, grated cheese..) so that I can eat them several times a week without getting bored. I also batch cook them and leave them portioned out so I can just stick them in the microwave instead of having to steam them individually each day . If you get bored more easily you might want to look up recipes on pinterest etc for inspiration
- pretty much same goes with protein sources. I boil eggs for the week or I make them scrambled in the microwave for the sake of saving time (takes only a few minutes). I slow cook Quorn fillets or bake Linda McCartney sausages or tesco meat free burgers (both the highest in protein v calories I can find within my budget in the uk) in batches ready to add to lunch and dinner options
- get a plan together of things you're happy to eat regularly that you enjoy but still fit your calorie or macro goals. This might mean finding alternative lower cal ways to make your favourite go-to meals (eg. Slim pasta 8cal/100g then you can go all out on the sauce) Almost like your own little restaurant menu.. For example, I make overnight oats a lot for breakfast (soak muesli overnight in your fave milk and add a sliced banana or grated apple in the morning), veggies for lunch or dinner as I said earlier and then I have the freedom of having a portion of whatever I fancy for the other meal.
- to summarise.. a few meal ideas that can be low-cal (use semi skim milk, eat recommended portion sizes etc etc). Breakfast: overnight oats, scrambled egg on toast, porridge, cereal + fruit
Lunch/ dinner: steamed veggies, veggie chilli, veggie pita pizza, soup, stew, stir fry, veggie sauce + pasta, rice + veg, Shepherds pie/casseroles..
Dessert: sugar free jelly, fruit and yoghurt (Greek and sky high protein are my faves atm), dates + raw nuts..

Hope some of that helped, I can't think of all the things I eat regularly off the top of my head but could add more when I get home and can look at my menu plans. oh, also I found the biggest thing in cutting calories for me was changing my food rituals. For me that means not eating in front of the TV, eating at a table and not doing anything else whilst I eat, also eating more slowly and mindfully and shifting my focus from calories to nutrients. As somebody else mentioned it's often emotions that come into play with overeating. All the best!