Overweight Vegetarians

johnnylakis

I have discovered something I did not think was possible. Overweight vegetarians. I thought this was a fluke until I started seeing friends and family who are overweight and vegetarian. How can this be?

CooCooPuff

Because it doesn't matter what you eat, eating more calories than you burn for an extend period will make you overweight.

Merkavar

Cause they ate more than they burn and the excess energy is stored as fat just like everyone else.

MelaniaTrump

I can eat too much pasta... easily.

ibamosaserreinas

Lots of people are vegetarian because they are opposed to killing animals not because they were health minded. My vegan friend will eat an entire package of Oreos with no thought to her health at all.

xLyric

I'm an overweight vegetarian because I like cheese, bread, pasta, etc. and had no concept of counting calories or moderation until recently. Vegetarian does not mean that someone only eats vegetables, or that they care about their health.

Now that I am eating in moderation, I still don't eat tons of veggies. I still eat cheese, bread, etc, just way less of it.

NeverFearChange

because "calories in vs. calories out"
Fat vegan here *waves hand vigorously*
Not proud of that either, but i'm working on it.

Chase_12345

johnnylakis wrote: »

I have discovered something I did not think was possible. Overweight vegetarians. I thought this was a fluke until I started seeing friends and family who are overweight and vegetarian. How can this be?

Chip,candey,fries,cake,brownies these food are not meat

thelovelyLIZ

Being an overweight vegetarian is... really easy actually. Oreos are vegan. Macaroni and cheese is vegetarian.

I went veg for Lent one year, and the first two weeks I felt super sick. Realized it was because, despite my best efforts to get enough protein, I was eating tons of grains and carbs. Once I realized that I switched to vegetables instead of just pasta pasta pasta. But yeah, calories in vs calories out.

madammags

johnnylakis wrote: »

I have discovered something I did not think was possible. Overweight vegetarians. I thought this was a fluke until I started seeing friends and family who are overweight and vegetarian. How can this be?

Why on Earth would vegetarians not be overweight? (to be honest, your question comes across somewhere between horribly naive and somewhat insulting)
You become overweight by eating more calories than you expend. Where those calories come from doesn't matter.
While lots of vegetarian foods are low in calories, lots of others aren't:
Margarita pizza, deep fried camembert, pasta with alfredo sauce, potato chips, and most desserts are all vegetarian (well, unless you use unusual recipes).

rainbowbow

madammags wrote: »

johnnylakis wrote: »

I have discovered something I did not think was possible. Overweight vegetarians. I thought this was a fluke until I started seeing friends and family who are overweight and vegetarian. How can this be?

Why on Earth would vegetarians not be overweight? (to be honest, your question comes across somewhere between horribly naive and somewhat insulting)
You become overweight by eating more calories than you expend. Where those calories come from doesn't matter.
While lots of vegetarian foods are low in calories, lots of others aren't:
Margarita pizza, deep fried camembert, pasta with alfredo sauce, potato chips, and most desserts are all vegetarian (well, unless you use unusual recipes).

This. Along with tacos, french fries, ice cream, cheesecake, ranch dressing, i could go on.

besaro

good grief. pasta, cheese, bread.

pippiheartsberry

Im a veggo. There isnt a great deal of protein we can eat everyday so we end up eating more carbs - purely to keep us feeling fuller. And I can have TONS of vegetables and water but it tends to digested super soon.I tend to eat fairly healthy but the struggle is always to keep myself feeling full.

It is actually really, really easy to become overweight as a vegetarian.

jandw122912

Potato chips and beer are vegetarian...
Vegetarians eat a lot more than just fruits and veggies! I'v been veg for many years now... I LOVE french fries, pizza, and Mac N cheese!

ickybella

Lol fat vegetarian right here! Ben and Jerry's is veggie friendly, baby. Mint chocolate cookie in my chubby little tummy.

chastity0921

Vegetarianism isn't a diet. It is a lifestyle. We also have to choose to be healthful vegetarians, and eat more veggies and whole foods than cheesecake and french fries. And it is super hard eating out on the go-- we can't get the chicken sandwich, or the bean burrito made with lard.

I'm a fat vegetarian. But my lab values are amazing, because my veins aren't filled with animal fat haha.

ickybella

<--- No longer an accurate depiction of my physique.

Ready2Rock206

I know a vegetarian who hates vegetables. I swear 90% of her diet is chocolate. She's not over weight shockingly but she definitely doesn't have a healthy diet. Another vegetarian I know is very overweight. Guessing whatever she eats is higher calories than she's burning... same as anyone else overweight.

ahoy_m8

I have a friend who became vegetarian for ethical reasons but in less than a year, she could not abide the weight she put on. She is very conscientious about what she eats, and she said it was really difficult *for her* to get the bare bones protein she needed without going way over on calories. Restaurant meals are especially bad, she said. In the final analysis, vanity trumped ethics. I don't blame her for trying it, though. How does anyone know what works without giving it an honest try?

vegmebuff

ibamosaserreinas wrote: »

Lots of people are vegetarian because they are opposed to killing animals not because they were health minded. My vegan friend will eat an entire package of Oreos with no thought to her health at all.

I've heard that Oreos are not suitable for vegans as they have the possibility of cross contamination of milk at the factory.

rainbowbow

vegmebuff wrote: »

ibamosaserreinas wrote: »

Lots of people are vegetarian because they are opposed to killing animals not because they were health minded. My vegan friend will eat an entire package of Oreos with no thought to her health at all.

I've heard that Oreos are not suitable for vegans as they have the possibility of cross contamination of milk at the factory.

Not to mention most vegans are also conscious of the environment. Oreo brand cookies contain palm oil which is destroying large amounts of rainforest and habitats.

tara_means_star

rainbowbow wrote: »

madammags wrote: »

johnnylakis wrote: »

I have discovered something I did not think was possible. Overweight vegetarians. I thought this was a fluke until I started seeing friends and family who are overweight and vegetarian. How can this be?

Why on Earth would vegetarians not be overweight? (to be honest, your question comes across somewhere between horribly naive and somewhat insulting)
You become overweight by eating more calories than you expend. Where those calories come from doesn't matter.
While lots of vegetarian foods are low in calories, lots of others aren't:
Margarita pizza, deep fried camembert, pasta with alfredo sauce, potato chips, and most desserts are all vegetarian (well, unless you use unusual recipes).

This. Along with tacos, french fries, ice cream, cheesecake, ranch dressing, i could go on.

French fries. Over weight vegetarian here and I blame the french fries

BuddhaB0y

I know a bunch of fat "vegetarians" and they just eat cheese and junk food.

A true vegetarian is someone who knows how to cook and who knows about nutrition and how to create complete proteins with nuts and beans and rice etc combined with assorted vegetables.

I also knew one girl who was well over 300 pounds and she always made it a point to make sure everyone knew "she only ate carrots" and had a medical condition that is keeping her from losing weight. we found her in a McDonald's eating 3 Big Macs one day at lunch. So just because someone claims something, doesn't make it true.

xLyric

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I know a bunch of fat "vegetarians" and they just eat cheese and junk food.

A true vegetarian is someone who knows how to cook and who knows about nutrition and how to create complete proteins with nuts and beans and rice etc combined with assorted vegetables.

I also knew one girl who was well over 300 pounds and she always made it a point to make sure everyone knew "she only ate carrots" and had a medical condition that is keeping her from losing weight. we found her in a McDonald's eating 3 Big Macs one day at lunch. So just because someone claims something, doesn't make it true.

Guess what? "True vegetarians" can absolutely eat cheese and junk food and still be "true vegetarians." A "true vegetarian" simply doesn't eat meat. Period. Nowhere in the definition of vegetarianism does it say you have to also "know how to cook and [know] about nutrition." I'm pretty sure at this point you're just trying to start an argument.

BuddhaB0y

xLyric wrote: »

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I know a bunch of fat "vegetarians" and they just eat cheese and junk food.

A true vegetarian is someone who knows how to cook and who knows about nutrition and how to create complete proteins with nuts and beans and rice etc combined with assorted vegetables.

I also knew one girl who was well over 300 pounds and she always made it a point to make sure everyone knew "she only ate carrots" and had a medical condition that is keeping her from losing weight. we found her in a McDonald's eating 3 Big Macs one day at lunch. So just because someone claims something, doesn't make it true.

Guess what? "True vegetarians" can absolutely eat cheese and junk food and still be "true vegetarians." A "true vegetarian" simply doesn't eat meat. Period. Nowhere in the definition of vegetarianism does it say you have to also "know how to cook and [know] about nutrition." I'm pretty sure at this point you're just trying to start an argument.

If you really want to nit pick then I suppose you are technically correct. Does that make you feel better?

Now for the grown ups in the room..... Please add. "In my own personal opinion" to my above statement.

atypicalsmith

My niece, a vegetarian, is about 250 pounds overweight. One of her favorites is french fries dipped in mayonnaise.

Mediocrates55

Cheese fries with ranch did me in. And fried cheese sticks. And fried potatoes. And snack cakes. And milkshakes. And yogurt with granola.

xLyric

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

xLyric wrote: »

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I know a bunch of fat "vegetarians" and they just eat cheese and junk food.

A true vegetarian is someone who knows how to cook and who knows about nutrition and how to create complete proteins with nuts and beans and rice etc combined with assorted vegetables.

I also knew one girl who was well over 300 pounds and she always made it a point to make sure everyone knew "she only ate carrots" and had a medical condition that is keeping her from losing weight. we found her in a McDonald's eating 3 Big Macs one day at lunch. So just because someone claims something, doesn't make it true.

Guess what? "True vegetarians" can absolutely eat cheese and junk food and still be "true vegetarians." A "true vegetarian" simply doesn't eat meat. Period. Nowhere in the definition of vegetarianism does it say you have to also "know how to cook and [know] about nutrition." I'm pretty sure at this point you're just trying to start an argument.

If you really want to nit pick then I suppose you are technically correct. Does that make you feel better?

Now for the grown ups in the room..... Please add. "In my own personal opinion" to my above statement.

Oh, okay, it's your opinion. Sorry. I was going off of facts like an educated human being, but of course, you're the grown up.

pteryndactyl

While I've never been overweight, I gained 20-25 lbs in a year eating as a vegetarian. (Not when I became a vegetarian, but after being vegetarian for about five years.) Had moved out and thus just ate what I wanted when I wanted it...which happened to be too much pizza, pasta, Chipotle, cake, cookies, fries, etc. - basically I had no will power and ate like crap because I was relatively slim and "could get away with it" essentially.

Even when I started eating like a vegan (so, cutting out the easily accessible pizza, cake, cookies that I could order for delivery at midnight) I only lost about 10 lbs. And they started creeping back up when I started relying too heavily on pasta etc. and only started coming off again when I focused on watching my calories, cooking better food, etc.

Also while this isn't on the original topic, but I'm tossing this out there since oreos were mentioned... but personally I don't freak out too much about cross contamination issues. I feel like if it's not an ingredient in my food, not on my food or in my food, that's generally good enough for me to feel like I'm not contributing to the meat industry. No, I won't pick cheese or meat off a sandwich to eat it, but I won't freak out if my veggie burger is cooked on the same grill as something else at a restaurant. I'm more careful at home and won't willingly mix things. I feel like, personally, drawing such harsh lines makes the commitment more difficult than it has to be and scares some people away from it, thinking it's "all or nothing". I'd rather do as much as possible than get overwhelmed and give up after someone on the internet revokes my "vegan card" because I ate an oreo or something.

BuddhaB0y

xLyric wrote: »

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

xLyric wrote: »

BuddhaB0y wrote: »

I know a bunch of fat "vegetarians" and they just eat cheese and junk food.

A true vegetarian is someone who knows how to cook and who knows about nutrition and how to create complete proteins with nuts and beans and rice etc combined with assorted vegetables.

I also knew one girl who was well over 300 pounds and she always made it a point to make sure everyone knew "she only ate carrots" and had a medical condition that is keeping her from losing weight. we found her in a McDonald's eating 3 Big Macs one day at lunch. So just because someone claims something, doesn't make it true.

Guess what? "True vegetarians" can absolutely eat cheese and junk food and still be "true vegetarians." A "true vegetarian" simply doesn't eat meat. Period. Nowhere in the definition of vegetarianism does it say you have to also "know how to cook and [know] about nutrition." I'm pretty sure at this point you're just trying to start an argument.

If you really want to nit pick then I suppose you are technically correct. Does that make you feel better?

Now for the grown ups in the room..... Please add. "In my own personal opinion" to my above statement.

Oh, okay, it's your opinion. Sorry. I was going off of facts like an educated human being, but of course, you're the grown up.

Your internet law degree sure is paying off tonight!!

In MY opinion.... people who claim to be "vegetarian" but don't understand nutrition and how to eat a healthy balanced diet, are simply people who have chosen not to consume meat products.

In order to classify yourself as something, you generally need to have a certain amount of knowledge and expertise in that field.

Just because you flip a coin into a panhandlers cup, doesn't make you a humanitarian. Just because you love and take care of your pets doesn't make you a veterinarian.

People can call themselves whatever the heck they like, but in my own opinion, (and in spite of your best efforts, people are still allowed to have them) if you don't show a level of nutritional knowledge to support it, you arnt a vegetarian.

Now if you know about the nutritional aspects and still love your cheese and junk food, that just makes you human!

Btw I am not a vegetarian, I love meat!!

bclarke1990

Vegetarians don't eat meat. You can eat 1000 calories of trail mix in five minutes; ice cream, candy, chocolate, etc. Meat doesn't make you fat, lmao.