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Advice on a Lifetime Change

jacquelynkay

Background

I've been on a low Carb food plan and a set daily calorie intake for 3 1/2 years and have slowly lost 60lbs. I've been at a stand still for quiet sometime.

Current
I'm considering going Vegetarian. I've done a lot of research on it and I basically don't eat much red meat in my diet anyways. I do eat chicken.

I'm afraid in introducing carbs back into my diet that I will gain weight.

Thoughts??

Replies

janejellyroll

Sometimes people do find they gain a bit of temporary water weight when they increase their carbohydrate intake. This is because carbohydrates just hold on to a bit more water in your body. But you're only going to gain fat if you consume more calories than your body needs.

cee134

Vegetables have lots of carbs. But that's good. If you are going to eat carbs, get them from fruit and vegetables. Carbs aren't your enemy, processed empty carbs, like cake and white bread are.

There are a lot of advantages to eating carbs from vegetables. I would stop counting carbs and only count calories if you go vegetarian. Avoiding processed carbs will also help keep you on track.

rsclause

If you are stuck you can also make changes other than food. You add some additional running or walking. As for carbs I only try to limit the breads and pastas but load up on veggies and fruits.

janejellyroll

cee134 wrote: »

Vegetables have lots of carbs. But that's good. If you are going to eat carbs, get them from fruit and vegetables. Carbs aren't your enemy, processed empty carbs, like cake and white bread are.

There are a lot of advantages to eating carbs from vegetables. I would stop counting carbs and only count calories if you go vegetarian. Avoiding processed carbs will also help keep you on track.

Cake and white bread are not my enemies. I mean, they're calorie-dense foods that I need to watch my portion size on (just like hummus or avocado or potatoes), but they're not, like, actively fighting or opposing me.

jjpptt2

carbs, and I believe starches in particular, can cause some added water retention, which may show up on the scale. But it's just water, not actual body/fat mass.

But bigger picture... what are you hoping to accomplish by going vegetarian? If it's just personal preference, then go for it. If it's because you've been at a stand still and are hoping it will kick the scale back into gear, chances are it wont, at least not directly.

Have you been at the same calorie intake for that full 3.5 years?

misnomer1

cee134 wrote: »

Vegetables have lots of carbs. But that's good. If you are going to eat carbs, get them from fruit and vegetables. Carbs aren't your enemy, processed empty carbs, like cake and white bread are.

There are a lot of advantages to eating carbs from vegetables. I would stop counting carbs and only count calories if you go vegetarian. Avoiding processed carbs will also help keep you on track.

cake and white bread are not the enemy if one can stay within calorie goals while getting sufficient amount of protein/fat and vitamins/minerals. theyre foods with a given nutritional composition. whether you can include them or not depends on your other foods.

leggup

Becoming vegetarian won't help you lose weight unless you're lowering your calorie intake. 100 calories of chicken vs 100 calories of vegetarian chicken (made from soy) are identical from a weight perspective. Heck, so is 100 cals of broccoli. The only difference is satiety: 100 cals of broccoli is a LOT of broccoli.

cee134

janejellyroll wrote: »

cee134 wrote: »

Vegetables have lots of carbs. But that's good. If you are going to eat carbs, get them from fruit and vegetables. Carbs aren't your enemy, processed empty carbs, like cake and white bread are.

There are a lot of advantages to eating carbs from vegetables. I would stop counting carbs and only count calories if you go vegetarian. Avoiding processed carbs will also help keep you on track.

Cake and white bread are not my enemies. I mean, they're calorie-dense foods that I need to watch my portion size on (just like hummus or avocado or potatoes), but they're not, like, actively fighting or opposing me.

I find when people go on low carb diets it usually the lack of processed carbs they are eating for why they lose weight. Since it's high in calories and low in nutrition.

But you're right, moderation is key, no matter what you do.

Sunna_W

If you add up to 100 g carbs you should be fine. Also are you eating enough healthy fats?!?

ref:

janejellyroll

cee134 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

cee134 wrote: »

Vegetables have lots of carbs. But that's good. If you are going to eat carbs, get them from fruit and vegetables. Carbs aren't your enemy, processed empty carbs, like cake and white bread are.

There are a lot of advantages to eating carbs from vegetables. I would stop counting carbs and only count calories if you go vegetarian. Avoiding processed carbs will also help keep you on track.

Cake and white bread are not my enemies. I mean, they're calorie-dense foods that I need to watch my portion size on (just like hummus or avocado or potatoes), but they're not, like, actively fighting or opposing me.

I find when people go on low carb diets it usually the lack of processed carbs they are eating for why they lose weight. Since it's high in calories and low in nutrition.

But you're right, moderation is key, no matter what you do.

When people go on low carbohydrate diets, they may lose weight because they've eliminated some higher calorie foods. That doesn't mean that higher calorie foods are our enemies, that's all I was pointing out.

jacquelynkay

Thank each of you for replying back to me, I greatly appreciate it!

To answer a few questions .....

My reasoning in going vegetarian is gradually eliminating meat out of my diet and see how my body responds to it. Healthier, more energy, etc.

My calorie intake take has been 1000 to 1200. ( I know 1200 is the recommended amount). However, here lately I’ve gone over.

jacquelynkay

Thank you for the helpful links!!

jjpptt2

jacquelynkay wrote: »

Thank each of you for replying back to me, I greatly appreciate it!

To answer a few questions .....

My reasoning in going vegetarian is gradually eliminating meat out of my diet and see how my body responds to it. Healthier, more energy, etc.

My calorie intake take has been 1000 to 1200. ( I know 1200 is the recommended amount). However, here lately I’ve gone over.

Why is meatless healthier? Is there something about meat you want to avoid, or are you simply trying to add in more non-meat foods?

AnnPT77

Having been vegetarian for 43 years (yup, 1974), I feel pretty confident and well-informed saying that vegetarian eating is not inherently healthier.

In fact, one has to work just as tiny bit harder at assuring good nutrition: Protein, some vitamins, iron and calcium (if no dairy), among others, may require a little more attention. Also, it's a tiny bit more socially inconvenient or awkward.(Example: You new boss, who is not vegetarian, invites you to his/her house for dinner. You may also find it limits you with respect to potential life partners - some meat livers may not want to live with a vegetarian (*). Eating while traveling, especially in very different cultures, may be more complicated.)

None of this is insurmountable, of course. Just mildly inconvenient.

Personally, if someone doesn't have strong ethical or moral reasons to become vegetarian, I advise them to become a flexitarian who consumes lots of plants. I don't have proof, but I suspect that may be a healthier way of eating, anyway.

Just my opinion.

(* Full disclosure: I was happily married to a meat-eater and hunter for 20+ years, until widowed.)

quiksylver296

tulips_and_tea

jacquelynkay wrote: »

Thank each of you for replying back to me, I greatly appreciate it!

To answer a few questions .....

My reasoning in going vegetarian is gradually eliminating meat out of my diet and see how my body responds to it. Healthier, more energy, etc.

My calorie intake take has been 1000 to 1200. ( I know 1200 is the recommended amount). However, here lately I’ve gone over.

How accurate is this? If you were truly only eating that many calories every day you would be losing weight.

nowine4me

Try it, give it 6 weeks and see how it goes.