Weight loss and being a vegetarian

TravelBear87

Hi all,

I'd like some advise if possible.

I am a vegetarian and have been for last 10 months or so. I eat fish occasionally but I don't eat any meat.

Naturally I am finding that I eat more carbohydrates and I am worried that this will make it harder to lose weight. I'd like to lose 20lbs on a vegetarian/pesketarian diet but I worried it will be very difficult.

I have spoken to a few nutritionist friends who have also advised me to limit my intake of soy based products as this can also lead to weight gain but also effect estrogen levels.

I'd appreciate any advise/recipes for me to try.

Thanks,
Stacey

TavistockToad

weight loss is all about your calorie deficit.

just make sure you're getting enough protein to minimise muscle loss.

nickssweetheart

I get between 60 and 70 percent of my calories from carbohydrates. I eat a strict vegan diet. I lose 1% of my body weight every week with no difficulty whatsoever. I do make sure I eat enough fat to feel full. Fat satiates me in a way that carbs and protein just don't seem to. But I feel good on a high carb diet and I certainly haven't noticed it negatively impacting my weight loss.

Everyone is different though. I suggest you try it and see. What do you have to lose? Don't undereat either because you're convinced it's going to be "difficult." One thing I've learned is that even well-meaning people of all kinds of diets have agendas, and people will often try very, very hard to convince you not to give up eating meat, either because they think it's healthy for you or because it reminds them that they themselves are choosing to eat a dead animal.

If you do a search for my posts, you'll find I've posted a LOT of recipes and tips lately about healthy, frugal vegan eating.

TravelBear87

Hi all,

Thank you all for your replies and it's good to know that you are still successfully losing weight. I lost a lot of weight years ago when I ate meat and just over the last year, I have gained some back due to a change in routine and circumstances but now I am ready to start over. I am just new at losing weight with a vegetarian based diet.

Thank you

estherdragonbat

I've dropped 95 lbs without dropping carbs. Ovo-lacto vegetarian here. Weight loss is all about the deficit. Enjoying the process comes down to finding the foods that make you feel energized and satiated. This is highly individual. In my case, where I focus on hitting protein and iron and letting the rest fall where it falls, I tend toward higher carb, lower fat. Haven't had any problems with it.

ladyhusker39

TravelBear87 wrote: »

Hi all,

Thank you all for your replies and it's good to know that you are still successfully losing weight. I lost a lot of weight years ago when I ate meat and just over the last year, I have gained some back due to a change in routine and circumstances but now I am ready to start over. I am just new at losing weight with a vegetarian based diet.

Thank you

You lost the weight before because you ate less than you burned.

You'll lose weight this time if you eat less than you burn.

Your "nutritionist" is a hack.

spzjlb

Nutritionist friends??? Registered dietitians? Avoiding soy-based products for such reasons is unwarranted. If soy-based products caused weight gain and affected estrogen levels, the Japanese would be in trouble! Eating too much causes weight gain. Also, the biological effects of plant estrogenic-like molecules in humans are negligible. Just adopt the MPF philosophy of CICO and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Unknown

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AnnPT77

I'm vegetarian, and have been for 43 years (not a typo). I was thin, got fat, became obese; a couple of tears back, I lost about a third of my body weight in just less than a year, and have stayed at a healthy weight for nearly two years since . . . all of that as a vegetarian.

Vegetarianism makes zero difference. As others have said, weight management is all about the calories. (Balanced nutrition is important for health, of course!)

P.S. While losing 50+ pounds, I ate tempeh, tofu, edamame, etc., pretty regularly. Soy calories behave like any other calories.

Edited: typo

janejellyroll

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm vegetarian, and have been for 43 years (not a typo). I was thin, got fat, became obese; a couple of tears back, I lost about a third of my body weight in just less than a year, and have stayed at a healthy weight for nearly two years since . . . all of that as a vegetarian.

Vegetarianism makes zero difference. As others have said, weight management is all about the calories. (Balanced nutrition is important for health, of course!)

P.S. While losing 50+ pounds, I ate termpeh, tofu, edamame, etc., pretty regularly. Soy calories behave like any other calories.

As a vegan who lost more than 40 pounds, I will second this. The specifics of what I eat may look different than some other people, but the principle behind my weight loss is exactly the same -- I consistently consumed fewer calories than my body was using. People can lose weight on a huge variety of eating styles. I also consumed soy regularly while losing weight. It was actually a plus for me because I found tempeh and tofu to be great sources sources of protein that I could consume for a reasonable amount of calories.

cwolfman13

TravelBear87 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'd like some advise if possible.

I am a vegetarian and have been for last 10 months or so. I eat fish occasionally but I don't eat any meat.

Naturally I am finding that I eat more carbohydrates and I am worried that this will make it harder to lose weight. I'd like to lose 20lbs on a vegetarian/pesketarian diet but I worried it will be very difficult.

I have spoken to a few nutritionist friends who have also advised me to limit my intake of soy based products as this can also lead to weight gain but also effect estrogen levels.

I'd appreciate any advise/recipes for me to try.

Thanks,
Stacey

Weight management is about energy (calorie) balance, not carbs...not soy. When you are in a negative energy balance, your body has to make up for that deficiency...it does so by burning stored energy...ie body fat.

AnnPT77

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm vegetarian, and have been for 43 years (not a typo). I was thin, got fat, became obese; a couple of tears back, I lost about a third of my body weight in just less than a year, and have stayed at a healthy weight for nearly two years since . . . all of that as a vegetarian.

Vegetarianism makes zero difference. As others have said, weight management is all about the calories. (Balanced nutrition is important for health, of course!)

P.S. While losing 50+ pounds, I ate tempeh, tofu, edamame, etc., pretty regularly. Soy calories behave like any other calories.

Edited: typo

Oh, BTW, quoting myself to add:

17 years ago, I had breast cancer, a type that thrives on estrogen. You'd better believe I've been paying attention ever since to research about whether food-sourced soy phytoestrogens behave like our own estrogen in that context. For a long time (decade plus) I avoided eating soy regularly, out of concern, because research results were ambiguous.

That has changed. The mainstream advice for people who've had 'estrogen receptor positive' breast cancer is now that moderate soy consumption (couple of servings daily) is fine, and more may be OK but there's less data for that. I've read quite a bit of the supporting research. I now eat soy fairly often.

BTW, I even know a registered dietician (RD > nutritionist) in similar circumstances who eats lots of soy, and advocates that others of us do likewise.

Opinion: Your nutritionist friends may be lovely people whom you should keep in your life for many reasons . . . but I'd recommend some skepticism about their nutritional advice, at least as regards vegetarian issues.