Going Vegetarian

Ortegutz

Hello fellow fitness pals,

after thinking about it long and hard I have decided that it may be best to go vegetarian in order to hopefully lose another 10 pounds. Last year I went on a very specific, very basic diet (that I am currently on) and lost 45 pounds and kept it off. The last few months I have notice I have hit a weight plateau. So I ask you the people who have been or are now transitioning as well to a vegetarian lifestyle your opinions on my outlined diet plan. Anyone can answer as well. My ultimate goal is to get down to 190 I am currently at 200

Mon - Fri

Breakfast
Greek Yogurt, Branola Bar, Apple Juice

Lunch
Salad, Peanut butter and Celery, Apple or Orange

Dinner
Burrito (Tortilla, Beans, Rice, Lettuce, Some Salsa and Reduced fat Cheddar), Juice

Saturday and Sunday are kind of a toss up of whatever I wanna eat. mostly omlettes cause I love omelettes



also I take Protein after every workout (5x a week)


your input is greatly appreciated.

MoreBean13

Seems really low cal, and kind of low protein even with the supplement. Your lunch, for example, has almost no protein. PB really doesn't have much protein, contrary to popular belief. I would add hardboiled egg to your salad or something like a gardein grilled chick'n breast, and add some snacks like reduced fat mozz string cheese, which gets you 8 grams protein for only 60 cals.

Also, I wouldn't go vegetarian for weight loss. I've been a vegetarian for 20 years, and IMO there's no weight loss benefits that a reasonable balanced diet can't provide, and you're looking at headaches getting your protein without going overboard on carbs. If you have an ethical/moral motivation, I strongly support it, but if it's just for health/weightloss, I think you're making the process harder for yourself than it needs to be.

IsisRosa

A good option for breakfast is to drink a green smoothie. You add more vegetables to your diet and you can supplement it with protein powder, greek yogurt or ground flax for protein.

I cut my meat intake to 1 serving a day (or 7 a week; some days I have none and others I have 2 servings) and it has improved my general health. I had tons of energy, my skin was glowing and my face lost it's puffiness. All before I started working out.

I generally do not worry about getting tons of protein, but my fitness goals are probably different than yours. I do eat a protein bar for dessert every day and on weight lifting days, I will be sure to eat meat.

Mslmesq

Have you considered cutting way down on land animal meat and keeping some fish in the diet? Like maybe fish 2-3 times a week? Also, if you go vegetarian, keep an eye on your vitamin b12 levels and/or take a b12 supplement.

Good luck to you. :-)

mom2sons02

Also, I wouldn't go vegetarian for weight loss. I've been a vegetarian for 20 years, and IMO there's no weight loss benefits that a reasonable balanced diet can't provide, and you're looking at headaches getting your protein without going overboard on carbs. If you have an ethical/moral motivation, I strongly support it, but if it's just for health/weightloss, I think you're making the process harder for yourself than it needs to be.
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^^^^This. I know several people who have gone vegetarian for weight loss and it just doesn't work. And when you reach your goal, do you go back? If that is what you want to do, go for it and good luck, but many, many people lose with out cutting out meat.

ewrob

I've been a vegan for a little over 6 months and as you can see from my ticker, it has been incredibly effective for weight loss. I think being a vegetarian can be very effective if the effort is planned well. You can be unhealthy on any diet, including a vegan one, if all you are eating is processed foods and other junk.

The OP's plan sounds pretty good to me, though I personally would exclude the dairy products and make the omelettes out of chickpea flour.

ewrob

Also, I wouldn't go vegetarian for weight loss. I've been a vegetarian for 20 years, and IMO there's no weight loss benefits that a reasonable balanced diet can't provide, and you're looking at headaches getting your protein without going overboard on carbs. If you have an ethical/moral motivation, I strongly support it, but if it's just for health/weightloss, I think you're making the process harder for yourself than it needs to be.

^^^^This. I know several people who have gone vegetarian for weight loss and it just doesn't work. And when you reach your goal, do you go back? If that is what you want to do, go for it and good luck, but many, many people lose with out cutting out meat.

If you go "vegetarian" by eating dishes that are loaded with processed grains, cheese, eggs and the like with minimal actual vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes you are probably doing it wrong. At least from a health and nutrition perspective.

Mslmesq

I've been a vegan for a little over 6 months and as you can see from my ticker, it has been incredibly effective for weight loss. I think being a vegetarian can be very effective if the effort is planned well. You can be unhealthy on any diet, including a vegan one, if all you are eating is processed foods and other junk.

The OP's plan sounds pretty good to me, though I personally would exclude the dairy products and make the omelettes out of chickpea flour.

Congratulations on being vegan. I'm not vegan, albeit I love vegan food and eat it a lot. I also have a lot of respect for people that choose that lifestyle and diet.

As well, even though I know there are heavy vegans, frankly in my personal experience I find there are a lot less of them. Most vegans I know are either very slim, or got very slim after they went from vegetarian to vegan.

With that being said, to the op, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are willing to put the work in to know how to do it in a healthy way. And it does take quite a bit of knowledge and planning if you want to do it in a healthy way.

As well, it concerns me that it appears you are looking to eat the exact same thing on a monday through friday basis. I would never do this as a vegan. I wouldn't do it as a vegetarian either. Actually, wouldn't even do it as an omnivore. But, with any restricted diet, it's even more important to vary your foods for optimal nutrition benefits.

Also, most readings I've done state that the health benefits of being vegetarian (I'm not talking about weight loss here though) can be achieved through an almost vegetarian diet, or a so called 'flexatarian' diet.

MoreBean13

Also, I wouldn't go vegetarian for weight loss. I've been a vegetarian for 20 years, and IMO there's no weight loss benefits that a reasonable balanced diet can't provide, and you're looking at headaches getting your protein without going overboard on carbs. If you have an ethical/moral motivation, I strongly support it, but if it's just for health/weightloss, I think you're making the process harder for yourself than it needs to be.

^^^^This. I know several people who have gone vegetarian for weight loss and it just doesn't work. And when you reach your goal, do you go back? If that is what you want to do, go for it and good luck, but many, many people lose with out cutting out meat.

If you go "vegetarian" by eating dishes that are loaded with processed grains, cheese, eggs and the like with minimal actual vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes you are probably doing it wrong. At least from a health and nutrition perspective.

Congratulations on your 6 months.

ewrob

Thank you both for your kind words.

ebr250

I am working my way towards a vegetarian diet as well, though not for weight loss but because I physically feel so much better when I don't eat meat. I think if you find that you feel better and have more energy on a vegetarian diet it is worth the transition. It gets easier as you go and it really isn't as big a hassle as people make it out to be. In my experience it's no more of a hassle than planning for a healthy diet that includes meat. Here are a few of my favorite veggie mains:

-baked sweet potato with warm chili beans on top
-quinoa salad (endless variations here. my fav is greek style. here is a great recipe: http://withstyleandgraceblog.com/2012/08/29/healthy-greek-quinoa-salad-gluten-free/)
-vegetable curries
-black beans and rice
-grilled portobello mushrooms (can use as a burger, taco filling, salad topper, etc)
-grilled zucchini/yellow squash with feta cheese and parsley

I also subscribe to a free email newsletter from Vegetarian Times that includes different recipes. Hope this helps!

0OneTwo3

my condolences.

Amberlynnek

Hellloo Veg head of 14 years here. If vegetarianism worked for weight loss, I don't suppose I'd be on here.....just saying.

shano25

Lots of people go vegetarian and put on weight because they think that when the meat is gone, they're not eating as much calories. But when their diet includes processed foods, or they don't pay attention to calories, they don't see the weight go.

Will you lose weight through your meal plan? Yes. Is it a good idea? I don't think so. Besides the fact that you're eating the same thing every day (I personally would get bored but I know my husband wouldn't), you're missing out on a lot of nutrients. When you remove meat from your diet you need to pay focus on your intake of protein, iron, vitamin b12. I don't think you're going to get very much of any of those eating what you plan to. So your plan would really depend upon how long you plan to do it. If you're looking to go vegetarian for a long time, then you need to fix the plan. A couple of weeks, then I guess it would work.

Make sure while you do this that you take vitamin C with your non-meat sources of iron (the beans) to absorb the iron better. Don't have calcium with those same items. Take a vitamin b supplement (add some nutritional yeast to your burrito!) Put some flax in your yogurt.

An aside: is that enough food? I'm a 135lb woman and I get hungry looking at that menu!!!

AleciaG724

I've been vegetarian for almost 4 years... I did lose some weight initially but you can still overeat as a vegetarian. You will have a hard time meeting your protein needs if you work out hard 4-5 times a week. You'll probably need a supplement.

My feelings on your diet are this: Your body hits a plateau because it adapts to a routine after a while. If you do the same workout, & eat the same things, your body will learn to function on that routine. Change things up with your workouts, and vary your diet. Don't eat the same things every day, don't even eat the same # of calories every day. I'm all for the vegetarian diet, but you need to eat way more veggies & protein IMO.

cadaverousbones

I recently went to a pescetarian diet which is basically a vegetarian except for you eat eggs, dairy, and fish. Most of my meals are vegetarian, with fish maybe once a week or so. Feel free to check out my diary for some meal ideas. My diary is open. Also feel free to add me if you'd like.

Ortegutz

Thank you everyone for your advice. lots of good information to take in.

yes my monday - friday is usually all the same. its actually what I have always eaten the exact same thing (basically grilled chicken, rice, salad) every day for the last year. mostly cause I dont like to think about what to eat. I am not one to get tired of things. strange but hey its worked so far. meals are just one less thing to think about. as for eating fish. as much as I wish I liked it I just cant do it. I have tried it many times but I can never force myself to like it. Really a downer

I forgot to mention I do take mens multi vitamins every morning, have juice and drink a ton of water throughout the day. I also forgot about nutritional yeast thanks for reminding me.

Mslmesq

Thank you everyone for your advice. lots of good information to take in.

yes my monday - friday is usually all the same. its actually what I have always eaten the exact same thing (basically grilled chicken, rice, salad) every day for the last year. mostly cause I dont like to think about what to eat. I am not one to get tired of things. strange but hey its worked so far. meals are just one less thing to think about. as for eating fish. as much as I wish I liked it I just cant do it. I have tried it many times but I can never force myself to like it. Really a downer

I forgot to mention I do take mens multi vitamins every morning, have juice and drink a ton of water throughout the day. I also forgot about nutritional yeast thanks for reminding me.

I get it. Fish is not for everyone.

What about mixing up your menu by cutting out the chicken some days. Like 2 or 3 days no chicken, then one day chicken.

(Lol at myself cause I don't usually encourage people to eat land animal meat. But with your lack of variety monday thru friday, i wouldn't cut it out completely. Or slowly extract it and see how you feel)

Good luck. :-)

KANGOOJUMPS

won't you miss a nice juicy steak????

Mslmesq

won't you miss a nice juicy steak????

:huh: { this emoticon will have to suffice in lieu of a rolling eyes one }

fyi, not everyone does. And there are populations that don't eat any cow out of religious reasons.

cadaverousbones

more veggiesssss