Success on a Vegetarian Diet?

kaittea

Hellooo! I've done a lot of research regarding low-carb diets and I've been following one (varying in intensity) for quite a while, on and off. I was a vegetarian for 3 months until a nutritionist recommended I start eating meat because it would make my progress quicker. I don't really think I saw many results, but then again I'm not sure I saw many when I was vegetarian either-- but I suspect it might have been because I wasn't tracking calories... and I ate my fair share of cheese!
I want to go vegetarian for the second time around, this time for good, and I was just wondering if any of you have lost weight by going vegetarian and if so, how much dairy do you eat and how many grains do you intake?

Also I would love if vegetarians with open diaries commented here so I could add you and get inspired by your food

annabakingthomson

Hi

I've been a veggie for most of my life. I lost 2 and a half stone (35lbs) about 3 years ago. I lost it doing Weightwatchers but I've stopped that now and I'm on here instead. The food I eat on MFP is very similar to what I was eating on Weightwatchers. I've pretty much managed to maintain my weight although a holiday in Italy and being a bit rubbish in the last few months means I've put on about 6lbs which I want to lose again before Christmas.

I tend to steer away from too many grains (apart from cereal in the morning) and I eat quite a lot of low calorie proteins such as tofu, cottage cheese etc. Take a look at my diary. Iv'e been naughty recently and haven't tracked for ages but I'm back on track as of today.

I make a lots of curries, soups and so on and use lots of "filling" veg like butternut squash. I also eat pulses quite a lot - homemade hummus (easy on the oil) chickpeas and lentils. If you like cheese what about goats cheese especially Feta. I eat quite a few Greek Salads, tasty and filling.

It is harder to eat out being a veggie, as most restaurants rely very heavily on pasta and cheese. I'll quite often have a starter and a side salad instead of a main.

Good luck

annabakingthomson

PS - I don't normally eat cheese and mayo sandwiches for lunch but I'm recovering from the winter vomiting bug, and it's all I fancied!

:-)

I_Will_End_You

If you want to go vegetarian for moral & ethical reasons, go for it. If you want to do it to lose weight, don't bother. You can lose weight eating meat and you can lose weight not eating meat.

I was a vegetarian for about 18 years, and just recently started eating seafood. My advice, just track your calories and stay under your TDEE, and you'll lose weight regardless of what you eat. Just make sure you get enough protein. Try to keep your diet balanced and don't fall into the "I gave up meat & now all I eat is bread and cheese" group. I know a lot of people who do that.

seltzermint555

I am not a vegetarian...but I eat mostly pescetarian. This means, for me, that I stopped eating beef, pork & poultry one year ago this week...but have eaten a tiny bit of chicken in pad Thai a half dozen times and one hamburger "just to see if I missed it" (not really).

The initial reasons I stopped eating meat were A) my then-boyfriend (now husband) is completely pescetarian and I never really loved meat and hating cooking meat and his best male friend gave up meat and lost 80 lb in a year.

I lost about 5 lb in 5 months. Not a drastic loss whatsoever, especially for someone who was 267 lb to start with. So from my personal experience I'd say no, it didn't really help my weight loss. But I love the new protein sources I've discovered and I am happier not cooking and preparing meat. I really don't miss it and when I had that burger (for example) I was expecting to either be like "nom nom nom, going back to beef" or "eww, I feel sick". Neither thing happened. It was just okay.

dandelyon

Yes, you can lose weight without eating meat. Anna has broken it down pretty well. Experimenting with beans, tofu, and new and different vegetables was helpful for me, although you can just eat less of what you already eat to lose weight. Greek yogurt and eggs are probably a bit part of my protein intake.

So true about eating out as a vegetarian trying to watch calories. You'll learn pretty quickly that some places have nothing to offer but battered and fried cheese.

redraidergirl2009

What was your reasoning for going vegetarian? If it was weightloss it's not a good option since it's not a fad diet that will help drop weight fast.

Eating vegetarian and losing is about eating healthy fresh foods. Check out Happy Herbivore, light and lean. It's a lo-cal, healthy recipe book that diet friendly. Cheap on amazon. Picking it up myself. Losing weight and being vegetarian does take some tinkering, but eating meat won't make you lose weight any faster. You still have to count calories and balance macros.

lizzardsm

You don't need to go low carb or eat meat to lose weight. Check out Sarauk2sf's story here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/903628-one-year-of-barbells-and-ice-cream-my-story-so-far-pics

She's AMAZING and a vegetarian. She's also very friendly and accepts friend requests with a message. She's a huge source of knowledge and inspiration.

KinoM

Hey, I'm a long term vegetarian who went pescetarian about a year back, and I've lost 43 lbs so far. In terms of limiting carbs I went with a 40/30/30 macro split fairly early on in and it's worked well for me, though it can be tough to hit my protein target without a protein shake & even tougher without some fish in the day, but it's do-able. I cook dinner from scratch almost every night with plenty of fresh veg, beans, pulses, etc. and use Quorn or other meat substitutes quite a bit. I often cook extra for lunch the following day. Other than that you need to watch your iron & B vitamin intake, and try to stay in your macros. And watch the cheese portion sizes! My diary's open if you want to have a look.

besaro

I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years and while I consider to part of the reason I got fat, that combined with a sedentary job, quitting smoking and laziness, I have lost about 100 pounds eating no meat and frankly, once I started learning about nutrition it has been super easy. (no, I dont want to talk about the last 15 to go)

As a veg i turned to the easy things, pasta, cheese, breads for my meals. Going out to dinner these were my options, oh, or a house salad. But thankfully the world has responded and more and more chefs are creative and thoughtful.

Feel free to check my diary, its is always open. Nothing to hide, except maybe an occasional splurge on pizza!!

I wouldn't compromise my morals for a diet. Its too easy to make better choices for nutrients.

psuLemon

No one lifestyle is better than the next. Weight loss occurs when you create a deficit of 3500 calories and it doesn't matter which macronutrient you use to create that deficit. You can gain weight on any type of diet you choose. Best advice, regardless of lifestyle, get a food scale and aim for about 1g of protein and .35g of fats per lb of lean body mass. Also, do a combination of weight training and cardio. So if you do go vegetarian, make sure you research it enough to ensure you get getting the right amount of macronutrients (especially protein).

cwolfman13

Being a vegetarian doesn't guarantee anything...either weight control or nutritionally speaking. There's nothing inherently "evil" about meat and in deed, we've evolved to consume it...so if your reasons for going veg are because you think that by eliminating "evil" meat you will some how lose weight then that is a stupid reason...there are many legit reasons to go veg, but that isn't one of them.

Keep in mind that you will have to make up for the nutrients lost from not eating meat...this isn't necessarily difficult, but you do need to know which foods to choose and make sure you're eating them to get proper nutrition. It is likely you will need to supplement with B-12 as well. Also a lot of veggies suffer from anemia so keep an eye on your iron and make sure you're getting enough

Being a vegetarian can be a healthy lifestyle if you make it a healthy lifestyle...just as being carnivorous can be a healthy lifestyle or not...it's all what you make of it and ultimately comes down to your nutritional decisions. One or the other is not necessarily better or worse...either way, if you consume a balance of energy then you will maintain weight...if you consume a surplus of energy you will gain weight...if you consume a deficit of energy you will lose weight...the weight loss part is just math and has ZERO to do with whether you are carnivorous or veggie or vegan or paleo or whatever...

annabakingthomson

To Besaro, I'm confused - I see turkey sausage on your diary?

Sarahnade42x

I lost 75 pounds vegetarian. I reintroduced very lean meats into my diet literally just this week only because I'm trying to build muscle and need the extra protein. Most vegetarian foods that are as protein-dense as meat are also processed and high sodium, unfortunately, but it's entirely possible to lose weight that way.

TheGymGypsy

I have been vegetarian literally all my life. I have been obese and I have been healthy. It's easy to get fat on a vegetarian diet, just like any other. I would do it only if you have moral reasons to do so, it is not a diet that will guarantee you any weight loss. In fact, it can do quite the opposite since most vegetarian meals are pasta and bread centered. Just make healthy choices and you will be successful.

twixlepennie

To Besaro, I'm confused - I see turkey sausage on your diary?

and pepperoni pizza, but maybe she picked off the pepperoni

OP-weight loss is about calories. Period. Becoming a vegetarian for AR or environmental issues is one thing, but to become a vegetarian because you think it will help you lose weight is just not necessary-a calorie deficit is.

topazora

I see no reason why you couldn't loose weight on a vegetarian/vegan diet. Its all about calories in calories out. Just make sure that the plant based foods you're eating are good. If you're not allergic to gluten, whole wheat is really good, eat foods like beans, rice (brown or white- both are good), oats...etc
Even though I'm a proponent of a diverse, omnivorous diet, the nice thing about being human is that we can choose what part of the food pyramid we can eat and what not to eat, and still be healthy. There are a lot of people who live off on meat and potatoes and are doing fantastic- just as there are lot of veggies that are doing really good too. Though, I do eat a lot of poultry, cheese and eggs, the main sources of my protein. Not a huge fan of beef, won't touch pork or lamb, and doing very little to get myself to eat fish.

_Zardoz_

I'm a vegan as you can see by my ticker it has really impeded my weight loss ;-)

I_Will_End_You

To Besaro, I'm confused - I see turkey sausage on your diary?

and pepperoni pizza, but maybe she picked off the pepperoni

She's a vegetarian... except for when she eats meat.

willrun4bagels

I've been a vegetarian since I was five years old. I never liked eating meat prior to that (it's a texture thing for me. I cook meat for my SO, and have no problem buying it, preparing it, etc. in my house, I just can't stomach the idea of eating it. Believe me, I've tried). I used to ask "did the turkey have a mother? did it hurt when it died?" when I was three years old at the dinner table. I also pretended I was a dog (out of protest) at age 4 until my parents took me to the shelter to get a dog. I must have been such a joy to raise...

Anyway. I track everything I eat, weigh all of my food, and experiment with a lot of recipes. My diary is open for friends to view. Feel free to add me, just send a message with your friend request.

besaro

ya, sometimes i just put in approximations since the mfp database doesnt have exact things. no worries though, I know turkey isnt a vegetable! I am still lazy, but 100% vegetarian, no gelatin, no rennet, etc I know my shizz,