Vegetarian diet

chezza189

If you are going to go veggie be prepared to buy lots of low fat dairy, tofu, pulses, wholegrains and protein shakes to keep those protein levels up. Going veggie will only help you loose weight if you watch what you eat.

ajones1965

I went from vegetarian to vegan and dropped 6kg (14lbs) in a month. I have lost 16kg in total since the end of January as a vegetarian and then vegan. I eat a mostly whole food diet. I don't eat vegan 'cheese', or much fake 'meat'. I occasionally eat veggie hotdogs, apart from that it's pulses and nuts and green veggies for protein. I also don't add sugar or artificial sweeteners and just drink water and herbal tea, no caffeine. It works for me, I have tons of energy, feel great and have seen a dramatic improvement in my skin tone and texture.

taiyola

Calorie deficit = lose weight.

As a vegetarian for 20 years, I have been underweight, a good weight, overweight.

Calories in vs. calories out.

The end.

meerkat70

Let's all stop knocking this person and be helpful.

Get off your soap boxes and give her ideas!

Nobody's on a soap box. The OP asked if anyone had considered vegetarianism as a strategy for weightloss. As a very fat vegetarian (I've been a vege for 30 years) I'd agree with previous posters - it isn't a strategy for weightloss.

It obviously helps to eat more plant based food, but vegetarianism per se is not a weightloss strategy.

The OP didn't actually ask for recipe tips, but no-one got stroppy about your previous post. I'm unclear why you decided to take offence to everyone else's helpful and on topic responses.

otter090812

Being vegetarian may be useful if you have a weakness for particularly calorific meat-based foods (I'm thinking the stuff that generally comes under the heading 'junk') and want to cut them out wholesale from your diet rather than simply cutting down. However, vegetarianism brings with it its own challenges. Getting enough protein in particular can be difficult. I'm veggie for ethical reasons, but still got well into the obese BMI range. An over-reliance on dairy, a sweet tooth, a lack of portion control - none of these things are 'solved' by being vegetarian. Can you look again at the type of meat or meat products that you eat and see if perhaps you can substitute some healthy lean meats and a few veggie sources? The point of all this is to make sustainable changes, and without the deep-rooted belief you may find it unsustainable.

arl1286

I disagree with the first poster who said you become a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I haven't eaten meat in about 7.5 years and I couldn't care less about the ethics behind it.

That said, it isn't how you eat, but what you eat. If you give up meat only to replace it with bread and pasta, you won't lose weight. If you give up meat and triple your intake of vegetables, you very well might.

Feel free to add me if you want some meal ideas.

eric_sg61

You can lose weight on either a meaty or a vegan/vegetarian diet.

That being said, you will be healthier and live longer if you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. About 2 months ago the University of Southern California completed an 18-year-long study which reported that eating meat was as bad for us as smoking. This upsets a lot of meat eaters, and a lot of blogs have been written about why this is false etc. because in today's society people think that opinion equals fact (Even a blog or magazine article written by a medical expert does not carry any weight in the academic community. It has to be a proper, long-term study done in a clinical setting through a university or research hospital and published in a respectable medical journal, such as this 18-year-long study.) However medical experts take these kind of studies such as this 18 year long study by USC as fact, or at least the best information we have, even when average laypeople do not understand their significance. It often takes a generation or two for this type of information to be accepted by the public. A similar study was done in the 1960's by the surgeon general and they found that smoking caused cancer. Most people believe that now, however at the time there were stragglers who refused to believe it.

This is not the first major academic study to conclude that eating meat will kill you. In the 1990's, Dr. Dean Ornish devised a diet that was nearly vegan, except it allowed fat free dairy, eggs, and fish for people who did not already have heart problems. This was the first diet in the history of medical science which was able to halt, and in some cases, reverse heart disease. His research has been covered on major news networks, most recently of which was a program called 20/20 which concluded that, with this information, heart attacks were completely a choice, based on diet.

Before this was the China Study by Campbell and Schurman, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, who had the same findings, that animal products such as meat or dairy were responsible for the "diseases of affluence" of western society, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, arterioscelerosis etc. etc.

In the 90's, the American Journal of Medicine said that Vegetarians live 7 years longer, on average, than meat eaters, and that 97% of heart attacks are caused by eating animal products. There are many other studies as well if you want more academic references - I have loads.

I used to be a vegan (now vegetarian) for purely ethical reasons however science also supports this as being the right choice for health. That being said, you do not have to be veg to lose weight.

There is so much wrong in this I don't even know where to start............someone really drank the kool-aid

Poods71

Depends what kind of vegetarian you are. I was veggie for 10 years and lived on pizza and ready meal, so not very healthy and I actually put on weight. I gave up vegetarianism when I got pregnant, as baby decided it wanted meat so who was I to argue lol. If you eat healthy food with the correct calorie deficit it is irrelevant whether you are veggie or not.

SillyC2

Check out the Adventist Health Studies!
http://www.llu.edu/public-health/health/index.page

This is a large cohort study on Seventh Day Adventists in the US and Canada. So, people that have similar access to food as you do, more or less. Some Adventists go vegetarian as a spiritual practice. The vegetarians tend to have better health outcomes in many areas (cancer, autoimmune diseases, blood pressure, osteoporosis). A vegetarian diet can be a very healthy diet, and for many people can be a great step forward for their health.

As far as weight loss? Well, you still have to count calories in order to make it work for you. However, it's also harder to make a 1500 calorie mistake while eating out. If that's your major dietary malfuntion - going out to eat and ordering (or being pressured by family into ordering) the 1600 calorie steak - then it might help?

141chloe

All of this information is actually really informative and useful! I can see everyone's point of View and after reading through It all, each of you's make sence! I get that becoming vegetarian isn't going to instantly make you loose weight, I kind of just meant it more so if someone decided to go vegetarian whilst keeping up with exercise would they efficiently loose weight like someone who wasn't vegetarian.

But thanks heaps for replying and giving me a better understanding of it (:

daffodilsoup

You're able to eat more volume for less calories on vegetarian/vegan diets, but don't be fooled - simply cutting out meat (usually) isn't enough to aid in weight loss.

Cutting animal products out from your diet can be a really great move, but if you're concerned with strict weight loss, focus on your calorie intake.

Loralrose

All of this information is actually really informative and useful! I can see everyone's point of View and after reading through It all, each of you's make sence! I get that becoming vegetarian isn't going to instantly make you loose weight, I kind of just meant it more so if someone decided to go vegetarian whilst keeping up with exercise would they efficiently loose weight like someone who wasn't vegetarian.

But thanks heaps for replying and giving me a better understanding of it (:

Ah, okay. Sorry I misunderstood your question!

Going vegetarian will not make your weight loss less efficient. Just make sure to keep hitting your calorie and nutrient goals. I've just started recently, but my weight loss is consistent and I eat mostly vegetarian. Some people will say you can't get enough protein with a veg diet... don't listen to them. You can get everything you need, you may just have to put a bit more thought into it.

Feel free to ask me if you need recipe ideas!

shmerek

Calorie deficit = lose weight.

As a vegetarian for 20 years, I have been underweight, a good weight, overweight.

Calories in vs. calories out.

The end.

^^^^ This

kristenveganvixen

I went veggie then vegan for the animals- going veggie made no difference but I initially lost weight when I went vegan as there was less vegan junk food readily available (this was over a decade ago and there's been a lot of progress made since then!) When I learned to bake vegan cakes and cookies, then learned which biscuits were "accidentally vegan" (hob nobs, value digestives, bourbons, ginger nuts...) I put it all back on though!

SoiIt wasn't the going vegan that made me lose weight really, but the cutting out of junk. Vegan diets have plenty tasty food it's easy to put on weight though so you won't feel deprived without animal products, especially if you can cook! Do do it for the animals though!

Shropshire1959

So, you've never seen a fat vegetarian?

Wanna get thinner? - Eat less and move more.

redraidergirl2009

All of this information is actually really informative and useful! I can see everyone's point of View and after reading through It all, each of you's make sence! I get that becoming vegetarian isn't going to instantly make you loose weight, I kind of just meant it more so if someone decided to go vegetarian whilst keeping up with exercise would they efficiently loose weight like someone who wasn't vegetarian.

But thanks heaps for replying and giving me a better understanding of it (:

I think it's harder to loose weight vegetarian. You know what's vegetarian? Cheese pizza, cake, cookies ect...

Jestinia

I think this lecture is great for anyone who is vegetarian or contemplating it because it really emphasizes getting all your nutritional needs met while you're eating that way and which vitamins and minerals you likely will be lacking if you aren't careful. Also considering returning to being a vegetarian myself. High quality meat is too expensive anyway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7KeRwdIH04

kristenn9715

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bajoyba

Let's all stop knocking this person and be helpful.

Get off your soap boxes and give her ideas!

We are being helpful by honestly answering the question. OP did not say "I'm vegetarian, can I lose weight?" OP asked "will going vegetarian help me lose weight?" The answer is no.

No soap boxes here. If someone wants to eat vegetarian that's great, and I'll give them recipes and support! And I don't question people on their motivations for it, that's up to them. But it will not help the OP achieve their goal. So if weight loss is the only motivation why waste so much effort on something that won't get results?

Agree.

I've been a vegetarian for almost 5 years now for personal ethical reasons. Obviously, I love being a vegetarian and really enjoy it as a lifestyle, but I don't recommend it as a weight loss strategy. I actually gained weight as a vegetarian - at least 20 pounds - before joining MFP.

If you want to lose weight, you simply have to eat fewer calories than your body requires to maintain its current weight. If you want to keep the weight off, you have to make sustainable lifestyle changes and find a plan you can stick to for life. You can do that eating any variety of foods.

Here's a link that's helped me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

And if the OP is looking for specific vegetarian food suggestions and recipes, my diary is open.

tiptoethruthetulips

Check out the Adventist Health Studies!
http://www.llu.edu/public-health/health/index.page

This is a large cohort study on Seventh Day Adventists in the US and Canada. So, people that have similar access to food as you do, more or less. Some Adventists go vegetarian as a spiritual practice. The vegetarians tend to have better health outcomes in many areas (cancer, autoimmune diseases, blood pressure, osteoporosis). A vegetarian diet can be a very healthy diet, and for many people can be a great step forward for their health.

I would think that the better health outcomes are derived from more than just a vegetarian diet, 7th day Adventists are unlikely to smoke, drink alcohol, use drugs....