Vegetarian diet

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....

JamieD328

I had been thinking the same thing- looking at a vegetarian diet to lose weight. While considering that a large portion of my daily calories are from meat, I thought I'd see if a "healthy" vegetarian diet included lower calorie sources of protein to cut back on the tasty animal protein that normally dominates my plate. So if there is any vegetarians I didn't offend by the tasty animal comment, I'm sure I and the original poster would like to read feed back about a properly balanced, and low calorie, vegetarian diet and whether or not its feasible to help lose weight.

Loralrose

I had been thinking the same thing- looking at a vegetarian diet to lose weight. While considering that a large portion of my daily calories are from meat, I thought I'd see if a "healthy" vegetarian diet included lower calorie sources of protein to cut back on the tasty animal protein that normally dominates my plate. So if there is any vegetarians I didn't offend by the tasty animal comment, I'm sure I and the original poster would like to read feed back about a properly balanced, and low calorie, vegetarian diet and whether or not its feasible to help lose weight.

Haha, I am not offended by "tasty animals," even if I don't agree! Personally I love me some legumes

It is definitely possible to lose weight with a balanced, low-calorie vegetarian diet. Switching to a vegetarian diet will not automatically help you lose weight, but it might be helpful for you if most of your calories are coming from meat. My problem foods are sweets and snacks, so being vegetarian has not helped me control my weight at all.

Why not try easing into it? Start out making two days a week meatless days. Try to avoid replacing meat with cheese, since that won't really help you cut calories. Try stuff like beans, peas, nuts and lentils, and increase your portions of fruits and vegetables. Find some tasty looking recipes to try - don't just sit down to a block of cold tofu! There are lots of great recipes online. Maybe cooking without meat will help you be more creative and find new, healthier meals. If you find that going vegetarian makes it easier to meet your goals, there's no reason not to do it. A vegetarian diet can be perfectly healthy - in fact I don't think there's much difference between vegetarian and omnivore diets when it comes to getting good nutrition.

You might also decide that the solution is to eat less meat or eat it less frequently instead of cutting it out entirely. Meat isn't actually that calorie dense depending on the source: one chicken breast is only 150 calories, a 4 oz serving of lean beef is about 200. Where meat becomes a problem is when you are eating several "servings" (3-4 oz) in one sitting... that'll rack up calories fast. Just remember that everything is okay in moderation.

Best of luck to you!

Aaron_K123

I was wondering if any of you's would ever consider going vegetarian as a method to loose weight? or have any of you's done it and had success from it?

Considering that I think most people overeat on carbs not protein I don't really see switching to being vegetarian as particularly useful as a weight-loss aid. If you find your difficulty in keeping your calories low is that you love meat so much you eat way to much of it I think trying to go cold turkey (no pun intended) is not going to work for you. If you don't have problems avoiding meat anyways then i doubt declaring that you are now going to avoid meat is really going to help you diet in and of itself.

IIIIISerenityNowIIIII

I've been vegetarian for 15 years and you can see I'm needing to lose quite a bit of weight. So, it doesn't necessarily help you lose weight. Cupcakes are vegetarian

Now, it may help you tremendously if you cut back on meat, but not go vegetarian. You may want to replace some fattier cuts of meat for fish or another protein more often.

It's really just about calorie deficit. You don't have to give up an entire food group in order to lose weight. I quit meat because of the inhumane living conditions meat-industry animals are raised on.

jec228

I was pescatarian (only fish) for about 4 years. i cut out all other white and red meat, pork, etc. and i have been at a healthy weight and sometimes overweight throughout those 4 years. i recently started eating chicken & turkey again this year. I originally cut it out because my mom had been pescatarian for quite some time and said she felt much better.... so i was curious to know if it would make me feel any differently too. i am inclined to always be experimenting with my diet and trying new things/cutting them out to see what works best for me.
I also read a few books about factory farms and meat production that really turned me off from eating meat for awhile anyways. I think it could be a method of weightloss if you live off of salads but that's not really ideal long term. As many others have said you can be vegetarian and still eat pizza and breadsticks so it's really what you make of it. Good luck!

daffodilsoup

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...

Can't omnivores eat cheese pizza, cake, and cookies too?