vegan diet?

ayoubm3949

Some friends of mine stopped eating meat for a week or so and actually lost weight! so I was thinking about trying it out...I'm a little hesitant about it because I thought meat was important for weight loss lol

what do you think?

momtokgo

Do you just want to cut out meat, or all animal products? Vastly different things.

Cutting out meat (vegetarian) would be pretty easy to handle for a week if you really wanted to try it. I don't know about the quick weight loss aspect, I would think that once you replace the calories from the meat with other foods the weight loss shouldn't be that much different?

Going vegan for a week would mean no eggs, milk, yogurt, sour cream etc. as well as looking at the ingredients of every single processed food you eat. Do you know how many things have milk in some form, in them?

kkerri

I have done a vegan diet over the years (longest stretch was about 1 year completely animal free). It's very hard to do and time-consuming, so my nutrition suffered a bit and I added back in some animal proteins. If you are on the go and eat out a lot (which I do for work), it becomes difficult. If you have your choice of restaurants and/or the time or inclination to whip up some seitan or tofu, then it's doable. I think it can be very healthy if you do it correctly, or easy to slip into a routine of pasta.

As far as weight loss, I gained, but I also wasn't a big meat eater and ate healthy before.

cheesy_blasters

Well, like any diet, it depends on what you replace the food you're cutting out with. I'm transitioning to vegan (so I'm slowly cutting things out, using up what I have) but I have been vegan for a long stretch (8 + years). I think the best way to see if you like it is to have a vegan day every week or try have a certain number of vegan meals a week. I think a lot of vegans will stop eating meat and just eat highly processed "fake meat" and way more carbs. That's not healthy.

There's an herbivore group with lots of recipes, I'd suggest joining that.

However, in my opinion, those who are vegan just to lose weight might find it REALLY difficult to stick with it. It's a huge PITA and people give you a hard time about it quite often. If it's really ethically important to you, it can be easier to stick to. Vegan is more than giving up meat and dairy. There are lots of additives in food that are animal based. Even something like getting french fries means finding out what they're fried in.

I would suggest trying to add more meatless meals to your diet but make sure you're replacing them with something (tofu, legumes) to keep getting enough protein or just creating meals that are more veggie-centric (I find a lot of meat eaters tend to have meat as the main event and veggies as the side).

As for only doing it for a week? I doubt it would make a difference. Exercise a few more times a week or cut out an an unhealthy option you're currently eating. It would be a more sustainable weight loss in my mind.

ninerbuff

Unless you're willing to give up meat completely, then it's a waste of time. Like any other diet, it will be a temporary change.

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stylistchik

It's not meat that you need, it's protein. If you can get protein from other sources it won't be any different. The benefit to a plant based diet is extra fiber and nutrients. The hardest part is getting out of the box of what "normal" meals consist of but that's usually why people are here in the first place! Every meal should contain lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.

sarahsxt

Weight loss rate is about the same eating meat, vegetarian, or vegan as long as your calorie content stays constant. But if you don't count calories, then I think vegetarians on average have the lowest calorie count. Vegans can rack up the calories because most vegan dishes are more complex and have more replacement products to make up for the lack of diary.

tigersword

Some friends of mine stopped eating meat for a week or so and actually lost weight! so I was thinking about trying it out...I'm a little hesitant about it because I thought meat was important for weight loss lol

what do you think?

Calorie deficit is how you lose weight. If cutting out meat causes a calorie deficit, you will lose weight. It has nothing to do with whether you are eating meat or not, it's all about the calorie deficit. So, if you only want to cut out meat to help with weight loss, don't bother, as it really makes no difference, unless you reduce calories at the same time, which you could easily do without eliminating meat.