Vegetarianism..

Glasgow_Vegan

If you want to lose weight veganism would be a better bet. It just becomes habit after the first few weeks. It's much easier if you do it cold turkey. I've been vegan for more than seven years and don't find it difficult at all.

fldiver97

I have been a vegetarian for over 23 years. It does not automativally mean 'healthy' or balanced diet or weight loss. My diet in the early stages was atrocious...... I still ate processsed foods, lots of carrot cake (yum), too much cheese and bread etc. It was all due to little knowledge, lots of eating out and mindless eating. I did not have a weight issue then but I was in my twenties After a year or so I had done enough 'research', started cooking more at home and tried out more foods (like quinoa, kale, other grains/vegetables and nion-dairy sources of protein). I tend to gain 10, 20 or 30 pounds if I don't get a moderate amount of exercise, eat out of boredom/frustration etc and eat out a lot for longer periods of time. In a nutshell - whatever your individual needs and reasons for weight loss or diet changes are, do your 'research......remember vegetarianism and other 'diets' are really not short term diets but lifestyle changes.

T_X_L

"I've heard of vegetarians who eat fish. "

Those are pescetarians, not vegetarians.

Never heard that tern before, thanks

Illona88

I'm not a scientist. But here is a true fact. I knew three vegetarians in my life. Two died at age 38, and the other died at age 43.
I know I won't risk it.

That's like saying "I know two people who own a vacuum cleaner and they both died early".

jaimemariel

here we go again...

Kellyh01

I think eliminating dairy has more health benefits than eliminating meat.

fthoodbaby

I am NOT good with diets either! I don't like them and don't stick to them. However, I can do lifestyle change. Moving from flexitarian (which I have always been) to vegetarian was the easiest lifestyle change for me. Much easier even than I thought it would be. Currently I am moving toward veganism -- I eat vegan about 90% of the time now.

Give it a try! If it doesn't work for you, you don't have to stick with it! Pick a day and try it for a week or a month. Personally, when I started I decided to try it for a month. By the end of that month I could tell that I felt better, had more energy, slept better, etc. Definitely it is the lifestyle for me. Maybe it won't be for you -- but you will never know until you try it.

On a bright note, 6 months after eliminating meat from our diet my hubbys triclyceride number had dropped so much that the dr asked him how he could do it so he could tell other patients. Yes -- 6 months of that did what the medicine couldn't do.

Good luck!

makemewannadie

I'm not a scientist. But here is a true fact. I knew three vegetarians in my life. Two died at age 38, and the other died at age 43.
I know I won't risk it.

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. Haha
Well, everyone i've ever known that's died ate meat (;

SueGremlin

I'm not a scientist. But here is a true fact. I knew three vegetarians in my life. Two died at age 38, and the other died at age 43.
I know I won't risk it.

That's like saying "I know two people who own a vacuum cleaner and they both died early".

OMG! YOU knew these vacuum people too!?

SueGremlin

as for going veg. I think it's important to listen to your body and do it gradually. It takes knowledge and time to get into it. Good luck!

VeganPanda

Do it. I'm vegan (not for dietary reasons) but stick to lots of fruits and vegetables and you'll be golden.

natalieakyzer

I'm a vegan, but I started out as a vegetarian. It's one of the best things that I ever committed to. Will suggest if you decide to become a vegetarian that you be careful about the dairy. I found that when I first started that nearly everything I eat had cheese on it. Just because its vegetarian doesn't make it healthy. Vegan is the same way for that matter.

kayemme

the main reason i wanna do it is to clean up my diet. i would only cut out meat though..and im hoping doing this could help me eat healthier overall by eliminating some of the processed crap i eat a lot

well, having been a junk food vegetarian, you may not get the goal for which you are aiming. what i would say is yes, avoid meat, but more than that, avoid anything with a barcode or a drive through. work on that first, being more flexible with meat until you get the hang of it. then once you "clean up" your diet, you can decide if vegetarianism is the right choice for you.

i'm all for going veg, it's just that it can be a very strict set of rules that is difficult to just jump into, so first start working on the general and keep honing it until you have it figured out.

fitmaa

I have been a vegetarian for a year and then started to eat meat once a month or so (i was pregnant and blamed it on the cravings).

I was trying to loose weight then and I will say it was not easy to loose weight especially eating out was a little difficult because it diificult to find healthy veg meals unless if it a veg friendly place. if I was eating meat it would have been easy to just order a grilled chicken.

All that said I lost 20 lbs in a span of 9 months. It just takes a little more effort to come up with new ideas initially. We also don't need exorbitant amount of protein.

Being vegetarian was "Totally Worth it" My skin felt way better. I ate a lot of veggies. over all I felt a lot better.

I suggest take it slow and cut down gradually. My attitude was "I am choosing not to eat meat but I can have it whenever I want helped me". If i restrict myself that is the first thing i want to eat

I do believe cleaning up your diet is not just being vegetarian but definitely plays a big part.

Every step in the right direction is good.

Kristhin

If you're considering a vegetarian lifestyle I would suggest going to www.thekindlife.com and www.vrg.org for lots of good recipes and info. Also, try reading The World Peace Diet by Dr. Will Tuttle.

theMIDDLE

I have a real bug bear with people who call themselves vegetarians and eat fish. If you eat fish you are not a vegetarian, you are a pescatarian or a meat reducer. I've been vegetarian for over twenty years and still find restaurants that think if you are vegetarian you can choose from the fish menu. No I can't, I'm vegetarian!! Rant over.

THIS.

I always want to say "I don't eat animals... what part of that is confusing?"

amrita0286

I'm vegetarian myself, but in all honesty a lot of vegetarians are also over weight. Simply because you cut out meat doesn't always mean your diet will get cleaner. My husband eats meat but makes sure it's not fried, dripped in oil, etc and he's never been over-weight in his life, and no he doesn't have a fast metabolism either.

I don't eat meat or fish ( I do have eggs and dairy) , but I still have struggled with weight gain since I gave up meat. It definately depends on the quality of meat, veggies, etc that you put into your mouth. If you eat lean meat I'm sure you'll lose and if you incorporate raw veggies then you will lose weight as well.

I do admit I relied a lot on processed foods and ate out a lot, yes I wasn't eating meat but it was still crap.

So yes don't think of it as a diet but merely as a change for the good and like some people said already, don't switch cold turkey, ease into it. I gave up meat when I was 14 and it was difficult but I eased into it, and I'm 26 now. I'm still working on my eating habits till date but focus on the quality of food and I'm sure you will lose weight and feel good.

Zangpakto

Try Paleo rather... Seriously...

Much healthier for you than vegetarianism and easier to maintain and actually is based on scientific proof and blood markers etc than morals as vegetarianism is...

I tried being a vegetarian, and you know what? It sucked... I didn't miss meat, not at all, however do you realise that if you are actually REALLY into fitness how hard it is to get all the protein you need without getting all those excess carbs?

I am all for vegetarians when they do it FOR THE MORAL SIDE.

Claiming your doing it to be the healthier person and hoping for direct weight loss is wrong... Last I checked cookies were on the list.. Now is that healthy? Or chocolates.. Or Sweets etc....

That is why I am all for vegetarians when they do it for only the moral aspect.. Them I respect..

Claiming it can clean your diet is incorrect... the bad habits people have while not being vegan etc can still persist... I mean really... Pasta isn't exactly the best option all the time, nor is rice, and soya... man... don't even get me started on that stuff... It is actually BAD for you, rather use lentils, eggs and maybe a bit spice etc mush together and fry and make lentil burgers... Simple and much healthier than soya anyway...

Losing weight is about food choices. If you enjoy your meat, you aren't really going to stick to it come party evening when people tempt you (And yes... they REALLY do tempt you...) I do feel sorry for the animals, however my performance dropped when I changed diet (And yes wasn't a quick change, it was over 8 months so my body did have time to adapt)

Seriously, look into paleo, it is a lot better in the long run of things, I mean, tracking and finding out what it did to blood markers for certain illnesses, your hormones, insulin etc, that kind of made me think about it, and I am going paleo at the end of september when I got my marathon as a golden rule is as most racers will tell you, you shouldn't change what has worked before the race (i.e. don't try new things)

daffodilsoup

Don't make the mistake of assuming that cutting animal products out of your diet will result in weight loss - it comes down to calories in/calories out.

It is, however, the best decision I ever made. I cut out all animal products after doing research on how they are obtained, but even just giving up animal flesh made me feel like a better citizen of the Earth. I'd suggest doing some research before you start this lifestyle change and figure out a reason WHY - becoming emotionally invested makes it much easier to stick with it.

NoAdditives

I can't seem to stick to any type of diet/eating plan/lifestyle so I was thinking of giving vegetarianism a shot. What are you peoples thoughts/opinions on this?

Why not just eat a healthy, balanced diet? Being vegetarian, or cutting out entire food groups, takes dedication and a serious amount of effort regarding planning meals, etc. to ensure proper nutrition. Unless you have some moral reason or health concern for wanting to cut out meat, it seems silly.

I was vegetarian for over 10 years. It was hard. I didn't do it right and I ate a ton of crap, and gained weight. And knowing what I know now about health and nutrition, I doubt I'll ever go back to that lifestyle. I'll eat less meat than a lot of people, but I'll never cut it out completely. Humans evolved eating meat. It's supposed to be part of our diet.

daffodilsoup

I'm not a scientist. But here is a true fact. I knew three vegetarians in my life. Two died at age 38, and the other died at age 43.
I know I won't risk it.

lol

spodnik13

If you're not sure of it I would suggest trying to start out slowly. Make a meatless meal or designate one or two nights a week meatless, see how you like it. If you do then go ahead and increase the weekly meatless days. If you're doing this mainly for health reasons and not for the animal rights aspect of it I don't see a need to really go with a vegetarian title, that way sometimes if you crave bacon you can have a piece without feeling guilty about it lol

SpikeLangenderfer

Is there something funny?
This young lady is asking for advice. I gave my opinion. You disagree with it. I get it.

JephaMooi

:flowerforyou: