Struggling vegetarian!

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beesoup
beesoup Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone! I'm a 21 year old female from South Jersey. I went vegetarian in January 2012 and noticed a jump in my weight of 5lbs. I used to weigh around 135 at my healthiest and I'm now hovering around 140. I'd love to get back down to 135, and push myself beyond! I'm an average sized person looking to get healthy through diet and exercise, especially weight lifting. Any other vegetarians struggling to stay away from pasta? My biggest weakness is the massive amount of coffee I drink-- and I like it light and sweet. It's like eating a piece of cake every day. Looking for other motivated people, especially vegetarians, but anyone would be great!

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  • reklawn
    reklawn Posts: 112 Member
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    I can relate, I am a starch addict myself. I love pasta sauce though, so I usually load it full of onions and peppers and a little pasta, kind of a soup, so that I don't have to use so much pasta.

    I am a coffaholic as well... I usually load mine with silk! I used to work out everyday, but I moved and am super off track now. Working on getting back in the swing :)
  • Holstering
    Holstering Posts: 19
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    Literally me. I've been off red meat for roughly four years, and only eat deli style turkey or chicken breast on occasion -- I'm talking two or three times a year, at most, and it's only when I'm ravenous with hunger. I love pasta, though. Like, I could potentially be romantically in love with pasta. Alfredo sauce is my biggest weakness, but I try to moderate myself with the lighter, "better for you" stuff, like Lean Cuisine, Jolly Green Giant, and Bird's Eye veggie and pasta entrees, when I'm really suffering.
  • 13inchestogo
    13inchestogo Posts: 296 Member
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    I am a vegetarian also! I am getting more and more into weights, I love yoga and 135 is my goal weight!
    I am currently 150. Mainly looking to get toned and lower my body fat percent!! I have to say to be truthful that I will eat sushi with my boyfriend 3 - 4 times a year with the fish so those are the times I go pescatarian lol. I love sushi GAH!!!

    I am juicing at the moment so coffee isnt really an option but I gotta say I love my morning cup of coffee with all that creamy debauchery and fatty fatness :heart:
  • shinjite
    shinjite Posts: 51
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    Make sure you eat a salad with some avocado or a good fat that will sate you before you eat refined carbs.
  • Fit_2013
    Fit_2013 Posts: 336 Member
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    Struggling vegetarian mostly and with menopause I gained weight.
    Everyday is a new day being vegetarian it is hard to lose weight in my opinion. I have slowly started incorporating fats and coconut for satiety reasons and will see my progress.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    It was hard, but I kicked the light sweet coffee. I drink it black, which took some getting used to.

    Pasta was my quick go-to food for years. Now, I rarely eat it, but it took building up a repertoire of recipes and preparing grab-n-go foods for the fridge.
  • AmandaTWaH
    AmandaTWaH Posts: 181 Member
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    I've been a vegetarian for around 12 years now. The hardest part is cutting back on potatoes, pasta, and bread. It is SO easy to go overboard on those! What really helps is to learn how to cook with more vegetables. I eat a lot of stir fry, salads, beans and legumes...
  • tad10301030
    tad10301030 Posts: 20 Member
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    Hi all! I'm 38 and have been a vegetarian since jr. high. It can be a challenge at first but eventually it will be second nature. Another MFP member posted some great pictures of her vegetarian meal, they are inspiring!!


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/722193-vegetarian-meals-lots-of-photos
  • lilylux
    lilylux Posts: 109 Member
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    Hey! I'm happy to be there to support you! I'm 26, and have been a vegetarian for three and a half years. I used to have a love affair with white carbs, or any carbs, which can be a major pitfall of being a vegetarian!! I cook for one and I'm also a student so quite broke - I highly reccomend protein powder, I get cookies and cream flavour and put instant coffee powder in there and it tastes amazing, sweet and a coffee fix. I'm pretty glad we don't have coffee creamer here in New Zealand to tempt me like in the U.S. I make a flavoured plunger coffee in the morning (Irish Cream is my favourite) and drink it black so I still get a tasty flavour with no calories, otherwise a little soy milk wouldn't hurt I'm sure.
    Try making something with beans for saiety - I made a delicious 'meat sauce' to go with my pasta - vege's, mushroom and tinned brown lentils (as the 'meat'/protein component). I also mix in a little greek yoghurt right at the end so there is still a dairy element with a load of cheese. Yum :)
    Good luck and add me if you want.
  • jenna324
    jenna324 Posts: 28
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    Hello! Been a veg several years now (and I'm also a licensed nutritionist). Instead of using regular pasta, try using tofu noodles. It tastes like a regular noodle but is very low cal and minimal carbs. Just don't deprive yourself of carbs as they are 1 of 3 macronutrients your body needs (the others are fat and protein) in order to function. Carbs=sugar=energy. Make sure you pick complex carbs such as whole grains, fruits and vegetable, and foods high in fiber. Now that we're getting into the fall, I recommend Bulgar chili with tofu. It's pretty low cal and it reheats nicely. You can find a recipe for that almost anywhere online. I also suggest baked zucchini with marinara, a 1/2 cup of rice or small noodles, and low fat (NOT no-fat) cheese. Hope this helps :) (Please keep in mind this is not meant to be any sort of medical advice, only suggestions for a healthy person. I would suggest consulting with a nutritionist/RD in your area to get a more thorough evaluation).
  • Goosiesnougs
    Goosiesnougs Posts: 420
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    Would spaghetti squash help your appetite for pasta? I usually LOAD it with sauce and chow.......But I'm not a vegetarian:)
  • nopudgepoot
    nopudgepoot Posts: 63 Member
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    If you love pasta, try spaghetti squash next time with your sauce. It's really good, you won't have the extra carbs, and it's tasty!
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,858 Member
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    I am not a vegetarian, but my husband is and has been for 20 some odd years. While I don't eat a strictly vegetarian diet, I would say that a large part of what I cook and eat is vegetarian. Just to clarify, when I say vegetarian I mean ovo-lacto vegetarian. I have a cooking blog that created to share my recipes. All the recipes are vegetarian and I have included calories for most of them. www.myveggietable.com.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    Hi all! I'm 38 and have been a vegetarian since jr. high. It can be a challenge at first but eventually it will be second nature. Another MFP member posted some great pictures of her vegetarian meal, they are inspiring!!


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/722193-vegetarian-meals-lots-of-photos
    thanks
  • jazee11
    jazee11 Posts: 321
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    I am veggie and I have mostly given up the pasta. Though, it was quite a struggle, that and cheese! I also can't wait to get to a goal of 135.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I'm not a vegetarian, because I do eat fish/poultry a few times a week, but I eat a lot of vegetarian meals. I eat pasta every day and it's never been a problem for me. It's only about 100 calories per dry ounce, so plan your day accordingly and you can have plenty of pasta! I just fit it into my calories, serve it with a ton of vegetables (and sometimes beans) and if I want extra, I earn it through exercise. I find that the high-fiber white pastas (try Barilla or Ronzoni) taste and feel the same as regular refined pasta, but they fill me up faster and keep me full longer. :drinker:
  • beesoup
    beesoup Posts: 3
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    Thanks for all the awesome responses! I'll definitely friend some of you. Starch is such a huge problem for me. Even when I do cook a lot of vegetables, I'll make rice to go with it. Perhaps I can start using whole grain rice to at least be a little healthier?

    Spaghetti squash seems amazing and I'm definitely going to try it out! Thank you so much for the tips. I do eat eggs mainly for the protein. I've thought about going vegan but I ended up restricting so much that I got pretty sick. One thing I definitely want to eat more of is nuts. I want to make at least one vegetable-centered meal per day, as I already eat plenty of fruit. I do drink V8 vegetable juice from time to time as well. I definitely need to learn to cook more vegetables. As of right now I always fall back on onions, mushrooms, carrots, peppers, and egg plant-- but there's so much more out there!
  • beesoup
    beesoup Posts: 3
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    I'm not a vegetarian, because I do eat fish/poultry a few times a week, but I eat a lot of vegetarian meals. I eat pasta every day and it's never been a problem for me. It's only about 100 calories per dry ounce, so plan your day accordingly and you can have plenty of pasta! I just fit it into my calories, serve it with a ton of vegetables (and sometimes beans) and if I want extra, I earn it through exercise. I find that the high-fiber white pastas (try Barilla or Ronzoni) taste and feel the same as regular refined pasta, but they fill me up faster and keep me full longer. :drinker:

    Very smart! I'll definitely have to consider that. It's easier now that I have this website to keep track of my calories. Spaghetti squash and fiber-rich pastas sound great and I'm going to try it this week.
  • elizak87
    elizak87 Posts: 249 Member
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    I'm also vegetarian and would love vego friends to steal meal ideas from. I have cut out most bread but I tend to have a small portion of rice or pasta every few days whether it be sushi or something else. I find using reciepe books to create a menu for the week cuts back relying on the same meals or vegetables

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