Best Plans for Vegetarians & Vegans

Kejlina
Kejlina Posts: 31 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any experience with any of these? I haven't really tried any yet, I'm still reading and looking around to see what's best.

- Skinny *****

- MacDougall

- Dean Ornish (includes fish and egg)

- The Soy Zone

- Weight Watchers

I've read Skinny *****, and the book was so verbally abusive that I had to read it with a black marker to cross out the insults as I was going along. Take out the insulting parts and you're left with advice that'll help you lose weight (drink water, eat natural foods, exercise, do yoga, etc), and a smattering of pseudo-science and things that seem like they might trigger eating disorders (Juice fasts/cleanses, brushing your teeth when you have cravings so that you won't want to eat).

I've looked at the MacDougall plan and I THINK it looks do-able, although I'm a little unclear of how many servings of food I'm allowed. Plus, some of his recipes look atrocious. Can anyone who has tried the recipes chime in?

Does anyone know of any other plans? And which plans don't forbid coffee? :)

Replies

  • willwillywilson
    willwillywilson Posts: 229
    Do you know how you can tell if someone is vegan? Don't worry, they'll f****** tell you!!!

    Sorry, old joke. Couldn't resist!!
  • VeganZombie13
    VeganZombie13 Posts: 297
    Do you know how you can tell if someone is vegan? Don't worry, they'll f****** tell you!!!

    Sorry, old joke. Couldn't resist!!

    Not true I don't tell anyone... It's no one business but mine tbh... :)


    Ive only read Skinny *****. none of the others sorry..
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
    You could just try eating sensible healthy vegetarian foods and exercising...........
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    I have looked at most of them before, and I think they are all good healthy eating plans. I don't think that you have to pick an exact plan and follow it to the letter. I switched to a plant based diet, and exlude oils. It works for me. None of them are really okay with you drinking soda or coffee, but I think that you can follow one of their plans basically and make minor adjustments that work for you. I think the whole key to success is finding something with basic guidelines you can follow, and then making it work for you.
  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    Do you know how you can tell if someone is vegan? Don't worry, they'll f****** tell you!!!

    Sorry, old joke. Couldn't resist!!

    And I don't tell anyone in my real life I am vegan either, cause they look at me like I am a circus freak!
  • sundancer1966
    sundancer1966 Posts: 478 Member
    Hi!

    The best one I have seen is The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle cure cookbook. Great plan, and totally plant based. I have serveral other vegan cookbooks, but this is my favorite that many of our regular meals are here. Even if you don't have diabetes, the book and recipe book are well worth the read. This book alone explains in a layman's terms why plant based is healthy, no insults and tells how to modify if you want to add real dairy or even have occassional meat.

    Skinny B****, is good, but has a lot of processed and prepacked. But good for getting your feet wet.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
    I eat mostly vegetarian but I do have seafood once or twice a week. I eat meat once a month, sometimess less. I also limit dairy to one serving a day or less--I probably have 3 servings of dairy a week. So that seems to fall within the range of foods you are considering (except for maybe the meat).

    I haven't tried the plans you've listed but I can tell you that I am losing weight logging on MFP eating the way I described above. I also exercise a minimum of 4 times a week for 45 - 60 minutes each.

    I guess this doesn't totally answer your question, but rest assured MFP can work for people that don't eat a lot of animal products--and it's easy to follow since most foods are already entered into MFP by someone else.

    Good luck!
  • luckyclover78
    luckyclover78 Posts: 115 Member
    I don't know that you need a specific plan to adopt a plant based diet. I went plant based in January and they cookbooks that helped me the most were the Happy Herbivore and Engine 2 Diet books. Happy Herbivore uses easy to find ingredients that aren't expensive and her recipes are very easy. She also offers weekly meal plans on her website. I've used them and they are awesome. Another great website that I like is fat free vegan.
  • luckyclover78
    luckyclover78 Posts: 115 Member
    I have looked at most of them before, and I think they are all good healthy eating plans. I don't think that you have to pick an exact plan and follow it to the letter. I switched to a plant based diet, and exlude oils. It works for me. None of them are really okay with you drinking soda or coffee, but I think that you can follow one of their plans basically and make minor adjustments that work for you. I think the whole key to success is finding something with basic guidelines you can follow, and then making it work for you.

    I agree with this. You have to find what works for you and what is important to you and go from there. There is a lot of information to sift through and it can be overwhelming when just starting out. I just went one meal at a time and I'm still going....
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    how about just using MFP and eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.

    Thats what I do.
  • cfregon
    cfregon Posts: 147
    You could just try eating sensible healthy vegetarian foods and exercising...........

    ^^^This. There are typically two kinds of vegans/vegetarians- Junk Veg*ns and Healthy Veg*ns. A healthy plant based diet is typically rich in whole foods, low in processed foods. Try to avoid 'meat' substitutes in favor of whole foods (have a portabella burger instead of a packaged veggie burger), keep your carbs under control (many veggies I've met, and at the beginning me too- have relied heavily on pasta, breads, etc to fill their diet), make sure you get adequate saturated fat and cholesterol, etc. I'd also recommend a multivitamin. :)
  • ripemango
    ripemango Posts: 534 Member
    MacDougal - low fat plant based diet. very diff from soy zone in that it highly favors starches over protein. large reduction in oil and fat, no olives, peanut butter, nuts, tofu. this is a restricted vegan diet.

    Ornish - i believe this 1 is low fat and some people think it is too fat restrictive

    Soy zone - seems fine if you are willing to take in more protein than is found in a normal veg/vegan diet that primarily comes from soy

    It has been years, but I found weight watchers to not be very veg/vegan friendly. Things may have changed by now.

    My overall opinion of all of these is that they are too restrictive. I don't see the point in cutting out nuts. They are quite good for you. Tofu is fab, but tofu all the time seems boring to me. Check out Chef AJ (just google). She is a vegan Chef. She advocates not using oil (this isn't something with which I agree), but she has some great recipes.

    I personally do not think you should follow any of the above programs. It's too much to ask/require. I would just advise following a veg or vegan diet and keeping your calories to 1500. You'll lose and won't feel deprived or be jumping through crazy hoops with no sound scientific backing.
  • Kejlina
    Kejlina Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks for replies everyone. My problem is that I have basically become a junk food vegan, and I am more or less sedentery. I used to be skinny when I walked a lot, but over the years I've been packing on the pounds, and eating more refined foods.


    I know "eat healthier" is such a simple guideline on the surface, but I think I've lost my way a bit when it comes to what healthy eating actually looks like. And looking at all of these diet plans does seem to needlessly complicate things, doesn't it?


    Okay, gonna try just calorie counting for now and see how it goes...

    :)
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    Do you know how you can tell if someone is vegan? Don't worry, they'll f****** tell you!!!

    Sorry, old joke. Couldn't resist!!

    I grew up vegetarian. I learned along time ago never to mention it (not that I ever particularly wanted to) and when people start asking stuff, just say "I'm a vegetarian JUST BECAUSE I AM" and leave it at that. Always a little hard to shut them up about how ignorant vegetarians are but what's a girl gonna do? I hear it A LOT at my current job and just try to deflect it as in, 'hey more meat for you!' but they just can't resist the digs about my intelligence, and whatnot. :flowerforyou:
  • kaypat09
    kaypat09 Posts: 130 Member
    WW did not work for me as a vegetarian. I don't know much of anything about the other plans. Just eating a strict vegetarian diet, using MFP, and working out has done wonders for moi.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    stay away from vegan junk foods or limit them. Try cooking your own food and count fat. I try to stay under 30grams of fat a day. I also choose to go to healthy fats like from nuts and vegetables.

    Try "appetite for reduction" if you like to cook, it's a low fat vegan cook book. But really just back off the processed vegan foods, Shop at a regular grocery store instead of a specialty store so you'll be forced to cook your own foods. Keep fruits in the house at all times for snacks. Limit nuts. A handful of nuts is way more calories than a handful of pretty much any fruit.

    Right now I have cuties, apples and strawberries and some raisins to keep in my purse in case I get hungry somewhere or I throw in a cutie.
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
    Thanks for replies everyone. My problem is that I have basically become a junk food vegan, and I am more or less sedentery. I used to be skinny when I walked a lot, but over the years I've been packing on the pounds, and eating more refined foods.


    I know "eat healthier" is such a simple guideline on the surface, but I think I've lost my way a bit when it comes to what healthy eating actually looks like. And looking at all of these diet plans does seem to needlessly complicate things, doesn't it?


    Okay, gonna try just calorie counting for now and see how it goes...

    :)

    Good for you- you can do it! One guideline I use is to ask myself is how much processing something has gone through since it came out of the ground. Quinoa is better than white bread; edamame is better than a soy hot dog; fresh fruit is better than dried. That doesn't mean I don't eat some processed food- but this helps me think things through when I'm at the grocery store. Good luck!

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