any vegetarians struggle with weight loss on here

JellyBeans0
JellyBeans0 Posts: 16
in Introduce Yourself
I've been vegetarian for 3 years or so :)

i didn't do it for weight loss but i thought it would help

anyway it didn't help because i kept eating vegetarian junks and high calorie food
& sometimes I binge
I started the binging habits since i was 9 years old ..but that's a different sad story I don't want to talk about :(

however ..I think i can control myself if i make the changes slowly

I would love to be a friend with someone going through the same thing for motivation :)

if you are a vegetarian struggle with weight loss or not please feel free to add me :)

Replies

  • notenoughspeed
    notenoughspeed Posts: 290 Member
    I never knew there was such a thing as a vegetarian who struggled with weight, but I guess anyone with any diet type can binge. Paleo diet myself. Once I got my binging/overheating problem in check, weight is coming off pretty easy with monitored calorie intake, strength training, and cardio. Best of luck to you. :)
  • JellyBeans0
    JellyBeans0 Posts: 16
    I never knew there was such a thing as a vegetarian who struggled with weight, but I guess anyone with any diet type can binge. Paleo diet myself. Once I got my binging/overheating problem in check, weight is coming off pretty easy with monitored calorie intake, strength training, and cardio. Best of luck to you. :)

    thanks ^_^
    I got all that weight before becoming vegetarian
    & now it needs effort to lose it
    I binge since i was 9 i'm 22 now
    i become vegetarian only for 3 years now
  • tumblyweed
    tumblyweed Posts: 416 Member
    Hippos are vegetarians and quite... hefty.
    Genetics, metabolism and calories in v. calories out...
    If you're a vegetarian who eats a lot of soda and potato chips (vegetables) and does nothing to burn off those calories, then you're going to have a problem. Nuts and cheeses are also calorie dense foods that some vegetarians turn to for protein. These foods are not 'bad' but you need to use what you eat for fuel so as not to gain weight.
  • veggiesaurus15
    veggiesaurus15 Posts: 152 Member
    Please do a search on calorie density. Calorie density is the key to weight loss.

    Vegetables---60-195 calories per pound
    Fruits---140-420 calories per pound
    Potatoes, pasta, rice, barley, yams, corn, hot cereal----320-630 calories per pound
    Beans, peas, lentils (cooked---310-780 calories per pound
    Bread, bagels, dried fruit--- 920-1,360 calories per pound
    Cereals, chips, pretzels, popcorn---1,480-1,760 calories per pound
    Oils--4,000 calories per pound


    Eat more non-starchy vegetables and fruit.
  • NicoWoodruff
    NicoWoodruff Posts: 369 Member
    The reason vegetarians sometimes struggle seems to me that they aren't getting enough protein.. you can get protein from combos like beans and rice as well as by getting a large variety of different veggies in your diet.

    Cheese has some protein but it's not as high a quality and packs a lot of calories usually depending on the type cheese and how big the serving.

    Most skinny vegetarians I know get lots of varied fruits and veggies cooked and raw as well as beans and rice.

    The ones that are heavy in my experience are the ones living on cheese pizzas, mac and cheese, and other technically vegetarian but carb/fat/dairy laden dishes.

    Hope to be helpful. I myself am a conscientious omnivore but I have every respect for vegetarians and know/cook for lots of 'em.
  • tassshhhaaa
    tassshhhaaa Posts: 29 Member
    I gained ten pounds after becoming a vegetarian due to the carbs I packed on. What i've realized is, everyone should have a vegetarian diet, and add meat if you want. All people should eat fruits and veggies in high quantities, and moderately add meat, high-carb, and junk food if wanted!

    I am still struggling to lose weight, mostly due to the fact I do like cheese and carbs, and my family doesn't cook the way I do vegetarian. I'll add!
  • DebraYvonne
    DebraYvonne Posts: 632 Member
    My daughter was a "bad food" vegetarian for about 5 years. I supported her in this decision though. She is now a meat-eater. She ate full-fat cheese, chocolate, tons of carbs. She gained about 10 pounds (she's small) but she wouldn't eat salads or the good grains, veggies & fruits then. She eats much better now that she's a little older.
  • CoffeeAndRunningShoes
    CoffeeAndRunningShoes Posts: 20 Member
    I am a vegetarian who has struggled with losing weight. I too ate a lot of highly processed junk just because it was vegetarian. I have been having a lot of success since cutting out most junk. I still have a long way to go but taking it slowly and making changes you can live with will be more sustainable than restrictive diets.
  • Kat5688
    Kat5688 Posts: 27 Member
    I've been a vegetarian since I was 9 and I know that it's nonsense that vegetarians can't be overweight. Even vegans can be overweight! I do binge sometimes, but most days I just eat too much 'normal food', not even sweets or crisps.

    Please check if you get enough vitamins and minerals though. Sometimes, when your body is deprived of some mineral or vitamin, it could cause you to overeat.

    As you might understand from what I just wrote, my diary is far from perfect most days. But if you need support, you could add me as a friend if you'd like to.

    Oh and another tip: days on which I do pilates, I somehow feel less like binging. Try and see if it does the same for you!
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    Yes, but not related to my vegetarianism. I was still fat when I ate meat.
  • rlmiller73190
    rlmiller73190 Posts: 342 Member
    When I first became vegetarian about four years ago, I lost 15 pounds fairly quickly. However, I then started binging and getting into the mentality that I could eat whatever I wanted because I was a vegetarian and vegetables/fruits are relatively low calorie. i gained back those 15 pounds and then some. Once I started balancing my diet and being realistic about what I should/shouldn't be eating, the weight came back off :) I'm now 126ish pounds (started at 163), run about 4-5 days a week, and have mostly controlled my binges. I do find that I tend to binge when I'm running low on good foods in the house, like before I go grocery shopping and only have pastas/chips/etc in the house and am all out of produce...
  • Cwilliams8676
    Cwilliams8676 Posts: 252 Member
    Feel free to add me, anyone. I'm a new vegetarian. I have lost 109 pounds this year. I have 22 pounds to go:)
  • Taem2
    Taem2 Posts: 47 Member
    Being a vegetarian doesn't mean being healthy. Potato chips and coke qualifies as a vegetarian food source, and we know that's not good.

    Try looking at "whole foods" diet doctors like Dr. McDougall, Dr. Barnard, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Esselstyn, Pam Popper and Dr. Fuhrman.

    I follow Dr. McDougall myself.

    If you are interested in learning a starch-based diet, feel free to add me.
  • RockstarPunch
    RockstarPunch Posts: 203 Member
    was on that veggie/vegan boat for 8.5 years and you know what, besides the shift in metabolism that happens, your body adjusts to the lack of large amounts of protien (though you still get protien of course) i found that the weight gainer is the HIGH amounts of SUGAR in your diet which increases or sets the pounds. (ie- fruit =sugar/ bread=sugar/beans=sugar/veggies (some including squash)=sugar, starches=sugar/ SOY (its still a bean*)=sugar, nuts (almonds etc...)=sugar* So adjust the sugar in your diet and find some protien and increased water :) re-evaluate your diet and look into other eating habits even if its meat free-vegetarian isnt your only option (ie-raw, micro etc...)
  • tmos512
    tmos512 Posts: 119 Member
    Please do a search on calorie density. Calorie density is the key to weight loss.

    Vegetables---60-195 calories per pound
    Fruits---140-420 calories per pound
    Potatoes, pasta, rice, barley, yams, corn, hot cereal----320-630 calories per pound
    Beans, peas, lentils (cooked---310-780 calories per pound
    Bread, bagels, dried fruit--- 920-1,360 calories per pound
    Cereals, chips, pretzels, popcorn---1,480-1,760 calories per pound
    Oils--4,000 calories per pound


    Eat more non-starchy vegetables and fruit.

    This! I was a vegetarian, but I started seeing a nutrition therapist and found that I was replacing my proteins with carbs, which wasn't helping me with my separate weight loss goals.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, yet struggled with yo-yo-ing up and down about 50 pounds every few years.
    It's absolutely true that a vegetarian can be a fat vegetarian. I was one. A family member is one. Her diet is full of white starchy food and salty dairy, like mine was. No wonder I got so sick in 2010; although I was vegetarian, I was 60 lbs overweight by the end of 2011, in such poor nutrition shape that my body just started breaking down under the strain.
    I lost 25 lbs on Weight Watchers this year. It works pretty well and is flexible enough for a vegetarian. However, it isn't as healthy as it could be and I was looking haggard by mid-summer in spite of the weight loss. I found Dr Fuhrman's Eat To Live book in mid-July and I have been following it faithfully ever since (although it also is not necessarily a vegetarian eating plan). I've lost an additional 23 lbs on it. I eat better. I look better. I feel better. For the first time in my adult life, I had a blood test in November that says I am no longer anemic or borderline anemic, and that is amazing! And I'm now off my blood pressure meds -- in fact, I take no medications at all! It's great.
    So here's the basic eating plan I follow for each day: Try to eat at least a pound of raw green vegetables and a pound of cooked vegetables and a pound of raw fruit each day. Eat at least 1 cup of beans a day. Eat 1/4 cup of raw nuts or seeds a day. Eat no more than 1 cup of starchy vegetables, whole grain or brown rice a day. Eat less than 10% of your daily calories in dairy or meat a day, or none at all (which is what I do). Keep your sodium levels under 1000mg a day (I keep mine under 700mg most days). Limit caffeine to 1 cup a day. Use less than 1 Tbs of oils a day, or none at all. And of course I don't eat processed or refined or pre-packaged foods, no white sugar or sugar substitutes, no white flour or rice, all that junk food out there, you all know what it is.
    Unlimited veggies and fruits, so I'm never hungry. Get some exercise often. Enjoy life more!
    That's it.
    I'm slimmer, more energetic, healthier (I have blood tests to prove it) and I don't count calories or TDEE or BMR or any of that stuff. So easy, so flexible.
  • lisabinco
    lisabinco Posts: 1,016 Member
    ... taking it slowly and making changes you can live with will be more sustainable than restrictive diets.
    And this.
    Changes you can live with ... very important. Lifestyle changes not a "diet."

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