Were you vegetarian before MFP/dieting or after?
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Aurora1525
Posts: 62 Member
Hi everyone - I thought it would be interesting to find out if you decided to go vegetarian to lose weight or whether you were already vegetarian when you decided you needed to lose weight. Answer the questions below. I've provided my own answers, too.
1. Were you vegetarian before dieting or after?
BOTH. When I first started to lose weight 5 years ago, I went completely vegetarian. It wasn't that difficult. My husband already hated the taste of meat, so I got creative and made all my favorite meals using Morningstar Farms and Boca ingredients. I lost 15 pounds, then gained it back, then lost it again, then gained it back, and now I'm losing again.
2. TWO PRONGED QUESTION:: a) If you were vegetarian before dieting, what foods put on the pounds? b) If you were not vegetarian before dieting, how has switching to a vegetarian diet changed your eating habits? Has it met your expectations?
I like cheese. Cheese is definitely a problem and I think it is the culprit to my gaining weight. It's probably the one reason I don't go vegan. To lose my fake chicken parmesan, lasagne with Boca beef ground crumbles....it would be a horrible thing. I've tried rice cheese, but there's no replacement for real mozzarella. Beyond specific foods, I'd say portion control is my worst enemy. You can still eat too many calories on a vegetarian diet.
Your turn!
1. Were you vegetarian before dieting or after?
BOTH. When I first started to lose weight 5 years ago, I went completely vegetarian. It wasn't that difficult. My husband already hated the taste of meat, so I got creative and made all my favorite meals using Morningstar Farms and Boca ingredients. I lost 15 pounds, then gained it back, then lost it again, then gained it back, and now I'm losing again.
2. TWO PRONGED QUESTION:: a) If you were vegetarian before dieting, what foods put on the pounds? b) If you were not vegetarian before dieting, how has switching to a vegetarian diet changed your eating habits? Has it met your expectations?
I like cheese. Cheese is definitely a problem and I think it is the culprit to my gaining weight. It's probably the one reason I don't go vegan. To lose my fake chicken parmesan, lasagne with Boca beef ground crumbles....it would be a horrible thing. I've tried rice cheese, but there's no replacement for real mozzarella. Beyond specific foods, I'd say portion control is my worst enemy. You can still eat too many calories on a vegetarian diet.
Your turn!
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Replies
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1. Before. I've been vegetarian for about seven years now.
2a. A lot of things: cheese, bread, snack foods, candy. Mostly it was a question of portion control. I would let myself eat an entire bag of combos, an entire bag of cheez its, an entire bar of mambos, and a soda at a go, then turn around and eat an entire Moe's tofu burrito and another soda as a meal. I still allow myself the foods, but I keep the portions under control (most of the time, anyhow).
2b. The biggest change since dieting, other than the aforementioned portion control, has been trying to eat more raw, natural foods and less processed stuff. I've cut way back on dairy and upped my vegetable intake significantly.0 -
Before. I went vegetarian for the ethical reasons in April 2009. I didn't change my eating habits consciously after giving up meat. The overwhelming majority of the meat I used to eat was fast food and highly-processed pre-packaged meats, bacon, sausage, chicken nuggets. Although I continued to eat the processed convenience/comfort foods I ate before – Oreo cookies, Kraft Dinner, chips, etc., I did lose about 30 pounds over a year. It wasn't until April of 2010 that I cleaned up my act, started eating healthfully and consciously trying to lose weight.
I love being a vegetarian. From the shopping, to the prepping/cooking, to the eating I feel like I am nourishing myself in a way I didn't in the past. For me, my weight loss was really incidental to a goal of pursuing better overall health including my mental and spiritual health as well as physical. Eating veg and eating healthfully somehow achieves all of those goals for me.0 -
1- After, I joined MFP a year ago, and became a vegetarian 10 weeks ago.
2.its made me not so picky because I am trying to have more options0 -
1. No I was not vegetarian before Mfp and I didn't switch to it because I thought it would help with weight issues.
2. I eat a lot healthier since going vegetarian like more fruits and vegetables.0 -
1. Were you vegetarian before dieting or after?
I've been dieting on and off for a long time and I joined MFP for the first time a long while ago and then just came back to it six months ago BUT I went vegetarian because of gastrointestinal issues (became very ill during a trip to Peru in 2010 and nothing seemed to help when I got back until I dropped meat and most dairy from my diet).
2. TWO PRONGED QUESTION:: a) If you were vegetarian before dieting, what foods put on the pounds? b) If you were not vegetarian before dieting, how has switching to a vegetarian diet changed your eating habits? Has it met your expectations?
I'm like a few others - mostly portion control issues but smartfood and chocolate are my two weaknesses (specifically m&ms). Since becoming vegetarian, I just feel so much better and it makes me not need or want the "comfort foods" as much.0 -
I've been vegetarian since I was 9, apart from one bite of chicken in early 2000. I thought I was missing out so tried a bite and decided I hated the texture! Haven't had meat since.
My main problem was when I changed jobs, I didn't have to walk / jog to the train station, so I was literally driving door to door. I hated (note the past tense) exercise so wouldn't really move during the day. 2 stone in one year. Then I moved out and got a place of my own and discovered I am a seriously good cook. Two years later and 2 more stone.
Dairy is not my friend! That and the size of my dinner! I hate breakfast and lunch, so dinner I go all out. Trying to get it under control though :grumble:0 -
I have been vegetarian since birth. I was raised completely vegan for the first 12 years, and then switched to lacto-vegetarian and have been there ever since. It's true that I don't approve of the ways animals are bred, raised, and kept for consumption purposes, but the real reason I'm a vegetarian is because I've always been that way and the idea of eating animal tissue just grosses me out. I think it's funny when people who eat cows freak out at the idea of eating a dog or a horse- as far as I'm concerned- it's all nasty. But I don't really care if other people eat meat- I don't think of it as a cause, but as a lifestyle choice I have made.
And as far as what foods put on the pounds? All of them. I love food. I can eat a lot of whatever you put in front of me, and we all know that as far as weight gain is concerned, it's not what you eat, it's how many calories you eat- and I can eat a ton of them.0 -
Hi All,
I have just joined MFP and am quickly falling in love with it.
I have been Vegetarian for about 6 years now, but I haven't eaten red meat for about 18 years.
I stacked on the weight after a back injury which has led to a sedentary lifestyle. So I am slowly trying to change that, I had halved my portion sizes and started to move a bit more but was struggling with keeping track of getting all the nutrients my body needed which MFP has helped.
At the start of the year I started trying to loose weight, so far I have lost 5kg, my goal is to loose another 20kg's.0 -
I've been a vegetarian since 1995!
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After. I'm 4 days in to the life style change, and already my body feels so much better. I decided to go vegan for this month and see how I feel after the change. Its opened up so many different variety's of healthy meals, that also is helping me loose the weight.0
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1. Were you vegetarian before dieting or after?
Been veggie my whole life (hippie parents)
2. a) If you were vegetarian before dieting, what foods put on the pounds?
Kilos of chocolate! Well, it was really portion control that got me.0 -
1. I was vegetarian before. My daughter went vegan, so I went strick vegetarian then vegan inorder to cook for her, and understand her food issues. I was a strick vegan for 4 years, and then had triple cream brie cheese at a party. Just one slice, but since then I have added a little dairy to my diet. I don't eat ice cream though...it makes my stomach churn. I also found going out to eat with friends a big problem as a vegan...so the vegetarian thing works for me.
2. Portion control was a problem for me. I ate a lot more food than I thought. I don't eat process food. I will eat a veggie burger once in a while, but the process food has a lot of sodium and sugar. It is not healthy either. I get lazy, and don't cook as much as I should, and I don't buy pre-made food...so I get hungry for snacks. I really have to watch my snacks, and carbs. Those will pack on pounds easily. My favorite food is cucumber and humus...that gets me through the day.0
