Success on a Vegetarian Diet?

What are your goals anyways? And have you tried to eat whole lean meats and stop eating processed meats? And has eating processed meats caused you to go over your calories?

There have been points where I've limited myself to lean unprocessed meats, but it seems easy for it to sneak back in my diet (especially when I was following a really strict high fat low carb diet). It's a little harder on my calories but my main issue is the sodium that these processed meats have. When I was a vegetarian I was very experimental with trying new veg and recipes and (even despite the cheese/bread) felt pretty great.
Like, for example, when I was doing the ketogenic diet, for snacks on road trips I had a pepperoni stick and a cheese stick. When I went vegetarian I had a dish of raw broccoli and cauliflower and some nuts. Eating meat has me more worried about my macros than the actual content of where my calories are coming from, I think.

Do you have any fitness goals?


And have you considered doing a standard diet where you follow a specific calorie goal and not restricted all types of foods? I ask because it seems like you have done nothing but extreme diets (keto, low carb, vegetarian)? I personally found when I don't restrict the things I like, I comply with a calorie goal much better. And since you are young, if you exercise, you will easily be able to do a 1800-2000 calorie diet. Now, you can cut out processed foods if you prefer or aim for eating whole foods "xx" number of days, but in the end, you can eat processed meats if it fits in your caloric goal. I personally found when I cut out bread, I wasn't as successful. Now that I incorporate a daily Klondike bar, I do much better.

Also, I hope you don't see this as trying to talk you out of going vegetarian but rather trying to pinpoint your goals and helping give you a plan to achieve that. Keeping in mind, the diet is only a part of the equation... exercise is the other part.

Hi! You're pretty accurate. I do usually alternate with a nonrestrictive diet that works for me really well, but I'm very much an 'all or nothing' kind of gal. Nonrestrictive eating is really easy and maintainable, but I have done so much research on weightloss and what not to eat that in order for me to achieve the best results I feel as though I need to be very controlled with my food. Currently I am eating things that stick within my macros and trying to keep pretty clean and it seems to be working for me thus far, but my body loves to retain fat. An unrestrictive whole-foods kind of diet only takes me so far until I stop losing (regardless of my fitness level). Although going vegetarian is definitely a moral issue for me, it is also a means to control my diet.

In all reality, cutting foods (or any type) will not improve fat loss or weight loss. Regardless of the type of food, it takes 3500 calories less to lose a lb. Now each macro serves it's purpose which will improve the "look". Protein is critical to muscle retention, fats will improve skin/hair/cognitive ability and carbs for energy. Protein is probably the most important for the fact that the more muscle you have, the more lean you will be. The key to weight loss is accuracy of tracking; so get a food scale and be meticulous.. If you are't losing weight, you probably aren't tracking correctly or too aggressive with your weight loss goals. If you want to see the greatest changes in our body, then weight training will give you those kinds of results.

Best of luck.

I've been a vegetarian for more than four years now. At first I continued to slowly gain weight (as I had been while still eating meat), but once I joined MFP in January and started counting my calories, I haven't had any trouble losing weight, and I've now lost everything I had gained in the 9 years since I graduated high school.

I gained weight because I was not being mindful of calories or portion sizes and really had no idea what I was putting in my mouth, meat or no meat. I think it's important to eat a nutritious, balanced diet no matter how you choose to eat. I just try to hit my macros to the best of my ability and stay within my calorie goal (approx. 1700 calories a day).

I have been a vegetarian for over 20 years and I don't think it impacts my weight loss efforts one way or the other. The factors I see that make a difference are keeping my calories in line and getting in some exercise. Try to keep your macros in balance and make sure you get the nutrition you need whether you eat meat or not. Just keep your focus, whatever you choose to do.

hey. going veg is a total personal preference & honestly i cant say that it will inherently help or hurt you as far as weight loss goes. as i think you've figured out, it all comes down to calories in vs calories used. you can eat only mac-n-cheese and brownies and be "veg" or eat grilled salmon with veggies & be a meat eater. that said, if you make good choices, it's not hard to get a good balance of nutrients on a veg diet.

i was vegan for about 4 years before switching to veg. i became vegan in 10 grade, when my weight was almost 200 lbs. after about 6? months of being vegan and a little more active (more energy!), i lost about 40 pounds. i wasn't counting calories then, but i think simply being "forced" to cut out the ice cream, hot pockets, mac-n-cheese, etc-- or at least to think twice about what i was about to consume -- made the weight loss easy, and maintenance was perfectly smooth and natural for the next ~4 years.

when i switched from vegan to veg, i gained about 10 pounds. i had moved to the caribbean & essentially had access to a buffet for every meal for a year, so its hard to say if it was the addition of dairy or simply the lifestyle change that packed some weight back on.

i've been vegetarian since then, for about 3? years now. i maintained no problem at around 155 lb until 3 months ago when i joined this site and have started counting cals. to lose weight.

sooo, long story short, i'd say i've definitely had success being vegetarian/vegan, and i've found it to be a really easy "diet" to follow. it's really changed my life as far as health goes. but you kind of have to make the leap on your own, for your own reasons. i imagine your doc was right in that being able to eat things like fish which are low cal and super healthy for you will make weight loss easier. but it's possible otherwise too, just be smart about it & fuel your body properly good luck xx

As with any diet, variety is essential. Make sure you vary your meals and track your protein to make sure you're getting it in.

I'm not a big breakfast eater but try to make sure I guzzle down a smoothie in the morning with a decent amount of protein to start me off.

I do Garden of Life RAW most of the time. It took awhile and a lot of berries to get used to (think: dandelions and dirt...), but now I love it.