losing weight without eating vegetables???

nnennauk · January 2014

I was on the verge of being overweight (eg body fat% was 29) and have been eating really unhealthy stuff. I decided to lose weight and get healthy and have started doing insanity and kettlebell training. My diet now mainly consists of oats,eggs, fish, chicken, beans, sweet potatoes brown rice sometimes and fruits(mainly apples and bananas). I'm worried i won't lose weight because i'm not eating vegetables- everyone i've come across that has lost weight always says they eat lots of vegetables and Shaun-T's nutrition guide includes lots of vegetables. It's not that i can stand veggies, but I'm on a very tight budget and where i live (in Africa) the popular vegetables are imported and cost a lot for little...and i find it difficult to incorporate the affordable vegetables with my meals. Can i still lose weight and get healthy with my current diet? Thanks in advance

PS: I really just want to know if i can lose wight and be healthy without veggies. I appreciate all advice given but i'm not really looking for advice on how to incorporate vegetables or examples of veggies I can eat. Thanks!!

kelseyjsnyder · January 2014

all im going to say is Good Luck. Its not a balanced diet with out veggies. I totally get where you are coming from though. Even here in USA the veggies are somewhat expensive to buy.

MelodyandBarbells · January 2014

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat. Therefore you can absolutely lose weight without vegetables! Vegetables are just often low in calories, so they can offer a lot of bulk to meals and snacks where we can consume large quantities of them for very few calories (so long as they're not drenched in a bunch of oil or something, obviously). Veggies will also offer lots of micro nutrients which will go towards improving or maintaining overall health. But do you need them to lose weight, no.

As an African (Nigerian), I grew up eating lots of soups with green leafy vegetables as a staple. The soups were mostly then eaten with a starch which one could either eat in moderation or not have the starch. I still blend veggies into my beans which was a practice we did growing up. I'm just surprised you don't have access to cheap veggies, is all, but of course, it's a large continent

Phrick · January 2014

You can lose weight eating nothing but McDonalds if you'd like, so long as your output is greater than your intake. For weight loss it doesn't matter one iota if you never eat a vegetable again in your life. Not saying that's healthy, good, proper, or endorsing it in any way. Just saying you can safely lose the fear that you won't lose any weight due to a lack of vegetables.

flumi_f · January 2014

Losing weight is more about cals in and out. So it doesn't matter as much what you eat, if you have a cal deficit.

Getting healthy is also about exercise and what you eat. Losing weight is only part of getting / being healthy, IMO.

nnennauk · January 2014

Thanks for the advice guys! and Janei there are the local affordable ones but I find it really difficult to incorporate them into meals as they are inedible if not very well cooked..and tbh i'm not really familiar with how to cook the soups and they take so long to cook! I've been living in the UK but just moved so I'm not really familiar with the vegetables and recipes..also i find that a lot of them are cooked with loads of palm oil and vegetable oil.

livingleanlivingclean · January 2014

You can lose weight without vegetables but I don't think you can be healthy without vegetables.

What options do you have? Could you reduce the amount of fat used in cooking?
Do you have access to frozen vegetables (please excuse me if that's an ignorant question, I have not been to your country and have no idea what you have available!)

Could you freeze fresh vegetables when they're in season to prepare for those times when fresh vegies are more scarce?

jayjrf · January 2014

Get what you can locally, which is what you are doing. You need veg in your diet for the nutrients at the very least.

Adapt and learn to cook em. I don't live in Africa, but I have learned to cook all my own foods. Ask someone to show you how to cook those foods. You can do it, and you might be surprised at how well you cook.

jackieatx · January 2014

Yes, you can lose weight, and if that's your only goal, then that's perfect. However, if you want to be optimally healthy, you really should get your greens on. Can't you grow your own veggies- for very cheap, I might add?

SherryTeach · January 2014

You can roast almost any vegetable with a little olive oil. For leafy greens, which are sometimes bitter (kale), you can wilt it and then add it to another dish. My favorite is red quinoa with wilted kale and pine nuts. The nutrients in vegetables are essential to health. And then there are all the phytonutrients that we are only beginning to understand.

mitchiejo · January 2014

You absolutely can lose weight without touching vegetables. My boyfriend lost over 200 pounds and he won't touch vegetables. It isn't a well balanced diet without veggies but it is calories in calories out that loses the weight. I love vegetables myself so it's weird when he won't even have lettuce or tomato on a hamburger.

losing weight without eating vegetables???

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