Active vegetarians: how do you eat enough to maintain?!

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  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
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    Corn Chips with cheese, avocado and salsa always pushes me over my calories. OR Buttered popcorn popped on the stove with oil. Oh, and there's this AMAZING trail mix at the grocery store that I buy in bulk with banana chips and dark chocolate chips in it... yummm...Those always bring me over my calories!
  • forkofpower
    forkofpower Posts: 171 Member
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    Rice, avocados, peanut butter, cheese, bread ...
  • spatty_harris
    spatty_harris Posts: 17 Member
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    I am also vegetarian: no warm-blooded meat at all, but from time to time I eat fish, especially salmon.

    I think you mean pescatarian. Vegetarians don't eat any animals.
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    Eating enough is not a problem for me. Avocados, nuts, olive oil, yogurt, and sometimes ice cream are my suggestions, in addition to the cheese and peanut butter mentioned above.

    How did you measure your body fat? Most self-measurements typically aren't too accurate.

    Seriously! Calorie-dense foods like beans, oils, PEANUT BUTTER, etc., is not that hard to add into meals you may already have. As a last resort, meal shakes/protein shakes work wonderfully as well.

    Your body fat decreasing isn't necessarily reason to worry, unless you're also losing muscle mass and it doesn't drop too low. As you build more muscle, your BMR goes up and therefore you lose a bit more fat. So just keep eating enough and if need be, start the day off with a few tbsp of peanut butter and you'll be alright. ;P
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    I used to be the fattest vegetarian ever. I assure you, it is quite possible to maintain and gain weight even as a vegan.

    Eat 2 veggie dogs instead of one at the family event. Eat all the rice you want. Have 3 bowls of cereal in the morning. Have more chips. Really dress those salads! Also, as others have mentioned: nuts, peanut butter on everything, avocados, and if you're lacto/ovo, eat as much cheese as you like. And cake. And cookies. Omg cookies... (dang it, now I'm hungry)

    PS I'm not currently vegetarian, nor am I trying to gain, but I've got a lot of experience gaining/maintaining weight as a vegetarian (I was veg for 12 years), so I thought I'd add my voice to the conversation.

    Good luck!

    THIS. Vegetarian/vegan doesn't mean weight loss, and a lot of people tend to gain weight on those types of diets since they reach for carbohydrates to fulfill their energy needs, when they lack protein.

    It's possible to gain weight/body fat on any diet if you eat the proper amount of calories. Weight/body fat = calories in vs. calories expended. :)
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    Go to the dollar store by a loaf of bread and eat it. Problem solved.
  • slightlydiminishing
    slightlydiminishing Posts: 20 Member
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    if only i had this problem :cry:
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
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    Basically stop eating any 'diet' foods - full fat milk cheese yogurt - google calorie dense foods- many are already mentioned.

    Also remember that you're living a healthy lifestyle - that means have an ice-cream or bar of chocolate as long as you're hitting your other macros and getting enough veg/nutrients you're grand.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    I gained weight over the past few days eating vegan. Black beans from the crock pot was the primary culprit (so delicious!) helped by the fact that olive oil + potatoes + salt = french fries.
  • ceruleanmuse
    ceruleanmuse Posts: 60 Member
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    I always am amazed at the people who find it hard to maintain on a vegetarian diet - butter, ice cream, avocados, nuts, oil, chips, cake, simple carbs, and sweets, to name a few, are all vegetarian. My entire family is vegetarian (born and raised) and we all range from normal to overweight.

    I eat a 60g whey protein shake after every workout. Plus almond milk, it comes to about 300 calories, and is a perfect dietary add-on.

    I work out 2-3 hours a day 6 days a week and don't have a problem maintaining as an ovo-lacto.
  • joepage612
    joepage612 Posts: 179 Member
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    i was 6'0 188 pounds and on a raw vegan diet for years. nuts and avocados made me fat. they are good for you in moderation but, they made me fat. eating cashew cream 5 times a day was like 2000 calories on its own. You can make a vegan chocolate icecream from cocoa and avocado and maple syrup. that has to be at least 800 calories per serving. A block of tempeh is 500 calories and a day;s RDA of protein. 100g of rice is like 200 calories and its only half a cup.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
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    i was 6'0 188 pounds and on a raw vegan diet for years. nuts and avocados made me fat. they are good for you in moderation but, they made me fat. eating cashew cream 5 times a day was like 2000 calories on its own. You can make a vegan chocolate icecream from cocoa and avocado and maple syrup. that has to be at least 800 calories per serving. A block of tempeh is 500 calories and a day;s RDA of protein. 100g of rice is like 200 calories and its only half a cup.

    Stop giving me yummy ideas! I have a hard enough time with just cashews, I can imagine what I'd do if I made them into a cream! :laugh:

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