Vegetarian and struggling! Anyone else the same? x

kelscot30
kelscot30 Posts: 74 Member
edited September 25 in Food and Nutrition
Please add me if you are a veggie as I am struggling with having a diet consisting of carbs and little protein!! I do not like tofu and do not eat quorn products as to me they taste like meat and that's reason I'm a vegetarian in the first place! xx

Replies

  • bettyboop573
    bettyboop573 Posts: 610 Member
    I mostly consider myslef to be a transitioning vegetarian and not a full vegetarian yet...but feel free to add me, I am always trying new foods and recipes :) A lot of friends on here are also veggie :) Feel free to add me if you like...carbs are my tough one as well
  • Sallerina84
    Sallerina84 Posts: 138 Member
    Add me as I'm a full vegetarian :) no food with a face!

    Although it seems we may be veggies for different reasons......I've been veggie for 12 years, but always LIKED meat, I just stopped eating it because I love animals so much, I don't want to eat them! And disagree with how they're treated in many cases.

    So, because I liked meat, I do like Quorn, so I don't have the protein problem myself. I agree on Tofu though, uggghhhhh!!!

    However, you can get protein from beans....almost any kind....kidney beans, lentils, butter beans, lima beans etc. Also things like brown rice, oatmeal, wheat. A lot of veggies have protein in too, the best are artichokes, beetroot, brocolli, cabbage, peas, spinach.......green veggies are best! Nuts as well are good for veggies...almonds, cashew, peanuts....and things like sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds.
  • emiya
    emiya Posts: 8 Member
    I went vegetarian for awhile.
    The trick is to eat slow carbs, like beans. LOTS of beans, and vegetables, and some fruits.
    Is you read "Why we get Fat" and "The 4 Hour Body" they will pretty much explain, very detailed, the answer to your question.

    Long answer short, if you cut down your carbs (NOT including fruits and vegetables, exception for potatoes) ... So I mean cutting out simple sugars, bread, pasta....
    You will drop weight no matter what.

    I've been struggling with "The last 15lbs" for about a million years, and it's not until I realized that, that I'm starting to lose weight.

    Plus I started eating meat again because I got so bored of beans. :S
    But I still try and stick with mostly seafood!

    I still eat a ridiculous amount of chocolate every day (seriously, like 3 chocolate bars) which is slowing my progress... haha...

    Good luck!
  • inlikeflynn
    inlikeflynn Posts: 14 Member
    Hi there, I'm a full veggie for the same reasons as sallerina84 and I love Quorn so sorry I can't help with that. What I would do is experiment with other brands - Linda McCartney, Cauldron, etc. Some just don't taste like meat at all - especially own brands from super markets but you must watch them for fat content. I think eggs and nuts are much maligned - brazils and walnuts contain some really important fats for women.

    Be careful with beans - they're great but don't half cause problems if you bombard a system that isn't used to them. Build up gradually, find out which beans you like. I'd recommend Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian if you're adventurous. You can liquidise them into soups which is really handy.

    I agree with what the other girls say generally. Try and think about what you actually like - what it is about meat that you don't like, is it the texture?
  • kelscot30
    kelscot30 Posts: 74 Member
    Thanks guys,

    Will def have a look at those books!!

    I would actually like to try and eat meat again purely for dietary purposes but its been 22 years and I still can't get my head round it! lol x
  • kelscot30
    kelscot30 Posts: 74 Member
    Hi there, I'm a full veggie for the same reasons as sallerina84 and I love Quorn so sorry I can't help with that. What I would do is experiment with other brands - Linda McCartney, Cauldron, etc. Some just don't taste like meat at all - especially own brands from super markets but you must watch them for fat content. I think eggs and nuts are much maligned - brazils and walnuts contain some really important fats for women.

    Be careful with beans - they're great but don't half cause problems if you bombard a system that isn't used to them. Build up gradually, find out which beans you like. I'd recommend Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian if you're adventurous. You can liquidise them into soups which is really handy.

    I agree with what the other girls say generally. Try and think about what you actually like - what it is about meat that you don't like, is it the texture?

    I've never been a meat eater, texture yes but its more pyschological, hard for carnivores to understand but my brain can not come to terms with eating something that was alive and well and likely enjoyed an active sex life!! Not my idea of exciting food I'm afraid. x
  • Sallerina84
    Sallerina84 Posts: 138 Member
    I've never been a meat eater, texture yes but its more pyschological, hard for carnivores to understand but my brain can not come to terms with eating something that was alive and well and likely enjoyed an active sex life!! Not my idea of exciting food I'm afraid. x

    haha! that's a perfectly good reason! each to their own!

    i personally believe if you can't kill an animal, you shouldn't eat them......fair play to those who raise their own live stock and give them a good life and then slaughter them humanely and eat them themselves.....it's the mass slaughter houses I hate! And I hate it when people like to pretend they don't know where meat comes from!

    unless I was starving on a desert island, I could never kill an animal...so I don't think it's right I eat them....hence the veggi-ness!

    what about protein shakes? never had them myself so dont know whats in them! but I'm guessing protein! haha! x
  • inlikeflynn
    inlikeflynn Posts: 14 Member
    I've never been a meat eater, texture yes but its more pyschological, hard for carnivores to understand but my brain can not come to terms with eating something that was alive and well and likely enjoyed an active sex life!! Not my idea of exciting food I'm afraid. x

    haha! that's a perfectly good reason! each to their own!

    i personally believe if you can't kill an animal, you shouldn't eat them......fair play to those who raise their own live stock and give them a good life and then slaughter them humanely and eat them themselves.....it's the mass slaughter houses I hate! And I hate it when people like to pretend they don't know where meat comes from!

    unless I was starving on a desert island, I could never kill an animal...so I don't think it's right I eat them....hence the veggi-ness!

    what about protein shakes? never had them myself so dont know whats in them! but I'm guessing protein! haha! x

    I'm totally with you on that score - i.e. you can't kill it, you shouldn't eat. Although I reckon I could put something out of it's misery if i REALLY had to. Protein shakes are mostly used either for meal replacements, i.e. they're 250 odd calories each. You can get protein bars which are flipping lovely.

    There's a link here www.ukwellnessworld.com - use the code "gethealthy" to see the prices etc.
    This is a colleague of mine btw, I've had all my stuff from him.
  • Sallerina84
    Sallerina84 Posts: 138 Member
    I'm totally with you on that score - i.e. you can't kill it, you shouldn't eat. Although I reckon I could put something out of it's misery if i REALLY had to. Protein shakes are mostly used either for meal replacements, i.e. they're 250 odd calories each. You can get protein bars which are flipping lovely.

    There's a link here www.ukwellnessworld.com - use the code "gethealthy" to see the prices etc.
    This is a colleague of mine btw, I've had all my stuff from him.

    Yeh if an animal was in pain I could probably just about do that (although it was break my heart!)...but there's no way I could ever kill an animal under any other circumstances.....not unless I was starving to death and my animal instincts took over!

    Ahh yeh and my brother used to have protein shakes before going to the gym to bulk himself up and get more muscles...so probably not the best thing to have if wanting to lose weight lol.x
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