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No More Meat
mkhostetler
Posts: 1
Has anyone ever become a vegetarian simply to lose weight? Will that even work?
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If it results in eating below your maintenance calories, you'll lose weight.0
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No. Not really. But you can give it a try. Some people prefer vegetarian so it works for them.0
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It would make it harder for me, but it all depends on preferences, I suppose.0
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basically what ana3067 said. sure you can't eat meat, but you can eat cookies and cheese and french fries, etc. even people who have gone vegan have found themselves with bigger guts because they binge on almond butter or whatever. i have found within those diets that have you cut out a whole food group (vegetarian, paleo, etc.), that the risk lies in those "substitution foods".0
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You can't gain weight eating vegetables? Just look at how small cattle are.mkhostetler wrote: »Has anyone ever become a vegetarian simply to lose weight? Will that even work?0 -
This. In my personal experience (being vegetarian since I was 11), being vegetarian makes it more challenging to meet some of my macros at a lower calorie limit. It also requires more careful tracking and planning. I wouldn't recommend it just as a weight-loss strategy.If it results in eating below your maintenance calories, you'll lose weight.
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One person here I talked with here lost over 100 pounds. he was a vegan before and is still one. So it's all about calories.
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This. In my personal experience (being vegetarian since I was 11), being vegetarian makes it more challenging to meet some of my macros at a lower calorie limit. It also requires more careful tracking and planning. I wouldn't recommend it as a weight-loss strategy.
Yep. I eat meat and I still struggle to hit my protein macros most days.
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I think you can take it as an opportunity to eat healthier foods more often. You need a lot more veggies to make up for the calories you would have been eating in meat.. and that helps you get more nutrients! Also, maybe switching to a more plant-based diet would mean that you need to be more methodical about meal planning. If you cook, it's an opportunity to really focus on what you're eating and find recipes that are meat-less and healthy. Eating vegetarian in and of itself is not going to lead directly to weight loss unless you use that new choice to re-shape how you cook and what you plan to eat.0
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My coworker did. He lost a lot of weight, but then he went back to being a non-vegetarian (and at a surplus) and gained all his weight back. In fact, he's bigger now than before he became a vegetarian.
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mkhostetler wrote: »Has anyone ever become a vegetarian simply to lose weight? Will that even work?
I've not found that it was the calories in meat that hurt my weight. It was the calories in chips, breads, pastas etc that hurt my weight as it would take more of it (and higher amount of calories) to feel full from it. Eliminating meat would just add to that problem IMHO0 -
I was my very fattest as a vegetarian! You can eat a lot of high calorie food as a vegetarian - easily!0
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Eating below maintenance calories will result in weight loss. Vegetarian, vegan, keto, paleo, twinkie diet, clean eating won't cause you to lose weight unless you eat at a deficit. It's calories in vs calories out. There are things you can do like resistance training, getting enough protein and rest, and not having too large of a deficit that will result in most of your weight loss coming from fat so that you will lean out instead of just lose weight.0
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I gave up meat two years ago for lent to see if it would help. It didn't. All it did was stress me out trying to come up with meals and I missed the protein from meat. I cannot drink protein shakes so it was a problem for me. I found myself ingesting a lot of beans (my family hated me). It just wasn't for me.
My problem isn't meat its the processed foods that cause me the problem.0 -
I spend an ungodly amount of time and effort trying to hit my protein macro, and that's when I'm making all of my food. Going out to eat is a nightmare -- there are so few places where I can get a good amount of protein for a reasonable number of calories.PrizePopple wrote: »
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For me, my love of pasta is what drove my weight up. So if I'd given up meat, I probably would have gained faster since I would fill the void with more pasta.0
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basically what ana3067 said. sure you can't eat meat, but you can eat cookies and cheese and french fries, etc. even people who have gone vegan have found themselves with bigger guts because they binge on almond butter or whatever. i have found within those diets that have you cut out a whole food group (vegetarian, paleo, etc.), that the risk lies in those "substitution foods".
mhm, I did "clean eating" but did not replace with substitution foods. Mostly maintained, although I'd gain like 10lbs sometimes and lost it pretty easily.
But once I brought in substitutions, I ate too much and gained weight. Easier to just eat anything, track my macros and calories, and not worry about excluding certain things.0 -
A twinkie only diet may cause scurvy though - watch for that.Eating below maintenance calories will result in weight loss. Vegetarian, vegan, keto, paleo, twinkie diet, clean eating won't cause you to lose weight unless you eat at a deficit. It's calories in vs calories out. There are things you can do like resistance training, getting enough protein and rest, and not having too large of a deficit that will result in most of your weight loss coming from fat so that you will lean out instead of just lose weight.
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I spend an ungodly amount of time and effort trying to hit my protein macro, and that's when I'm making all of my food. Going out to eat is a nightmare -- there are so few places where I can get a good amount of protein for a reasonable number of calories.
We really only eat chicken and turkey with any frequency, and I try to limit that to few times a week. My go-to stuff lately has been eggs, cheese, Greek yogurt, Quest bars, and Designer Whey protein powder. I tried eating sliced turkey, but OMG the sodium. You could have tied a string to me and put me in a Macy's parade.0 -
You can gain weight being a vegetarian. Vegans are usually slim. I've never known a fat vegan. (I believe people who say they know fat vegans, though.)
I'm sure people have gone meatless to lose weight. People do all kind of things to lose weight.
I much prefer the Morning Star veggie burgers to the Boca ones, for whatever at is worth.0 -
I find this to be an odd way to lose weight as you have to make up some of the protein, iron etc... from other foods to compensate. The net might not be worth the trouble. I'd say if you want to eliminate a type of food, then try taking out the junk foods with no or little nutrient value. Of course always try to make it so you can fit them in as treats sometimes.0
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If that makes it easier for you to be at a calorie deficit, ok, but as others have said, it's an unusual elimination choice, protein wise.mkhostetler wrote: »Has anyone ever become a vegetarian simply to lose weight? Will that even work?
I'd much more likely lower my carbs and up my fats a bit if I was going to take an elimination approach (which is a totally valid approach).0 -
I didn't really eat meat at uni, but still managed to gain an awful lot of weight. There's no pork in real ale, onion bhajis or chips.
As others have said, not eating meat won't help you lose weight if your diet consists of baked camembert and gin.0 -
Your body doesn't care where the calories come from.0
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Any diet CAN potentially cause these two things if it's unbalanced. There is nothing specific about a vegetarian diet that would necessarily cause this.Cleanpete78 wrote: »My doctor told me that vegetarian diets can cause muscle loss and diabetes.
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squirrelone wrote: »Your body doesn't care where the calories come from.
My body frackin' knows the difference inbtween filet mignon and a bowl of kale.0 -
I feel like going pesketarian is much easier!0
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Cleanpete78 wrote: »My doctor told me that vegetarian diets can cause muscle loss and diabetes. He told me the best thing to do is have a glass of milk with every meal. He said the most important thing to health and dieting is to look at the color of your feces. I know it sounds gross, but it's true. If it's not dark brown with a yellowish hue you are in trouble....BIG trouble. The water should also be fizzy when you are done. It sounds strange but that is what he said and that's what I'm planning to stick with. Best of luck
Is your doctor in his 90s?
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