Vegetarian Motivation

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Hi! My name is Sareena, I'm from London. I'm a vegetarian who studies health psychology.
Being a vegetarian, it has been very difficult to maintain my fat and carb intake, however I've finally found my way! I have been using my fitness pal on and off for about 2 years. Last year, in summer, I lost around 5kg and reached my target weight but I stopped looking after my diet when I started uni again in September & put on a few pounds.. So I've decided to start again for the new year and this time it would be great to meet some new people and motivate each other! It would be really nice to meet some Vegetarians, perhaps we can share ideas? So feel free to add me! I'm also on Instagram: @5areena for some veg food inspiration. :)

Replies

  • LongTallSally76
    LongTallSally76 Posts: 19 Member
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    Hi Sareena. I'm Sally from Sydney, Australia. I am also vegetarian. I have been for 26 years now. Trying to lose weight before my trip to the UK in June for my brother's wedding. I think people assume that vegetarians should be skinny but my husband cooks so well and serves a lot of carbs! Luckily he is being very supportive and weighing every ingredient he puts in my dinner so that I can put it into MFP. Lost 5 kilos far and still able to eat good home cooked veggie food albeit smaller portions. Would love to have some MFP friends to share veggie ideas.
  • Sareena_d
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    Hi Sally! Nice to meet you :) and congratulations with your weightloss! It's really not that hard when you get into it.
    You are so right! Most vegetation comfort food, restaurant & fast food consists of potatoes and cheese! It can be really hard to resist. A vegetarian diet can lead you to putting on weight very fast if you're not careful. It took me a while coming up some healthy satisfying recipes.
    I've sent you a friend request, will be interesting to view each others diaries :)
    Sareena x
  • FunSkittles
    FunSkittles Posts: 39 Member
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    Hello! A fellow Vegetarian here from Canada! Would love to connect and share ideas and recipes, I'm always looking for new inspiration! :)
  • ginaacton
    ginaacton Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi I'm a vegetarian too!! Although my friends call me a tree hugger
  • ginaacton
    ginaacton Posts: 4 Member
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    For some reason only half my post was sent. I'm keen to hear some simple recipes as I'm no chef
  • Sareena_d
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    Lovely to meet you, Gina & fun skittles! Haha will be sending you both friend requests! Do add me on Instagram if you have it.. @5areena I have a few good recipes on there :)
    Vegetarian cooking can be simple and tasty. After all, main flavours do come from vegetables and herbs!
    My favourite recipe is vegetarian chilli flavoured 5 bean cottage pie using sweet potato as the topping rather than regular ones. Once you make the filling you can keep it in the fridge for a week! Quick and good source of protein too!
    Making swaps for good carbs and good fats is key!
    Good luck x
  • Shoxene
    Shoxene Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm a vegetarian too, in the south east of england. :) My biggest vegetarian problem is that I have to eat catered uni food, which is SO BAD and pretty much entirely pasta, oil and cheese based. Luckily they provide 'sides' for everyone so I just cram loads of veggies onto my plate and avoid the main.

    I draw my motivation from Tumblr mostly, I love being able to choose who I follow (e.g other veggie/vegans and yoga lovers) and having a never-ending scroll of motivational posts.

    As you can see I'm new to MFP and have a grand total of almost no friends... :p
  • vwillan
    vwillan Posts: 28 Member
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    Oh my gosh, I just searched for a recipe for the bean cottage pie and it sounds fabulous! I am going to try that. I live alone, do you know if it freezes okay?
  • Hello everyone! I've been vegetarian since I was 16, so.....33 years. Unfortunately, vegetarian doesn't mean no junk food or beer! I need to be a healthfoodatarian! Let's share some ideas AND inspiration!
  • Sareena_d
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    Welcome both! @Shoxene‌ I know exactly where you are coming from! It's a shame many places don't offer us very healthy options when it can be so simple. Why don't you try meal prepping for the week? You can make some home made falafels with salads or something? But atleast your uni has veggies! We only have fries haha! Will be happy to send you a request!
    @vwillan‌ of course you can freeze it! Just make the mashed sweet potato fresh :)r4rsjr7y9cw4.jpg
  • conbi
    conbi Posts: 12 Member
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    Hi guys, I'm Kelly from Liverpool. I'm also veggie and definitely need more recipe ideas - I eat far too much pasta! I struggle with motivation and confidence but trying to do something positive. Feel free to add me, I'll try my best with recipes! :)
  • Sareena_d
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    Hi Kelly! @conbi‌ I've sent you a request! Pasta, pizza & potato waffles with beans & cheese are my biggest weaknesses! Have you ever tried replacing the actual pasta with courgette strips or other veggies? It doesn't taste to bad to be honest. There are a lot of low carb pastas on the market now, I've tried many of them but they don't taste good and smell fishy :( using hand of whole meal pasta with a lot of veggies is your best bet! And good at lunch time :) x
  • ginaacton
    ginaacton Posts: 4 Member
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    Sounds great Serena. Will look for you on insta gram now
  • conbi
    conbi Posts: 12 Member
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    I've never thought of swapping pasta for anything! I'm going to be swapping light Mayo for either hummus or sour cream and go through my recipe books for inspiration :)
  • Sareena_d
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    @conbi‌ haha! sounds good! strained Greek yogurt is also a good replacement for Mayo & cream cheese :) I use the 0% fat total brand.. It's very very thick, I eat it with pretty much everything! It's my saviour lol! Has high protein too :)
  • santiac217
    santiac217 Posts: 6 Member
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    Sareena_d wrote: »
    Hi! My name is Sareena, I'm from London. I'm a vegetarian who studies health psychology.
    Being a vegetarian, it has been very difficult to maintain my fat and carb intake, however I've finally found my way! I have been using my fitness pal on and off for about 2 years. Last year, in summer, I lost around 5kg and reached my target weight but I stopped looking after my diet when I started uni again in September & put on a few pounds.. So I've decided to start again for the new year and this time it would be great to meet some new people and motivate each other! It would be really nice to meet some Vegetarians, perhaps we can share ideas? So feel free to add me! I'm also on Instagram: @5areena for some veg food inspiration. :)

  • santiac217
    santiac217 Posts: 6 Member
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    Hi my name is Cindy I am vegetarian and needs to lose 35 pounds! Needs idea an motivation. Its dificult to me because Also I have Hypothyroidism . Iam planning to start tomorrow!
  • queen_of_disaster
    queen_of_disaster Posts: 61 Member
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    I'll add you--I've been a vegetarian for five and a half years and it's always nice to add friends who are also vegetarians.
  • FunSkittles
    FunSkittles Posts: 39 Member
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    Can we talk snacks for work? Does anyone have a healthy muffin or bar recipe?