Going vegetarian and weight loss

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flosoup38
flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi looking advice from anyone that can help please?

Have decided to go vegetarian for several reasons but need ideas and a wee bit of help. I work out 3 times a week using kettle bells and power bags and body weight movements. So being veggie there's a lot less protein in my diet, what would you recommend before and after workouts?

Trying to take baby steps as j know being too tough or rigid will lead me into a binge (yesterday :-( ). Still trying to learn about this!

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  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    I don't eat meat. You can get plenty of protein through the tried & true sources of eggs, yogurt, cheese, beans, nuts and an array of meatless products (Trader Joe's has great organic tempeh and a product called Chickenless Strips, which are really good!) You can supplement with protein shakes or bars, if you desire.

    Try not to overthink it or freak out too much. Make your small changes along the way, and try eating or preparing something new once in a while. There are a ton of vegetarian recipes online. Keep eating what you enjoy. Stay under your calorie goal.

    I don't miss meat at all...
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    I like lentils, but them in a packet, about as hard to cook as two minute noodles. A packet is like 1700 kj and 35g protein.

    Not sure if that's good or bad.

    Greek yogurt seems good to.

    If your a "vegetarian" fish is also good, blue grenadier :smile:
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I don't eat meat. You can get plenty of protein through the tried & true sources of eggs, yogurt, cheese, beans, nuts and an array of meatless products (Trader Joe's has great organic tempeh and a product called Chickenless Strips, which are really good!) You can supplement with protein shakes or bars, if you desire.

    Try not to overthink it or freak out too much. Make your small changes along the way, and try eating or preparing something new once in a while. There are a ton of vegetarian recipes online. Keep eating what you enjoy. Stay under your calorie goal.

    I don't miss meat at all...

    This is good advice.
  • FunSizedKJ
    FunSizedKJ Posts: 67 Member
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    Greek yogurt, broccoli, kale, quinoa, black beans, chickpeas...

    I stopped eating meat for a while, this is a great source of information for vegan/vegetarian protein:
    yurielkaim.com/7350/best-vegan-protein-sources-definitive-guide-plant-based-protein-2/
  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    I don't eat meat. You can get plenty of protein through the tried & true sources of eggs, yogurt, cheese, beans, nuts and an array of meatless products (Trader Joe's has great organic tempeh and a product called Chickenless Strips, which are really good!) You can supplement with protein shakes or bars, if you desire.

    Try not to overthink it or freak out too much. Make your small changes along the way, and try eating or preparing something new once in a while. There are a ton of vegetarian recipes online. Keep eating what you enjoy. Stay under your calorie goal.

    I don't miss meat at all...

    Great advice! I'm in Ireland though and the meat free choices are limited here. I think I'm having a meltdown as I'm not restricting my choices anymore as I followed diets before and they didn't work! Think I need to be more adventurous with beans and lentil rather than just baked beans ;-). Thank you for the advice!
  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your advice :-)

    I don't do fish do that's not an option. Greek yogurt and eggs I think with more adventurous beans ;-)
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    flosoup38 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone for your advice :-)

    I don't do fish do that's not an option. Greek yogurt and eggs I think with more adventurous beans ;-)


    If you like rice, make a bunch at the beginning of the week. Then you can make fried rice one evening, adding your favorite nuts and scrambled eggs. You can make quesas another evening, adding salsa, corn, black beans or refried beans and cheese to flour or corn tortillas and grilling. You can make a thick soup with all kinds of vegetables (and rice, if there's any left) and serve with spinach & cheddar scones.

    The important thing is to work with food you really love. The creativity & adventure will come with time. It's not a race - make gentle & enjoyable changes.

  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    Made a coconut Dahl for lunch and was pleasantly surprised! Thanks vivmom those are some great suggestions
  • earthnut
    earthnut Posts: 216 Member
    edited August 2015
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    If you're eating at a deficit, you're not going to gain much if any muscle. With weight lifting you'll only maintain what you have. So protein amount really doesn't matter. Eat what you like.

    When you start to maintain then you can recomp and may want to increase your protein to support muscle growth, but even then people don't need that much protein. 0.6g protein per lb bodyweight is enough. See http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
  • cryss04
    cryss04 Posts: 5 Member
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    FunSizedKJ wrote: »
    Greek yogurt, broccoli, kale, quinoa, black beans, chickpeas...

    I stopped eating meat for a while, this is a great source of information for vegan/vegetarian protein:
    yurielkaim.com/7350/best-vegan-protein-sources-definitive-guide-plant-based-protein-2/

    This is great! I was looking for the same answers.I don't eat meat and this is more for my co-workers so they will leave me be lol. Great info!
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    flosoup38 wrote: »
    Made a coconut Dahl for lunch and was pleasantly surprised! Thanks vivmom those are some great suggestions

    You're welcome! You're in the land of Kerrygold butter!! (jealous)

  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    vivmom2014 wrote: »
    flosoup38 wrote: »
    Made a coconut Dahl for lunch and was pleasantly surprised! Thanks vivmom those are some great suggestions

    You're welcome! You're in the land of Kerrygold butter!! (jealous)

    I am indeed! It's my favourite too :-) was on holiday recently in Germany and was amazed to find it in a local grocers too!
  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
    edited August 2015
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    earthnut wrote: »
    If you're eating at a deficit, you're not going to gain much if any muscle. With weight lifting you'll only maintain what you have. So protein amount really doesn't matter. Eat what you like.

    When you start to maintain then you can recomp and may want to increase your protein to support muscle growth, but even then people don't need that much protein. 0.6g protein per lb bodyweight is enough. See http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    Thanks for this! I have about 80 lbs to go to target so I'll not be worrying about maintaining anytime soon. Thanks for your help Earthnut:-)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,641 Member
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    Diet in general: Soy in various forms (black soy beans, dry roasted beans, edamame, tempeh, tofu if you don't mind the processed-ness, . . . .). Protein-y grains like quinoa, amaranth, spelt, kamut. Nuts (tree nuts, peanuts) and seeds (old stand-bys like sunflower, pepitas as well as newer favorites like chia or hemp).

    Post-workout: The nuts, seeds, or dry-roasted soy beans are a nice snack - high in protein (complete protein in the soy), easy to carry, and nicely crunchy. Gotta watch the portion sizes, though, especially on nuts & seeds.

    I've been ovo-lacto vegetarian for 41 years. (Yes, you read that right!) I'm also pretty active. If you have questions, ask or friend me.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Morningstar black bean 1/3 lb burgers are the best. 17 grams of protein for 190 calories. Microwave for 2 minutes. Boom.
  • Kimegatron
    Kimegatron Posts: 772 Member
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    leggup wrote: »
    Morningstar black bean 1/3 lb burgers are the best. 17 grams of protein for 190 calories. Microwave for 2 minutes. Boom.

    I like the mediterranean chickpea ones. I put them in the wholegrain pita pocket with some baby spinach, chopped onion, and humus. NOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I have that for lunch at work Mon-Fri. I like to eat the same things on work weeks, because I am always running late, so it's more simple for me.
  • flosoup38
    flosoup38 Posts: 71 Member
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    Don't have them here in Ireland unfortunately. Just Quorn and Linda MCCartney.

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