Vegetarian Until 4 pm (or 16:00)

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BananaBite
BananaBite Posts: 135 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just realized I am kind of leading a vegetarian diet until 4 pm (or 16:00 in other countries). I am definitely fully committed to a vegetarian lifestyle. I was wondering if anyone is following this diet for an extended amount of time. What results have you seen so far? Any advice?
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Replies

  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
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    If you are fully committed to being a vegetarian, why aren't you vegetarian 24/7?
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
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    I'm vegetarian 27/7. What results are you looking for?
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    Well, if you're eating that way most of the day, it sounds like you already have a pretty good idea about what it would be like to transition to that way of eating completely. We have a vegetarian/vegan group here which might be helpful and give you more information about the diet long term.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    littlechiaseed wrote: »
    I'm vegetarian 27/7. What results are you looking for?

    Impressive.

    OP, so you only eat plant based foods in the morning and afternoon but then eat meat at night?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    ummm what? if you eat meat you aren't vegetarian regardless of the time you eat or not eat the meat :D
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,639 Member
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    I've been vegetarian for over 42 years (ovo-lacto).

    I wouldn't expect any particular results from a vegetarian diet, generically speaking. You can eat nutritiously as a vegetarian, or not. You can eat too much, too little, or just right. You can get enough protein as a vegetarian (or vegan), or not enough.

    Personally, I got fat as a vegetarian, stayed fat (obese, even) as a vegetarian, got high blood pressure and high cholesterol and cancer and gallbladder adenomyomatosis as a vegetarian, then lost weight as a vegetarian, and left the bad health conditions by the wayside (so far).

    If you want to be vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, that's great. But vegetarianism in and of itself is irrelevant to the healthfulness of one's way of eating. One can eat healthfully as a vegetarian, or as an omnivore, and lose (or gain) weight as either, too.
  • hlbutterfield1212
    hlbutterfield1212 Posts: 2 Member
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    If you were fully vegetarian you would still be able to get enough protein. You only need 5% of your macro nutrients from protein. Just beans and rice are a complete protein.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    hlbutterfield1212 wrote: »
    If you were fully vegetarian you would still be able to get enough protein. You only need 5% of your macro nutrients from protein. Just beans and rice are a complete protein.

    Eeeeerm, no.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,639 Member
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    hlbutterfield1212 wrote: »
    If you were fully vegetarian you would still be able to get enough protein. You only need 5% of your macro nutrients from protein. Just beans and rice are a complete protein.

    Yeah, beans & rice are a complete protein.

    But 5% of your macro nutrients from protein? I'm not even sure what you mean - protein is a macronutrient. IF you mean 5% of your calories from the protein macronutrient, then I don't think so.

    The USDA (among others) pretty much subscribes to the 0.8g per kg of body weight per day idea, or something in that neighborhood, IIRC. That would be roughly 0.4g/pound, in round numbers. You would want to use healthy body weight as the base, if you're under/over weight.

    So, for a 100-pound person, that's 40g of protein daily to avoid malnutrition. And most of us prefer to come closer to optimizing nutrition if possible, not simply avoid malnutrition.

    Moreover, 40g is 5% of an 800-calorie daily diet, which is way too few calories for that same 100 pound person. The TDEE for a sedentary 100-pound person is around 1300-1800 calories, more or less, depending on sex, height & age.

    Yes, some of the vegan blogs say the USDA protein recommendation is excessive. Based on my own reading (of research studies, not vegan blogs), one needs more protein (than the USDA recommendation) when losing weight, when getting older, when working out, when getting much of one's protein from plant sources, and more.

    Personally, based on my reading, I think that 0.6-08g protein daily per pound of healthy body weight is a reasonable, conservative goal, and I could hit that pretty easily even in steep calorie deficit, as a vegetarian. (I think I could do it as a vegan, too, but I'm not vegan.) In maintenance, at 120 pounds, I'm trying for a consistent minimum of 100g, which is more like 20% of my calories (at 4 calories per gram of protein).

    Everyone can choose his/her way of eating based on his/her own judgement, but I'd argue with anyone suggesting that 5% of calories idea - if that was the idea.
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    I've eaten that way all my life and I consider myself a meat eater
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    DanceDiva234 wrote: »
    I just realized I am kind of leading a vegetarian diet until 4 pm (or 16:00 in other countries). I am definitely fully committed to a vegetarian lifestyle. I was wondering if anyone is following this diet for an extended amount of time. What results have you seen so far? Any advice?

    Not eating meat for breakfast or lunch doesn't make you vegetarian.

    Also, I'm not sure what results you would be expecting...any diet can be as good or bad as you make it. Being vegetarian doesn't default to weight loss...I know several overweight vegetarians and there are a lot of vegetarians on this site who are here because they became overweight while being a vegetarian...it has nothing to do with weight management.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    DanceDiva234 wrote: »
    I just realized I am kind of leading a vegetarian diet until 4 pm (or 16:00 in other countries). I am definitely fully committed to a vegetarian lifestyle. I was wondering if anyone is following this diet for an extended amount of time. What results have you seen so far? Any advice?

    Not eating meat for breakfast or lunch doesn't make you vegetarian.

    Also, I'm not sure what results you would be expecting...any diet can be as good or bad as you make it. Being vegetarian doesn't default to weight loss...I know several overweight vegetarians and there are a lot of vegetarians on this site who are here because they became overweight while being a vegetarian...it has nothing to do with weight management.

    Bingo.

    Things that are vegan:

    Plant based oils and shortenings
    Oreos
    Non-dairy chocolate
    Cashew cream
    Veganaise
    Sugar
    Bread
    Falafel (assuming egg isn't used to bind)
    Vegan ice cream
    Nuts and nut butters
    Avocados
    Coconut
    French fries

    I like basically all of those things, so I'd probably manage to be an obese vegan. Gimme that falafel, pb&j sandwiches, vegan Ben and Jerry's, guac, vegan chocolate bars, deep fry those French fries...
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I very rarely eat meat during the day, but most always do for dinner. It's not a planned thing, just how i eat.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited August 2016
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    So, for a 100-pound person, that's 40g of protein daily to avoid malnutrition. And most of us prefer to come closer to optimizing nutrition if possible, not simply avoid malnutrition.

    Moreover, 40g is 5% of an 800-calorie daily diet, which is way too few calories for that same 100 pound person. The TDEE for a sedentary 100-pound person is around 1300-1800 calories, more or less, depending on sex, height & age.

    Your math is a bit off.

    40 g x 4 cal/g = 160 cals from 40 g protein. Which is 20% of 800 calories. But it's only 10% of a 1600 cal/day diet (13% of a 1200 cal/day diet).

    So, for the sake of argument, 10-15% of calories from protein is a pretty good "don't go any lower than this" estimate for anyone who doesn't want to do the math for their specific case. Assuming the person doesn't require more due to their exercise program.

    Note that that's a minimum not a recommended amount.
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
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    How do all these threads end up about protein? I haven't seen anyone post here that their doctor said they had a protein deficiency
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,639 Member
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    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    So, for a 100-pound person, that's 40g of protein daily to avoid malnutrition. And most of us prefer to come closer to optimizing nutrition if possible, not simply avoid malnutrition.

    Moreover, 40g is 5% of an 800-calorie daily diet, which is way too few calories for that same 100 pound person. The TDEE for a sedentary 100-pound person is around 1300-1800 calories, more or less, depending on sex, height & age.

    Your math is a bit off.

    40 g x 4 cal/g = 160 cals from 40 g protein. Which is 20% of 800 calories. But it's only 10% of a 1600 cal/day diet (13% of a 1200 cal/day diet).

    So, for the sake of argument, 10-15% of calories from protein is a pretty good "don't go any lower than this" estimate for anyone who doesn't want to do the math for their specific case. Assuming the person doesn't require more due to their exercise program.

    Note that that's a minimum not a recommended amount.

    Oops, you're absolutely right - my math is off (usually my math is fine & my arithmetic wrong, but not this time).

    I should've said, 40g protein is 5% of 3200 calories - which is unlikely to be what the 100-pound person is eating. My main point - which I clearly botched - is that 5% of calories for protein is seriously too low in a typical person's scenario.

    Thanks for the correction! :)
  • BananaBite
    BananaBite Posts: 135 Member
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    Sorry everybody I had a typo. I meant I am "definitely *not* committed."

    Thank you for the explanations and insight :)
  • BananaBite
    BananaBite Posts: 135 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I've been vegetarian for over 42 years (ovo-lacto).

    I wouldn't expect any particular results from a vegetarian diet, generically speaking. You can eat nutritiously as a vegetarian, or not. You can eat too much, too little, or just right. You can get enough protein as a vegetarian (or vegan), or not enough.

    Personally, I got fat as a vegetarian, stayed fat (obese, even) as a vegetarian, got high blood pressure and high cholesterol and cancer and gallbladder adenomyomatosis as a vegetarian, then lost weight as a vegetarian, and left the bad health conditions by the wayside (so far).

    If you want to be vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, that's great. But vegetarianism in and of itself is irrelevant to the healthfulness of one's way of eating. One can eat healthfully as a vegetarian, or as an omnivore, and lose (or gain) weight as either, too.

    Thank you for your response. I guess I always assumed those that took out meat and other produce were somehow healthier. Of course, not that I assumed those that ate meat were any less unhealthy. Although, do you think that the kind of meat and how much meat you eat can lead to weight gain? Is there a certain amount of meat that is better to eat on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis?

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