Vegetarians Losing Weight

Being a vegetarian is not easy and it's definitely not for everyone. The fact you don't like the veggies makes it even more difficult. How are you feeling in general? Are you well/healthy? Have you had a checkup to see if you're deficient in anything? That might be the case if you're always hungry/craving stuff. What was the reason you became a vegetarian in the first place?

Try adding fillers and substitutes to your dishes. Use spaghetti squash which is my go to for all things pasta. Cauliflower rice is great. I add a full bag of tofu shirataki noodles on my salads i have for lunch. The whole bad has 20 cal and 6 grams carbs 4 of which are dietary fiber. It will help you feel satiated.

brittlb07 wrote: »

I am a vegetarian and have been since I was 12. People assume this means I am healthy. No. It means carbs are my best friend. I often help my self to seconds because “I didn’t get the meat serving.” This is not working out well. The worst is that I am not necessarily a huge salad fan either. Any other vegetarians trying to lose weight? What sort of things do you eat avoid carbs that are not meat?

As I asked in the other thread, what are you meaning by "carbs"? I was a vegetarian for a while (both in shape and overweight) and tend to eat vegetarian during parts of the year now (Lent, sometimes other stretches), and what I did was similar to when not eating vegetarian -- I plan my meals around a source of protein and vegetables. The difference is that plant-based protein sources may have less protein than a similar serving of meat, so you'd want to have multiple sources. Happily, vegetables themselves are a source (non starchy veg are primarily carbs, but also have protein).

For example, my current favorite breakfast is some mix of vegetables and eggs. Often I might add some cottage cheese or yogurt to increase the protein, or I might have fruit on the side instead of the dairy. Eggs have just a tiny amount of carbs, but the rest of those choices do have carbs, but they also make for a balanced meal. Another option might be oats with yogurt (or soymilk) plus berries and nuts. The oats and yogurt/soymilk and nuts will all provide some protein.

For lunch I might have a salad with tofu and chickpeas on it, but if you aren't into salad how about a stirfry with vegetables and tofu on brown rice (or white is fine)? Maybe a piece of fruit after for a snack. Or a lentil stew with a variety of veg added or black bean soup with some veg on the side.

For dinner, similarly I would pick a protein source and vegetables and then fill in with whatever starch I like. You don't need to avoid pasta, just make sure you are adding protein and fat and vegetables to it.

Nuts will give you a little protein and are often a satisfying addition (high cal, of course) and are also something to think about.

You still may end up with a diet that's a bit on the higher carb side (although not necessarily), but that's not a bad thing.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

UltraVegAthlete wrote: »

I’m fully raw vegan now in order to lose weight. It’s hard in the winter, but I’m determined to lose weight for my marathon. I’m not a big raw veggie eater, but I love plain salads with just lettuce and tomatoes.

If you are raw vegan but don't like raw veggies, what are you eating? Just fruit and lettuce and tomatoes? That's pretty limited and not healthy. Are you at least getting in some sources of protein? (Not sure what that would be, as you need to cook most of the best plant sources -- nuts and seeds, but that's really going to be tough.)

Also, some vegetables have nutrients that are easier to absorb when cooked, so that's worth considering.

You can lose weight eating food that's cooked as well as raw. Like kshama I admire veganism as an ethical choice, but I don't get the raw thing. I think it's too hard to have a diet that provides all you need.

(The following should not be construed as encouragement for sprouting or eating exclusively raw, merely a technical discussion.)

@lemurcat2 raw eaters can sprout things. Soaked lentils are edible relatively quickly, maybe overnight? They will just have a teeny sprout at this point, but are edible as soon as they are soft enough to chew without feeling like you are chewing gravel. Mung beans and alfalfa seeds sprout well. Pea shoots are lovely, but you have to get the right kind of seeds for that.

However: https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention.html

...Sprouts need warm and humid conditions to sprout and grow. These conditions are also ideal for the growth of bacteria, including Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli.

Recommendations for people at higher risk, including pregnant women, older adults, and people with weakened immunity:

• Do not eat raw or lightly cooked sprouts of any kind (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts).
• Cook sprouts thoroughly to reduce your risk for getting sick. Thorough cooking kills the harmful bacteria.
• When you’re eating out, ask that raw sprouts not be added to your food. If you buy a ready-made sandwich, salad, or Asian food, check to make sure it doesn’t contain raw sprouts.

NOTE: Rinsing sprouts will not remove bacteria. Home-grown sprouts also can make you sick if you eat them raw or lightly cooked.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

I would agree that eating vegetarian is really not hard (I have done it for long stretches of time, and I personally do find being 100% plant-based hard and also do miss fish and other meats some when being vegetarian). I would be willing to do it and find it not difficult if I felt I had an ethical reason to do it (or didn't care for meat -- when I did it as a lifestyle I was weirdly convinced that cooking meat was hard, especially fish, and was an inexperienced cook, when I did it later just for Lents I had a much more varied veg diet), but after lots of thought and trials I personally don't have an issue with (many) fish or farm-sourced meat and eggs and dairy, although I respect those who do.

It would be harder if you don't like vegetables, of course, and/or beans/lentils, but OP didn't say that.

IMO, for weight loss only, easiest way to cut calories long-term is as an omnivore, since you have more options. I don't think being a vegetarian makes it much more difficult. I think disliking meat and veg (or just veg) probably makes it harder.

In the short-term, cutting out what you are used to eating makes it harder to mindlessly eat lots of calories, no matter how you are cutting them out (WFPB, carnivore, paleo, "clean" (ugh, that stupid term), raw (most of all!), whatever). But it can make it more difficult to maintain if you feel like your diet is really limited and unsatisfying.

Absolutely. Every word.

Being vegetarian is not hard. Being vegan is not hard. What alternate dimension is this?! Sadly in this ready meal / I want it now / Mcdonalds society anything that requires a small amount of effort or thought or ethics is hard now?

Just eat carbs if you want carbs - only make sure you're getting a nutritionally complete diet with that - i.e. pasta with ketchup is not a healthy dinner. I only say that as you mentioned you are having second helpings because you don't eat the meat - you need to make sure whatever the meat is bringing to everyone else's meal (be it flavour, texture or nutrition) that you are putting in a replacement.

There are carb replacements everywhere, especially for pasta for example have you tried using spiralised veggies instead of noodles / spaghetti or slices of squash or courgette for 'lasagne' sheets? Or using a non wheat pasta? Chickpea, edamame, lentil and pea pastas are pretty widely available and give you an added protein boost.

As a lifelong vegetarian I've never struggled to find nutritious and filling foods, I've never found that there's something I can't make if I want it. I made 'boeuf' bourgignon the other night (using seitan).

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

_aenyeweddien_ wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

_aenyeweddien_ wrote: »

Being a vegetarian is not easy and it's definitely not for everyone. The fact you don't like the veggies makes it even more difficult. How are you feeling in general? Are you well/healthy? Have you had a checkup to see if you're deficient in anything? That might be the case if you're always hungry/craving stuff. What was the reason you became a vegetarian in the first place?

I disagree with the bolded. It's mildly less convenient than eating like most people do (because of social factors, typical restaurant offerings, travel, etc.), but it's really not particularly difficult. If you don't enjoy vegetarian foods, or don't want to invest 3% extra thought in nutrition, you shouldn't be vegetarian. But if you have reason to do it, it's not remotely hard.

I agree that it's not for everyone. Nothing is.

It might be easy if you're not watching macros. Personally I don't think it is easy at all if you're trying to hit specific protein target, I was always struggling, for years. I gave up recently not because of the difficulty, but due to some health issues that according to my endocrinologist were caused by increased consumption of dairy, legumes and products like Quorn. Of course that's just my case, I'm not saying it will be for everyone, some people thrive on it and it's definitely worth trying especially for ethical reasons. But I still don't think it's easy.

May I ask what those issues were? I assume it depends what you see an endocrinologist for and how reliable your endocrinologist is. Mine has never once mentioned my diet in relation to my thyroid.

I try to hit macro targets too, and honestly don't struggle.

I was originally referred by my GP who suspected PCOS and hypothyroidism, which endocrinologist then said I don't have. He said my symptoms might be caused by chronic inflammation and advised changing the diet (limiting dairy, legumes, any processed foods including soy products like Quorn, and refined grains to minimum while including good quality, organic 100% grass fed meat and focusing on fresh fruit and veg which I was already doing anyway). I was stubborn and refused to believe it, kept pushing for more tests, as I really didn't want to give up being vegetarian. I don't know if he was right or wrong or how reliable he is, but after just a few weeks of listening to his instructions all my symptoms improved drastically, and the weight started going down too (on more kcal than I was on before).

I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think I'm against being a vegetarian or that I think it causes health problems. Like I said previously, some people can thrive on it and it's absolutely worth giving a go, that's just my personal experience. It was hard for me even though I was very organised, and I also know many vegetarians who struggle even more than I did. I'm not saying it's not doable or worth it, it definitely is, I just don't think it's easy.

Inflammation is such the buzzword of the moment, and this is a good piece on it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/concerned-about-inflammation-these-foods-may-help/2017/10/31/bf9215b6-b9b2-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.507ecae2f7f6