Learning a Vegetarian Diet

autumn602 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

autumn602 wrote: »

I will look into the flexitarian dieting. It exactly what I was looking for!

I am already on a marco diet which I count my fats, calories, carbs, sugars, etc. My calories are low, I have slowed down on gym life but in turn my weight has increased a bit. I have seen first hand what a plant base diet has done for others that have the same lifestyle I do and they maintain a lower body fat%.

I just need some better reading regarding this type of dieting. I have no intention of becoming 100% vegetarian, but I think if I have better understanding of it, I can custom it the way I want it.

Thank you for

I eat meat, but I am heavily plant based. Maintaining a lower BF% doesn't really have anything to do with being a vegetarian or omnivorous. That really all comes down to calories. The only correlation I can even think of here is that in general, vegetarians and vegans tend to be more purposefully diet aware than many omnivores because they're trying to eat in a very specific way vs "just eating"....but that doesn't really have anything to do with meat consumption in and of itself.

I have a lot of friends in and around and very involved in the fitness industry. Most of them are omnivorous and eat meat...and a lot of other healthy plant foods as well (they're health nuts). Every single one of them is lean...some of them with quite elite physiques. My trainer is a 45 year old retired professional athlete and he shovels chicken down his throat like no tomorrow and he's sub 10% BF.

I've gone years on my current diet and been a gym rat 5-6 days a week and have never been able to shake that 2-3% BF off. I'm looking into this option because I've seen success out of it. I stick to lean meat but there is always some fat in meat and more carbs than I really need. My metabolism must be slowing, I am entering my 40s, and sit all day at a desk. My gym life has also significantly slowed down to 3 days a week. Thx!

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Meat doesn't have carbs, and dietary fat does not make one fat. If anything meat consumption actually increases your metabolism due to it being the highest TEF thing you can eat. Many vegetarian sources of carbohydrates are actually higher in carbohydrates than protein.

Nothing wrong with what you're doing...like I said, I have quite a few vegetarian meals and days during the week...you're just thinking about this all wrong. Any results people have had in regards to losing bodyfat/weight are due to taking in fewer calories than they need...has nothing to do with whether or not they eat meat.

I suspect a sedentary overall lifestyle and not that much exercise is contributing far more to things than whether or not you have some chicken. 23% is already fairly lean for a female...you're trying to get to 20% which is "athlete" lean for a female...but you're not doing athlete things.