Will eating meat cause me to gain weight?

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graciew104
graciew104 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
will stopping vegetarianism make me gain weight? So in 2019 i weighed 131 and then i stopped eating meat and i went down to 124. I stayed there until the past few months, i gained 15 pounds, (still not eating meat) and now i’m trying to lose the weight and i’m really struggling with getting my protein in & sticking to my deficit. If i start eating meat, will this cause me to gain more weight? Or if i eat meat and am still in a deficit will i lose weight?

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  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 989 Member
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    graciew104 wrote: »
    will stopping vegetarianism make me gain weight? So in 2019 i weighed 131 and then i stopped eating meat and i went down to 124. I stayed there until the past few months, i gained 15 pounds, (still not eating meat) and now i’m trying to lose the weight and i’m really struggling with getting my protein in & sticking to my deficit. If i start eating meat, will this cause me to gain more weight? Or if i eat meat and am still in a deficit will i lose weight?

    i've been a vegetarian for over 25 years with no problem getting my protein. egg whites, milk (it can be non fat or low fat), tofu, cottage cheese meat substitutes like morningstar farms sausage and the many veggie burgers out there. then there are protein bars (i love a couple quest bar flavors!), protein powder to add to milk or water (i prefer whey protein isolate drinks as they have more protein and much less cholesterol than whey concentrate), cottage cheese, soy beans baked, fried, flavored however you like. and there's much more veggie protein foods.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,679 Member
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    zebasschick wrote: »
    graciew104 wrote: »
    will stopping vegetarianism make me gain weight? So in 2019 i weighed 131 and then i stopped eating meat and i went down to 124. I stayed there until the past few months, i gained 15 pounds, (still not eating meat) and now i’m trying to lose the weight and i’m really struggling with getting my protein in & sticking to my deficit. If i start eating meat, will this cause me to gain more weight? Or if i eat meat and am still in a deficit will i lose weight?

    i've been a vegetarian for over 25 years with no problem getting my protein. egg whites, milk (it can be non fat or low fat), tofu, cottage cheese meat substitutes like morningstar farms sausage and the many veggie burgers out there. then there are protein bars (i love a couple quest bar flavors!), protein powder to add to milk or water (i prefer whey protein isolate drinks as they have more protein and much less cholesterol than whey concentrate), cottage cheese, soy beans baked, fried, flavored however you like. and there's much more veggie protein foods.

    Ditto, except I don't eat faux meats, protein powder/bars, only use whole eggs (and those rarely). Still no trouble getting 100g+ protein in maintenance, though it was a bit less when in the main phase of loss (80s-90s). It's do-able. In my view, the main thing is to think of protein a little differently than omnivores do.

    Omnivores, oversimplifying, center meals around one big protein. ("What's for dinner?" "Pork chops" "steak" "burgers" "grilled chicken".) As a veg, for me, it's a core protein (legumes, soy, dairy, seitan, whatever), plus small bits of protein in most anything I eat, with lots of variety in sources to help out with EAA (essential amino acid) balance over time. Veggies with relatively more protein, fruits with more protein, starches with more protein, flavoring add-ins like nutritional yeast, peanut or almond butter powder (defatted), miso, etc.

    The biggies may be a little less protein-dense than meat/fish, but the little bits in the other foods add up to quite a bit, over a day or week.
  • penguinmama87
    penguinmama87 Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I'm an omnivore and very happily so. Just to provide another perspective, you can be a meat-eater but not a carnivore - meat does not make up a huge part of my diet and I don't eat meat every meal or every day. Most of the meat I eat is leaner than your typical grocery store fare (it's not factory farmed), which I think is better for me and for the animals raised for that meat. I also benefit that way from eating organ meats and "unusual cuts," which are sometimes more finicky to prepare but have other nutritional benefits (or they're dirt cheap - in my case we bulk order beef and pork and I get all those extras for no additional cost, which is my favorite.)

    I will say, when I started reading and posting on the forums that even as a meat eater I frequently found myself short on protein. For leaner sources of meat I could just eat more (like turkey or chicken), but I also use some of the tips mentioned above.

    I think most people, if they have means, can get their nutritional needs met following a variety of diets, the question is primarily one of familiarity and cooking skill (which can be learned if you want to, some people don't), your taste preferences, and opinions about ethical food consumption.

  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    Weight gain is about calories. Some people find meat filling and lose weight eating it, and others find that some meats are calorie dense so they lose weight when cutting them out.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    graciew104 wrote: »
    will stopping vegetarianism make me gain weight? So in 2019 i weighed 131 and then i stopped eating meat and i went down to 124. I stayed there until the past few months, i gained 15 pounds, (still not eating meat) and now i’m trying to lose the weight and i’m really struggling with getting my protein in & sticking to my deficit. If i start eating meat, will this cause me to gain more weight? Or if i eat meat and am still in a deficit will i lose weight?

    Excess calories cause weight gain...not meat or any other particular food.

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