college student and vegetarian trying to lose weight

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missjelika
missjelika Posts: 115 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all,
I've been here for 3 months and just now thought i should probably introduce myself. I am 23 yrs old and in college. I became a vegetarian 18 months ago and just figuring things out. i think its harder being in college. I am also overweight which makes people give me weird looks :noway: a fat vegetarian???
Anyways looking for similar people to share encouragement and also ways to have a complete and health vegetarian lifestyle.
add me :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
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    Hi there! I too am in college, and I'm a pescetarian. I've been one for about 12 years now :D
    Feel free to add me and message me with any questions!
  • Bonny272
    Bonny272 Posts: 154 Member
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    I would suggest a slow cooker/ crock pot so you can drop in all your healthy ingredients before class and have a hot meal waiting for you when you get home. There are a ton of soups that are great for weight loss. You can look in allrecipes.com and ask for vegetarian meals. :)
  • rose_mortem
    rose_mortem Posts: 147 Member
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    been a vegetaran for 18 months too, and the hardest thing for me is learning to eat more vegetables :0
  • aquapoet2468
    aquapoet2468 Posts: 1
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    Hey,
    I've been a vegetarian all my life and am just realizing that im gaining weight. Its amazing how hard it is to restict yourslef from eating bad food when you only have limited options.. i suggest tons of exercise... i mean, thats what does it! and look at the gi diet by rick gallop. It is probably the only one that works. My friend lost 50 lbs in 6 months!
  • meganlynn1014
    meganlynn1014 Posts: 16
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    I am 20 years old, a college student, and a vegetarian! I gained ALL my weight after becoming a vegetarian. I used to be skinny beforehand... isn't that weird?? I just made really poor decisions, ate lots of pasta, ate lots of dairy products, and not enough vegetables. Not to mention, I NEVER exercised (but that was because I was skinny in my pre-veggie days). ANyway, I am starting to exercise and really trying to manage my diet. I pretty much live on steamed broccoli with seasoning, TONS of water, carrots, avocado, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery and once a day, I have a LUNA bar for protein. The things that I have HAD to stay away from:

    CHOCOLATE (my worst addiction, but I get my fix through my luna bar)
    CHEESE (I let myself have a little... but no more greasy cheese quesadillas and stuff like that (I love mexican food, so cheese was a former staple)
    BREAD (I always wanted to eat bread to fill me up, but it is hard to burn off! I will probably start eating it again once I lose weight and can better manage my diet, but bread has been an enemy)
    PASTA (I don't exercise rigorously enough to justify pasta)
    PRE MADE VEGETARIAN MEALS (Although they are super easy and tasty, those frozen meals sneak a lot of bad stuff into there to lengthen the shelf life)

    I have only been closely monitoring my diet for a week now, but after stepping onto the scale and seeing my weight at its highest, I KNEW I had to do something! Good luck to you!
  • missjelika
    missjelika Posts: 115 Member
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    I am 20 years old, a college student, and a vegetarian! I gained ALL my weight after becoming a vegetarian. I used to be skinny beforehand... isn't that weird?? I just made really poor decisions, ate lots of pasta, ate lots of dairy products, and not enough vegetables. Not to mention, I NEVER exercised (but that was because I was skinny in my pre-veggie days). ANyway, I am starting to exercise and really trying to manage my diet. I pretty much live on steamed broccoli with seasoning, TONS of water, carrots, avocado, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, celery and once a day, I have a LUNA bar for protein. The things that I have HAD to stay away from:

    CHOCOLATE (my worst addiction, but I get my fix through my luna bar)
    CHEESE (I let myself have a little... but no more greasy cheese quesadillas and stuff like that (I love mexican food, so cheese was a former staple)
    BREAD (I always wanted to eat bread to fill me up, but it is hard to burn off! I will probably start eating it again once I lose weight and can better manage my diet, but bread has been an enemy)
    PASTA (I don't exercise rigorously enough to justify pasta)
    PRE MADE VEGETARIAN MEALS (Although they are super easy and tasty, those frozen meals sneak a lot of bad stuff into there to lengthen the shelf life)

    I have only been closely monitoring my diet for a week now, but after stepping onto the scale and seeing my weight at its highest, I KNEW I had to do something! Good luck to you!

    Chocolate is my downfall. And I think the mistake I made was thinking that since its vegetarian and "healthier" I could eat as much of it as possible. I also get bored quickly and always looking for something different.
  • meganlynn1014
    meganlynn1014 Posts: 16
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    It is so true. I thought for sure I would be a lot healthier after I made the change, but it really just got worse. I mean, even when I would eat salads from restaurants (even without the dressing) and I found out they were more calories than the stupid burgers. hahaha It sucked and I felt so dumb. I get bored quickly too! I still haven't quite figured out how to deal with it yet. I am not an expert chef and I hardly have any time to cook legitimate healthy meals, so I pretty much just eat raw food. I am not sure how long I can keep doing it, but we will see. haha. But I will tell you, my new favorite thing is homemade apple sauce. You just have to chop up a couple small apples, add a little cinnamon, and let them cook in a crock pot for a few hours. Then they just mush together. It is really sweet and warm... Kind of liked baked apples if you have ever had those.
  • essicajt
    essicajt Posts: 2 Member
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    try adding more beans and lentils to your diet. Mediterranean food and Ethiopian food are both really good sources for recipes, or restaurants to try. Also, get used to tofu (NOOOOO!!!! yes.). It's a great source of protein to add to an easy stir fry with fresh veggies. Just make sure you take the time to let it brown in some oil before you add the veggies, other wise it wont get the right texture.

    I was vegetarian for two years, but Thanksgiving last year did me in and I couldn't stop eating meat! I do make sure I always have my veggies and fish now, though. Good luck!
  • mojiwoji
    mojiwoji Posts: 23
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    I'm another college student and vegetarian! My weight has moved up and down a lot after getting to school; it's so hard to maintain a healthy diet at school!
  • bunny876
    bunny876 Posts: 40 Member
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    I a currently in college and I work full time and have a toddler. I went Vegan for 2 years, and it was one of the hardest things I done. It is so hard to find healthy options that fit your lifestyle when you are on the go constantly. I fell off the wagon, and would really love to be able to get back on it. I was like you and started gaining weight because I would grab junk food and say "well its vegan".

    I think the biggest obstacle is keeping vegetarian friendly snacks and meals near by at all times. I agree with the user above that posted crock pot meals, that way you will have something to eat when you get back. I started keeping and apple and banana in my purse at all times, and I still do that even though I don't follow that strict of eating anymore.

    Good luck to you, and feel free to add me if you would like.

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