[philana]

Hi Girls,

I am one of those on-again-off-again vegetarians. Though every day without meat is a bit better for the planet! Hihi. The thing that annoys me is that everytime I am trying to lose weight I do it by calorie counting and low-carbing. And it is just impossible for me to not eat meat then. I get tired, and I'll be low on my protein and just eventually give in.

Meanwhile my mom is trying to cook veggie for me and I can't say every other week "oh this week I'll eat meat, this week I don't". So I feel like I have to hide it everytime I succumb and eat some meat.

Any of you girls dealing with the same? I know all the sources for protein like beans, soy and whatnot. And I do eat that, but the quantities of food I'd need to eat to get enough protein just don't match with my lowcal diet and my desire to eat something other than cottage cheese.

Just needed to vent and always curious to see what you gals say! These boards are great for good advice.





P.S. I do eat pretty healthy, mostly whole foods and a good mix of things. I just want more than 30grams of protein a day and don't seem to be able to without going way over my calories so I end up wanting chicken or something.

[guynna]

Hmmm. Others may have a better idea of protein/gram sources, but I add protein powder to my yogurt, baked goods, smoothies, etc. Protein helps me control hunger, so sometimes I just ADD it. (Fortunately I really love veggies, too.)

Also, is it the protein you are craving or the "mouth feel" of fat that is so often in protein? Do you need to get more adventurous in your recipes?

Best,

[TheLindsy]

I'v been vegetarian for over 7 years. I get protein from eggs mostly, and also cottage cheese (100 calories for 1/2 a cup with 12g of protein). I love veggies too. I recommend getting a vegetarian cook book. Mine has the calories/fat/carbs/protein broke down per each recipe. Its SUPER useful!
Good luck!

[sblove]

I've been almost vegetarian, but good enough in my opinion. The only place where I'm not is when I eat fish (only local fish) from time to time because it's a great source of omega 3's. I actually get plenty of protein with rice, beans, and nuts. I don't eat processed foods, so most of my energy comes from the source (aka things that grow out of the ground). When I first became a vegetarian, I didn't do it right. Intstead of buying fresh and local produce, I would head to the store and read the labels of everything to make sure it was vegetarian. That's not the way to go. Eat local, eat natural, and eat often. Then it becomes easier to be a vegetarian.

[Mizzthingaling]

I am what you described by choice. They call it flexitarian. Sometimes I'm on meat, sometimes I'm not. If you don't want to eat meat for moral reason maybe you can try to intro phase of the Fat Smash diet until you get to goal and then start adding more foods back.

If you really just do not want to eat meat you could do nut butters, yogurt and add in a protein shake if needed.

[jago]

Have you tried 'Quorn' - we have it in the UK. It is vegetarian and high in protein.
I have egg white for breakfast (5) with half a piece of wholemeal bread, cottage chees and quorn slices and raw veg for lunch and , quorn mince or fillets or balls with veg for dinner. I have a banana every day and snack on celery. I also have barley grass powder ever day.

THat keeps me under 100 net carbs perday and also gives me 74-95 g protein. I have lost 20 lbs (nearly 10 kg ) in five weeks

[kaplods]

If you lose weight best on low-carb, you might consider reading some of the low-carb vegetarian cookbooks for ideas. You might also consider reading paleo and low-glycemic diet and cookbooks.
Not all paleo and low-glycemic diets are vegetarian friendly, but often at least some of the recipes are.


I'm not veg*n, but I also like having meatless options (mostly for financial reasons), so I've read a lot of books searching for low-carb meatless or low-meat recipes, and have found many by searching for the books on amazon but printing them out and taking the list to take to the library. I check out what I can find, and what I can't go on my "to order from interlibrary loan" list.


For example here are some low-carb vegetarian books on my wish list (the ones in bold are those I've already read, and the others are still on my wish list).

Low Carb Vegetarian by Margo DeMello

The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet by Rose Elliot

Low-Carb Vegetarian Cooking by Sue Spitler and Linda R. Yoakam

200 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes by Dana Carpender

Low-Carb Vegetarian by Celia Brooks Brown

Healthy Heart Vegetarian by Dona Campbell

The Soy Zone by Barry Sears

Yummidy!: A low carb guide and meatless cook book by David Kennedy (Author)