I recently won a year long membership to Bally's and decided it was the universe's way of telling me to it's time to lose weight. I found 3 Chicks yesterday, and thought the forums and blogs seem to be very supportive and factual!

I've was born and raised in Oklahoma, where my mother told me to tell people who asked my weight that I was "100-plenty". However, it's kind of hard to say that whenever you are in the upper "200-plenty" stage. I've been a Vegetarian (no chicken, pork, beef, seafood) for over 20 years, which is kind of odd since I am 27 (almost 28). I was at my lowest weight during my college years at the University of Texas - Austin, where I feasted on beer, ramen, pasta and anything, really, that was overprocessed and fit my tight student budget.

How does a Vegetarian get overweight? Well, I am not a very good one! I would prefer to eat french fries and cheesecake as opposed to nibbling on a rice cake and sprouts. There is nothing wrong with that neccessarily, but certain things are my Achilles heel. I am trying to alter my lifestyle.

So, I am looking to set a goal of 65 pounds. This may get bigger, but I wanted a starting goal. My cholesteral is in the low range, including the bad stuff. I don't have a thyroid condition. I do, however, have a fatty liver. My husband and I would like to have kids (we've been married JUST over a year); but I do not feel it would be safe unless I drop some weight (and, heck - why gain new stretch marks when I can just fill out the old ones?!). I also hope this will help with my lower back issues. Honestly, I feel too young to be having those issues.

There is no excuse for my weight - it has been poor learning and bad habits have been enforced, topped by my love for my couch and tv.

I hope you all have a wonderful day - any words of advice or encouragement would be great!

Hi RBassett, nice to meet you. I haven't technically been a vegetarian for 10 years (I actually was for a decade, including a two-year stint as a vegan), but I still identify as a "vegetarian" even though I've been eating flesh foods. Maybe I'm bi. I think I'll just call myself a bivore, equal parts vegetarian and meateater (love sushi and can never give it up again, but still living the vegetarian lifestyle). Anyway, I have an identity crisis and every time I see Vegetarian Chicks I just want to post there. I can totally see getting fat on veggie fare and also on whole foods, which is what I did. When I got pregnant 10 years ago I included meat and more dairy in my diet, but I have been a whole foods foodie the whole time, going from a size 5 to a size 16. I ate bigger portions than I should have, including vegetables. I rarely ate junk, occasionally ramen or chocolate. Being a junk food vegetarian and an overeating whole foods foodie can make you overweight. Anyway, you are young and I'm sure you are going to be successful. Definitely incorporate more vegetables, though, for your health's sake. Best of luck.

Welcome to 3fc!! Surf around and settle in! We have subforums based on age, eating plan, exercise and more! I'm glad you're here!!!

We have a 20 something forum and a vegetarian forum. I love your humor!

Hey RBassett,

We vegetarians & vegans like to think we are exempt from the obesity epidemic... but sadly, we're not! Like shrinkingviolet said... you can overeat on any foods. I'm a vegan, and I definitely overeat on pasta, cereal, fried tofu, Vegenaise, etc. I often joke that Vegenaise made me the rare "fat vegan." I love to cook, and I live alone, so I tend to make larger portions that I need.

That said... I found it difficult to figure out how to "diet" as a vegan. I already cut out dairy, eggs, meat, and fish. What's next? But obviously I was eating something bad or I wouldn't be overweight. Currently, I have narrowed it down to white carbs (white rice, pasta, and white bread) and latte's. For a while, I was drinking two latte's. I switched to brown rice, sprouted grain bread, and whole wheat pasta. Sadly, I just can't keep any cereal in the house, because I love hearty bran cereals and will overeat that as well. A big thing for me is also convenience. Brown rice just takes too long to cook!

It sounds like you've already figured out what you need to reduce/cut out of your diet. Go for it! Good luck!

Its not too hard to be an overweight vegetarian lol. I was overweight before I was vegetarian, but when you think about it- chips and cookies and cake are vegetarian. MMMMM Tasty

WELCOME TO 3FC!!!

Thank you guys so much for the responses and advice.


Thanks to everyone I went through our kitchen. I actually went through my pantry and fridge and had a shocking realization about the amount of pre-processed and processed food we have. Ack!

I also realized how much sodium that were in those foods, too. I've also realized this week exactly how MUCH diet soda I drink. Coffee - no problem, one or two cups a day with a Splenda packet, so I've making a conscience effort to think and start switching to water

I think the only whole grain/wheat thing we have in the house is the bread.

Here's the kicker - these were foods I thought were "good" or "healthy" alternatives. The other thing is this: my husband and I loooove to cook. Well, we love to cook some things moreso than others - hence the shock I went through.

Again, thank you! Be prepared for more posts in different forums!