Hi all. This is my first post. A bit of background. Im a 36 year old female living in the UK. I used to be a vegetarian when I was younger and miss it. The problem is my weight, I am REALLY obese. Right now I am eating a low carb diet, which is lots of meat and fat and while there are certain benefits (ie, quick weight loss, no hunger, hormones in balance), I really hate meat. But to be fair, I have lost over 20kgs so far by cutting out carbs.

Morally, I hate meat, I particuarly hate the way we treat our animals. I would love to go back to being a vegetarian, or even vegan. But my weight is so high that it is dangerous to my health. I suppose what I want to know, is it possible to still lose weight eating vegetarian? Has anyone here lost a lot of weight and still remained vegetarian? If so, would you mind telling me how? I would love to not have to eat meat, but at this stage, my health does have to come first. Thanks.

I've lost about 15 lbs since going vegetarian in July. I haven't been counting calories or anything, but I do eat whole foods. I am vegan at home and when I eat out I am okay with being vegetarian. I do most of my own cooking and in the last month or so I have stopped relying on "fake" meats. I'd say most of what I eat is vegetables, with some beans and some carbs (quinoa, brown rice, bulgur). If you google vegetarian forums, the first one that shows up is pretty good. The people that post there are knowledgeable and VERY helpful.

I've been vegan for 4 years and vegetarian for 10 years before that. If you are interested in weight loss while following a plant-based diet, I recommend you get a copy of "Eat to Live" by Dr. Fuhrman or look up Dr. McDougall's website/books (other resources are the Engine2 Diet and Dr. Ornish's program). What all of these sources have in common is that they are very high in vegetables and are really focused on improving health. They are NOT low carb, but I really think this is one of the healthiest ways to eat. Low carb might result in rapid weight loss, but I'm not convinced it's the best for long-term health.

+1...it really isn't sustainable.

Hi there, PotatoHead,
I highly support your efforts for going veggie and I know a lot of people that lost weight just by making the switch.
However, here are some tipps that helped me switching when I decided to go veggie:

1. COLOUR: Make sure that you eat a lot of Fruits/veggies of every colour to get all the nutrients you need. Make your plate a rainbow and eat at ca. 50% of your fruits and vegetables raw. Fill up on them whenever you are hungry.

2. WHOLE GRAINS: Instead of focusing on low carb (which by the way in my opinion is not the healthiest option to lose weight) focus on high quality carbs like unbleached whole grain flour, dark bread, whole grain pasta etc. To make the switch easier mix it in the beginning with the regular products.

3. COOKING: try to cook for yourself whenever possible. This is the only way to know exactly what you put into your body. Get a vegetarian cookbook and get going, girl! It will be fun.

I hope you stay motivated. And trust me, we other veggies got your back!

I second the Eat to Live book by Dr. Fuhrman. You'll find lots of information there in addition to success stories of people who've overcome obesity and the related health issues.

I'm a pescetarian, but only eat a little fish each week. My diet consists mainly of fresh or frozen fruits and veggies, whole grains (oats, quinoa, millet, brown and wild rice, etc), and legumes. My weight loss has been consistent and my energy level has increased. How do you feel about switching to some fish instead of meat?

Morally, I feel it's better to eat wild-caught fish that have lived happy fish lives than factory-farmed animals (or even farm-raised fish). Or you could look into meat sourced from more humane farms- organic, grass-fed, field-grazed, etc. if you feel a strong need to eat meat for weight loss (though after reading Eat to Live you'll think differently).

From my own personal experience, going vegetarian ensured an idiot-proof healthy way to naturally and not-so-consciously lose weight (though I don't really mean that as a generalization because I realize it'd be very ignorant). I tried low carb too... I'm now doing a weird no-sweets vegetarian diet with a hint of South Beach diet (just the phase-1 no carbs factor). It takes time. Very slowly but gradually, I lost 30 lb. They would seemingly come off about 5 lb at a time. I've only been a vegetarian since August 2010, and it was unquestionably a slow weight loss process.

I think you can do low carb without meat for a small period of time -- primarily I'd advocate this because you said you have a lot of weight to lose, and the average person supposedly loses 8-14 lb (some less, some more) during the two-week South Beach Diet Phase 1. Just to jump-start your weight loss -- that's it. And then drop everything and run for the hills towards a happy vegetarian lifestyle, paying close attention to avoiding sweets. I blame sugar for the reason my no-meat diet wasn't as successful as perhaps it could've been. :/

I have not read the Eat to Live book but it sounds like my thing lol so I'll check it out definitely

I am recently vegetarian, and these were all very helpful tips!

Hello!

I am 31 years old and 5'10. A week ago (today) I decided to try going veg. My meat and potatos only fiancee watch several food documentaries and wanted to go vegan. I love me some cheese and ice cream, so vegan was not an option for me. I told him I was willing to the if he would commit to 7 days no meat (I didn't think he could do it).

All we changed was the meat factor. I didn't want to change everything all at once, so that he would have a better chance to stay veg. We still ate chips and dip, cookies and candy... With no exercise. Even with that I lost 2lbs and my fiancee lost 3.5lbs.

the reason for this long post is that if I could lose weight without even trying, you should be able to shed the weight no problem.

good luck!

It's hard to do very low-carb dieting without animal proteins, but you can do moderately low-carb easily enough.

In the 40 years I've been dieting,I discovered about 5 years ago that low-carb is the only plan that has worked for me in the long-term. Ironically, I never would have considered trying it (because I thought it was unhealthy and unsustainable) if my doctor hadn't persuaded me that it was more likely to help me lose weight with my insulin resistance. Quite frankly, I was skeptical, especially when he warned me not to cut carbs too low, but admitted he didn't know how low was too low.

But luckily that warning really helped me - because whenever I'd tried low-carb in the past, I never got past Atkins induction (20g of carbs or less) and felt so horrible on induction (and it didn't go away in the 2 weeks as promised). I never thought to try a higher level of carbs, I just thought all low-carb plans were unhealthy and unsustainable.

Now, finding out that I do best on a moderately low-carb diet (about 60 - 100g of carbs - though I count exchanges, not carbs), I have to find a way to make it sustainable. And part of that was finding moderately low-carb meatless dishes. Not because I'm a vegetarian, but because I like meatless meals, and because my budget is super tight and soy and beans are cheaper sources of protein than even the cheapest meat.

So, I found and read a lot of the vegetarian low-carb and carb-conscious cookbooks. (at amazon.com - type in low-carb vegetarian in the search bar).

I can't think of any of the specific titles, but I just printed out a list of all the low-carb vegetarian cookbooks I could find on amazon.com and then took that to my library. I checked out what I could find, and I ordered others through the interlibrary loan system. None of the cookbooks were complete duds (especially free through the library).

lots of good suggestions already! I'll add to check on the Engine 2 diet by rip esselstyn! it's very male-firefighter friendly (easy, delicious, hearty meals!!). The book is good and has recipes, the web site has menu plans and shopping lists...it's so easy to transition, even picky men like it! it works great, reduces your chances for disease PLUS weight.

I don't usually recommend low carb, if anyone asks. Low carbs caused me to develop both acidosis and diverticulitis. Not enough fiber, too much protein! horrible! I nearly died! I know everyone doesn't respond that way, but better safe than sorry! Plus, there are healthier ways. Good luck!

Jacki