it was so much easier for me to lose wieght as a carnivore then a veg. I guess it was chicken breast and veggies everynight for supper. or eggs for breakfast. It got easy to eat alot of breads/starches and casseroles now im losing weight again and yes, i am the heaviest vegetarian ive ever met, so i do think that most people think that vegetarians are thin. Well i eat cheese so pizza is still a food group.

YES! Where I'm from being vegetarian is still not very common (it's actually so hard I have to eat fish from time to time so I won't have to survive on cheese and unhealthy-but-vegetarian food because it's near impossible to find a meal that doesn't include meat or fish).

Whenever I say I don't eat meat, no one has ever said anything to my face but I do have a feeling they're thinking "and why are you so fat?"... they often ask how long (about 6 years) I guess to find out if I just "turned" vegetarian as a diet (which I haven't and I didn't... my stomach was upset very often and not eating meat makes me feel better).

btw, I just found out there's a "vegetarian chicks" subforum! yay!!

Hi, I just wanted to throw this is. I've been vegetarian for a while, and went vegan in January. I only stayed vegan about 2 months, and gained 20 of the 30 pounds that I didn't need to begin with.

Having a reluctant but willing husband to go vegan with, I made pastas, breads, lasagnas, veggie pizzas with soy cheese, all sorts of unhealthy vegan dishes trying to make them taste as good or better than the vegetarian stuff I used to cook. They tasted great, and with a false assumption of "Well, with all the veggies and soys, its can't be that bad", I ate more than my share and gained weight.

I don't tell people I gained weight as a vegan for fear of exactly what this thread is about, but I feel your pain : )

I get that alot, but attribute it to people not understanding what a vegetarian is. For example, someone asking my if a veggie burger was made out of Turkey. Ha. But cheese and chocolate are vegetarian friendly... i think the people the understand turley isn't a vegetable forget that part.

Yep. My doctor even said it. I think he would know better. But he was testing the cholesterol levels in my blood, and he was like "wow your cholesterol is lower than normal, good job, been cutting down on the junk eh?" ... I said, "No doc, i'm a vegetarian." he replied with, "if you were a vegetarian you would be skinny." OMG i was mad but I didn't say anything else, I've been a vegetarian for 3 yrs. I was pretty offended!

heh, I always say the hardest season for me is not winter but summer. All the yummy fresh produce. I make WAY more food in the summer and it is so good that I eat way more as well. I look through my CSA basket and the next thing you know Tuesday night dinner is a 5 course meal. All healthy, no preponderance of cheese/starch etc. but just way way too much.

I portion control junk food much more easily. Unless I am hating myself I wont over do crap too often. But a beautiful roasted eggplant casserole and a lovely fresh veggie stirfry?

When I am eating a vegan diet - I actually have no problems maintaining my weight, which gives me peace of mind. I don't have to count calories. I can really put on weight when I am eating the normal meat and cheese.... it makes me a nervous wreck.

That being said, on a vegan diet, I only cook whole foods.... no fake cheeses or meats or what-have-you. I love the food, but I don't feel the need to overeat it (for example, I feel the need to overeat cheese pizza if it is there).

But, to lose weight on the vegan diet, even if I am only eating whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, I still have to cut down my portions and eliminate all artificial sugars.... I abused my body so bad in my 10 year 'dieting game' stunt - it never wants to lose weight. I have to create a noticeable deficit.... that is not always so comfortable and takes real planning.

What a great thread to find.

I am here because I am a fat vegetarian, and yes, people do judge you. I got fat because I ate a ton of carbs, icecream and other fattening foods, and way too much of them.

Now I'm on Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet. I was eating way too much sugar and flour and this is a great way of improving my nutrition.

But yeah, IMHO folks definitely judge, always equating vegetarianism with healthy eating, which is not the case.

I'm a fat vegan! Probably the fattest vegan I've ever encountered. It blows my mind that I can be so overweight as a vegan. I'm sure my issue is portion control...

I hate to tell people that I'm vegan because images of me sitting in the dark eating secret cheeseburgers will inevitably flash through their minds. That's probably just me being super self-concious, but really.

I think my overconsumption of sugar and simple carbs are to blame. It's easy to eat too much of that when you're cutting out so much other stuff.

I have gotten that a lot. I've been veg for about 4+ years. Often when I say that I am a vegetarian people say things like "Oh, I thought all vegetarians were skinny". I think people associate veganism/vegetarianism with health, fitness, all-natural living, etc. This is because it's the way the media portrays vegetarians.

missgordon, I'm right there with you. I've often wondered what I would do if sugar and simple carbs weren't vegan. Would that solve my weight issues for good? Or would that be the end of veganism for me?

I think in general vegans are smaller than vegetarians and vegetarians are smaller than omnivores. I have yet to meet a overweight vegan, but I have met many overweight vegetarians.

Unfortunately, pretty much all my friends are vegetarians (including me) and smaller than me.

I have been a vegetarian for 20 years (since I was 16) I was slim for a few years, hit my mid-20s and started to gain. Early 30s and I was 186.2lbs and I'm 5'8.5". I was a fat vegetarian - most chocolate bars are vegetarian lol. I joined weight watchers and eventually was 135lbs, I hadn't been that skinny since I was 20! Anyway, I'm 160lbs+ now but I'm pregnant and can't stop eating :/

I am vegan and overweight...however I didn't gain weight as a vegan. I gained weight as an omnivore, and now that I am vegan I am slowly losing weight. I didn't become vegan as a diet, but it is a nice side effect :)

OMG missgordon, you have described how I feel exactly. I have been vegetarian for almost 8 years and vegan for the past 6 months or so. I avoid telling people that I'm vegan because I get very strange looks and maybe I'm just being paranoid but I feel like those looks are saying " hmm, if you're REALLY vegan then why are you so fat?" There have even been the occasional comment of "Really? I wouldn't have guessed that..."
I didn't choose a veggie/vegan lifestyle to lose weight, I chose it because I love animals.
My entire life I have always gravitated towards fruit and vegetables, unfortunately I also love bread, and chocolate and tofutti. No shock to me that I haven't lost weight, and have in fact gained weight, especially since I hit 40.