I went vegetarian about 2 1/2 years ago, and gained about 8 lbs the first month. There are lots of high fat high calorie choices out there,and I developed a serious ice cream addiction. I came to my senses and joined Weight Watchers. I do get shocked reactions. Some because I live in "beef country" but mostly it's from my coworkers because I work in the meat industry. I do endure a lot of good natured ribbing!
I remember my cousin asking me why I was so fat If I was a vegetarian...I guess it's because I'm such a BIG fan of dairy products. Food is food, and irrespective of what diet you're on, if you overeat, you will gain weight...It took me a while to realize that...
I became vegetarian 2 years ago, was pescetarian for a year before that. When I was pescetarian I didn't gain weight at all because I ate tuna/salmon for almost all of my meals which was pretty bad but at least it wasn't fattening. When I went vegetarian I gained 14lbs and am now trying to lose it 'cause I started replacing the fish with cheese! Now I don't eat any cheese at all. I don't know, when meat eaters see fat veggies and assume they should be thin, that kind of means they assume that meat is fattening in itself.....
Many years ago, when I was a vegan, most vegans were slim (I only met one obese vegan). Weight slid off me effortlessly, and my doctor expressed concern that I was too slim.
That's because I was living alone and eating nothing but reconstituted beans, rice, and vegetables. I just added hot tap water to a box of some instant vegan product and that was dinner. I was working insane hours at the time. There were no other choices, no health food stores in our area, and certainly no WF vegan paradises to be found. I occasionally got home from work in time for Chinese take out including tofu stir fry, but that was rare. Most of the time when I ate out with coworkers I had to settle for dishes like a head of iceberg lettuce cut in half with oil and vinegar from cruets. Anyone could lose weight on a regimen like that. I was an obsessive vegan, so I would ask the waiter "do those dinner rolls have whey or dairy products?" and if they did, I would not eat them.
Nowadays, vegans have incredible choices that I never imagined. We live in a community with all sorts of vegan paradises, with menus that include sinful items like deep fried tofu submarine sandwiches, served with sides of french fried sweet potatoes and creamy vegan dip with vegan ice cream or cake for dessert.
All of that said, anyone making snide remarks deserves to be put on my "too busy" list, as in "I would like to see you too, but gosh, I'm so busy! Let's touch base soon."
Last edited by lettingslenderin; 07-04-2011 at 06:33 PM.
Honestly, as a vegetarian, I noticed no weight difference from when I ate meat. Meat CAN make you gain weight, so I see why people at that. But if I gained weight when vegetarian, it was because I was eating out a lot, or indulging in a ton of cheese and chocolate. There are plenty of unhealthy vegetarian options! So yeah, I've known plenty of fat vegetarians, and it makes sense that they can be.
As a vegan, I never weight more than 140, and usually hovered closer to 135. Possibly just because I had fewer choices to binge on for snacks. If I binge, it's usually not at meals, but with snacks. I dunno. Anyway, I can count on one hand the number of vegans I've known outside of the internet, and the only chunky ones were the ones who just started. So... I dunno. I guess I assume all vegans will be skinny. I'd never comment otherwise, though - that's just mean!
I've been vegan for 4 years and I'm definitely not skinny. I also don't eat a lot of fried/junk foods. Bread, chips, french fries, nuts, olives, etc are vegan foods but they are also high calorie.
I can't think of anybody being quite so blunt, but I do get the request for healthy, veg meals. I've come to recognize the hidden meaning, so just give them a few of my favorite pasta or puff pastry and cream sauce dishes. This is always followed by them nodding their head, with the "ya, no I get why you're fat" look.
I was raised vegetarian from when I was 12, and have been vegan since I was 17. At first I was VERY overweight and the weight just came right off, but then I learned how to cook and bake, which meant having to learn how to make good food choices. I used to get so sick of getting "the look" when I'd tell people I was vegan.
Now I live in Portland, home of the vegan foodie culture. It's hard not to be overweight when every other food cart is vegan, every restaurant caters to anti-salad vegans, and vegan friends are meeting at either the vegan biscuits and gravy place, or the vegan fried pie/poutine cart.
Believe me, no one thinks vegans can't be overweight here.
I don't know why people are surprised that vegans can be fat. Vegan food still has calories, we're not living on water alone! There are doubtless fewer fat vegans, it's a healthier diet in general and vegans are more likely to be health conscious, but who said that being overweight is all about whether or not you decided to eat animal foods? It's often about having a psychologically messed up relationship with food, and you can do that on any diet.
To whoever asked if you can be a vegetarian and eat fish: no. The definition of a vegetarian is someone who doesn't eat anything coming from a dead animal, and the definition of a vegan is someone who doesn't eat anything at all coming from an animal. There are plenty of people who eat fish but not meat, and they are usually known as "pescetarian" or "mostly vegetarian", just as I'd call someone who is vegan apart from honey "more or less vegan" (this applied to me for my first few years of being vegan, I didn't realise there was animal cruelty involved in bee farming). It's awkward when people who follow a mostly vegetarian diet call themselves vegetarians when they aren't, though, because meat-eaters are often very hostile towards vegetarians and will happily pounce on any evidence they can find of hypocrisy.
So happy I just found this veggie chicks sub-forum! I've been a vegetarian for a few years, and I try to eat vegan as often as possible.
Since I've made this lifestyle change, my weight hasn't fluctuated- which is the problem. Not that I became a vegetarian to lose weight, but it certainly hasn't helped!
I hope I can find some good tips... *goes searching*
Kicking pasta to the curb has been my hardest battle...
It's funny you posted this, but most of the vegetarians I know are overweight, or gained weight when they went veg. Of course, there are a few who really know what they're doing and maintain a healthy weight, but in my experience they're kind of rare.
*edit* Also, a friend of mine recovering from an eating disorder said that being veg was a common coverup for those with eating disorders because it was an excuse to turn down food without social reprisal.(Not that all vegs should be suspect! I just thought this was interesting.)
I started putting on a lot of weight when I was a meat eater (around 1 and a half stone), and then I turned vegetarian.... I think if I was still a meat eater I would have continued gaining lots of weight. Going veggie hasn't helped me to lose weight without trying, but I think it stopped me from gaining more without trying. My BMI is just over 26 ATM, so I'm not greatly overweight, but I am still classed as an 'overweight vegetarian'
Yes - my doctor. I didn't have medical insurance for years (have always been healthy except for being overweight and suffering from migraines, but that's genetic) and hate a mortal fear of doctors and lab tests and surgeries and the like, so I stayed away from the medical establishment.
Then I came to Israel to stay with my aging parents in October of last year and since I'm a resident, I have access to social medical care here (basically, every resident pays a nominal fee and has medical insurance that is pretty decent - the quality of the nurses and doctors, though, is another matter...) So my mom (who was a nurse before she retired) convinced me to see a doctor and get some blood tests (which I haven't done in YEARS).
So my doctor, who is very knowledgeable and professional (studied and worked in the US for years, which is probably why ) gave me a referral for the tests. The tests all turned out very good - no cholesterol issues (though the number is still not where I'd like it to be), no blood pressure issues, high HDL, low LDL, good blood sugar, etc., etc. No issues whatsoever.
My doctor was pleasantly surprised and made it clear (not in a mean or vicious way, just in an honest way) that she hadn't expected that. But that was more because of my weight (about 185 at the time, and I'm 5'1") than my veganism. In fact, she admitted that it was probably my veganism that had made the numbers look so great.
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).
Bonnie, I agree with you on this. I'm starting to discover that eating vegan whole foods is really what's helping me to stick with eating healthy and that leads me to losing weight. I first went vegan by jumping into some pretty strict no-added-fat regimes (like McDougall and Eat To Live) and while they did lead to weight loss, I found I couldn't stick with them for long because it just wasn't realistic for me to have an eating plan that was less than 10% fat. So a few weeks ago, I decided, no more strict diets - just eating whole vegan foods, adding some fat but not too much (I'm at around 20-25% fat now) and having foods that I consider "treats", like whole wheat pretzels and homemade carob almond fudge. I find I am much more satisfied and like eating at home much more.
) gave me a referral for the tests. The tests all turned out very good - no cholesterol issues (though the number is still not where I'd like it to be), no blood pressure issues, high HDL, low LDL, good blood sugar, etc., etc. No issues whatsoever.
