[New to dieting]

Hi! I just had a few questions for anyone who would be nice enough to take a few min. to help me.

For about four months last summer my husband and I began a vegetarian lifestyle. He stayed true to it and I cheated about once a week with McDonalds cheeseburgers. We had a huge garden so it wasn't hard to come up with things to eat. When the garden died and fall rolled around we just quit. I think it had something to do with Thanksgiving. My husband said during that time he had never felt better. Now he complains he doesn't sleep as well and always feels run down. I didn't notice the difference but like I said I cheated. My question is does anybody else out there think they actually feel better physically from following this lifestyle?

Also I read posts that people lost weight eating vegetarian. I never did but I also drink beer which I'm sure will stall any weight loss effort. Did you only lose because you were a complete vegan?

Thanks to anybody who takes the time to respond. Just looking for some motivation to get back into it.

Jenny

[viviki]

Yes I lost weight and I am vegetarian not vegan. I initially gained weight though because I was subbing lots of dairy for meat. Once I found a balance I really lost weight.
I eat cheese, and free range eggs and although I drink normal milk in tea (semi skimmed) I have soya on brekkie cereals. The tip for being a veggie is balancing it right. You can get all the necessary vits from a veggie diet and drink a bit of beer and still lose weight.
If you eat dairy weigh out your cheese grate it instead of slicing it - it goes a lot further.

I eat meat substitutes such as quorn and find it very good or I'll just eat the veggies you can cook them in all kinds of imaginative ways and still lose weight. Avoid frying or use a low fat spray.
Instead of snacking too I buy low fat natural yogurt and lots of fresh fruit and blend my own. Its lovely far nicer than shop bought sweets and yogurts.

Try having something like - toast for breakfast with a fruit smoothie - blend your own
or fruit yogurt drink
For lunch vegetarian pasta salads are nice - eaten hot or cold, You can premake them and take them to work they are very easy or if you make a batch of pasta for dinner make enough left overs for you to take it to lunch one day cold. Don't have too much dairy in your pasta though
Soups are another really easy option. Make a big batch and you can freeze it in portions and use them as you need them.
This website is excellent for low fat vegetarian recipe ideas
http://cgi.fatfree.com/cgi-bin/fatfree/recipes.cgi

For dinner I normally eat some sort of meat substitute, quorn, tofu etc. either with veggies, or in a stir fry or pasta or rice etc. its really versatile you can cook anything and its quicker to cook than meat.

I do walk and exercise too but I feel really healthy, I sleep well, I have energy and I only take a few supplements. i'd recommend taking something like echinacea which boosts general immunity and some mineral supplements I do take a calcium supplement but thats only because my dairy intake is quite low.

Hope thats some help.

[mauvaisroux]

My dad is a vegetarian and he lost 45 lbs after switching to a vegetarian lifestyle combined with taking daily walks.

He followed the Dr. Dean Ornish plan for reversing heart disease through diet.

He feels a lot better eating vegetarian and he also finds that it helps his psoriasis. He finds that his skin has less breakouts when he is eating properly and when he cheats with meat he doesn't have his normal energy and his skin condition flares up.

He eats eggs, soy milk, soy cheese and meat substitutes such as TVP, Yves veggie cuisine products etc. He also eats veggie burgers and meatless meatballs when he has spaghetti and tomato sauce.

I personally eat alot of vegetables and fruit and feel a lot better physically when I do. I feel like I am eating "clean" and have more energy to show for it.

There are some vegetarian recipes in the Fab Food forum if you are looking for ideas. I really like vegetarian chili and veggie lasagna at this time of year...comfort food

[New to dieting]

Thank you so much for responding to my questions. What is quorn and TVP? My husband and I are on the way the store to check out the produce and natural food section. We are pretty excited about starting this lifestyle again. Does soy milk taste anything like cows milk? Does anybody know of a good vegetarian cookbook with lots of pictures.

Thanks!!!

Jenny

[viviki]

Soya milk tastes quite oaty. Its fine in things like breakfast cereal and not too bad in coffee but I can't drink it in tea. I prefer it unsweetened but you can also get a sweet version. Its worth experimenting with a few brands as they can taste quite different.

This is quorn its made from a mushroom like protein and egg.
http://www.quorn.us/ You can get chicken tasting quorn, mince, sausages and burgers etc. they are quite good substitutes its widely available in the UK but I'm not sure about anything else.
TVP is texturised vegetable protein, you can find more informatin about it here
http://www.foodreference.com/html/ft...leprotein.html

You can also try tofu but its a case of love it or hate it really.
I've heard good things about this cook book but don't have it myself
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...86263?v=glance


The information on this site is also pretty good
http://www.drgillianmckeith.com/recipes.htm

[mauvaisroux]

I am not too keen or regular soy milk...I just can't adjust to the taste. I do however really enjoy the chocolate soy milk


Thanks for those great links viviki!

[KTna]

Vanilla Silk is good in cereal, my non-veggie husband even takes Silk instead or cows milk on occassion.
I have stopped using cows milk in everything, if it calls for milk in a savory dish I use rice milk, if its a sweet dish, I use Vanilla Silk.
Definitely try different brands because everyones tastes are different, but don't give up if you don't like the first brand.
The thing about being a vegetarian is that not all foods that are meat-less are healthy. A person could be both a vegetarian AND overweight, it all depends on your choices.

Good Luck!

[viviki]

Definitely thats so true. Some soya products still have a ton of fat in them

[mauvaisroux]

There are lower fat versions of tofu available, though I am not sure about lower fat soy products. Perhaps health food and natural food stores would carry them - somehow I don't think they are readily available at regular grocery stores.

Checking the nutrition labels on food products is the best way to go about determing whether or not the item is suitable for your plan.