[catcookie]

Hi,

The idea has been kicking around my head for a while and I work at
whole foods market so I do get a discount on all there food. And, I've
been asking the people who come thru my register if going vegetarian
would help me lose weight. Practicly all say Yes but I thought I'd ask
here as well.

I do eat soy products, as a matter of fact I perfer soy milk to skim or
1% milk in my cearel. and I love boca burgers but I still eat eggs and
fish ( I love salmon fillet). I've recently been on atkins and while I've
lost weight I don't think I could live on it even in phase 3. Also, I have
relatives who are vegatarian and vegan but one is slim and the other
gained weight.

So, I was thinking of either going back to weight watchers and
adding more vegatarian foods in and cutting way back on the
meat until I'm meatless or are there other ways for me to do this
for weight loss reason. Health reasons too but I'm more concered
about losing weight and feeling good.



Mel

[~Mamita~]

Hi,
I've been vegetarian for many years now. I decided that I didn't want to eat meat fish or eggs (Lacto-vegetarian) solely because I love animals and I had also heard that it is a much healthier diet. I eat alot of Quorn products which is very low in fat,in fact I know of several meat eaters who do eat this occasionally as you really cant tell the difference. I eat alot of cheese though so I have to be very careful that I dont overdo it so I always make sure I buy the low fat versions. Personally, I think that you dont necessarily have to eliminate meat just to lose weight but prehaps you may need to look at how your preparing and cooking it and we all know how yummy and low fat chicken is. One other thing to consider is that you have a higher chance of developing aneamia due to not getting enough iron through eating meat. I have Thalassemia which is hereditary but I have to pay extra special attention to make sure im getting iron through lots of green leafy vegetables. I would say 'go for it' if thats what you want or maybe just have half Quorn and half real meat and see how you get on, Good Luck.

Angel

[SSarah]

Just because a person is vegetarian doesn't mean she will lose weight. You still need to eat healthy by watching your fats, limiting starchy carbs, limiting processed foods, balancing your diet and not consuming too many calories. At least, that's my opinion!

[shananigans]

First of all, I just want to tell you hoe jealous I am of your Whole Foods discount! I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 14 (had a little epiphany in anatomy dissection lab) and I have always been heavy. My highest was about 220 lbs when I graduated from college, around the time I turned 23. I gained all that weight on a vegetarian diet, a crappy carbo-cheese-beer-loving diet. Truth is you can lose weight eating anything, we all know it’s calories in vs. calories out. However it is much healthier to lose weight eating certain things and not others and ensuring your diet is well balanced. I haven’t found it difficult to find healthy low-fat options for weight loss on a veg diet. There’s a lot of evidence out there that suggests a plant based diet is better for you even if you aren’t trying to lose weight. If you do switch to veg just make sure you watch your egg and high-fat dairy consumption, I find too many vegetarian cookbooks are heavy on those ingredients. Let us know if you have any more question or if we can be of help in any way.

[catcookie]

Thanks for the info guy!

I desided I go back to weight watchers and switch most of the animal
protein for soy (morningstar farms, lightlife,boca). I still will have eggs
and low fat dairy but I truly feel my body needs a break from all that
animal protein I was ingesting on atkins. I don't mind losing slower if
it makes me healthier in the long run. I also read that relaxing helps
in weight loss and I have been stressed lately so I'm off to find
some medation cd's to start listening to.

[thistoo]

I have been vegetarian most of my life and overweight for all of it. The main problem with soy products is that they have a fairly high calorie content when compared with other protein sources. Same goes for beans, which is another staple of the vegetarian diet. Soy milk has the same calories as 2% cow's milk. So you have to be careful with your calorie intake just like you would with any other diet. If you like tofu, it's a better choice because it's lower calorie than processed, prepackaged soy.

Personally, as an animal lover, I would never *discourage* anyone from going vegetarian : ) But it won't necessarily be an easy answer to weight loss.

[seh97001]

no, a vegetarian diet won't help you lose weight. Take it from me, obese vegetarian, 9 years. I wasn't obese before I became a vegetarian either.

Samantha

[celery]

I've been my heaviest as a vegetarian. Cheesecake is a vegetarian item and so is cheesy lasagna and all manner of scrumptious fattening foods. As a vegan, it's a little harder to indulge but you can still eat a lot of potato chips and guacamole. I am attempting my weight loss as a vegan but I still have to be careful what I eat, just as anyone would.

Good luck with your diet.