What type are you?
 

Here is a brief overview of the types of vegetarian lifestyles that are practiced

Ovo-Lacto
Based on eating grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, eggs and dairy products.

Lacto-Vegetarian
Similar to Ovo lacto but eggs are not eaten.

Ovo-vegetarians
Similar to Ovo lacto, eggs are eaten but dairy is not.

Vegans
Based on grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds but eliminates all meat, eggs and dairy.

Semi-vegetarians
This refers to people who eat predominantly vegetarian but will occasionaly eat fish, poultry or meat or they may eat mostly vegetarian but will eat fish, there is no real exact description for this term,

Today I heard the term "pesce-veggie" for those who eat fish. Not sure if it included dairy and eggs or not - then it just starts to be a mouthful.

:lol: another thing to think about!

Yes, it is a mouthfull. My DBF is an "ovo-lacto-pesce vegetarian." It was pretty funny when we had to explain that to his meat and potatoes family.

I'm vegan. Also, we don't eat honey, or some types of sugar.

I'm a vegan too

Currently ovo-lacto striving to go vegan ... but not doing such a hot job of giving up cheese and eggs.

I've ditched milk, butter and ice cream. I have cut back on egg consumption. But I'm having a harder time with cheese. Mostly because my hubby is still ovo-lacto with no real strong desire to go vegan ... which makes it harder.

But I'm a work in progress ... and I keep trying.

Predominantly vegan, but not exclusively so. There's not really a word for what I am, and my views are complicated to explain without people's eyes glazing over! But here goes anyway :lol:

I avoid most animal products for ethical reasons. I don't eat any meat from farmed animals, and try to avoid non-meat farmed animal products, as well (dairy and eggs--but really only from companies whose practices I am familiar with, OR if the food has already been purchased and will go to waste if not eaten). I have fewer ethical objections to eating wild animals, which means I do eat an occasional fish if it has been sustainably caught. I do eat some other sustainably-harvested sea creatures that are low down in the food chain and don't have a central nervous system (meaning that it is believed that they don't feel pain)--oysters, clams, mussels, scallops. I don't eat any wild game, even though I think eating, say, a hunted deer is more ethical than eating factory-farmed milk, but I just couldn't stomach it and have no urge to eat that sort of meat.

Perhaps I am a complicatedtarian! :dizzy:

I am a semi-vegetarian.

I eat vegetarian about half of the week, and eat a little meat the other half. (Not consecutive days) I do eat eggs, yogurt, etc. but I drink soymilk instead of regular milk, and when I do buy meat and eggs and milk (for my carnivorous family) I do what I can and buy products that are organic/free range/no antibiotics/hormones and so forth. I try to use the companies that have "better" practices.

On my meat free days I use soy products a lot for protein.

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, because I'm the only non-omnivorous one in my family (I'm 18!). I eventually want to go vegan, but for now I've settled. I'm a south beach veggie, too! ;)

I'm a striving vegan... My goal is to be a vegan someday. Right now I'd say 99% of what I eat is vegan. I eat no dairy currently because I'm nursing and my DS gets very gassy if I have dairy and I only eat eggs if they are hidden ingredients but I'm trying to cut that out all together too.

I am starting a whole foods diet today and...
 

I have been told to start out slowly on my whole foods diet, so therefore I will start out as a semi-vegetarian with the ultimate goal of becoming a vegan someday. I have no support from my family as they have no desire to go veggie. They want the typical american and mexican food diets in the house and we have lots of candy in the house too. So, I may need alot of support from the people on this thread.

This morning I am going to the health food store to get ideas and to buy foods to get started on the whole foods diet.

Any recipes or ideas to help me out would be appreciated. I have a very small budget to work with at the health food store. Thanks.

lbsbgone

I prefer "flexitarian" to semi-vegitarian...
 

It seems to deflect questions.

I am working toward being a 100% vegitarian. I just can't seem to get suffiecient protein, which is what I think triggered the big weight gain (that and Lime Tostitos). I'm supposed to to something with flax seed, I think. I'm still chasing down the formula that is best for me.

I've let go of milk, red meat and the "other" white meat. I occasionally have fish, and rarely have chicken.

My other big problem is that I'm in a very rural area. So I have a heck of a time getting my ingredients. It's tough to get tofu, let alone tempeh. I need to focus my efforts on it, and do some road trips. But I just haven't done it consistently.

Yael, a question for you.
 

Your starting weight is the same weight that I am now. How long did it take you following your flexitarian diet to reach your current weight of 179 lbs., if I am not being too nosey. Hoping for more inspiration for me with your answer. Thanks!

lbsbgone

i'm a semi-vegetarian... I eat some fish, but mostly only shrimp and tuna just because I don't like anything else lol. I also eat spagetti with meat sauce, because it's my favorite food... no use trying to get me to give that up. I have chicken occasionally when we go out to eat but I only eat meat at home once or twice a month... I went vegetarian partly for ethical reasons, although i'm a hypocrite cause I still eat it sometimes, but mostly because it's just healthier- and I never ate much meat before, i'm not too fond of red meat anyway, so it wasn't much of a sacrifice to get where I am now. i've lost a good amount of weight also, and I feel much healthier and better about myself.

To: lbsbgone
 

Well, you may not like the answer, but....
the first 20ish lbs took 2 years. But I wasn't consistent with my food. I was also under some life stress, which didn't help me. I'd loose 3 lbs one month, gain 2 the next. That kind of thing. But I kept trying and exercising. I wasn't logging my food. I was just eating too much. My serving sizes were way off.

What really turned it around for me was the Okinawa diet The food is really good, it heavily relies on soy, and it tastes great. In the last 8 weeks I've lost 16 lbs. But I'm logging my food and exercising. But I'm really satisfied for the first time in ages. I can turn down things that aren't healthy for me because I feel so much better.

Hope this helps.

HI..........
I am not really sure what to call myself...I just do not eat---beef,pork,chicken or fish..
I eat veggies,fruits,nuts,milk and cheese...and of course grains...and I like the fake meat meals........LOL........I decided to go meatless and fishless.....ha ha..after thinking of me eating baby animals to make me feel good...
It is not worth the nightmare of hearing their crys....
I am new here..........so if you all can help me get around...I would be so thankful..
I have a start weight of 364 and down 352 so far..
Thanks for letting me be me............Barb........Delmar,Maryland... :-)

I am vegan. This means I *never* eat animal products. No honey, beef, chicken, pork, sea foods, fish etc. no gelatin and so on.

For the record, a person who eats fish is a "pescatarian" in most vegetarian circles.

I'd say that's pretty darn far away from a vegan diet or lifestyle! Looks like "selective omnivore" is a good term to describe how you choose to eat or not eat animals.

I'm vegan.
 

I'm actually re-committing to veganism after reverting to ovo-lacto for a few years due to health concerns.

I'm vegan, don't eat anything with animal products in it but I am new and occasionally make mistakes with hidden products or when I don't realise what something is on the label. I'm getting a lot better, I just can't face the idea of something suffering so that I can eat. I can't even pick apples off a tree myself incase it hurts the tree...I think I'm getting neurotic!!!

Vegan

I am semi-vegetarian (have been since I was about 13) in that over the course of a month I might have one meal with fish or chicken. But, I am looking to end that all together. :)

I am a Ovo-Lacto vegetarian. I have been for about 4 months now. I slipped when I started the South Beach Diet, because I was afraid that I would fail if I didnt eat at least some meat to keep my diet varied (phase 1). Since I started Phase 2 I am back on the wagon and feeling fine about it. I havent eaten red meat or pork since I was about 10 (22 now) and I find chicken is the hardest thing to give up. But I really enjoy meat replacement things like burgers and crumbles. I also really like Tofu, I made my first recipe about 2 weeks ago and really really liked it. I havent tried Tempeh yet but I bought some I just cant find it!

Darlingchick how are you doing on South Beach? I have lost 25 pounds since January 1st and am feeling great. When did you start?

Pescatarian

I am a vegetarian (ovo-lacto) and have been off and on for about 10 years, I find I feel much better if I don't eat meat, I had been eating veggie and my doc asked me to go on a lo carb diet to help control my blood sugar and I quickly found out that red meat gives me heart burn and chicken makes me gain weight :-/
finally I just gave it up again, WOW what a difference! and my blood sugar stays normal as long as I work out :-) my weight quit jumping around, my next project is to really reduce processed foods especially bread, I already eat alot of brown rice ( rather than white rice) the thing I really have a tough time with is Bagels so I allow myself one a week if I do all my work outs. Also I am working on cutting back on my fat intake and hopefully the 2 things together will kick start my weight loss again :-)

Mary

I've found my diet becoming more and more vegetarian over the past year or so to the point where I only eat chicken or tuna once or twice a week. This hasn't been a deliberate decision as such, it just seemed to happen. (I also eat dairy products, and very occasionally eggs). I've decided to see if I can cut out the meat (although I may retain the fish at first) and work towards becoming fully vegetarian. This is still a bit of a learning process, and I wouldn't claim to be there yet, but I thought I'd pop in over here and look at some of the resources.

I now eat fish, eggs and dairy. But as of tomorrow I'm going back to vegan which I used to be for 6 months. I don't really like fakemeats, but am a fan of nutloaf, beans and lentils. I like veg as well, especially tomatoes. Don't really know how much protein I should have if I'm being vegan and dieting at the same time. I have an excel program that calculates all the ratios in percentages. Also is anyone here counting calories? Or is it too old fashioned? I thought I'd aim for 1400 a day as I don't really exercise much. My real vice is, believe it or not... juice. I drink 2-3 litres a day. Thought I'd swap it for sparkling mineral water, but I don't know how my body will react to the sudden shock of not getting massive amounts of sugar. I hope someone replies:) Thank you.

I am a Ovo-Lacto. I started this when I was twelve. The site of lobsters in the supermarket tank was distributing. I decided from that moment on I would not eat meat anymore . I definitely "see animal faces" when I look at cheeseburgers, chicken wings, etc. Flash forward thirteen years: I've attempted to eat fish due to all the associated health benefits. I just can't get used to the taste. I found common ground through fish oil supplements.

i'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian. i'm 20 years old and i was born& raised veggie, so it's not an ethical or helath thing really, just lifestyle. i'm not a big fan of milk& cheese, except in cereal& tea and italian food, respectively. soo this diet thing is perplexing me a little on where to go after portion control and not eating crap.

<mini-rant> i really hate people who carry their vegetarianism/veganism like some banner.. it doesn't make you the most special person ever.. it's not that hard. stop being an attention whore and shut the :censored: up!! </mini-rant>

Hi all Im new to this forum so its nice to meet everyone. I was vegan for a while but now i eat dairy - I do not eat eggs , gelatin or any kind of meat - i also try for products not containing animal bits nor tested on them and i have stopped buying leather, swede , down etc

Hi veggiechick. I'm vegetarian going towards a whole foods vegan diet. Dairy is the hardest of me to let go... specifically ice cream. Cheese, milk, butter etc. I haven't had in ages but ice cream is one vice that I am having a hard time letting go of. Just need to oust it all together and stick with it, I've found the non-dairy versions not up to par.
Glad to know that there are other veggies going through the weight-loss struggle with me. :)

I'm ovo-lacto, but am leaning towards a vegan diet. The hardest part for me is giving up cheese. I don't eat a lot of it, but occasionally love the taste of it on a sandwich or casserole. Also, I'm still in the learning process, of learning how to develop a better rounded veggie diet. It's a growing process.

I'm Semi-vegetarian i guess. I don't drink milk, but i will eat cheese and eggs. I will also eat fish. Maybe once every couple months i might eat some chicken, but it's a pretty rare thing. I will not eat any red meats or pork, my body can't handle it anymore.

I'm ovo-lacto who eats certain shellfish, and I have been for at least thirteen years. I have finally evolved into a philosophy about it -- I think it's hypocritical to ask someone else to kill and clean any animal that I wouldn't be able to deal with myself. Pretty much just leaves me with mollusks and shrimp (I really only eat them at restaurants, but I know I could deal with it).

My dad has evolved a simplified explanation for new people -> "she won't eat anything with a face." I think it works.

I'm interested to find out if there are of the diets like South Beach that have worked well for vegetarians. The emphasis on meat/fish protein has honestly been one of the major things holding me back from trying one of those diets.

Thanks!

i'm a pescatarian... i haven't eaten any meat in years except for fish. I don't like the taste of meat, and i also think fish plays a big part health and nutrition wise. Omega 3 and all that jazz!

I eat a vegan diet, 75% raw, low fat. ;)

:) WOW! MamaSam! Finally another vegan!!! :carrot:

You are 75% raw, as in 75% of your daily calories come from raw foods?

How long have you been vegan (or vegetarian)?

I am 99% vegan.. just have my 2 oz of cheese every day, and an occasional slice of pizza for my LAWL Carb Craver. I rarely eat eggs, but if I do, I only buy free-range/organic..

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to this place so it's nice to meet you all. :wave:

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 2 years now. It'll be officially 2 years on Halloween! I went to see the Bodyworlds exhibit in Philly and haven't touched meat since. Yep, I went cold Tofurky!:joker: I don't touch anything with Gellatin either. :nono:

Jenn