Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vegetarian and diet

Help a vegetarian lose weight!

Ponderance — Thu, 21 May 2009 08:01:23 -0800

Smart fitness people help a vegetarian lose weight! Is there a veggie atkins? Other suggestions wanted! Rambling details inside. I am a 37 year old vegetarian, male, who lives in metro-Chicago (in case you want to provide shopping advice) who isn’t afraid of cooking, but does have little time and a toddler. I am trying to lose weight, I’m about 6’3 and maybe 200-210 pounds and am paunchier than I’d like. I have an extremely sedentary job. Like being in a coma.

I have recently joined a nearby gym for little workouts (30-60 minutes, again time is the issue) and am using the elliptical and lifting weights with machines.

NOW, I know the whole south beach-atkins-whatnot diet approach is great for people, high protein etc. As I don’t eat animals, and while I eat eggs and cheese, they are fatty and don’t agree with me, are their (food replacement style) dieting options out there? I am trying to eat fewer carbs (tough as much of the veggie processed food/fake chicken patty stuff is carby), in reality I should see a nutritionist, but fiscally that isn’t an option.

SO, my questions are, are their diet plans like south beach for the meat-free? What other products (protein shake stuff??) are out there to help? What have you done as a veg to lose weight?

What exercises will burn fat, particularly in the middle region.

Any and all advice other than “Start eating meat” is welcome!

Thanks!

Looking for a name for this type of diet.

bchaplin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:24:34 -0800

Mostly vegetarian diet with some meat, lots of fruits and vegetables, few carbs, no dairy. Is there a name for this type of eating, and where can I get recipes? For health reasons I want to reform my eating habits. I just read the book Eat to Live and am completely won over to the idea of eating that way, but the issue for me is the implementation. I'd like to greatly increase the fruits and vegetables I eat, but not give up meat entirely. I do want to forego dairy food, though, and cut back on carbs. I've tried it for a few days, but honestly, my cooking expertise ends at chopping up a salad or steaming greens. Is there a name for this type of eating? I need to find some simple, easy-to-do recipes if I am going to be successful.

Good Fat, Bad Diet?

Viola — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:43:30 -0800

I’d like to lose 15 pounds in the next year. In addition to jogging, I plan on altering my already somewhat healthy diet because I worry I’m eating too much (good) fat. I recently decided I need to drop the 15 pounds I've gained since graduating college, so I can go back down to 115 at 5'2". I’m halfway through the Couch to 5K program, and that’s going well. In the past few years, I’ve become a much better eater than I was in high school and college, when my diet consisted of grains and beer. However, after tracking my meals on FitDay, I realized I might have a too-high fat intake (in addition to too much sugar), or a too-low vegetable intake. I’m a vegetarian, though I ate fish until very recently.

Breakfast:
-medium coffee with soy milk
-2% strained Greek yogurt, mixed with honey or fruit.

Lunch is usually
- baby spinach salad with walnuts, crumbled feta, and shiitake sesame vinaigrette dressing
or
- (less frequently) Amy’s spinach and feta pocket.

Afternoon
-I have a terrible sweet tooth, and will generally crave something from the office candy jar around 4ish, usually 1-3 mini York peppermint patties, and depending on my mood, will repeat again when leaving work. I'm cutting back severely on this habit as well.

Dinner
- almost invariably I come home from work and dive for two big, high-fiber Swedish wafers that I dip in hummus, or a handful of roasted almonds/cashews

this snacking is followed by one or two of the following:
- 2 cups’ worth of microwaved Amy’s organic butternut squash/cashew carrot ginger soup.
or
-two eggs fried in olive oil
or
--baby spinach salad, same as lunch

Alcohol
- 1-3 glasses of whiskey, imbibed between 0-3 times a week

Exercise
- Jogging 3x a week for 35 minutes.

See, this all seems healthy to me, but I tend to default to a "It's organic! It must be healthy!" mentality. I'm slowly realizing that just because I can read all the ingredients on the packaging doesn’t mean they’re all good for me in that quantity. I know I need to cut down on the processed sugar and whiskey, but I also worry that the processed veggie foods (Amy’s soups and vegetable pockets) don’t offer much nutritive value if I’m zapping them in the microwave first. I’ll cruise Ask.Me for specific directions for healthy breakfasts, how to easily eat more vegetables, etc, (though feel free to post any advice here!) but is there anything in those foods that jump out at you as red flags? Anything I should tweak, cut back on, or cut out to make my diet healthier and suitable for losing weight?

Should vegetarians eat marine creatures?

jpg15 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:15:56 -0800

Should vegetarians eat fish? How about shrimp? Mollusks? I'm a recent vegetarian convert, having read Peter Singer's seminal work. It took me about 30 minutes to realize that this is what I needed to do.

Singer only devotes two pages to the subject of marine life, and it lacks the authority that most of his writing carries (he notes this at the beginning of the section). There are a small number of for/against webpages, but I'm very interested hearing in the rationales of practicing vegetarians.

The question, as Singer always puts it, is whether or not the animal in question "has interests" and whether or not it can suffer, in the sense that humans can. Most people agree, for example, that insects do not. What about the various marine creatures? My instinct tells me that they do not, but this is based on scant data.

All we are saying is give meat a chance.

Item — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:48:59 -0800

After 13 years of vegetarianism - my entire adult life - I've decided to start eating meat. Looking for advice in the form of books, websites, and personal anecdotes. I stopped eating meat for a number of reasons. Rebellion was certainly one of them, as were health and the fact that I was never crazy about meat to begin with. Though I told myself that politics came into play in my decision, I'm not sure that they ever really did. I flirted with veganism for a few periods as well, but could never really buy into it.

As time wore on, my vegetarianism became mostly an issue of discipline and self control, and I was damn good at it. I never cheated. I actually let myself go hungry a few times rather than eat what was available to me at the time when it contained meat, which, looking back, was not only rude but also a bit dangerous (I'm hypoglycemic).

I've done a lot of thinking about it lately and have had some interesting conversations regarding veganism/vegetarianism being a privileged choice, something that is keeping me from experiencing the whole of cultures I'm interested in. I've also been ridiculously low on energy and my hypoglycemia's not getting any better. For these reasons and a few other personal ones I've decided that I want to try giving meat a place in my diet. I broke the barrier last night in a way that I don't plan on making a habit of - with a cheeseburger from a local chain. Damn. I still feel full today, though not sick or nauseated. I don't plan on eating meat again for one full week, at which time I already know what I'm going to have - BBQ. After that, a few times a week at most. I have no desire to eat it every day and seriously doubt I'll develop one. I really dislike fish, for what it's worth, though some other forms of seafood might end up appealing to me.

What I'm looking for is personal stories of going back to meat to gain some insight. I'm also interested in books or other resources that'll help me maintain a healthy diet integrating flesh and non-flesh.

One last thing: currently, I am a manager of a very strict vegan restaurant, a successful place that is employed by carnivores and herbivores alike. They know I'm not vegan - should I mention my new, carnivorous ways if it won't hurt my job security? I know, you can't answer that unless you knew every last detail about the place and the people involved, but throw me an opinion if you'd like. Though it hasn't really played into my decision, I've always been for personal choice and have never approved of militant vegans, something I come into contact with now on a daily basis. Any suggestions as to what to say should I 'come out' other than 'it's a personal matter' are also welcome here.

Why does meat make vegetarians vomit?

giggleknickers — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:43:50 -0800

Why do vegetarians vomit if they eat meat? Every time I've seen a vegetarian eat meat, by accident or because they were giving up vegetarianism, they always vomited. I was just curious as to why this is. Does anyone know?

If you're going to answer, please have some knowledge about the subject and preferably have a source. I can come up with guesses myself.

22 year old vegetarian convert needs help

my_impermanence — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:40:58 -0800

I’ve been pondering becoming a vegetarian for quite sometime. This is more or less for ethical reasons but I suppose converting may also have an added health benefit. I’m in college and my diet is horrible. At 6 foot 180 pounds I’m not over weight, but I’m most certainly not very healthy with this type of diet. My current diet consists of mostly processed foods like hotdogs, chicken patties with fast food thrown into the mix 1-2 times a week. I’m ready for a change though and I’m looking for suggestions. • I’m not looking to become a vegan. One step at a time guys!
• I need to be able to have these meals ready to eat in 25 minutes.
• I don’t have much counter space and I’m an inexperienced cook
• I don’t have a huge amount of money to blow on expensive foods. My current diet costs me roughly $100 a month.
• I'm not looking to lose weight in any way

Can you fine people please give me some easy to make vegetarian meal ideas so that I can get a balanced diet while maintaining my ethical stance.

Thanks!

Is my almost-vegetarian diet making me fatter?

Unicorn on the cob — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:03:23 -0800

My boyfriend is an avowed vegetarian, almost vegan. Out of respect for him (and the desire to live healthier), I have switched to an almost completely vegetarian diet. Now I've gained weight... why? I'm thinking that it's the switch from eating meat to eating lots and lots of soy products, which I know can affect estrogen levels in women. I also had a wicked sweet tooth before (imagine eating half a pound of candy in one sitting... that's me!) and have just recently cut back significantly on sugar in an effort to drop the unwanted weight (the past 60 days I have only consumed sugar for about 6 days total, and you can guess when). A few more tidbits:

1. I am a 35-year-old female.

2. I work out at least 4-5 times a week, with a minimum of an hour cardio, preferably 90 minutes of cardio with 15 minutes of weight training, should I actually make it to the gym. At the gym I use the elliptical, stair climber, recumbent bike and treadmill, and vary my times/workouts each time I go to avoid stagnation in my workouts. Otherwise, I use my elliptical at home and hand weights.

3. In the year we've been dating, I have cut back to eating meat maybe 3-4 times per week (usually in a sandwich or soup form), and our typical meals consist of such things as: tofu and veggie stir-fry, veggie burgers, Quorn fajitas with beans, falafel on pita with baba ghanoush, fake-lunchmeat sandwiches and low-fat cheez-its (I know, I know... sodium!).

4. I only drink alcohol once a week and drink coffee maybe 3-4 times per week, one cup or less. I drink regular sodas at the movies maybe twice per month and mostly drink spring water or sparkling, and avoid fruit juice and sweetened tea.

5. I am on birth control pills.

6. Over the course of the year, I tapered down on eating meat until I now no longer eat meat at all in his presence, nor do I keep it in the house, unless it's in a can of soup. At the same time, I worked out LESS at the beginning of our relationship due to the honeymoon factor, and now work out probably twice as much as I did six months ago.

7. The majority of the weight gain has been in 3 pound increments, very suddenly, over the course of, say, a two-week period when I notice it and then can't get it to budge.

8. I still drink regular, 1% milk and eat regular 2% cheese, but have subbed out Quorn or soy-based products for virtually every dinner meal where I would normally have eaten meat instead.

Now, a co-worker of mine recently gave up meat and dairy in an effort to curb her food allergies and she ALSO gained 10 pounds in 6 weeks. She is a woman in her mid-40's. She and I were commiserating over this fact on Friday, and we both thought... hmmm, is it all the soy? Could the extra estrogen be making me gain the weight? I'm trying like hell to lose the weight and I just... can't.

I have reduced the number of calories I eat, I'm pretty sure, because I no longer eat sweets or snacks (except things like birthday cake if it's a special occasion). I realize that over time, cutting out the sweets will probably help me lose the weight, but for right now, I'm beyond frustrated. The most I can get my weight down is like maybe 3 pounds, and I want to fit in my clothes again! I know this is a time in my life when my metabolism slows down, but this seems really sudden to me and not gradual at all. I searched previous questions and didn't see this exact issue addressed. Hope me, hive mind!

sugar rush

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 07:03:12 -0800

I have been having bad reactions to candy and soda. Give me advice while I wait for my doctor's appointment! In the past few weeks, I've experienced an intense sugar rush whenever I ate anything really sweet - candy, soda, etc. I've had difficulty with concentrating and short-term memory, felt dizzy, had my heart rush, and felt generally disoriented and high. This will last about an hour, then I'll crash, get a headache, and get really moody. The inability to concentrate will stay with me.

This intense reaction has only been happening in the past couple of weeks, but there are a few other bits of information that might be relevant. I have been vegetarian for the past 15 months. I've developed some pretty wicked flatulence in the past 6 months, but I blew that off as a side-effect of the diet. I've also experienced headaches after drinking cola for the last four or five months, but none of the other symptoms from above. I am now much more sensitive to alcohol than in the past, recently I have experienced a heavy buzz partway through my first beer; I was not a lightweight a year ago.

How should a weight-lifting, running, vegetarian woman eat to have energy and life forever?

croutonsupafreak — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:45:41 -0800

The more I work out, the more I realize that nutrition has a huge impact on my energy. When is the best time to eat various foods during the day so I have the most energy when I get to the gym at 5:30 p.m.? And how can I meet my nutritional needs, given that I'm a vegetarian who likes less-processed foods but doesn't have a lot of time for cooking (and can't handle eating beans every day)? I feel like I need a lot more protein all of a sudden. I am not trying to lose weight or to gain weight, just to be strong and healthy and enjoy my body. I think I had a pretty good food intake equilibrium when I didn't exercise at all, but now I need to eat a lot more and I think I'm getting it wrong. Not enough protein, probably way too much fat. But I don't know how to fix it, mostly because I don't know what I should be aiming for.

My workouts
I go to the gym after work. I'm trying to run 3 miles three times a week (MWF), and lift weights four times a week (MTWF), plus I sometimes hike or ski or ride my bike or do fun outdoorsy things on weekends. I'm aiming to spend 7.5 to 10 hours per week getting exercise, depending on whatever other commitments intervene.

The carb-aterian
I'm a vegetarian, and eat lots of carbohydrates. I also get lots of fruits, vegetables, yogurt, cheese. Conspicuously lacking: Protein. My digestive system can't handle frequent bean consumption, which seems to be the vegetarian protein default. Right now I'm trying to eat an egg with breakfast a 2-3 times a week, I'm having more peanut butter sandwiches. I've got soy milk and edamame and tofu. How much of this stuff should I eat? Are there other vegetarian, good not-overly-processed, easy to prepare, high protein foods I should be trying?

Staying fueled, timing issues
I've noticed that if I eat right before I go to the gym, I feel sick and crappy. If I eat a bunch of carbohydrates an hour or two ahead of time I usually have a lot of energy. If I eat protein an hour or two before exercising, I don't get the same boost. But if I'm not eating enough protein in general I get tired and have a hard time finishing my workouts.

Finally: Are there good books or good web sites that address this stuff? Most of the web sites I've found are about weight loss, and I'm really not trying to lose weight. Nor am I trying to bulk up unnaturally.

Can one ease from a vegan diet to vegetarianism?

Ash3000 — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:36:06 -0800

Say you're basically a vegan, and needed to prepare for an extended dairy/eggs-included period... I call myself a strict vegetarian, but my diet is essentially vegan - I eat dairy/eggs rarely, and then usually only if there's no other easy options. However, in a few weeks I'm going on a volunteer trip to New Orleans, where the food (along with, incidentally, the housing...check out www.opportunityrocks.org/springbreak) will be provided for me on my behalf, and while I'm sure there'll be vegetarian options, I've also been made pretty certain that there won't be a serious vegan alternative. I really, really wanna do this, and, as such, I need to get myself used to eating a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet for about five days or so.

The only problem is, sometimes when I DO eat something with substantial dairy/eggs, I tend to feel a little sick afterwards, and I FEEL like my concentration and just general "with it"ness kinda lags...granted, I've never done this for a while, so I don't know if I can build up a temporary tolerance. Has anyone ever dealt with a situation like this before? Should I start including little bits of dairy/eggs in my diet for the next few weeks, building up to the point that I don't find myself feeling ugh in the middle of New Orleans? Any other general advice?

Diets for Veggie Quitters

MonkeyMeat — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:21:37 -0800

What dietary guidelines would you suggest for a vegetarian who is trying to quit smoking but is feeling tired and depressed?

Beef and guns

saysthis — Sun, 20 Mar 2005 06:31:44 -0800

I am: vegan, mildy exercise-induced asthmatic, non-car owning & often-biking, slightly scoliotic (not visibly, but there's back pain here and there), have virtually no access to exercise equipment other than a set of ancient free weights, weight bench, and mat, without much money. I desire hulking guns and beefiness all over. It's high time I started exercising. I look sturdy, I'm not noticeably plush, and I've been told by various people that a larger upper body would complement me nicely (these are not understatements/I am not a pear/I am however vain). Since I don't eat meat, protein intake can be a problem. I tried a regimen recommended by the dude at the health club a few eyars ago and it made me lose muscle. Another issue is that with my back and lungs the way they are, I'm limited in how XTREEM I can make my exercise. Neither are a problem so long as I'm not moving especially fast for long periods of time or lifting three times my own body weight. I'm looking to accomplish mainly more toned legs, bigger shoulders & chest (without losing too much fat in that area), and a tighter jawline (I hear face exercise exists?). There's a Mr. Universe in all of us (with steroids, even the ladies). Help me make mine visible.