Help a vegetarian lose weight!

May 21, 2009 8:01 AM

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!

posted by Ponderance to Health & Fitness (16 answers total)

There's a vegetarian version of the Zone Diet, The Soy Zone. Lots of good recipes in the book. I still use it regularly.
posted by lunalaguna at 8:08 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Exercise is good, and it's healthy. But it will not "burn fat."

Well, ok, it will. But minimally. First of all, you can't just choose what fat deposits get burned off first - start doing lots of work on your core and you could easily get a mighty six-pack that happens to be obscured by a whole lot of belly. Second, look up caloric expenditure for exercise - it quickly becomes obvious that even a small snack will take up practically your entire workout to cancel out. Exercise because it's good and healthy and it'll make your body happy for its own sake - not because it will slim you down. Because unless you can devote really serious time to really serious strenuous exercise, you simply won't be able to burn off enough calories to make a meaningful impact.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:12 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

I've been vegetarian since 1995, and I'm "skinny fat", and just decided to go vegan.
I highly recommend you do the same.
This is also probably what you don't want to hear.

You can be an unhealthy vegetarian - lots of crappy processed foods are vegetarian.
Eat as clean as you can, closer to nature.
More veggies, more beans, more fruits.
You're looking for processed alternatives, and they are out there, but they are usually hella high in calories.

The lower calorie count of these foods will help you in losing that belly, in that you're burning more calories than you are taking in.

Educate yourself on what your true carb/protein needs are, not what you've been told by the meat and dairy companies.

I recommend book(s) by Dr. Neal Barnard, or The China Study, or even Skinny Bastard (by the Skinny Bitch girls).

You're going to have to do some strength training to keep up your muscle mass and burn even more calories.

You're going to have to get moving. Cardio, walking, running, jumping rope, whatever.

No sodas, no coffee, no tea. Go with just water; I'm up to 1.5 liters a day.

You will lose that belly.
posted by willmize at 8:15 AM on May 21, 2009

Eat fewer calories. You will lose weight. You cannot spot reduce fat. You cannot spot reduce fat. You cannot spot reduce fat.

Losing weight is a function of these things, in this order:

1. Diet
2. Diet
3. Diet
4. Diet
5. Exercise

The reason diets like atkins and south beach work is their emphasis on high-protein, low-carb causes you to feel full more. 8 oz of steak has slightly more calories than 8 oz of rice, but the steak will make you feel far fuller.

Most overweight vegetarians consume too many carbs. Eating a lot of rice doesn't make you that full, causing you to eat more.

So, if you want to lose weight, focus on high-protein foods. If you don't like cheese and eggs, eat tofu. Soy has itos own world of problems in some diet communities, but it should help you lose weight.

Alternatively, try egg beaters. Cottage cheese. Peanut butter, nuts, etc.
posted by unexpected at 8:17 AM on May 21, 2009 [2 favorites]

Egg whites are pretty much the perfect diet food. Since you're lacto-ovo, they shouldn't be a problem. Learn to love omelettes with maybe one yolk and four whites, lots of vegetables (spinach is great for this purpose) and a sprinkling of a hard cheese like Parmesan to add some extra flavor.

If you're looking for a specific plan, the Abs diet might work well for you. It's based off of what they call the "Power 12," of which only one (turkey) is meat.

- Almonds
- Beans (legumes)
- Spinach and other greens
- Dairy
- Instant Oatmeal
- Eggs
- Turkey
- Peanut Butter
- Olive Oil
- Whole Grains
- Extra Protein Powder (Whey)
- Raspberries and other berries

If you don't want to buy the book, Men's Health magazine runs a monthly feature with the basics of the diet and recipes.
posted by charmcityblues at 8:24 AM on May 21, 2009 [2 favorites]

More protein, less carbs, and what carbs do DO eat should be complex carbs that are high in fiber. Cut out as much sugar as is possible. A vegetarian low-carb diet IS possible. Egg Beaters. Plain Greek yogurt. Cottage cheese. Protein shakes. Tons of vegetables. Forget about pasta, rice, bread and potatoes. Watch out for lactose in dairy products - there's a lot of sugar/carbs there that you don't think about. Unfortunately when fat is removed from a dairy product the sugars tend to go up.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:28 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Aerobic exercise alone is not going to burn fat. You have to build muscle which will in turn burn more calories.

For an exercise program that will burn fat like all get out look no further than Crossfit: www.crossfit.com. It's a very intense program but nothing else I ever tried got me any results. Be aware that the daily workouts listed on the main page are designed for elite athletes, but can easily be scaled back for beginners. Look at the links on the left side of the page for a site called "Brand X" under "Getting Started" that publishes scaled back versions of every day's workout. There's also a lot of great material and videos on the main site so just take your time and read everything carefully. Any question you might have has probably been answered at some point.

In addition to cutting carbs you are going to have to increase the amount of protein in your diet. Soy protein is not ideal for the job but it's the best vegetarian alternative. The general rule of thumb for people who are trying to gain muscle mass is at least one gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. You'll need to find out your current body fat percentage to know what that is for sure, but somewhere between 150 and 180 grams a day should do it for you. You could try getting some soy protein powder and adding it to shakes or other stuff. It tastes a little icky compared to whey powder, but again you got to work with what you got.

Good luck man!
posted by fairlysober at 8:29 AM on May 21, 2009

I've done both low cal and low carb diets. You can definitely do Atkins w/o meat products (think a ton of salads). But in your case I'd go with something low cal but with more carbs for bulk. You can eat a lot of pasta on a low cal diet and be full. This also will help with energy levels if you're doing more cardio exercise.

The thing about low cal as opposed to low carb is that there's more overhead in tracking your calories throughout the day. Something like The Daily Plate which has PDA apps with online access make it much easier to track your daily intake. A nutritionist would like you to not just track calories but maintain a balanced intake of different foods.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:29 AM on May 21, 2009

My husband is vegetarian and he maintains his weight through portion control and an emphasis on veggies. I'm the cook and so I'm often vegetarian by default (though we have a rule that I must eat red meat every few weeks...long story). Anyway:

Yummy foods!

Lil baby carrots! They are oh so crunchy and just slightly sweet.

Peanut Butter (crunchy) and Spreadable Fruit (not Jelly) on whole grain bread (that has no high fructose corn syrup in it...just read some labels and you'll find some bread you love). This will FILL YOU UP.

Steamed cabbage with olive oil and a bunch of salt is unbelievably delicious. Like, addictive. This has been one of my favorite snacks forever and I have converted my husband to it. If you make some couscous on the side, plus saute some mushrooms in olive oil, throw some marjoram or other spices in the couscous and serve the whole thing together: voila! Tasty, good for you, dinner.

Seasonal berries! Yum! Yum!

Bananas! They curb hunger and give you lots of good for you stuff (like potassium) that is great for a post-cardio pick-you-up.

If you like yogurt, a cup of plain + honey is also delish. I highly recommend getting whole milk yogurt, not the "dieting" kind. The whole milk yogurt will fill you up, and not leave that nasty aspartame in your system. Plus, most whole milk yogurt is not made with high fructose corn syrup, another thing I try to avoid. Fage Greek yogurt is really good, but I also love the Stoneyfield Farm Whole Milk Plain.

For protein, sliced cheddar cheese on Finn Crisp crackers is the best. This is especially good if you've been lifting weights (yay protein).

Also great are omelets and frittatas (mefi mail me if you want some recipes).

Steamed Kale is also REALLY good with some olive oil and salt on it. Nice and salty. yum, yum, yum.

Homemade salsa! with Cheese quesadillas! The key here is to not go overboard on the cheese. Just enough, not too much.

Also, broccoli is good in almost everything. I buy the frozen broccoli and use it in omelets, frittatas, pasta dishes, and sometimes, just broccoli with cheese will make the tummy happy.

For snacking, raw broccoli and cauliflower is also very good. And almonds. Oh I love almonds. By themselves or sliced up and thrown into oatmeal, or thrown onto some cooked fresh spinach with olive oil! Oh! I am hungry just thinking about it.

Just because you're eating healthy doesn't mean you have to lose your enthusiasm for food. Learn to love smaller portions by savoring every bite. Eat healthy foods that make you feel like you're splurging (mmmmm berries), and you won't have any problem sticking to your new lifestyle.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 8:39 AM on May 21, 2009 [5 favorites]

**raw broccoli and cauliflower ARE also very good...

Oh! How could I forget:

Beans, beans, beans. Black beans with tortillas. Black beans with rice. Sriracha on everything.
posted by whimsicalnymph at 8:41 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

You can do this, kind of. You can't reach Atkins levels of low-carb--where carbs are 10% or less of your diet--but you can get lower-carb. The problem is that there is no vegetarian food aside from whey protein powder that approaches the protein density of meat (i.e. percentage of calories of the food product that come from protein), even from soy. Egg whites and fat-free and low-fat cottage cheese are a little better as a "pure" protein food, but honestly, a meal plan for the rest of your life (because that's how you're going to keep the weight off--you can't "eat like normal" when you're skinny) constructed around cottage cheese, egg whites, and whey protein powder is not the healthiest plan.

I've done it, I tried it on-and-off for almost a year, meticulously keeping track of grams of protein, carbs, and fat to ensure I wasn't going too high-carb. It did not provide the improvements I hope for. I started eating fish, then red meat, and it is impossible to over-emphasize the difference I saw in my lifting and fitness performance and my overall health.

So yeah, you can do it, but it will be hard, and you won't be as healthy as if you just ate meat.
posted by Anonymous at 9:03 AM on May 21, 2009

It's great that you are lacto-ovo, as that will make your life much easier when it comes to getting enough protein and keeping carbs low. Remember, that ideally you should be aware of compositional changes in your body and not just simply "weight loss". Please also keep in mind that there is no "magic" to changing your body for the better. It all begins with simple calories. Eat less calories than you need on a daily basis and you will lose weight (just don't go crazy and cut calories too low). Keep your protein intake high enough to preserve muscle mass (especially important while in a calorie deficit) and then balance the rest in fat and carbohydrate. Head on over to the Body Recomposition forums for some no nonsense, scientifically backed information. Warning, they are not a huge fan of vegetarians/vegans over there, but Lyle is a very smart guy with alot of great info.
posted by scarello at 9:05 AM on May 21, 2009

Whoops I thought you said you were vegan; adjust my advice accordingly.
posted by fairlysober at 9:11 AM on May 21, 2009

A couple of things that have helped me recently is to painstakenly measure and record my food. I used to completely hate that (even using a website to do it) because I'd inevitably forget stuff when I wasn't near a computer or didn't have my notebook or whatever. Using LoseIt on the iPhone made it much easier for me to track. I'm being really anal about it, and a few weeks into it, I'm down 12 pounds.

But whatever system you use, measure stuff out and record it. Keep an eye on your protein and on your calories. I always thought I was recording everything pretty accurately until I started measuring everything. In the case of cheese, I definitely underestimated (boo!) and in the case of wine, I totally over-estimated (8 ounces is a lot more wine than I thought).

Pre-measuring my snacks and sticking them back in the cupboard has helped me too - I know what one portion is when I grab one, and I know what I'm in for calorie-wise.

Another thing that has really helped me is thinking about what high-calorie foods I really like and replacing a portion of them with veggies. So we had pesto pasta the other night because I got a good bunch of basil at the farmers' market. But pasta tends to blow my calorie limit because I eat too much of it and it's high in calories that don't really help me. So I make much less of it now when we eat it - it's an accent to the meal rather than the main event. I sauteed some julienned carrots (so it'd be about the same shape as the pasta we were using) and mushrooms and roasted some cauliflower to take up some of the space I'd've filled with pasta before. It was good, I still got to eat pasta and pesto but I filled up on veggies rather than pasta.

As a vegetarian, I always think I eat a lot of veggies, but really, I don't eat enough. I'm focusing on eating more to fill me up while trying to get enough protein (always low for me). One day when we had a big lunch, we just grilled veggies outside and ate that for dinner. Super low calorie meal and very filling that night.

On days I know I want to eat something high caloric, I plan for it. So tonight I am going out for pizza and beers with a friend, so today I have a goal of "adding" at least 400 calories to my diet by walking. That's above my normal exercise. I won't feel the least bit guilty tonight eating and drinking what I want to have.

There was one more thing I was going to add, but it's escaping me right now so I'll post again if I think of it. Good luck to you - it's been nice seeing my cheekbones get sharper, and I'm nearly at the point where my really nice summer clothes will fit again!
posted by ugf at 9:47 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

nthing recommendations of a clean diet. I'm in the process of (again) dropping 20lbs, and Fitday is how I always manage to do it. It's a fairly simple food and exercise logging program that tallies up your daily calorie input, activity levels, nutrient profile, etc. It's much more effective than guessing and trying to keep mental track of your food intake, and by logging everything you make it easier to stay disciplined and kill idle or emotional eating habits.

The only bad thing about it is some of the data is presented in pie charts. Very insensitive.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 11:33 AM on May 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm a big fan of Weight Watchers. Basically, you get a set number of points each day (each point roughly corresponds to 50 calories, I think you would get around 33). Each food has a certain number of points, and as long as you stay within your point target, you will lose. It's really great for helping you figure out what works as far as satiation goes and learning how to make good tradeoffs. Meetings are alsogood for accountability.

Also, don't assume eggs are fattening. Eggs can be a really great help in terms of weight loss - full of protein and vitamins, and the fat keeps you full.
posted by lunasol at 3:41 PM on May 21, 2009