I am an overweight vegitarian.?

Question

I eat soo many carbs, I swear, I crave it all the time. I need to loose weight, but I haven't even seen a good vegitiarian diet plan? Is there any plan (actually telling you what to eat) our there?

Answer 1

This isn't a "diet plan" as such, but some advice on how to eat healthily (but realistically) as a vegetarian! I say "realistic" as too many people are quick to tell you what NOT to eat, but they don't give you alternatives that easily satisfy the urges you are having to eat unhealthy things! Some of this advice may appear to contradict what you may hear from other sources, but that's because a lot of dieting advice is based on a simplistic view that if people simply eat less fat & calories they will get thinner. That may be true, but it is completely unrealistic! You have to replace them with something which satisifes the craving, but releases energy much more slowly, and make sure the calories you do eat are not "empty calories" (i.e. refined foods with little nutitional content). Your body needs calories, but to avoid weight gain & cravings you need to release them into your body more slowly.

If you have a big problem with craving carbs, substitute with healthier versions, as cutting them out altogether is very hard (I have exactly the same trouble!). This will have the knock-on effect of improving your overall level of nutrition & thus improve your overall health. Some people believe that you tend to crave foods more if you are deficient in certain nutrients, so eating more heathily might in itself reduce your cravings.

For instance, substititute wholegrain versions of the starchy carbs, such as brown bread, flour, pasta & rice. These are burned more slowly by the body & give sustained energy. Refined carbs such as white bread & rice release the energy too quickly & cause sudden drops in energy which will lead to more cravings. Controlling the dips in energy levels will do a lot to reduce your cravings, and may also help to lose weight as your body reacts to low energy reserves by trying to store more energy as fat the next time you eat.

If you crave sweet foods, go buy loads of fresh & dried fruit & have that on hand instead of sweets etc. Dried fruit is still very sweet, and isn't as healthy as just not eating sweet foods at all, but it is more realistic than just cutting out the sweet foods altogether, as it satisfies the craving but replaces it with something a lot healthier (dried fruit is a good source of iron, which is important for veggies, esp. if you are female). Fresh fruit is even better for you, but I find that dried fruit satisfies my sugar cravings so much more! Plus dried fruit keeps for ages so you can always make sure you have some with you at all times to resist the temptation to eat unhealthier snacks. Do try not to pig out on dried fruit, though - eating too much will still cause the sudden peaks & drops in energy levels that I metioned above, leading to more cravings; but a few bits of dried fruit a few times a day is not going to cause a problem.

I have started to eat a lot more nuts - I know nuts have a bad reputation as being full of fats, but they are mostly "good fats" such as essential fatty acids & are a great source of protein for vegetarians. Eating foods with lots of "good fats" may satisfy your urge to eat fatty foods, plus the good fats help to keep your body in good condition, and may counteract some of the effects of other less healthy eating habits, such as high blood pressure. Most people are deficient in Omega 3 essential fatty acids, and the best place for veggies to get these is through nuts & seeds. Nuts are a good slow-burning energy souce too, so snacking on them will help to reduce energy peaks & troughs, and thus reduce cravings.

If you eat dairy products, try not to rely on them too much as your main source of protein - a lot of veggies eat too much cheese, so try to eat more beans, nuts, pulses & seeds to get your protein. They are much less fattening!

Don't get sucked into the trap of "diet foods". The "low-fat"/"low calorie" versions of foods you can buy are mostly a load of rubbish. They either taste horrible, or are loaded with even more unhealthy things like artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated fats and other stuff that actually makes you LESS healthy! Eating these may also make you crave foods even more as your body is fighting to repair itself from the damage caused by eating rubbish. Learn to read labels, don't just buy things because they say "low fat" or "diet" on them - check to see what they are replacing the fat & sugar with. Hydrogenated fats ("trans fats") are as bad, if not worse than saturated fats. Manufacturers will often use several different "hidden sugars" so that "sugar" doesn't show up at the top of the ingredients list; these include: dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, lactose, polydextrose, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol & maltodextrin.

It sounds like a lot of your problems could be helped by just trying to avoid eating large amounts of quick-burning carbs, and replacing them with slow burning sources of calories. Read up on the "GI diet", which focuses on eating slow-burning energy foods (low GI) instead of fast release energy sources (high GI). GI stands for "Glycemic index", which is a measure of how quickly the food releases it's energy in the body. Controlling this will go a long way to reducing carb cravings. I always got sugar cravings mid-afternoon, but now I try to choose a lunch with less refined carbs & more wholegrains, vegetables & proteins, and it definately helps to reduce the afternoon cravings as I don't get a sudden dip in energy. There is a strong link between consumption of High GI foods & obesity, so eating more low GI foods should help you lose weight. You don't have to give up on high GI foods altogether, just eat smaller portions of them (this reduces the glycemic load, or GL), and try to replace as many as possible with lower GI versions.

Apart from all this, don't forget to eat as much fresh fruit & veg as you can - if you are a fussy eater, just keep trying new things & I'm sure you'll find plenty of healthy stuff you like! Also drink ots of water - carry a bottle with you all day & keep having sips throughout the day. If you want something to eat, have some water first, as that is sometimes enough to satisfy the need to ingest something, and at the very will help you resist the urge to snack for a few more minutes!

If you want more ideas, check out:
http://www.vegetarian-diet.info/vegetarian-weight-loss-diet.htm (general advice)
http://www.whfoods.com/recipestoc.php#nomeat (healthy recipe ideas)
http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/ichoices/0,,8kn0,00.html (Vegetarian weight loss "plan" - only a few specific meal ideas though)
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=diet&dbid=8#summary (general info on weight loss dieting)

Also, the vegetarian food pyramid is a useful diagram to help you make healthier eating choices: http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/pyramid.htm

Answer 2

Welcome to the club babe. It's tough being veg and still skinny. I have never seen a decent vegetarian diet plan. It all seems to be mainstream programs like Zone, Southbeach, and even Atkins, just without meat, eggs, and dairy. Doesn't seem too healthy and balanced to me. I really think you should try my plan:

Breakfast - Plain instant oatmeal with 2 tbsp honey
Snack - 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Lunch - spinach (or lettuce I guess, with the scare) salad with low calorie dressing and 4 oz tofu
Snack - 1 medium piece of fruit
Dinner - Veggie tofu stir fry

All those veggies, fruits, and tofu are healthy and your only serious carb is the oatmeal. It fuels you for the day though by having it in the morning. I did this for a few weeks and lost a lot of weight. They key is NOT variety - its consistency. Eat the same thing every day and you will lose weight.

Answer 3

I'm not so sure the carbs are you're problem.... I have a friend who just came back from boot camp(ARMY) he left home at 6 foot even but a heavy 250 he came home 13 weeks later at a riped 220 it seems that he was only taking in a miesly 600 calories a day yes granted they exercise alot but what diet is good without exercise right? So try cutting down your calories drastically and do a little running you should see a big difference.

Answer 4

I haven't actually heard of a "plan" for vegetarians. However, I've been a vegetarian my entire life. The one thing I've started to adopt in my eating habits is to reduce the amount of refined sugars in my diet. Not all carbs are bad for you. For example, whole grain breads are great. However, lots of sugary foods and deserts - or soda for that matter is where carbs kill ya. Start using Splenda in your diet and choose diet sodas over regular. Try to also limit the amount of cheese and dairy in your diet. Opt for fat free milk and egg-substitute (instead of real eggs - those yolks are full of cholesterol).

As a Vegetarian I think I eat well - and I love food. I've managed to maintain my weight. Just cut down on high fat dairy products and refined sugars. It works for me!

Answer 5

I am sick of hearing about over weight vegitarians. it means you are smart about what you eat, just because you don't eat meat does mean you will be healthy. do you cook at home? most over weight vegitarian eat out way tooo often and don't get enough exercise.
you dont need a deit plan!
Just eat more fruit, steamed veggies and big salads lite on the dressing, more grains and beans. cut the crabs and sugers way back. avoid packaged goods, sodas and most juices. Drink lots of water and cook at home using only fresh ingreadance.
Get off the Couch and go for a walk!!!

Answer 6

Follow the vegetarian food pyramid and avoid bad carbs. Bad carbs include regular pasta, white bread and refined sugars. I'm a carb lover too but eat whole grains instead of refined junk.

Answer 7

... you eat so many carb without exercises... You know runners eat a lot of carbs before a long run right? why? because carb stores energies in the long run, so during the run, it burns off the energies. You... while you consumed carb, those energies stored inside your body, and you don't exercise, where would those carbs go? it turns to fat... ya... so cut that down.. the best way to lose weight is to exercise. I don't believe in such any pills that help you to loose weight, any even if there're such pills, that is one unhealthy way of loosing weight.

Answer 8

WELL U CAN ALWAYS THINK U ARE HEAVY BEST WAY TO BE ON GOOD VEGETARIAN DIET IS TO HAVE MORE VEGETABLES IN UR MEAL THAN JUST RICE OR WHEAT IT LL CERTAINLY HELP TO REDUCE CARBS

Answer 9

im vegan
i live on orbit and vitamin water

im only 5 pounds underweight

do what i do.

eat gum and drink vitamin water
excercise like crazy

Answer 10

oh yes there is a vegie plan....... i am on diet vegie....email me at [e-mail]...will let u knw in detail of the diet plan and hell yes it actually works....

Answer 11

go and see a dietician