I am a pretty overweight guy, and I am planning to go on a diet soon, but I am also a vegetarian. Any advice?

Question

I was thinking about eating a bowl of total for breakfast and dinner, and a cereal bar for lunch, and veggie snacks if my appetite gets out of control. I don't want anybody saying "your perfect the way you are" or any sentimental crap like that please.

Answer 1

Eating a bowl of total for more than one meal a day is NOT healthy. As is any eating of that many carbs in more than one meal. From what I've learned from nutrition, is you cannot get proper nutrition by not eating more protein than carbs. Best advice anyone can give you is to add meat to your diet. People were designed to eat it and they cannot properly survive nutritiously without it.

If you are that freaky about meat, at least add fish and eggs to your diet. It's a neccessity in the human diet to eat meat. Our stomachs were not designed to eat so much breads, grains, rice, starches, etc. Veggies and fruit are healthy for you as well, so you're doing good there. Just add some meat to your diet to not gain a lot of weight.

Our bodies require more protein than carbs to not be overweight. More carbs equal more body fat. And excess of candy is also bad. Drink LOTS of water. Teas are good for you (green tea is high in antioxidants which can control excess weight gain with proper diet).

Answer 2

It's hard for me to imagine a guy can be a vegetarian, overweight, and MAINTAIN A NORMAL AMOUNT OF ACTIVITY. I'd starve to death if I didn't eat RED meat, and a good size piece of it, every day. If I don't eat red meat with a meal, I'm hungry again an hour later and I'll just eat all the more.
Buddy, you can't be getting enough activity. That's impossible. Take the stairs. Park in the furthest parking space. Jog to the copy machine to get copies (I don't have time to stroll over). Bike to work if it's 3 miles or less. I've seen people with a metabolism like yours, and compared to me they're always tired and they move like turtles. I do everything fast. Find creative ways to DO more, move faster, and hustle. If you can do that, you won't be able to eat enough to keep weight on.
Actually, if you're a guy, I recommend lifting weights also. Muscle increases metabolism and muscle cells burn a whole lot more energy than fat cells. But you can't wuss out, you have to make staying active a lifestyle since you're not born with the genes for it.

Answer 3

Hmmm, well that sounds like an awful lot of cereal. I know that all those commercials on TV can be tempting (the ones that talk about "eat this cereal for 2 meals a day and you'll lose 5 pounds in a week"), but cereal really shouldn't be your main food group. It doesn't have many vitamins or other vital nutrients, and you could get malnourished and sick. Are you a vegan or just a vegetarian? In any case, lots of dark greens (broccoli, spinach, green beans, etc.) will probably help with that. They're low in fat, low in carbs, but high in nutrients that'll keep you going. Eat lots of salads too, with some olive oil and vinegar (red wine vinegar, balsalmic vinegar) for dressing. Try making veggie stir-frys with some non-sugary teriyaki sauce. You know, things like that. The more variety you have in your diet the easier it'll be to avoid any fatening foods like chips, etc. Best of luck with everything!

Answer 4

Eating cereal is a good way to get bulk fiber, but not nutrition. Most cereals (especially Total) contain synthesized or added vitamins to jack up their percentages of nutrients. Your body may not even be able to process these and will simply void them (check your urine to see where they go). You don't have to avoid them, just don't rely on them completely.

Eat a balanced meal and get some real protein in your diet. Beans are a good source of non-animal protein as are seeds and nuts. You should also take care to get all of your amino acids in there - you may need to take supplements, but read the link below for more information. I'd also recommend getting at least a B complex supplement. E might help also. You should, however, try to get most of your nutrition from food.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are your best bet as a vegetarian. Your body knows what to do with them and will respond best. You'll also get plenty of fiber and extra water.

Another thing you'll want to do to lose weight faster is lose the processed foods. Start reading ingredients lists and if you can't pronounce most of the ingredients, don't eat them. Chemicals and preservatives serve to make the food last longer and look better, not make you healthier. Try to avoid them whenever possible.

All white bread and processed flour and refined sugar should go. 100% whole wheat is your friend (any time the ingredients list "enriched" flour, avoid it). It may take a little getting used to, but once you do, you'll think most everything else tastes horrible. White sugar is also bad, but it's worlds better than any "diet" product. A lot of people have some scary things to say about asparteme (or Nutrasweet) and Splenda - all I know is that they taste terrible to me and I don't trust them as sweeteners. I use honey in most everything and it works just fine. I also like Sugar In The Raw as it's less refined and tastes great.

Basically, though, if you stick to basic, unrefined foods (especially fresh fruits and vegetables), your body will know what to do with them and will get back on track. Start some basic exercise like walking a mile or two a day and possibly some crunches and you'll move things even faster.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Live by these rules..
1. Drink water 90% of the time
2. Chew food slowly and small bites.
3. Only eat when you are hungry (not bored)
4. Stop eating as soon as you are confortable
(not stuffed).
5. Don't say your on a diet. Cause your not. You
can eat everything, only by these rules.

I did this for about 6 months and lost 36 pounds. And I beleive it's cause you don't have the stress of being on a diet. Cause your really not. Just learn to live by these rules. It works. Good luck.

Answer 6

That's too small of a meal and you'll crave chips, sugar, bread and butter, etc.

Just watch what you eat by counting calories. If you're going to eat about 2000 to 3000 calories, make sure you go jogging for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Start by fast-paced walking and alternate that with jogging.

Make sure you eat a little bit of everything, because like I said, you will lose control (like on holidays, birthdays, and other special events) and will binge eat, and you'll tell yourself that you'll go back on your diet "tomorrow." You'll do this over and over again. It's not going to help in the long run.

Remember, balance and dedication are the key.

Answer 7

Have you checked out the South Beach Diet? The South Beach Diet works with the Glycemic Index. I started on this plan about 5 months ago. I have lost the weight and maintained the weight loss. Check out the forum below ~ the whole link was helpful to me. This site has meal plans and recipes. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Exercise. But, if you do, I would eat more then a bowl of cereal, you will need more then a bowl of cereal to keep from fainting.

Answer 9

Since you are vegetarian, you need to eat Tofu to get the protein that you are not getting from the meat.

Answer 10

i always thought that ALL vegetarians were @ a healthy weight...but just exercise and drinks tons of water