Weightloss One month after starting Veg Diet?

Question

I started a vegetarian diet about a month ago. On ash Wednesday . It started as just a Lent thing that I would not eat meat for from Ash Wed. to Easter. At first I didnt loose any weight. I fluctuated back and forth and I have actually been eating alot more than usual. This last week Ive been noticing that Ive lost five lbs and 2 inches off my stomach. Im not very active either. Could this be the Diet? Does anyone else who has been a vegetarian for awhile had this same reaction about a month after starting? And what can I expect?

This has nothing to do as a Diet. I didnt expect to Loose weight. I did not get this out of a magazine and I dont think Im going to be going back to meat This is a New Lifestyle and I want to know what I can expect and what kind of problems others have had with this "lifestyle"

Answer 1

Woohoo! Good for you.
Meat is garbage. Doesn't it strike you as odd that it is the only food you have to cook and sterilize to be able to put it in your body?

If we knew a fraction of the information about animal flesh as we know about sneezing on our hands, meat would be abolished.

You will probably loose weight for a while because you are eating real foods that your body can process. You are probably going to feel a lot healthier too.

Answer 2

Yup. Lost 10 pounds in about 2 weeks, then stabilized. Your weight might fluctuate for a couple of months,but it settles out once it adjusts to the new eating routine.

What you will need to watch: make sure you get all of your nutrients, or you will notice a lack of energy, etc. (took me a while to get it right).

1. Get a good vegetarian multi-vitamin, or you can get individual supplements. Available at Wild Oats/Whole Foods, etc. Actually, the ones recommended for women as pre-pre-natal ones are pretty good. I find that you're fine if you take one every other day, instead of every day. Try to get as many nutrients from actual food as you can.

2. Make sure you eat a variety- it's easy to load up on Boca products (much as I dearly love them) - try to get different stuff whenever you go to the store.

3. I like a lot of veggies, but the sweet potato is a really good one. Lots of good stuff there. Try to learn about which veggies have the higher concentrations of what you need (of course the ones you actually like)

4. A good vegetarian cookbook is a great thing-not only will it help you keep an eye on making sure you're getting what you need by (usually) having a breakdown of foods and their nutritional values, but it helps when you run out of ideas on what to make so it doesn't get boring.

5. Going out to eat is hard-most places will have maybe one thing you can eat. If you get a veggie burger, they often cook it on the same grill as regular beef, which makes it taste awful (and meat will eventually smell bad to you, probably). You can almost always find a salad but there's only so much salad a person can eat. Try asking if they can substitute or modify- a lot of places are getting much cooler about working with you.

6. If at any point you start feeling overly tired, bruising easily, etc., you might have low iron/anemia. You can avoid this with vitamins and making sure you get enough iron from legumes, tofu, etc.

7. Family gatherings: if your family is carnivorous, holidays suck. I always make or buy cool veggie side dishes that can pass for a main course and that other people will like (risottos,pastas, rice dishes) and so far so good- I'm happy and everyone loves the sides, veggie or not.

Oddly enough, you will find that your weight stays on the low side after it stabilizes (you feel like you eat more, but you don't gain anything).

Hope it helps.

Answer 3

I have lost the same by just switching to vegan so I think it is the food.I lost a lot of weight years ago when i went from omnivore to vegetarian. Aw, good luck with your wedding, that is lovely news. Send us a picture here on YA.

You will also find that you have great skin and when you get older you will look younger without fancy creams etc, I'm 34 and look 24!! (most people keep telling me this.) One of my hubby's colleagues just told him that he wasn't old because he was married to me. He said not only was he 32 but that I was two years older than him. She was dumbfounded!!

Answer 4

vegans are so full of mis information. you digest every bit of animal fat you put in your body. there are some by products but fats not one of them so you can take your sticking to your ribs nonsense and sell it to some other vegan. as for meat being the only product we have to cook to sterilize it, that is cr$p information as well. i agree improper handling of meat is dangerous. you can eat meat raw. i don't cause the cow doesn't stand still while im biting it. i say be a vegetarian cause the meat industry sucks make sense but a little meat in your diet isn't bad for you.meat speeds up your metabolism and gives you a few vitamins the average lazy vegetarian is lacking

Answer 5

Did you ever hear the expression ...it sticks to your ribs? well this is not just a made up phrase..fat from meat actually clogs your arteries , and so to speak sticks to your ribs and many other areas..some remains undigested and rotting in your intestines...when you become a vegetarian you will start to lose the fat ..it will work out self out..as for your weight lose now..maybe you are more conscious of what you are eating and you are not putting animal fat in your body ..keep up the good work..your body will thank you as well as the cows, pigs,sheep,etc...!!

Answer 6

it is because of the diet, but if you go back all of a sudden to your old eating habits you'll gain that weight quickly, if you want to mantain it then start slowly with protein and fat or you'll lose all the work... also you have been eating more or more often than usual and this healthy diet makes your body feel full, so you don't have to worry too much, worry if you start seeing your hair fall off or your skin get very dry, or if you cant sleep... then it might be a health issue, not an effect of the diet!

Answer 7

This is about the diet they are touting on the cover of Woman's Weekly that you find in the checkout line of the grocery. The American Idols lost weight doing this very thing......
The poster that says about gradually adding back the protein is right on the money too.

Answer 8

The first month I became vegan, I dropped 10 lbs.