will I lose weight by becoming a vegetarian?

Question

Thank you for the great answers on how should i tell my dad that i want to be a veagetarian. Well i need a veggies point of view on this. will i feel better becoming a vegetarian? and will i lose weight? i am not over weight but i am almost there. THANKS FOR THE GREAT ANSWERS!

Answer 1

With any well balanced and nutritious diet you will loose weight. I am a vegetarian who could use to loose a little weight; unfortunately I realize that my diet isn’t as good as it could be. If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables it is likely that you will loose weight, but if you eat a lot of processed foods and carbohydrates (I’m guilty myself) you will likely maintain your weight or even gain weight. I’ve been a vegetarian for a little over two years now and have maintained my weight. I have intergraded more fruits and vegetables into by diet than before, but I still don’t eat enough of them. If you are like me you will likely not loose weight.

About feeling better, I believe that becoming a vegetarian will make anyone feel better. Not eating meat (or any products you have to kill for in my case) seems to make you more energetic and just feel healthier. The old phrase you are what you eat is true, especially vegetarians. If you are eating more nutritious food you will feel better! Also many of us feel better because we realize we are helping the environment and the animals themselves. Believe it or not I just read something in TIME magazine explaining how vegetarians help stop global warming because the meat industry causes so many gas emissions. If that doesn’t make you feel good what will?

I have been a strict vegetarian for a few years now and have many friends who are or have become vegetarians. Becoming or being a vegetarian is not some miracle diet, but is overall better for you than a meat eating diet.

Good luck with your GREAT new lifestyle!

Answer 2

I have never seen anyone lose weight by becoming a vegetarian. And to keep it off. If you eat a balanced diet, and avoid the foods that makes one fat you will lose weight. Remember. Diet AND exercise go hand in hand .
Becoming a vegetarian requires discipline. You would have to eat a lot of vegetables to get the amino acids that meat have. Meat has the amono acids already broken down for you so you would not have to eat some many vegetables to get it.
The older you become, the harder it is to lose weight. Your age is a deciding factor, along with body fat, current weight, etc. I suggest you find a dietian or refer to your family physian for more help on your decision to lose weight.

Answer 3

For someone who is already overweight, becoming a vegetarian may still continue to be overweight but chances are, u won't increase any more weigth due to your diet. The fat that accumulates in your body will continue to stay there unless u do something to burn them off like exercise. If u just eat and laze around all day long with hardly any activities, your weight will stay the same even if u turn vegatarian. For your case, become and vegetarian but do a certain amount of exercise or get more active by not seating around too much, it will help to burn off your excess fat a little at a time, it will help u to reduce weight over time. Of cos the more exercise u do, the faster your weight will be reduce. Good Luck !!

Answer 4

Vegetarians can still be overweight as it is very tempting to substitute all of your meat with pasta and bread. As pasta and bread are full of carbohydrates, your body turns them to glucose for energy, and if that doesn't get burned off it gets stored as fat! A lot of vegetarian foods contain cheese and eggs as well, which will also make you gain weight, if eaten in excess.

The best thing to do is to eat a well balanced diet, mainly comprising of vegetables, nuts, seeds and pulses and to keep starchy and fatty foods to a minimum.

Don't be tempted to crash diet because it's bad for your health, and will just go straight back on afterwards (I speak from experience). If you follow a sensible diet, the weight will gradually come off and stay off :-)

Answer 5

(-: Soda and some potato chips are completely vegetarian. I think it's easier to get fat on a vegetarian diet because you must really think about what you are eating, and because it can be more intensive to prepare vegetables. I know some vegetarians who just said "to heck with it!" and ate junk most of the time. Vegetarian junk, but still....

OTOH, I knew one vegetarian who was very conscientious about her diet on the whole, and she was in great shape. She eventually started eating fish again for her health, though.

I think it's possible to eat a vegetarian diet that makes you feel great and keeps you the proper weight -- but it's as much work as eating a omnivorous diet that makes you feel great and keeps you the proper weight!

Answer 6

You may lose weight, but it depends on what you eat. If the main kinds of meat you were eating before were chicken, turkey, fish, and lean pork, you probably were already a healthy eater. Cutting out bacon and greasy burgers will definitely make you lose weight. Sometimes vegetarians leave out protein and they end up overcompensating with carbs, which will in time make you lose muscle mass and replace it with fat.

Answer 7

Only if you watch what you eat, cut out the fats, and increase your exercise. Ifyou've been eating alot of meat then you might find yourself losing a little bit, but many vegetarians I know are obese because they've been under the misnomer that eating vegetarian alone will make them thinner! When you look at pasta, rice, beans, cheese and such, you can certainly put on weight eating them! jWill you feel better? Sure! But you'll still have to monitor how much you eat and of what and how much you exercise. And, please, make sure you eat foods rich in fibre, protein, and good carbs!

Answer 8

well in that issue yes and no.. you will lose muscle as muscle is protein your body cannabolizes itself fro fuel if u dont have enuf protein therefore the muscle will be used as fuel and eaten up so to speak.. you think you will lose weight and to a point u do.. of body fat but then a vegetarian not knowing about protein intake often starves the body and then u lose the muscle.. so if u go veggie.. then eat beans legumes lentils tofu,nuts, cashew butter instead of peanut butter.. dairy if ur not lacto vegetarian.. like cheese for protein..eggs like 2 yolks to 3 eggwhites omelette so if ur going that way as I did. then eat your protein but make sure u move or work out to tone up what ya lose .. as well...protein powder shakes for lunch or dinner are good with blended up fruits yogurts to sweeten it .. pro lab is good strawberry or choc pudding -flavors- protein stops carb cravings and hold u over.. but u need some carbs.. like sweet pototo or half a bagel not chips rice pastas..

Answer 9

It actually depends on wat kind of vegetarian food u eat.Some food are deep fried which is not good at all.So try avoiding things that are the common causes of weight gain.A good diet is something that is not too oily and low on the carbs.I have been a vegetarian for 24 years now.And i have avoided deep fried products.I stick to steam,boiled or lightly stir fried veggies.All the best:)

Answer 10

You may or may not. I only lost five lbs when I went veggie - of course I still consume dairy, which is probably why I haven't lost much weight . It really depends on how many calories you consume and burn...

And, seriously, DON'T eat a lot of sodas and chips ... -rolleyes-