My friend said we should go veggie..?

Question

Just because she was bored, and she wanted to see how long both of us could last. I think that she has it easy because she's Indian, and she eats a lot of spicy rice and stuff (Amazing stuff, isn't it?), and not as much meat as other people. I don't eat a lot of meat, I already eat a lot of veggie snacks/meals. But I wasn't really vegetarian. Will eating a lot more veggies and fruits and protein from the veggie meals cause me to lose weight? Like, compared to a diet of meat? I know, weird question, but I wanted to know. Thank you so much! Oh, and I don't mean to disrespect vegetarians and why they go veggie. We basically were just bored and wanted to try something new and perhaps a bit difficult, so I apologize ahead of time in case I hurt anyone's feelings. Just understand that I didn't do it on purpose, ;). SMILE! Thanks again, bye!

Most of the veggie meals I buy have a good amount of protein in them, so I don't have to worry about that. I do have breakfast, but, on the weekdays, I normally just grab a breakfast bar. On weekends its normally something like eggs and veggie bacon and fruit/veggie juice. So, yeah. And I do realize that going veggie is a commitment. (And I hate Monopoly, ;]) I just want to know how long I could last. I don't mean to degrade the purpose of being a vegetarian, so I apologize.

Yeah, I know eating fruits and veggies doesn't make you vegetarian, but giving up meat does. I just meant that I will be eating a lot more fruits and veggies.

Answer 1

A vegetarian diet can include all of the protein, vitamins and minerals that meat provides AND it allows you to have complete control over how much and what types of fat you eat.

Have you looked into why most people give up meat 100% ? If you are not afraid of the ugly truth, watch this http://meat.org

There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and a vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML_(Draft).htm

Here are some more veg people:
http://www.mikemahler.com/index.html
http://www.vegetarianbodybuilder.com/index2.html
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bios
http://www.andreascahling.com/andreas-about
http://www.billpearl.com/career.asp
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-23-27/Salim-Stoudamire-Runs-on-Broccoli.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig
http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php
http://www.nfl.com/players/rickywilliams/profile?id=WIL271115
http://www.brendanbrazier.com/raceresults/index.html

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If you want to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.

You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
http://meat.org
Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/index.html
Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are
ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.

When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.

A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh
To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.

Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.
A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/eating.html
Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.

A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.
http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.
Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.

If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.

If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

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There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."

Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents or anyone else.

When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.

The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits & veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.

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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:

Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.

Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke

Lunch: vegan "sausage" sandwiches, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.

Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs), kabobs

I use these sites to find recipes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://vegweb.com
http://www.recipezaar.com

Answer 2

Your not vegetarian if you eat fruits and veggies. you are only a vegetarian if you don't eat meat. As I saw some people said you need protein yes you do but if you eat a p.b and j sandwich. Peanuts are a perfect source of protein, but to warn you being a vegetarian is very hard. I don't eat a lot of meat but when i became a vegetarian I didn't realize how hard it was. Well hope this helped a little. Good Luck! :]

p.s

It might make you lose weight but you actually might eat more then normal, so you could stay the same.

Answer 3

Becoming a vegetarian will not make you lose weight if you balance your diet correctly. You can get protein from soy milk, soy beans, tofu, beans, etc. A vegetarian lifestyle, when balanced correctly is more usually more healthy, so if you haven't been eating properly, you will either gain or lose weight depending on what your body needs. If all you eat is fresh fruit and veggies, you will probably lose weight and you won't be healthy. Some vegetarians drink milk and eat eggs and fish etc. I am a vegetarian, and I don't eat animal products period. I eat a lot of tofu, brown rice, fruit, vegetables, pasta, and I drink soy milk. Just be careful if you do this that you get plenty of protein and other nessecary vitamins and stuff found in things besides fruits and veggies. I hope I helped you out, and good luck to you and your friend, have fun!

P.S. A website that can help you out is www.goveg.com, it's a fun website and very informative. It has recipes and other helpful stuff on it..

Answer 4

Well, if you're bored, you should play Monopoly or something. Vegetarianism is a commitment, like marriage, not something decided on the spur of the moment.
You *might* lose weight if you're eating a lot of meat now, but you said you aren't. You might gain weight if you eat a lot of veggie junk food, so it could go either way. You will have to include vegetarian sources of protein if you don't already.

Answer 5

That's the Atkins diet - it's OK, but it's nice to add in some vegetables whenever possible. You can certainly get along just fine without fruits. But you'd want to take multiple vitamins and also some form of fiber - like Metamucil. However.... best to have a nice green salad everyday too. Actually there's a "scientific study" to show anything you might want to show concerning diet.

Answer 6

There are lots of reasons to go veggie and lots of ways to do it. Yes you will be lean unless you make up for the change by eating lots of sugar and flour.
Go to some whole foods grocery stores and have fun. Find new things you have not eaten. Try new fruits and veggies. I like hemp protein to make up for my meats. Yummy. P. F. Changs has a great vegetarian menu. Find really great vegetarian restaurants in your area and try Hummus and Falafel. I think fun is the best reason to try something new. Be brave and really get into it.

Answer 7

Being vegetarian won't always cause you to lose weight. It all depends on your eating habits and what you are eating. You still will need protein. You should still start out having breakfast be the most important meal of the day and then have several small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism flowing...

Answer 8

Being a vegetarian is very healthy. Meat (and eggs and dairy, too!) have cholesterol and the types of fats and proteins they contain have been proven over and over again to contribute to terrible diseases (think cancer and heart disease - the biggest killers in this country!). We're used to eating animal products because that's just how we grew up and everyone else does it. Well, we're starting to find out that it's NOT the right way to eat! There's a lot of other stuff we eat without thinking - sugar everywhere, chemicals and processed food in everything! And we LIVE on food. Our bodies RUN on food. And we hardly even think about what we put in our mouths. You're young and you're in a perfect place to start THINKING. Don't be a zombie like everyone else. THINK about how gross it is we drink milk. Why? No other animals drink milk once they're adults so why do we? Why do so many people have allergies to milk? Could it be because we're not meant to digest milk past infancy? Is it weird that we're the ONLY animal that drinks the milk of another animal? Is it awful that we make cows get pregnant over and over and take their calves and turn them into veal just so we can drink something that HURTS us? And what kind of EGO do we have that we think it's cool to just enslave whole species just for our tastebuds (since we know meat and animal products are not necessary for health and are in fact BAD for our health)? Why are we eating meat when Nature clearly didn't mean for us to eat meat? I mean, we don't have teeth that can bite through raw flesh. We can't run fast enough to catch anything anyway. We don't have claws. And if we did try to take on an animal we could get seriously hurt because our bellies are right there for anything to gouge with their horns or whatever and our necks are totally open to being torn open. We're just not suited for killing or eating animals. Just because we CAN digest meat doesn't mean we're supposed to. Animals that we KNOW are supposed to eat meat (like cats) are totally different. They can eat meat all day long and they're never going to get colon cancer or heart disease the way too much meat does to us. It doesn't rot in their intestines the way it does ours because their intestines are totally different. It just doesn't make sense to eat that crap! And all the chemicals we eat...they've only been making some of that stuff they put in food for a few decades and we're going to eat that instead of just sticking with what Nature MEANT for us to eat and that we know is safe? THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! Sure, it's easier to just eat whatever junk is handy. But do you want your body to be nothing more than a receptacle for cheap, trash food? And what about the crap people put ON their bodies??? Hello - they make medicines in patches because stuff is absorbed into our bloodstreams when it's on our skin. And do we think about what's in our lotions and make-up? If we actually look at the ingredients, can we pronounce them? Do we have a CLUE where they came from? Why don't people respect themselves just a little bit more? I'll tell you why. Because they don't think about it. If you're bored and want to do something different with your diet, by all means go veg! And if you're really bored start doing some investigating. There's tons of info online. Just start googling. And start THINKING!

Answer 9

Since you are eating healthier, you might notice a weight change but most of all your body will become healthier because a lot of people eat meat way too much and it just weighs down the body.
By the way, that sounds like an amazing challenge, have fun with it!
(SMILE!)

Answer 10

Nuh-uh!

You can get all the VItamins from Meat in Tablets, Which can be bought from Supermarkets/Pharmacies, ETC

Vegetarianism is also VERY healthy and would of course lose weight, But maybe you should talk about it with your Mum (Mom) or Dad first. After all, They'll be buying the extra stuff :D

Answer 11

If your doing it for weight benefits the best way to really lose weight is to drink green tea, going vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose weight, it's all about how much calories you eat and such.
Veggie meat doesn't contain as much fat and calories as meat.