Please help i am a vegetarian i have a question?!
Please help i am a vegetarian i have a question?
i have been a vegetarian for a yr now i need help i need i guess like a balanced diet because i need to loose weigt and no i didnt just become a vegetarian to loose weight because thats stupid so please help any suggestions?
Answers:
Contrary to popular belief, a vegetarian diet is not a weight loss diet. Young people tend to rely on cheese and starches to fill them up. cheeses add way too much fat.
Curb the "white foods" breads, potatoes, rices & pastas. Add in more green foods like broccoli, edamame, zucchini, green beans, spinach,
Include protien in the form of soy, tofu, light cottage cheese, yogurt and edamame .
Drink at leat 6-8 glasses of water a day. That will flush extra sodium from your system
While its easy to say, the answer is "eat less - move more" Don't say Ill exercise 3 times a week - because you let it slide till saturday and you need to make up three days. Instead, tell yourself. If two days pass and I haven't exercised, TODAY is the day i HAVE to go. Walk Walk Walk everywhere. Take stairs when possible. Park farther from stores and walk in
I was a vegitarian for the majority of my life, until I got very ill due to poor diet and lifestyle. Dont let this happen to you. A vegitarian diet is very healthy if you do it correctly. My vegitarian diet turned into more of an eating disorder than anything else. Also i'll add that it is not a "diet" but more of a lifestyle.
Anyway, yes ... you should drink LOTS of water ... all day long. If you dont drink enough water you retain it. It will help flush toxins from your body. Eliminate Soda from your diet all together if possible, and if it's not possible be sure to drink DIET soda.
You do not need to eliminate carbs from your diet all together, but it is best if you limit them. If you are going to eat bread, eat whole wheat instead of white.
Stay away from processed food as much as possible. Eat plenty of organic fruits and vegatibles.
Try not to eat past 8 pm, or at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
PORTION CONTROL IS IMPORTANT!! try to eat in as much as possible. You dont have to eat food that tastes like cardboard, just dont go back for second or third helpings. Also try not to snack on greasy or salty or sugary foods throughout the day. If you need a snack eat an apple or some carrot sticks. Dont skip meals, you should be eating three meals a day with a light mid morning and afternoon snack. Try protein shakes for breakfast if you dont have much time, but make sure if you are using a powder you use WHEY protien. I usually mix the powder with yogurt and fresh fruit.
Also, you will not loose weight just by dieting or exercising. They come hand in hand. Walk as much as you can throughout the day. Make sure you're doing some kind of cardio activity a few times a week for 30-45 minutes. Finding something you enjoy makes it alot easier.
Limit your alcohol intake.
Check out some vegetarian recipe websites, they tend to have quite a few good dishes that are easy to prepare.
Hope some of this helps, good luck!
Ask yourself why your diet is imbalanced; what are you eating too much of? Then eat less of that and add more of what you are not getting, such as vegetables & whole grains, beans. Eating less junk foods, i.e., processed, sugar & white flour is essential too. Here are some meal plans to help you out: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/meal...
If you still eat dairy & eggs, try to cut down, as they contain bad fats (saturated). The milk industry just got in trouble for falsely advertising that it makes you lose weight.
Contrary to popular belief, all fats are not bad. You'll need to add good fats, such as Omega-3. Ground flaxseed is the best source. Sprinkle it on cereal, smoothies, etc.
"Flax fat can be slimming. Fats high in essential fatty acids, such as flax, increase the body's metabolic rate, helping to burn the excess, unhealthy fats in the body."
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041700...
Yes, water is important, but don't overdo it. Drink it between meals as it dilutes digestive juices. Eat enough freshly prepared vegetables & fruits with your meals which naturally contain digestible amounts of water.
To help with portion control eat slower, chew your food well. Also, use smaller plates, bowls, etc. Studies have shown how we tend to eat with our eyes first, you know the saying, "eyes are bigger than stomach."
you need to eat some meat and quit worrying so much about how to get the nutrients that are in meat
Without knowing more details about what you're eating, I can't really be specific, but here is some general information: In being a vegetarian, it's really important to make sure you're eating a balanced diet. That means plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (don't forget your leafy greens!) as well as whole grains and you want to make sure you're getting enough protein. Try experimenting with several rice-and-bean dishes. Cut down or eliminate any processed foods that you're eating. You might want to figure out your metabolic type (protein, carb or mixed) and adjust your diet accordingly. That might help with your weight issue. And make sure you're exercising regularly. Good luck!
I think what everyone else said is very good advice.
Here's how to make it easier to eat well:
Read the ingredients and nutritional info on packets. You'll soon learn which foods are very fatty and sugary, and which are high in protien.
Each time you eat, have a small amount of protein (like yoghurt, tofu, cheese, meat substitute, etc) and a small amount of carbohydrate (bread, rice, potatoes, etc), then fill up on lots of fruits and veggies. Protein makes you feel full and builds muscle, carbohydrate gives you energy. Both are very good for you, just don't eat your whole daily allowance of each in one meal.
Whole grains give you more bang for your buck. You feel full longer if you eat wholegrain bread, wholemeal pasta, and brown rice than if you eat the white version of each. So you're getting the same amount of carbohydrate, but you'll end up eating less often.
Let yourself have some treats, just not all the time. Don't ban yourself from eating foods you enjoy, just don't eat lots of them, and not too often.
don't eat junk food,and also avoid cheese as cheese is the main reason to increase weight,if possible eat home cocked food special boiled food for 2 week and let me know how much weight you loose all the best.
Eat a variety of "whole foods," with plenty of beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Avoid unhealthy foods like trans fats, which are usually listed as partially hydrogenated oils. Deep-fried foods often contain trans fats. Choose margarines that use nonhydrogenated oil, like Earth Balance or Smart Balance. Although a diet consisting of Coke and French fries is technically vegan, you can't be healthy if you eat nothing but junk food. Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria, and some experts believe that vegetarians used to get plenty of this vitamin from bacteria in drinking water. Since drinking water is now treated with chemicals that kill the bacteria, it's important to make sure that you get enough vitamin B12 from fortified foods (like most brands of soy or rice milks, some breakfast cereals, and many brands of nutritional yeast,also in eggs and milk) on a daily basis or by taking a sublingual B12 tablet of 10 mcg per day.
Iron-beans, dark green leafy vegetables (like spinach),whole grain breads, Also eat something with vitamin c when you eat something with iron, it increases absorption
Calcium-dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, soymilk)
Protein-Isn't really hard to get, just eat a variety of foods, good sources are beans, brown rice, nuts, whole grain breads, soy foods
Omega-3 fatty acids-flax seeds/oil,walnuts,canola oil
Zinc-pumpkin seeds (best source), beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and whole grain cereals
Selenium-Brazil nuts are a particularly good source of selenium, so try to eat a couple every day. Eating a small bag of mixed unsalted nuts can be a convenient way to get your daily selenium intake, but make sure it contains Brazils. Bread and eggs also provide some selenium.
Vitamin D- Vitamin D, often called the sunshine vitamin, is another common deficiency in those not drinking vitamin D fortified milk. Synthetic vitamin D is added to both cow’s milk and most brands of soy milk today.
Vitamins A (beta carotene),C, K, E and Folate-variety of fruits and veggies
Iodine-Iodine is a trace mineral that's important for healthy thyroid function. Table salt is the most common and reliable source of iodine in Americans' diets. (However, sodium in processed foods usually does not contain iodine.) If you don't consume table salt, you can get iodine from a multivitamin or from kelp tablets.