Vegetarian diet??!
Answers: I have been a Vegetarian for like 2 years now, but i don't think have really been eating that healthy. I do exercise(i ride horses everyday!). I am kind of a picky eater(i don't like spicy foods, or a lot of different kinds vegetables, but I do love brocolli(fav food) ) I am overweight I am 5'3" and like 170. I'd really like to find a way to shed pounds while staying a veggie. Most of the diets involve meat and aren't veggie friendly. So does anyone have any weight loss diets that are vegitarian. Also any recipes and tips would be very helpful.
1) Cut out the sugar (cookies, cakes, ice cream, any sweets, and fruits -- for a couple of weeks, anyway)
2) Cut way down on fats (butter, oil, etc.)
3) Cut down on carbs/starches (eat only whole-grain -- and a small portion!) (Note: bananas have a lot of carbs! Strawberries and other berries don't!)
4) It wasn't clear whether or not you eat eggs and dairy.
If you eat dairy, cut down on cheese (and only eat low-fat), have low-fat milk, stop eating ice cream (or only do it once a month).
If you eat eggs, don't eat the yolks.
5) If you cook, don't cook with butter (instead use a little olive oil). Best cooking method is steaming.
6) If you have trouble with portion control, eat a big salad at every meal before eating. And make your own salad dressing! Many have added sugars. (Oil & vinegar is best/simplest. Or just a spritz of good balsamic vinegar -- I like the one from Costco that's about $20, but super yummy).
7) Fill up on fiber! (That comes from salad.) Then you'll feel full.
8) Use herbs and sauces (watch out for sugars -- read the labels!) to enhance veggies. Just because you don't like spicy doesn't mean you don't get to have different flavors. (Try jarred sauces, reading the labels for added sugars to avoid. Trader Joe's has a variety of "simmer sauces" that you can cook food in that adds wonderful flavor -- like the garam masala, which is not spicy.)
9) Don't forget to take your vitamins! Make sure you get enough protein.
10) Applying what you like to different dishes can improve the variety of your diet. For example, cooking in an "Italian style", you could heat 1 TBS. olive oil in a skillet, add chopped garlic, add a chopped favorite veggie, stir a few minutes, and if it's not cooked enough for you, add wine/water/veggie broth and cover for a few minutes to steam. Or you could add tomatoes and herbs like basil and finish the cooking that way.
If you like tomato sauce, what you can do is make a tomato sauce (olive oil, garlic, a bit of onion, ground tomatoes), then add fresh veggies (chopped) as you like.
11) A last bit of advice: be adventurous! Eat something new every week. Who knows, you may discover a different veggie that will be a wonderful alternative to broccoli!
Good luck!
The best thing to know is that you're not alone. There are many obese vegans/vegetarians. It has less to do with meat and more to do with dairy and sugar. Also, do you replace alot of meat with pasta?
Counting calories is the boring way but works.
Also, South Beach is supposed to allow vegetarian "meats" in the diet instead of real meat.
You need to drink more water. Stay away from processed sweets and preserved foods. In fact stay away from all things that have white sugar. Stick to fresh vegetables and fruits. Also, you may need to increase your exercise to include 1-2 miles per day of wallking or even adding weights to your regiment.
lay off any processed foods, stick to brown rice, and whole wheat, and make sure your output (exercise) exceeds or matches your input.
Alot of people accosiate bein veggie with bein stick thin. I am in the process of goin veggie and one of my friends told me i could have a six pack if i wanted, she said i had a flat stomach and a great body. i wasn't born with that i had to work. she thinks once i go veggie i will lose all my muscle and become stick thin but i take care of myself. Pretty much do what i do. Riding horses is great exercise for teh horse but u not really. Do cardio exercise (running swimming cycling rowin etc) and do sit ups and etc to tone your muscles and your skin so it is not stretchy. i do 25 mins of rowing, 6 sets of 15 190 degrees sit ups (bench) and tone my thighs for 2 mins each night. i also wake up at 5;30am and take my dog 4 a run around the block. one walks and one runs so i alternate between them.
Learn about Ayurveda. By bringing your body into balance, your excess weight will just come off. Getting in balance means eating the right foods for your body type, eating at the right times, and doing a few little "body intelligence" tricks like knowing the earth's rhythms and going in harmony with them instead of against them. You can look at the site below, or read the book that I read, called "Perfect Weight" by Deepak Chopra.
Best of luck.