trying to adopt a vegetarian (possibly vegan) lifestyle but I'm rather skinny?!

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Meat is important. You don't have to be a vegan to be healthy. Just watch what you eat. Eating healthy doesn't mean being extreme.

As long as you're eating a variety of foods and at least 2000 calories you'll be fine. Some vegetarians aren't healthy because they're either lacking a nutrient or don't realize that they're not eating enough.
Actually, most vegetarians actually gain weight in the beginning because they eat too many carbohydrates. So many sure you're not eating too many (no more than 200 if you're eating 2000 calories).
I'd recommend tracking your calories for the first couple of weeks, and follow the vegetarian food pyramid: http://www.vegetariannutrition.org/food-…

I'm in the same boat as you– I was 100 lbs (severely underweight as far as my BMI goes). After turning to veganism, though, I actually gained 7 lbs because I started loving cooking/baking again and my digestion is a lot more regular(I was allergic to something as an omnivore, apparently). I'm much healthier than I was before.
The soy thing is a myth– if grown organically at least– there are no real compelling studies to show it causes any disorders or negative health effects.

It really depends if you're able to plan out meals properly. Make sure you're receiving all of the fats, sugars, and amino acids your body needs to keep functioning. You can e-mail me on Y!A if you have any questions if you're unsure about anything. ^_^

Vegan/Raw Vegan.

Lol, I gained weight after I became a vegetarian.. But I eat a lot of junk food and I don't exercise.

eat loads of peanut butter pita breads, and pasta with alfredo sauce. you'll be fine.

SOy is good, don't listen to them

you will not loose weight as long as you have a good healthy caloric intake. there are plenty of things you can eat that will keep some meat on your bones. you can eat lots of grains, brown ice, quinoa, polenta, whole grain breads, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, oatmeal, beans, cereal w/ almond or rice milk, pasta. just make sure you are eating lots of fruits and veggies, leafy greens. you need a colorful assortment of fruits and veggies.

don't listen to the soy opposition. you have to realize how powerful the meat ranchers and dairy farmers are. they are the ones that are paying for these "studies and reports" because they are losing money on people educating themselves and becoming healthy vegetarians and vegans. healthy vegetarians and vegans live longer than unhealthy meat and dairy eaters.

Weight Loss
Veganism and vegetarianism are not weight loss diets. Sure, if you don't eat enough calories, you'll lose weight, but that's true as an omnivore, too. It is only a myth that vegans are skinny, pale and weak...it's not reality. There are even vegan bodybuilders, vegan professional athletes...trust me, plants can fuel your lifestyle just fine.

Soy
There's nothing inherently bad about soy. As others have said, the meat industry is powerful. That does not mean, however, that a person should base his/her diet on soy, use soy as his/her main protein source or eat soy if s/he notices it doesn't sit well with him/her (soy is one of the top 8 food allergens).

Fruit
It's only thanks to fad diets like Atkins that people are scared of fruit and starchy vegetables...the low-carb diet craze really did (and still does) make people crazy. Not only do they want to believe a pound of bacon is healthier and better for weight loss than 2 apples, but people who buy into the low carb crap are missing the point: PROCESSED carbs are the bad guys here, not natural carbs like fruits, vegetables, etc..

The reason people tend to lose weight when going vegetarian or vegan is because they don't eat well. For example, they'll try to base their diets on fruits, vegetables, beans, and some whole grains- and totally miss out on things with calories and nutrients- oils, nut butters, seeds, dairy, etc.
So if you watch how much you eat and do not change your calorie intake, you will not lose weight. If your calorie intake drops, you lose weight. Simple as that. I have tracked my calorie intake for several years, so when I went vegan I lost a total of... wait for it... half a pound. Which was probably water weight, because I tend to eat less sodium now.

You do not have to be unhealthy either. Eat a balanced diet and exercise, and you will be as healthy as you can! I am an endurance runner, and I run Varsity on XC, indoor track, and track at my school. I've had no problems with my diet. Many athletes like Brendan Brazier (triathlete) and Scott Jurek (ultramarathoner) are vegan too.

As I see it, the main reason to eat fruit is a variety of antioxidants. If you don't go completely overboard, and eat lke 8 servings a day, there shouldn't be any effects. Every study I know of shows that people who eat more fruits and veggies are healthier.
Fruits, for me, also help with getting my sweet tooth without going crazy on brownies and what-have-you. They also are helpful in getting enough potassium, and calcium-fortified orange juice is good if you are a vegan.
A cup of apple slices has 13g sugar; a cup of raspberries has 5g; a medium banana has 14g. An average dessert has almost 30g; fruit really isn't that awful, especially if you pick smart.

Soy products do contain phytoestrogens (body mistakes it for estrogen) and goitrogens (interfere with thyroid function). Just like fruit, it has its benefits: it's good for iron, is a complete protein, and depending on what form you're talking about- fake meats, soy yogurt, tofu- can have any number of nutrients- calcium, b vitamins, or things like probiotics. Studies show it also lowers the risk or heart disease.
So, just like fruit- and most other foods- it has a good side, and a bad side- and in my opinion as long as you don't go over 1-2 servings a day, and don't have any hormonal problems, you'll be fine.

Daisy, about grains not having as many calories, many do.
1 cup brown rice = 215, 1 c roasted chicken meat= 230, 1 c quinoa =220, 1 c canned shrimp = 128, 1 c pasta = 250, 1 c oatmeal = 300
If you're talking full-fat beef, then obviously no, but people shouldn't eat much of that anyways.
I'd also like to point out vegetables and grains are not the only thing in a veg*n diet.

cousin's an RD and I emailed her a lot when I first went vegan, I felt almost like a client :)
I'm vegan

1. when eating a good balanced diet, one's body will also become balanced as well as a balanced weight.
2. My weight didn't change at all between a crappy meat and dairy junk food filled diet and a healthy balanced diet (I've been the same weight for decades) but I exercise a lot, before and after the diet change; exercise gave me a balanced body weight, and my diet made me healthier.
3. If you start off as overweight, and change your diet for the better, sure, your weight will go down. But if you are already at your optimum weight, no, it will stay the same. Generally speaking. I've talked to some people that actually gained lean muscle weight from a better diet without any additional exercise.
4. fruit is very good for you - eat lots of it - especially organic fruit. Human digestion is best designed to digest fruit, second to that would be dark green vegetation.
5. highly processed soy or any other highly processed food is bad, but unprocessed soybeans are good for you - they are just beans you know.

"I've recently just been completely turned off from meat...." That's like saying "I've been turned off of vegetables." There are dozens of veggies and there are dozens of ways to eat meat. Do I hear an eating disorder here?

Most adults strive for about 2,000 calories a day. If you're active or a growing teenager, you may need 2500. It's tough to get that many calories every day on a real vegetarian diet. Vegetables and grains don't have a lot of calories as compared to meat. So, yeah, you'd probably lose some weight. I'd really suggest you start keeping a food diary and track your calories.

Sugar is fructose whether it's from the sugar bowl or a piece of fruit. Too much of it can cause your sugar levels to spike and eventually lead to insulin problems.

Soy in moderation is probably ok if you're a normal, healthy person. Soy does contain some properties that have been tied to early puberty in girls. They do promote it to menopausal women for help with hot flashes, etc., so it must have some sort of hormonal properties. So you shouldn't build your diet on fake soy meats, soy milk, soy cereals, etc. Soy is also high in oxalates. Oxalates inhibit your body's ability to absorb iron and calcium....not a good thing as those are hard to come by in veggies.

ADDED: Are you turned off on veggies and grains to learn that thousands of bunny rabbits, field mice, ground nesting birds, etc., are killed in the planting, cultivation, harvesting and storage of those grains and veggies? If not, why is it ok to kill field mice, but not cattle? And no, it's not an "accident" that animals die in the fields. Farmers know they're there. YOU know they're there. Yet I've never seen anyone out demonstrating around a wheat field to stop the farmer from harvesting the wheat for their bread. But, man, they get ticked off at the idea of a cow being killed for my dinner!

From the link:

"Animals of the field are killed by several factors, including:

1. Tractors and farm implements run over them.
2. Plows and cultivators destroy underground burrows and kill animals.
3. Removal of the crops (harvest) removes ground cover allowing animals on the surface to be killed by predators.
4. Application of pesticides.

So, every time the tractor goes through the field to plow, disc, cultivate, apply fertilizer and/or pesticide, harvest, etc., animals are killed. And, intensive agriculture such as corn and soybeans (products central to a vegan diet) kills far more animals of the field than would extensive agriculture like forage production, particularly if the forage was harvested by ruminant animals instead of machines. So perhaps fewer animals would be killed by producing beef, lamb, and dairy products for humans to eat instead of the vegan diet envisioned by Regan."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/9…