How To Stay Vegetarian Without Losing Weight?!
How To Stay Vegetarian Without Losing Weight?
I'm 14 years old. Around 100 + lbs. 5'8" tall.
I have been a Vegetarian since June 23rd, 2007.
I never really liked meat. Recently my mother and I had a discussion about my decision and I happily had my request granted. [:
Now theres a problem:
My mother keeps stating that I've lost weight, and appear 'pale' with under-eye circles...
1) I've always been pale, due to my habit of staying inside.
2) I usually stay up late
3) I've always been skinny
So really, I do not notice the difference, other than in my health.
I feel healthy, But am I?
How can I stay Vegetarian, without losing weight?
Thank you for reading! <3
However, I don't use yahoo. Only for questions as such.
So ask to contact me on my messengers at any time!
-Mucho appreciated. [:
Answers:
A person's weight is influenced by many individual factors such as metabolic rate (how fast you burn calories), nutritional habits, and level of physical activity, for example.
As for myself, I have also always been lean and do not gain weight easily. Ironically, one of the only times in my life that I actually gained weight was when I became a vegetarian- I'm not talking about major weight, maybe 5 pounds. My theory is that I needed to eat more food to get full, since meat tends to have a lot of calories compared to most veggie-based food. This was ten years ago, and I'm still at a similar weight, although I gained a bit more due to lifting weights- muscle is dense and therefore building it makes a person heavier.
My advice it to monitor your weight, and be mindful of nutrition. There are a lot of questions and answers relating to vegetarian nutrition here. In general, it's very simple- with a healthy diet it's almost impossible not to get enough protein, just make sure you get your vitamin B12. Often people have the opposite issue of gaining unwanted weight, which can be caused by eating too much "junk" food. If you want to gain weight in a healthy way, try doing some weight training. Lastly, lack of enough sleep is a direct cause of circles under the eyes, so get some good rest.
Congrats on beginning your vegetarian journey! The more you learn about being a healthy vegetarian, the more you can ease your mom's (and your own) concerns. Keep it up!