illness prevents going veggie?

[Greta]

I have a severe thyroid problem that causes my metabolism to be insane. I have to eat about 4000+ calories a day just to stay alive. (It sounds fun, but when you're being force-fed protein shakes, it's not pretty.) While I'd like to go veggie, I just can't find enough calories and protein in the vegetarian diet. I've tried it a couple of times and the pounds start vanishing. Last attempt, I dropped to 90 pounds and people were asking me if I was anorexic or on drugs.
Part of the problem is that I'm allergic to soy and most high-protein meat replacement products are soy-based.
Any thoughts on whether it's actually possible for me to be vegetarian?

[Mrs. Skittles]

There are a lot of high calorie foods that you can eat nuts, any nut butter, avocados, pasta, cheese (if you eat dairy), etc. As for high protein meat replacers try Quorn.

Check out this website for ideas: http://veg.ca/content/view/170/112/

Try this one as well for tips abot having issues with soy:
http://vegkitchen.com/tips/when-soy-annoys.htm

http://foodallergies.about.com/od/soyallergies/tp/soyfreeprotein.htm

[Hekaterine]

Yes, loads of good fats - avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds. High enough in calories but better for you than animal products too. Thai curries made with coconut milk. Dark chocolate. Banana and peanut butter smoothies.

I'm getting hungry.

[Greta]

I love nuts and seeds, but they metabolize too quickly to allow me to keep any weight on. Avocado is a regular part of my diet, as are cheese, olive oil and pasta. I've eaten so much Quorn I never want to see it again.
I've worked with nutritionists, but we've never hit upon the right combination of vegetarian foods to keep my weight up. At this stage, I try to only eat free-range and organic meats, at least.

[Hekaterine]

Wow, quite a dilemma. I wish you well. It may be that the best you can do is to keep your meat products to a minimum.

[major.walrus]

You know, GU chocolate cakes have about 8000 calories in them each, and you can eat those if you're lacto-ovo.

[Kyo]

I love nuts and seeds, but they metabolize too quickly to allow me to keep any weight on.

I thought nuts metabolize slowly.

You just need to focus on eating a lot of higher calorie foods and at the same time keeping your diet reasonably balanced. I don't see why eating meat would be necessary. There a lot of higher calorie vegetarian foods.

I think it's good for vegetarians to eat some legumes to ensure that they get enough protein. If you are allergic to soy there are many other legumes to choose from.

[myrtlemaneet]

You know, GU chocolate cakes have about 8000 calories in them each, and you can eat those if you're lacto-ovo.

:spew:

[Kyo]

You know, GU chocolate cakes have about 8000 calories in them each, and you can eat those if you're lacto-ovo.

:spew:

I've never tried them, but figure if they have chocolate in them they must be good.

[Clarita Osita]

I love nuts and seeds, but they metabolize too quickly to allow me to keep any weight on. Avocado is a regular part of my diet, as are cheese, olive oil and pasta. I've eaten so much Quorn I never want to see it again.
I've worked with nutritionists, but we've never hit upon the right combination of vegetarian foods to keep my weight up. At this stage, I try to only eat free-range and organic meats, at least.

Well, I'd keep working with the nutritionists. Full fat dairy is high in calories, so there's that, as are eggs. Avocado you've got in there already... Lentils pack a punch, too. For protein shakes you can go for hemp powder. You can try other oils, too (flax, hemp...)

If it's something you really want to do, there's got to be a way to do it I'd think.

[bluefirecrest]

Well, if you ate the high fat foods, but so much cheese, wouldn't that give you high cholesterol? If you have to do whatever the doctor says don't feel bad, even the dalai lama eats meat because of health probs, and I know he feels for the animals.

[Sewwattsnew]

If I were you I would wean off meat slowly. I don't know what your normal meal schedule looks like, but maybe you could cut meat out of breakfast and snacks (unlikely to have meat, anyway?) and only eat it at lunch and dinner. Replace it with the high-fat foods that have been suggested here. Once you feel comfortable with that and find a way to maintain it, then you can start cutting meat out at lunch time, and finally dinner. Just take baby steps. Even if you don't ever become fully vegetarian, you can do a lot of good by just seriously reducing your use of meat. Good luck!

Just curious, aren't you on any sort of thyroid medication? My mom's hypothyroid (the opposite of you), and while she still has to watch what she eats a little, her medication helps her a lot.

[hoodedclawjen]

did you look at the non-soy protein powders- rice protein, hemp protein, pea protein... vega is soy free:

http://sequelnaturals.com/en/vega

[VeggieTown]

I think that hemp seeds are one of the best seeds that you should be eating if you are in search of a good protein source, 3 times a day I eat a small amount.They are great on salads and pasta as well (organic & whole wheat of course and if possible), There is also hemp milk which I aslo think in a very delicious choice especially when you are bombarded with so many soy based products for a milk replacement when trying to go Veggie!!

[Kyo]

If you focus on eating very high calorie fatty foods and don't eat many grains you'd probably get tired of what you're eating because the selection is too limited and maybe not eat as much as you should. Grains are not the highest calorie food but are fairly high and it's easy to eat a lot of them. They are low in fat and that's a good thing because they moderate the fat intake to make a more balance diet. Grains also have a fair amount of protein. Grains are fairly inexpensive. Most vegetarians in the world eat a lot of grains.

[Kyo]

I think that hemp seeds are one of the best seeds that you should be eating if you are in search of a good protein source, 3 times a day I eat a small amount.They are great on salads and pasta as well (organic & whole wheat of course and if possible), There is also hemp milk which I aslo think in a very delicious choice especially when you are bombarded with so many soy based products for a milk replacement when trying to go Veggie!!

I've heard that hemp seeds have a good amino acid balance. I wonder how much protein they have. They don't have it in the USDA database. Maybe because it's related to the evil weed.

[godxisxagnostic]

i can't eat gluten and i gained weight on a lacto-veg diet a while back. i suggest rice protein shakes if you're going for protein. it's easiest on your digestive system.

try seitan for a high protein meat substitute. quorn, as someone mentioned, is soy free and so are sunshine burgers (they're high in calories too). i'd think that peanut butter sandwiches would serve you well. whole wheat bread actually has a lot of protein.

rice is pretty caloric. so are good fats like guacamole and hummus. dairy and eggs have a lot of calories as well, but you probably shouldn't eat too much since they aren't exactly healthy.

i'd try making energy bars yourself with a bunch of nut butter and some rice protein powder and oats. i put protein powder in my oatmeal sometimes, you could add a decent amount of calories like that. milk shakes or rice milk shakes would be good too.