Concerns about being vegetarian again

[rmdevotion]

I am becoming a vegetarian. I don't need convincing but I have many concerns. I was once a vegetarian for 8 years but returned to eating meat again when I became too malnourished and lost too much weight. I have a very high metabolism and have been very under weight my entire life. I personally wish I had a problem with being overweight, the decision to go vegetarian would be so much easier. I have despised meat since I was a kid and always felt it was morally wrong. My parents force fed me meat when I was 6 otherwise I would have been vegetarian at an early age. I suppose I forced myself to be unconscious all over again about the cruelty behind meat because I felt I needed to eat it again due to my tremendous weight loss and my physical well being. I was recently made conscious again by paying a visit to PETA's website and watching many horrific videos. My biggest concern is losing weight. What do I eat to prevent this from happening? Also, Is it possible for a person in my situation to be on a vegetarian or vegan diet and gain weight? Any supportive feedback would be greatly appreciated.
:help:

- R

[epski]

Hi, first of all.

Second of all, you're going to want to focus on getting enough calories.

A low-fat vegetarian diet is also low in calories. If you're not getting enough, you will be malnourished. Make sure you're intaking adequate fruits, vegetables, legumes, and so on, strictly for the nutrients. Additionally, you can pad your diet with more calorie-dense foods like dried fruits. I'd eat 3-4 healthy vegan meals a day, snacking on dried fruits and nuts (and stuff like that) in between. It's hard to get more specific without knowing your particular circumstances, but I'm sure that would be a step in the right direction.

[rabid_child]

A vegetarian diet does not equal weight loss. There are plenty of vegetarians of all different shapes and sizes. Weight gain or loss is about calories in v. calories expended. Vegetables and fruits contain less water than meats and are less calorie dense than meats, so you have to make sure you are getting enough calories.
Can you give an example of what you would eat in a day? Even as a meat eater, so maybe someone can offer some suggestions as to how to achieve the equivilent as a veg*n.

[Fromper]

As a new vegetarian, I recently read "The New Becoming Vegetarian" by Melina and Davis. It gives a lot of good advice about nutrition, including things like the vegetarian version of the food pyramid.

I've been vegetarian for a month now, and my weight has actually been constant. I was kinda hoping to lose 5 or 10 pounds, but it hasn't happened yet. :|

As the others have said, it's all about the calories. You'll probably eat lots of lower calorie stuff like veggies naturally as part of a veggie diet. It's the stuff like bread, beans, and nuts that can help with bulk.

Or just think of all the diet stuff you keep hearing about from people trying to lose weight and do the opposite. :p For instance, I bought some vegan dark chocolate from Whole Foods today - there goes my hope of losing those 5 pounds. :D

--Fromper
:juggle:

[epski]

Oh, yeah. And don't get me started on vegan cookies, brownies, and soy ice cream...

[synergy]

Like everyone is saying, it's all about calories.
If you choose low calorie, high volume foods then you may feel too full to eat enough to support your high metabolism.

Foods that are high in good fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, nut butters, olive oil, etc. will help you eat more calories without adding bulk.

You might want to get ' Becoming Vegetarian' By Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. There is a chapter in there about gaining weight on a veg*n diet, as well as some recipies.

The trick any diet is gettng the the right balance of calories and nutrients to suit individual needs.
You may want to keep a food log and count calories for awhile to make sure you are getting adequate nutrition. An online food calculator like the one at fitday.com is helpful (although not 100% accurate).

Good luck and congrats on decided to investigate vegetarianism again!

[Kaleigh]

Like everyone has said, it all comes down to calories. If you know you have a fast metab, you need to make sure you are getting enough cals in. Write down what you are eating the first week. If you lose weight, you know you need to eat more. Keep on writing down your food until you no longer are losing weight. Thats how much you should be eating on a veg diet.

Good luck to you! :sunny:

[rmdevotion]

Thank you so much for all of the helpful feedback. I think in the past I just wasn't disciplined enough. I would become busy or stressed out and wasn't watching what I ate. It's not just my metabolism that's an issues, it's also just the type of person I am. Sometimes overly stressed and over emotional, it tends to affect my diet.
I am definitely going to read all of the books suggested and take in all the advice. I appreciate all the support!!

[Littlelove]

Going by other threads I've read on here and elsewhere, vegetarians are scientifically proven to be healtheir but not necessarily thinner.

A tablespoon of oil has about 119 calories in it. If you make a dressing with lots of oil (and there are plenty of healthy ones to chose from and which taste different for variety) and use it on salads and veggies, also adding avocado, toasted or raw nuts and seeds, I'm sure that would be a good start.

Also you can have yummy things like dried fruits, dark chocolate and nut butters each day to supplement the fresh fruits and veggies and wholegrains you'll be enjoying :) Try to focus on higher calorie fruits like bananas and mangoes perhaps and starchy veggies to supplement your lovely green ones.

If you have trouble with feeling too full before you've managed to get enough calories into you for the day, be careful not to eat things like low calorie veggie soups/ salads/ simple veggie stews as these fill you up loads for next to no calories. If you are so inclined, think about the veg*n snack bars which can have several hundred calories each and are in all the health food shops.

Also make sure you start eating early enough in the day, make sure you have breakfast and if you can't face it try natural fruit juices or make/ buy smoothies with bananas, soymilk and blend in nut butters perhaps.

Enjoy! And well done for coming back *home* :)

[DoveInGrey]

Wish I had your problem! I've got the opposite one, which just goes to show yes it's possible!

Keep eating little and often, eat plenty nuts, seeds, carbs etc

Also, maybe go see your doc and try to find out if you have any underlying problems casing the rapid weightloss, like an overactive thyroid etc.