Hi Everyone!



I'm a born-again vegetarian. I was a veggie for several years in high school and college until my doctor told me to eat meat again as I had become anemic. After multiple conversations with friends, and actually thinking about what I was eating, I decided to reclaim my vegetarian status a month ago.



While I've been good at eliminating meat from my diet and increasing my vegetable intake, I've seemed to quadruple my carb intake. (The vain part of me was hoping the weight would just fall off once I went veg again.)



Any advice on how to be creative with my fruit/veggie intake while keeping the carbs in check? I've seen a huge improvement with my health - I feel better, my digestive problems are 90% better - I just don't want to get into the habit of replacing meat with bread/pasta/refined sugar, etc.



So grateful for any input! Thanks!!!

At first I read this as "Help! I'm a catholic"





Posting an example of what you eat might help. You also have to realize that not everyone loses weight when they go veg. I didn't lose any until I went vegan.



Without seeing your current diet I can't really give much advise.



As for creativity; You could make some vegetable "pasta" out of sliced veggies, Some vegetable "chips" (sliced veggies) with hummus or dip for snacks, Fruit salad, Marinated mushrooms can replace processed veggieburgers. You could wrap it in lettuce leaves instead of a bun. Some carbs are needed as part of a healthy diet. By "carboholic" how many servings of "carby" foods are you getting in a day? 6-11 servings of grains are considered healthy.

Vit B12 comes from meat, so if you are not eating meat, you HAVE to make sure you are getting it in a vitamin or fortified soy milk. My Silk soy milk has 50% of the day's requirement in each cup, and 30% of the calcium need. I also eat nutritious yeast, but B12 is light sensitive, so if you buy it in a clear bag or from a bin at the store, it's probably no longer a good source for B12. It's best to have more than 1 source (like vitamin and milk) incase, one of them is not really supplying it, you aren't soley dependant on that one place, and have more options to pull from.



Aside from that, everything else you need can come from plants, _IF_ you are actually eating a good FULL VARIETY everyday, including whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables of every color, beans, and other protein sources from soy and seitan. Eating can not just be the ABSENCE of meat, and instead loading up on pasta and cheeses, rather, it is the FULLNESS of everything ELSE, in all colors. When you approach food, you have to be on a treasure hunt, there to ferret out those nuggets of life that your body needs to repair itself each day.

For breakfast, I had 2 large shredded wheat bisquits with soy milk, covered with 2oz of strawberries + 1oz of blueberries. What did you have?

Technicality: Vitamin B-12 is produced by bacteria.

Thanks so much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!



So heres what my diets been lately. I seem to be pretty good during the week while Im at work, but its at home where I get into trouble.



For breakfast I have plain oatmeal with peanut butter and raisins.

(On the weekends its French toast or pancakes - with strawberries on top.)



Lunch is usually a Trader Joes Vegetable burrito (which has rice and beans as well.) If I go out, its a veggie sandwich, or veggie pizza or sushi with cream cheese filling.



I snack on apples, trail mix, granola bars, pretzels (and sometimes chocolate).



Dinner is where I need the most help. The norm lately has been pasta either angel hair or tortellini, with a salad and garlic bread. So I eat a bowl full of pasta, 2 large pieces of garlic bread, then dive into dessert. (Im trying to curb the dessert because I just feel like crap afterwards.) Dessert is either a fruit cobbler or ice cream. Im trying to make my dinner be more about the salad, with the pasta as a side dish, rather than the other way around.



I guess I just feel really bloated and carb-heavy and would love your opinions.



As for my vitamins Ive added Super-B and Zinc supplements to my daily multivitamin. Is that enough?



Animosity I would love your vegetable pasta recipe. Itsveggietime I love your line Eating can not just be the ABSENCE of meat, and instead loading up on pasta and cheeses, rather, it is the FULLNESS of everything ELSE, in all colors. Im going to keep that in my daily thinking.



Thanks again!!!

Have you tried spaghetti squash? I use it instead of pasta spaghetti sometimes and I can have plenty without feeling I've been run over by the bread truck.

I LOVE spaghetti squash. It's a great substitute for spaghetti!

Atleast I'm not the only one!

Carb advice - if you're going to eat carbs, try to make as many of them whole grain as possible:brown rice, whole wheat pastas, and whole grain breads. Get rid of the white flour stuff - it's pretty much worthless.



Dinner advice - now's the time (summer!) to add lots of veggies and fruits to your menu. The tomatoes are starting to come in here, as well as corn, cantalope, peas, zucchini...yum! Saute some fresh mushrooms and spinach in a bit of olive oil with garlic and basil, and serve it on whole wheat pasta - more veggies than pasta. Have a side of broiled eggplant and you have a wonderful, healthy meal. It's easy to skip the extra bread when there are so many vegetable side-dishes to choose from this time of year. For dessert, have a slice of cantalope or some strawberries and sliced banana. yikes - my keyboard's wet!

>either angel hair or tortellini, with a salad and garlic bread. So I eat a bowl full of pasta, 2 large pieces of garlic bread, then dive into dessert



--sounds like the typical, "I can't eat meat, so I'll have to fill up on whatever's around" syndrome. But remember, you are the one that decides what's around! Do you eat any of the prepared fake meats, or are you against it? If you do, an italian feeling meal I like is to nuke a chick'n pattie till it's not frozen any more, then sautee it on both sides, dollup 2 T of Ragu Lt on top, and sprinkle with shredded soy cheese of the mozarelli type. Turn off skillet and put lid on till cheese melts. But, as soon as you start warming up the patties, and I usually nuke mine just a minute, so they are not frozen inside, then transfer to silverstone skillet - THEN wash, cut off both ends of a small yellow summer squash and slice in slices about finger width. Arrange 1 slc thick in large flate plate and nuke on medium for a few minutes till the insides part stabs without resistance, sprinkle with any seasoning, I'm not vegan and use Molly McButter, but sub whatever you like, you could use Earth Balance, but it'd be a lot of work to dot them each with a little blob of 'butter'. I know there are Paremsian cheese sprinkles in both vegetarian and vegan versions. Throw some salad stuff on a plate, with tomatoes added, and top with fat free italian dressing, then add a tsp of oil (olive or safflower, and a squirt of lime juice. SKIP THE BREAD. Neither the noodles nor the bread you are eating are whole grain and will just set off a cycle of cravings.

Here's a simple pic of it, I thought I'd just eat a little of the summer squash, but it was so good, I went back and ate the rest, and it has very little calories, yet kept me full all night. The salad is already eaten, so not in the pic:



http://s139.photobucket.com/albums/q...mmersquash.jpg

CaliChick, you are a primate. You are SUPPOSED to be a carboholic.

Just stick to unprocessed whole foods as much as possible, and if you want to lose some weight, reduce your fat intake. There is enough protein in your oatmeal that you don't need to add the peanut butter, for example, and the peanut butter has more fat than protein anyway. If desserts make you feel ill, try waiting an hour or two after dinner, and make them fresh fruit instead of fruit cobbler. Again, if you are looking to lose weight, skip the ice cream. Whole food carbohydrates won't make you feel heavy and bloated. Its the fat you are eating that does that.




Its a technicality that is worth repeating!

>Technicality: Vitamin B-12 is produced by bacteria.



--ok, I'll bite. I understand what you are saying, but don't understand what you hope to be the end result. What is the end result message you are trying to deliver, that people will go "yuck! bacteria! then I don't want any B12!" Not all bacteria is bad. Bacteria on the roots of plants is what draws nutrition into the plant from the soil, unless the soil is fertilized with phosphorus, which kills the bacteria and so no nutrients are pulled in. Bacteria works in your intestines, and when you take antibiotics and kill it off, you miss it a whole bunch. What was the result that was hoped for, with a statement left hanging like that, maybe I'm the only one who doesn't get it? Since your response was in answer to my post about how to make sure you get B12, I can only guess that you are against getting any of that bacteria yucky B12, or you are for it and advising to go out and eat bacteria directly to get it. I mean, your statement is so vague, it just hangs there, can you explain what you were trying to get across?

>You are SUPPOSED to be a carboholic



---yea, but not a white refined bread/pasta carboholic! Whole grains that satisfy, instead of set off cycles of not feeling satisfied.

That's why I said to stick to unprocessed whole foods. The terms "carb" and "carbohydrate" should not even be used in reference to refined substances.

Unfortunately, you have to start with what people know, have been taught, whether it was right or wrong, and build from there. It is commonly believed that all that junk out there is carbohydrates, and it is, just most are bad ones. So, people have to have it spelled out that it's just like fats, most fats out there are bad, but there are good ones, and we need some of them everyday. There are plenty of carbs, but we don't need the bad ones, there is a difference, and we need the good ones. So, it's not bad to eat carbs, but if you eat bad ones, it will just create a cycle of never feeling like you can get satisfied, and a need to keep eating, over fullness while still feeling unsatisfied, just plain old feeling ratty and caught in a cycle that self perpectuates itself.

Many people believe B12 comes from meat and therefore think being a vegetarian is not "natural." However, it does not come from meat, it is made by bacteria, and it used to be something we could get readily from the little bit of dirt on our vegetables and in our water (since we now scrub our vegetables and drink clean water, we no longer have that source of B12).



Anyway, stating that B12 comes from bacteria and not meat reassures some people that being vegetarian is perfectly healthy and "natural." At least, that's my take on it.

Thanks, Bells. Sorry, that kind of what I was saying: I did not want to proprogate the idea that B-12 actually comes from meat (Yes, meat happens to contain B-12), because it then leads to the question of if there are any vegetarian sources of B-12. If it came from meat, the answer would be no. In supplements, the B-12 is usually either synthesized or cultured.



I know what you're saying though. I honestly tend to forget that people react immediately to words like "mold" and "bacteria" assuming automatically they are bad. In fact, these very things can be essential to a complete diet. (For example, source of B-12 from a supplement in addition to the food you eat, where the B-12 is derived from bacteria.)

Yes, I did know that, now I can see what you were referring to though, and why you brought it up. I had told my husband that, and since I put out all his breakfast stuff before I go to bed, with great fear on his face, he sincerely asked, "you aren't going to start sprinkling dirt on my cereal now are you?

We also make B12 in the lower part of our own intestines, but it past the area that we are able to absorb it, and it gets 'disgarded'. Ultimately, where it comes from is not going to help, because we aren't going to eat dirt, nor feces, and so, we need to make sure we are getting it thru some form of fortified source or vitamin. And from what I read, using more than one source is best, to be sure. Here's some good links for newbies:



http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html



http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/vegansources



http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...nt-folate.html

In my own personal experience you can eat carbs and a lot of them if they are whole grain. I eat way more carbs than I did when I was omni and the pounds have been coming off.

A typical (school)* day for me is like this...



Breakfast: 2 packs of maple brown sugar instant oatmeal (minus a couple bites for my 1 yr old) or WW bagel w/ light garlic creamcheese or a WW english muffin w/ nut butter



Snack: Homemade trail mix Raw Almonds, Raw Cashews and Banana Chips (maybe some dark chocolate chips too)



Lunch: WW Pasta w/ veggies and marina or Brown Rice and steamed veggies



Snack: Some kind of bar (Luna or Kashi) maybe an apple if I remembered to grab one



Dinner: Sweet Potato w/ marg. & brown sugar, steamed broccoli and a salad w/ dressing of choice.



*I attend classes a couple days a week, on the days I am home I cook 90% or more of my food from scratch.



P.S. I also bake homemade vegan choc. chip cookie bars or brownies at least once a week and eat way more than I should. I do use ww flour though so maybe that helps.



This is my diet well lifestyle... and I have lost 12 lbs. in 2 months. I was 131 and am now 119 (I am 5'5" and very small build female). I do work out though... yoga and pilates couple times a week and go for walks w/ my son on the other days usually.



One thing that I do try to do is not eat a lot of carbs in the evening... they are suppossed to give you energy so why would you eat them late at night.

Good point, Sister, I used to eat a lot at night, and while I usually felt like crud, oddly, I couldn't sleep soundly, because the carbs were giving me just enough energy to keep me awake

Hi! I am similarly struggling. I've been "testing out" vegetarianism - but I'm "carb averse". i know what happens to me. One Croissant and I'm off to the races. I'm really interested in hearing some answers.



Personally, I've been avoiding sugar and flour like the plague. I've found anything fatty cuts my carb insanity. There's a place near me that makes a killer black bean soup. It doesn't take much at lunch to cut my craving right off.

Are you reaching for pasta/carbs for supper as it's quick and easy? It might do you some good to preplan some meals, and make some on sunday and freeze them for the rest of the week. Look through the recipe section here, or even get your own veg*n cookbook. Find things that aren't carb loaded to try. Don't be afraid to have a breakfast food for supper either. Sometimes pancakes are fantastic after a hard day at work.



If you do want to have carbs, make them whole grain. You'll find you'll eat a lot less of them, as they are more filling. Another thing to try is to eat six small meals during the day unstead of 3 big ones. Keeps your blood sugar more level, and helps from getting ravenously hungry.

Are you having so many white carbs because they're available, easy, and familiar, or because of cravings? If you're craving junky foods like that, your body might be trying to tell you its not getting enough of something, be it calories or vitamins... I know when I go a day or two where I don't eat enough, I start craving Doritos and Mountain Drew somethin' fierce!

Im having the same problem. Im actually putting on weight because Im like, out of control or something. So I need to get my shizz together and stay way from the bleached flour & whatever else is in white pastas.

You guys are amazing! What a supportive group!



I have been incorporating your suggestions and ideas and I think I'm finally getting the hang of this. I'm trying to focus on how I'll feel AFTER I eat, rather than "Gimme gimme gimme now!" It seems to be working so far. I'm not completely eliminating carbs, but trying to eat more whole grains (Stuck to my oatmeal rather than the free bagels this morning). Instead of pasta with bread, I'm eating artichoke-stuffed ravioli and adding chopped spinach and fresh tomatoes to it (and skipping the garlic bread). I no longer wake up feeling bloated in the morning. (There's also the added incentive of being in a bathing suit by July 4th, but I'm using whatever works at this point.)



I've been trying to keep the mantra "Vegetarianism is not about the absence of meat" in my head (as one of you wonderful posters had mentioned.) That leads me to my next dilemma which I think requires it's own thread: Dining Out. See you over there and thanks again!!!