lost weight by being vegetarian? - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

blurr · 04-11-2003, 09:13 AM

Hiya...

I have posted on this board months ago...I was actually wondering what some decent eating plans were to go on to lose a tiny bit of weight. Well, over the past few months, I moved away from home (overseas) and I eventually ended up eating no meat...more or less because I couldn't be bothered to prepare the meals involving meat, and I am not much of a meat eater to begin with. When I started posting on this board, I wanted to lose about 15 pounds. Well, I've done so.. but I haven't been dieting or anything! I still eat whatever I want...but I was thinking, because I stopped eating meat, would this have contributed to my weight loss? My choice to stop eating meat was not even that (a choice)..I just didn't bother buying any and didn't even keep track of my eating habits (ate whatever, whenever)...and when I got home, I weighed myself and had lost a BUNCH of weight. I was not exercising, either..just doing the things that I normally do in a day (i.e. walk to the bus, work all day, come home...lounge around).

In the past, out of curiosity, I've tried other "diets", one of which was the Atkin's diet. I swear, i tried it twice and COULD not do it..i made myself physically sick with all of the protien I was supposed to eat. After trying it twice, getting sick, not loosing any weight and feeling horrible, I am wondering if different bodies thrive on different foods. Because I've heard that high-carb diets are supposed to cause you to gain weight, but now all I eat are grains, fruits, veggies (carbs)..and I am still maintaining my weight loss.

Any ideas?

What do you all think?

MarkTime · 04-11-2003, 10:59 AM

Here is my opinion:

it is rare to see an overweight vegetarian.
Oh, it is possible to be fat on a vegetarian diet,
but it doesn't usually happen. It seems to be
a good choice for you, and I won't be surprised if
you keep the weight off.

Most everyone I have seen on the Atkins diet, fails eventually, because they can't keep it up. Then again, most people who go on vegetarian diets for non-moral reasons, end up failing too. But since it fits well with what you like to eat, I would keep it up.

I have tried vegetarian, and the Atkins diet both. I initially like the Atkins diet better, but I quickly get tired of the meat. I don't like the vegetarian diet, even from the start, but I oddly, I can handle it a bit longer.

The only diet I stay on long enough to lose a lot of weight, is eat less and exercise, sometimes adding diet pills into the mix. Then I can go on a protracted weight loss that can last six months or so.

Then I stop dieting, and its usually a couple years before I realize I really really need to diet again, and so it goes....but unlike most people who find this miserable, this is actually a working solution for me...I never get too fat, and I kind of enjoy the challenge of a diet.

netviper13 · 04-12-2003, 06:43 PM

I've lost 40 pounds since becoming vegetarian, and that's all from diet.

Raynie · 04-13-2003, 07:07 PM

I disagree about vegetarians rarely being overweight. It can depend on the type of vegetarian they are (and all the normal body factors associated with an individuals weight). For example, some will give up meat but make the very common choice, knowingly or unknowingly, of substituting it with cheese. Being vegitarian doesn't necessarily mean the person is eating healthy. They may not be eating meat, but possibly end up increasing the carbs, sweets and dairy. My point being, to lose weight as a vegetarian a person needs to look at the whole picture. Just skipping the meat may not cut it for a lot of people.

Rixtar · 04-14-2003, 12:18 PM

I agree that it is rare you see a true vegetarian that is overweight but, I have known more than a few people who are vegeatarian with serious weight control issues. This individuals were all vegetarian due to religous affiliation and were not vegan. They ate dairy, eggs and fish. In my opinion it was the dairy that did them in so to speak with regards to their weight control.

Vegans are almost never overweight. The consumption of only vegetable based material does limit the calories intake even with a diet that includes oils which are virtually the only fat source in a true vegan diet (other than nuts).

Any weight control method will work if a person participates in their own success.