Is there any vegetarians out there who can outline a low or no meat weight loss dietary plan?

[sue4e3]

I have lost over 100 lbs doing no carb diet ,then realized that this diet gos against my environmental views so I am looking for a low meat or no meat weight loss diet . Is there any vegetarians out there who can outline a low or no meat weight loss dietary plan? I would like to see what one looks like . I have posted this question on other forums and have had no takers

[packman]

1. I, too, want to eat less meat

not 100%, but just less.

Given some good advice - rather flippant, but sound in one way - (1) Prepare your normal meal - meat, starch item, veggies (2) Discard the meat, double the veggies (3) Enjoy

Yes, it did ease me into more of a low meat diet. Just think of the way you prepare any decent meal, then take a hard, long look at the amount of meat, the type of meat (more chicken, fish, more varieties), and even if you REALLY need it on your plate.

[sue4e3]

2. That is a very common sense approach. I guess I was in a radical mode because no carb was quite

radical, I probably do need a middle road

[Trajan]

3. I've lost 96#

(Wow ... sorry about the length .... I guess I have a lot to say about the subject)

But I have been using the 5:2 Fast Diet ...

I eat carbs in the morning, much less so after 4PM

The Fast Diet is a form of calorie control ... The thinking goes > If you want to maintain your weight; you can eat ANYTHING you want in a day, as long as the caloric content amounts to ≤ your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

Of course, we all know that nobody would become overweight if everybody controlled their caloric intake, every day, day in and day out .... in a perfect world ... But it's obvious this is not a practical approach for most people.

However - There are a few tricks that help immensely ...

1) Eat Vegetarian/Vegan .... It's much easier to control your caloric intake if you focus on Fruit and Vegetables ... The bulk versus caloric content quotient is favorable to those who want to lose or maintain their weight.

2) Lose one meal ... replace it with a healthy snack ... An apple or banana for lunch, with a couple almonds or walnuts ... LESS than 100 cals ... MUCH more nutritious than those factory made 100 cal SnakBagz™

3) My TDEE is approx 2200 cals total per day. Eating less than 100 cals for one meal means I could eat 1050 cals per meal for breakfast and dinner, and stay under TDEE. That should be easy ... right ? ... for some people, it's hard ... But reducing one meal to a snack makes it easier to comply with the TDEE limit, and not gain weight.

4) In order to LOSE weight, one must reduce their caloric intake, as determined by their TDEE, by 3500 calories in order to lose one pound. .... It doesn't matter what span of days might transpire .... for instance:

If your TDEE is 2200 (mine is), and I want to remove 3500 calories from my diet in one week, and maintain a consistently even caloric intake on a daily basis, the math (for me) would be:

2200 (Daily TDEE) x 7 = 15400 (Weekly TDEE) ..... 15400 - 3500 = 11900 (Weekly caloric intake to lose 1 lb per week) .... 11900 / 7 = 1700 calories per day.

If I eat 1700 calories or less every day, I would lose 1 pound per week. It is implied that the food is accurately measured and accounted for.

5) I use a variant of step 4 - The 5:2 Fast Diet means '5 days eat normal (TDEE or less)' and '2 days eat 600 cals or less' ... every week'. The math for the 5:2 Fast Diet goes like this (in my case):

2200 * 5 = 11000 (5 normal days) .... 600 x 2 = 1200 (total caloric intake for two fast days) ... 11000 + 1200 = 12200 (weekly calorie total per 5:2 Fast Diet rules) ... 15400 (Weekly normal TDEE) - 12200 (Fast Diet Total) = 3200 calories subtracted per week.

3200/3500 = 0.91 lb lost per week.

When I was in my main losing phase, I calculated I lost 3.75 lbs per month approx. That factual weight loss jives with the numbers.

I am still fasting two days a week, but I have also been on a strength training regime for about nine months .. self imposed for health ... so my weight loss through fat reduction is being offset by gains in muscle growth ... I have gained 15-20 lbs in muscle, approx. I am still trending down, but more slowly and steadily ...

(BTW - 600 cals is NOT a hard fast ... I eat two main meals - breakfast approx 200 cals .. lunch less than 100 (more of a snack), and dinner around 300. I am never 'starving' .. I eat cuke slices or romaine lettuce slices for snacks ... berries and a single walnut make a decent snack that sticks with you, but amounts to very little caloric intake) ...

(Another BTW - from a weight loss perspective - It matters not whether you eat meat, veggies, bread, rice, pasta, carbs, tofu, fats, whatever combination - The numbers do not lie ... Exceed TDEE and you gain ... Undercut TDEE and you lose)

(Another BTW - Just to say that all that matters from a weight loss perspective is the simple math doesn't give the whole picture. There is ample reason to be selective in your nutrition choices, depending on other conditions you might be experiencing. Diabetics, for instance, already have limited menu items, so their choices are narrowed naturally ... Saturated Fat consumption is associated (rightly or wrongly) with vascular and heart disease, as well as other negative impacts in brain health. People should definitely consider removing or at least limiting consumption of those items .... Your choice ... Regarding carbs - Pasta, Rice, Bread, etc ... There are a wide array of beliefs regarding those items. My feelings have evolved over time. I now choose low GI foods, but I will eat oatmeal and cereals, and whole wheat bread ... but only small amounts ... Low GI carbs help improve your cholesterol numbers, so it's worth spending some of your 'carb budget' on whole grain oatmeal, cereal and breads. Small amounts are all you need.

I would also add that fasting is helpful in reducing liver impacts like abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride numbers ... I've had great improvements in those numbers ...

Check these two websites:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18a1b6_michael-mosley-eat-fast-live-longer_lifestyle

http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

Good luck ...

[sue4e3]

4. thank you it's interesting

[ginnyinWI]

5. The Mediterranean Diet

Or the Dash Diet, which is very similar. High on vegetables, dairy and whole grains and low on sugars, refined starches, meats. You can go all vegetarian or mix in some fish or chicken once in a while. Both of these diets have a good track record for weight loss and maintenance. It's something you can stay on for life!

[sue4e3]

6. That's what I'm looking for a lfe plan

15 years ago I was 300 pounds I lost down to 120 pounds on a no carb diet . Then I went off in 2007 Gained up to 190 to 200. I've maintained that since but it's too heavy and atkins is too much meat, so here I am . I appreciate the different suggestions for a life diet I don't do pills and fads

[ginnyinWI]

7. After living on no carbs,

one of these more sensible plans will be like heaven! You might lose more slowly, but you can make permanent changes so that the weight won't go up again.

My top weight was 230, then lost 30 just by cutting down portions. Then got more serious about quality of food too, and got down to about 175. By this time I'd given up red meat. Then went vegan for a few years, but that really didn't take much weight off. Went back to vegetarian about a year ago and now I'm down to 168. I think that because I added back dairy (especially yogurt) and eggs I was eating fewer carbs.

That seems to make a difference: the carbs, especially sugars. I can maintain this weight eating some sugar, and got through the whole holiday season without gaining, but if I want to lose more, and I do, I know I've got to cut way down on sugar and refined starches.

One other thing I've started since November, which I think helps: I read about fasting and even tried the 5:2 plan for a week or so and it was brutal! So instead, I started just not eating for 12 hours between evening and breakfast, just to get my blood sugar and insulin levels down. Who knows but maybe that's why I could maintain this weight without much effort. It's really easy to do. Just eat your last thing and remember the time. For me, usually around 8 p.m. Then don't have breakfast until at least 12 hours later. I have my coffee and wait to eat until later. Tonight we had some popcorn in front of the TV, so tomorrow my breakfast won't be until 9:45 a.m. But that's not too difficult. Women do best on a fast between 12 and 14 hours, and men can go a little longer, like 15 hours.

Just a little trick that seems to help control my appetite.

[sue4e3]

8. see that's the crazy thing

for shits and giggles I counted my calories for the last month, the most I ate in one day was 2538 calories (I knew it was a splurge day it was my birthday "cake" and bad food) I average between 1800-1900 calories a day, the carbs vary because I did go off of atkins but I try to keep them under 100. I only lost wieght on atkins if I kept them down to 20 . I have low blood sugar under 100 every time I've checked and I wake up with it hovering in the 40s. If I eat a lot of sugar carbs I can get it up to 138 (The highest I've ever had it when I've checked) . I only know this because someone else suggested i have sugar issues and should check it once in a while. I've often thought may scheduling like an 8 or 12 hour fast between eating or certain combinations of food would make something kick in and work. I don't drive (green choice) , so I walk about 6 miles a week. It might sound like alot it's not. I consider my self medium active. I have a list of all the suggestions and I'm still looking for more . I will figure it out and I appreciate everyones help because doctors tell me, portion control, eat less carbs , and move more and I think , Well Gee I hadn't thought of that( sarcasm )

[ginnyinWI]

9. Do you use artificial sweeteners?

One thing that can impede weight loss is having the wrong "tummy bugs". There is new evidence that artificial sweeteners, along with sugar, cause an overproduction of the bugs that keep us from losing weight. I don't remember all the details, but I only use Stevia, and only once in a great while (like when I want sweetened tea after my fast has started in the evening).

Yogurt is good to counteract this overproduction.

There is so much more going on than "calories in, calories out" and the food industry has everybody convinced that it is all their own fault, and that they need to exercise more...lol! No, exercise isn't going to do it. You have to change what you eat, and that usually means eating less processed foods--something Big Ag doesn't want to see!

Ultimately you want to get to a place where you don't need to count anything, but just eat the right amounts of the right foods. Get a feel for what you need.

We live in a toxic food environment in this country and have to make good choices to survive!

[sue4e3]

10. I did for 8 years drink diet soda and use splenda

I changed over to only stevia and only once in a while, It scares me I had ocular headaches alot while I was losing weight , I recently stopped drinking diet soda and that stopped it was that obvious and I believe it was very damaging . I knew it was bad but I minimized it because I wanted something sweet. It was a mistake and glad I am no longer making it

[Alice11111]

12. Congratulations! 100 pounds! I'm vegetarian, and it has not

Interfered with weight loss. However, I yo yo all the time from ideal to overweight. I have been in support groups that did the trick for ne, like the old edits group, b4 they just started selling food and advertising. I've tried about everything, including WW. Really not online support groups, just success stories to follow. If someone knows of some cohesive groups, let me know, especially if the have a very strong exercise component. It doesn't matter whether they are vegetarian. I can count calories or whatever, all The same.

[TuxedoKat]

13. Here you go

I subscribe to this way of eating:

http://www.bertherring.com/ac/fast-5/

It greatly simplifies life, saves money and there are health benefits as well.

I'm pretty much a vegetarian, still eat fish. The rest of the time I just make recipes without the meat and increase the vegetables.
Two days ago I made Vegetarian Chili and it was great.

[All-In]

14. Eat To Live Works Better Than Anything I Know

https://www.drfuhrman.com/