Does Going Vegetarian Help You Lose Weight?

So, you’re thinking about going vegetarian to lose weight, right? Well, many people choose to give up meat for ethical reasons. But is going vegetarian to lose weight the right answer? It depends on different factors. First and foremost, you’ll have to kiss you carnivorous ways goodbye. When you build your meals from a generous array of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans, weight loss becomes remarkably easy.

And many other aspects of health begin improving too such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar. However, getting started can seem a bit difficult. As with any other diet, depriving yourself of food you enjoy is difficult, but you’ll get there. In just three or four weeks you can develop a healthy habit that might as well stick forever. This period will give you enough time to adjust to new flavors and also you will begin seeing significant results and other positive health benefits.

The benefit of going vegetarian is that you are actually cutting out potentially high-calorie foods, such as fatty meats, poultry with the skin and processed meat, because being vegetarian means eating no animal flesh and sometimes no animal products.

So, what should I eat?

However, it should not be confused with a vegan, as vegans only consume plant foods. There are a lot of foods you can consume instead of meat and lose weight. For example, you can start your breakfast with poached eggs or egg whites with vegetables. You can also add protein powder to help you keep full longer. For lunch, you can load on a large salad with chickpeas, vegetable soup with kidney beans, or brown rice with black beans, as all of the above are high in fiber. You might want to keep it light on dinner, like stir-frying tofu with minimal oil and roasted or steamed vegetables spritzed with lemon juice. All in all, it really comes down to the size of your servings, depending on your weight goal.

To keep your appetite in check, you need to swap some snacks for healthy alternative versions. But keep in mind that overeating doesn’t help. A handful of nuts or two tablespoons of hummus fit into the vegetarian weight loss plan. You can also opt for a snack of plain, low-fat yogurt with berries, a piece of fresh fruit or cut-up vegetables.

Not eating meat will help me lose weight, right?

It should be noted that not all vegetarian foods will help you on your weight loss journey. When trying to drop pounds, you can’t deprive yourself of fats altogether, and French fries won’t help.

Just because a food item is labeled as vegetarian does not mean that it’s low-calorie. Usually, a lot of calories are found in vegan cookies, cupcakes, and pizza. An excellent meal option is salads, as long as you control the toppings, such as creamy dressing, cheese crumbles, dried fruit, and candied nuts.

If your portion sizes are too big or if you eat high-calorie foods, you can gain weight even on a vegetarian diet. Some foods that are labeled as vegetarian are actually high in calories and fat, including soy hot dogs, soy cheese, refried beans, and snack bars.

In a nutshell, meat or no-meat, achieving and maintaining a healthy weight comes down to eating a healthy diet and balancing calories eaten with calories burned. We’ve seen a lot of people who went vegetarian but haven’t dropped a single pound. Why does that happen, you ask? Simply eliminating food doesn’t guarantee calorie deficit, therefore, weight loss. Especially if you eliminate meat but replace it with much higher caloric foods such as fatty cheese or milk.

The whole point to lose weight on a vegetarian diet, or any other diet is to plan your meals in advance. Try to avoid foods that are heavily processed as they provide too many empty calories but don’t contribute to weight loss at all. Planning is key to any weight loss regime. You might also focus more on baking, steaming, boiling or grilling foods rather than frying them.

Did you lose weight following a vegetarian diet? Let us know about your experience in the comments below.

You might also want to read: Vegetarian Or Mediterranean Diet? Are They Equally Effective?