To give up on vegetarianism?

[3GreenFrogs]

A few months ago I went veggie. Didn’t find it difficult to be honest and ate stuff like veggie bolognese, veggie curry, bean burgers etc etc

I thought it might even help me lose weight ... but I’ve put weight on!! In fact I look so fat now you’d think I’d been on a fast food diet. I’m constantly bloated and feel so uncomfortable. None of my clothes fit me. I’m also long term anaemic and feel this won’t be doing that any good and I suffer with IBS which has always been made worse by increasing my fibre intake.

When I get back from festival next week I’m joint TeamRH to lose weight and I know he’s big on protein etc ... AIBU to give up on the whole vegetarian thing?

Sorry to hear you are struggling. I suppose it depends why you went veggie in the first place? If it was for ethical/environment/animal rights reasons it would seem a shame to completely give up if there are more things you can try? I'm not an expert with IBS and anaemia but I know there are ways of managing these on a plant based diet, can you seek some specialist advice?

But of course if your main aim was weight loss/health and you feel you can manage this better with a different diet then why not. Perhaps as a compromise you could try and do a few wholly veggie days a week but have some meat one meal a day on the other days? Would that work with the new diet?

You could buy high welfare meat or stick with mainly chicken/fish as opposed to red meat if animal welfare/environmental issues are a concern, not 'as good' as going fully vegan of course but how many of us can really manage that?

Vegetarianism won't help you lose weight if your calorie intake is high and you don't exercise. It may even do the opposite if you have an impaired glucose tolerance, or go below 56 grams of protein per day or 32 grams of fat per day as your metabolism goes into protective mode. Your IBS may indicate a gluten intolerance, which could play a part. Anaemia is caused by a deficiency in BOTH iron, copper, vitamin B9 (folate), vitamin B12 and lysine, all of which are necessary for the proper formation of red blood cells and also intake of sugar under 28g per day, which is very popular to do, shortens the lifespan of red blood cells as they are dependent on it for survival because they lose the core in the process of making them, so they aren't capable of converting other fuels into glucose.

You're doing a very good thing and well done for it, just read up a little bit more. This may also be the crisis point some people describe when they go vegetarian.

and keep going!

Drvon has given you a good answer.
I can only share my experience.
I've been a veggie for 25 years now and I'm 54.
For years I kept my weight off by not stuffing my face and regularly exercising hard.
A few years ago for various reasons I lost my way a bit and piled loads of weight on. ( loads is 5 stone) Not because I was a veggie but because I was eating too much and also too much rubbished and not doing enough exercise. The fatter I got, the less i wanted to do.
I re assessed my diet. Cut out the junk, the fizzy drinks, and now have 3 proper meals a day, eat full fat foods and have protein every meal.I do HITT 3 times a week and lift heavy weights.
The weight is coming off and the old me is coming back.
If you want to stay veggie I recommend that you meal plan, maybe get some good cook books like Joe Wicks veggie 15 mins ( or something like that)
If you want to go back to meat fine but same applies, think about what you are eating and what you are doing. It's not easy but good luck with your efforts.

Just eat meat. Contrary to recent propaganda it is actually very healthy. Look up Weston A Price. He studied how tribes all over the world eat, and have eaten for a very long time. None of those tribes are vegan. Only some are vegetarian. Most cherish meat because they know it is good for us.

The trouble with vegetarianism is that carbohydrate intake goes up. It isn't a healthy diet for humans tbh and easily gets imbalanced. Just go and have a juicy steak OP.

Are you eating loads of Quorn? Many people find it doesn't agree with their guts.

The trouble with vegetarianism is that carbohydrate intake goes up. It isn't a healthy diet for humans tbh and easily gets imbalanced. Just go and have a juicy steak OP.
Even as a veggie I would kind of agree with you. It's easy to reach for the potatoes, pasta, rice etc but people also do that with non veggie diets.
Reducing the reliance on carbs as the focal point of the meal can be done but takes practice until you get into the swing of things.
That said I don't think theres a need to eliminate carbs completely from your diet. It's about ( imo) moderation.
I wouldnt advocate one way or another for a veggie diet. Personally, it suits me and I have to keep an eye on things from time to time but I would anyway if I was a non veggie!!

Eat what you want to eat. Going vegetarian does not = losing weight. Chips dipped in mayo are veggie. Cake (usually) is veggie. If you have IBS, it’s not always as simple as more fibre causing all the problems. You need to figure out your trigger foods and avoid them. For some people Quorn causes digestive problems. Cauliflower can be a trigger. The better your digestion is the better you’ll feel and look regardless of whether you eat meat or stay veggie.

Perhaps you have a soya allergy? Lots of vegetarian meat alternatives are packed with soya.

A vegetarian diet is really healthy if done correctly but you do need to forward think and plan meals. Convenience/processed food be it vegan, vegetarian or meat based is never good for you.

From my experience dairy was my weak point and I ate far too much cheese. I've changed to plant based alternatives now for milk (oat) and yoghurt (coconut) which although remain relatively high in calories are much easier to digest.

People always think veggie and vegan is healthy, but it isn't always, chips friend in sunflower oil for example! Cutting down protein, in practice can mean more fat and carbs...

It may even do the opposite if you have an impaired glucose tolerance, or go below 56 grams of protein per day or 32 grams of fat per day as your metabolism goes into protective mode.

This seems weirdly specific?
It's exactly the same for a 6'6" 18 stone man as a 5'2" 9 stone woman?

Re carbs/protein, agree to an extent that a veggie diet can be more carb heavy (depends on lots of factors, time, cooking ability, what you like to eat) but carbs are not evil! It's perfectly healthy for most people to have a diet that is 50-55% carbohydrate (including lots of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains) with only 10-15% protein and 20-25% fat, as per the NHS Livewell plate and public health dietary advice the world over. Of course for some people it's easier if you are trying to lose weight to feel sated on more proteins/fats and less carbohydrate, and refined white carbs in particular can be problematic for blood sugars, we don't know that that's the case for OP though.

And as for 'indigenous tribes aren't vegan', what is the life expectancy of said indigenous tribes and how much meat do they eat? It's very different having a once a week feast of meat after a full days hunting/gathering alongside lots of fruit veg and grain/starches the rest of the time, to bacon for breakfast ham for lunch and steak for dinner after a day sat in front of a PC... (not saying that's what the OP is planning but it's a bit reductive to simply say 'cavemen ate meat so we should too...'). There are lots of excellent meat substitutes/plant based protein sources available to us now also so it is possible for veggies to get in plenty of protein although it is probably is more challenging particularly if needing to avoid soya than simply having a steak or some sausages...

Yanbu. There are reasons to be veggie or vegan but weight loss isn’t one of them. Many veggie alternatives are really carb and for me that’s not going to work and by the sounds of it it’s not right for you either.

High carb diets are no good for people with blood sugar issues or those who tend towards abdominal weight gain.

I would think unless you were very careful with your carb intake a vegetarian diet would result in weight gain yes.

I have always got anaemic when I try to go veggie or vegan. Now I just eat meat, but a small amount. You can still have plenty of meat free days.

Thanks for the replies. My vegetarianism was for ethical and environmental reasons. I just wrongly assumed I’d lose weight too.

Last night DH did a BBQ and i caved and ate a pork steak and 3 chicken wings with a sweet potato. I shit you not this morning my stomach looked almost flat. The bloating had totally gone.

I’m eating a lot of pasta, bread and potatoes. I’m a crap cook and have little desire to experiment with loads of different recipes so I’m starting to think I’m doomed to fail with this. I have been eating quorn too but not every night.

I've been veggie 30+ years, I've been very slim and overweight and all in between.

Vegetarianism isn't the cause of an unhealthy diet, that's down to your choices. Just as an omnivore diet can be healthy or unhealthy.

Pizza and chips is veggie but high cal and not particularly healthy, whereas a veggie stir fry with healthy home made sauce and rice is healthy and can be low cal if you don't overdo the rice.

Burger and chips is omnivore but not really healthy whereas a lean meat casserole can be healthy.

Some of us are fine with quorn and soya, but not certain meats. It's now known that especially highly processed red meats are not good for the gut.

Iron deficiency isn't a definite with vegetarianism either. I actually had a couple of bouts of anaemia when still a meat eater, but have never had any problems as a veggie on that score.

We'd need to know much more about what you eat on a daily basis to be able to advise.

With any diet you need to eat foods from all food groups, including carbs, to get all nutrients and eat a wide variety of foods too.

I've known meat eaters with ridiculously unhealthy, very limited diets (like they only eat 6-8 items!) and were often unwell. Their diets were far more restrictive than any of the veggies or vegans I've ever met.

Though I've also known very unhealthy overweight veggies who lived eating far too much pasta, cheese, chips, bread, creamy sauces, high fat dairy, sugar/sweets, crisps etc.

A crap junk filled diet is a crap junk filled diet regardless of whether veggie or omnivore.

What kind of meals do you eat/cook?

Will give us an idea of what you like and what your cooking skill/confidence level is at.

Though honestly cooking is really a basic requirement for a healthy diet regardless of veggie v omnivore.

Different diets suit different people. There was a news article about a 100% meat diet a while ago and people were saying it had cured them of all kinds of conditions. People rave about keto too, seems to really help some people.

I was vegetarian for a few months, felt dreadful, exhausted, my skin was shit. My body just didn't suit it. If you don't suit a certain diet don't beat yourself up, eat what makes you healthy.

If you ate a lot more more vegetables you would most likely lose weight as they are so low in calories and would replace a lot of the starchy carbs you are eating. But then if you increased your veg intake as a meat eater the same thing would happen. So basically get creative and eat more veg!

Yeah you should go back to eating a standard western diet because everyone doing that is healthy and think as fuck

I think it would be a shame to give up vegetarianism rather than learn to cook better (your last post suggests you know it's your diet that causes your bloating/weight gain) since you said it was for ethical and environmental reasons.

I went vegetarian for the same reasons btw, and I've had the same struggles. I couldn't go back now, though, given what we know about animal welfare in mass farming and the future of our planet environmentally.

Quorn messes with lots of people guts, just because they are not used to the high fibre.

If you are eating more calories, from any source, than you are losing then you will not lose weight.

If you want to lose weight then you need to plan and think about what you are eating

I know you said you dont want to experiment but just take baby steps, keep things simple and don't ever when your self. Theres loads of free recipes and advice on the internet if you want to carry on being a veggie.
A typi6day that works for me is Full fat yogurt with blue berries for breakfast. I have an 'anything goes' salad for lunch.
This will include protein such as egg. Cheese, ( cottage. Feta, grated cheddar, whatever I have in) I may add chick peas, green lentils, marinated tofu or tempeh.
I usually put some nuts on walnuts, macadamia cashew, then rocket, pomegranate seeds, red peppers ( sometimes raw, sometimes roasted), beets. I like to have a grain. Freekah is my current favourite. I usually have rocket or spinach for my leaf
Tea is a home made curry, stir fry or caserole or similar. I'm going through an aubergine phase at the moment! It may not be perfect but its keeping me full and I'm losing weight ( along with weight training and HIIT)
Just keep it simple until you become more confident

I was once years ago, when it was unheard of and considered strange .
But my body decided for min in a a othat that was not for me. I am fiber intolerant ( as well as other) so this unfortunately changed things for me .
I think if you have given it a try and it hasn't worked then don't beat yourself up about it.

I went veggie and got fat and anaemic too