Is meat really important for losing weight?

[aspiringnurse]

Hello,

I have a query regarding losing weight and meat/protein intake.

In a bid to be more healthier and conscious about what I'm putting into my body, I thought giving up meat would be a good start, I rarely have meat as I don't like the texture of it but chicken I can deal with although I usually just pick the chicken out of a curry, fajitas etc.

Looking through a few weight loss tips etc and it highlights the important of protein.. now I'm unsure what to do as I'm very much against having any meat anymore but really want to lose weight at the same time.

Any advice on how to replace the protein needed? Apologies I'm all just a bit clueless over this

Thank you!

The only thing that’s important for losing weight is calorie deficit. Cutting out meat will only work if you’re eating fewer calories than you burn.

Nuts, cheese, yoghurt, eggs, beans and pulses, etc

Nope. I did the Blood Sugar Diet/Fast 800 as a pescatarian and its worked wonders. It would be easy totally veggie too

No. You can lose weight on a veggie/vegan diet.

Ew no!
Protein is good to have in meals because it keeps you fuller longer. However it won't help you lose weight for any other reason.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein-vegetarians

The only thing that’s important for losing weight is calorie deficit. Cutting out meat will only work if you’re eating fewer calories than you burn.

I second that ..... and I've lost a lot of weight

The importance of protein is just that it's very satisfying, so you can eat a small amount and feel sated for longer; people also find it useful that it can also be eaten in quite small quantities but packed out with lots of veg. These are both true of other forms of proteins like eggs, and meat substitute things (like quorn / tofu, not that horrid "facon" stuff). The meat substitute things are invariably lower calorie and are pretty good. Quorn chunks in curries etc. don't taste of much in particular in themselves (not unlike chicken), just give some bite and takes on the flavours of the dish; similarly things like Linda McCartney "pulled chicken" which I make a lovely sort of tomatoey stew thing with. It gives it some substance but is lower in calories, and as you say, probably better for you and the planet.

So in short, no - protein is important, but meat isn't

I am a vegetarian and have recently lost 2 stone. I would say the trick is not to replace all meat with dairy produce. I follow 16:8 so have two decent meals a day. I eat a lot of pulses like chickpeas and lentils, I eat a small amount of cheese such as paneer in a curry. I still eat carbs such as brown rice, potatoes but not bread and pasta I eat like 2 times per month. I eat a lot of vegetables that have higher amounts of protein. It's perfectly doable to lose weight as a veggie.

the trick is not to replace all meat with dairy produce

Yes! I put a shed load of weight on going veggie when I just ate stacks of cheese. When I went vegan, the same thing happened eating processed stuff. Focussing on eating actual vegetables and pulses (I eat industrial quantities of chick peas, beans and lentils) is the way to go.