How to Lose Weight on a Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarians have become increasingly popular in recent years.
This diet is associated with a lower risk of chronic disease and can help you lose weight.
But vegetarian diets can make weight loss difficult, especially if you eat a lot of refined carbohydrates or highly processed foods.
This article explains how to lose weight on a vegetarian diet.
What is a vegetarian diet?
Vegetarian foods exclude meat, fish, and poultry.
Some people may follow this diet for religious or moral reasons, while others are drawn to its potential health benefits.
The main types of vegetarian food are:
Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: allows eggs and milk, but excludes meat, fish, and poultry.
Lacto-vegetarian: allows milk but excludes eggs, meat, fish, and poultry
Ovo-vegetarian: lays eggs but excludes dairy, meat, fish, and poultry
Vegan: excludes all animal products, including honey, milk, and eggs.
Other plant-based diets include flexibility (which includes some foods of animal origin but is mostly vegetarian) and the pescatarian diet (which includes fish but not meat).
Vegetarian diets tend to focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lemons, nuts, and seeds. These foods are rich in fiber, micronutrients, and beneficial plant compounds and contain fewer calories, fat, and protein than animal-based foods.
Since this diet emphasizes nutritious foods, it is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Additionally, studies show that a vegetarian diet can be an effective way to lose weight.
But the benefits of vegetarianism largely depend on the type of food you eat and your overall eating habits.
Reviewing or choosing overly processed foods will provide fewer benefits than a raw plant-based diet and can have quite a few drawbacks.
SUMMARY:
A vegetarian diet excludes meat, fish, and poultry and focuses primarily on plant foods. It has been linked to weight loss and a reduced risk of chronic disease, but these benefits depend on the foods you eat.
Barriers to losing weight on a vegetarian diet
Vegetables may seem like an effective way to lose excess weight, but there are several reasons why this may not be the case.
Eat large portions and little protein
Eating more calories than you need can lead to weight gain.
Even if you are supplementing your diet with nutritious foods, you are helping yourself to a greater extent than necessary.
This is especially common if you avoid protein intake.
Protein can increase satiety by reducing levels of ghrelin, the hormone that controls appetite, which can lower your total calorie intake and increase weight loss.
If you don't eat enough protein, your entire weight loss effort is hampered - you can eat more to feel full.
Your protein needs can easily be met on a vegetarian diet, but you may face difficulties at first as you eliminate meat from your diet.
Eat much more refined carbohydrates
Bread, pizza, and pasta can be very easy to eat on a vegetarian diet.
These are widely available and can sometimes be the only vegetarian option in restaurants or gatherings.
Foods high in refined carbohydrates are high in fiber and don't satisfy hunger like whole grains and complex carbohydrates. As a result, they can load you up with extra calories.
Additionally, some studies suggest that refined carbohydrates trigger the release of excess insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar. It can also contribute to weight gain.
In fact, a study involving about 500,000 adults found a strong association between carbohydrate intake and higher insulin levels after a larger body mass index (BMI).
Overdoing Calories-Rich Foods
By converting to a vegetarian diet, you can substantially increase your intake of high-fat plant foods.
Vegetarian foods often include nuts, seeds, almond butter, avocados or coconut. Even after these foods are incredibly nutritious and filling, they provide 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrates.
For example, 2 tablespoons (32 grams) of peanut butter contains a total of 191 calories, of which 148 comes from fat.
Also, many eat more than the recommended serving of almond butter and other healthy fats.
Focus on highly processed vegetarian foods
If you rely on lots of processed foods as part of a vegetarian diet, you may find it very difficult to lose weight.
Countless products are technically vegetarian but still contain unnecessary additives and other unhealthy ingredients. Examples include veggie burgers, meat substitutes, frozen foods, baked goods, packaged sweets, and vegan cheese.
These foods often contain not only sodium, high-processed compounds, chemical preservatives, and dyes, but also added calories and sugars.
As a result, overeating can contribute to weight gain.
In fact, one review found that eating ultrasound-processed foods increased the risk of obesity as well as higher levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure.
SUMMARY:
Some of the barriers to weight loss in a vegetarian diet include not eating enough protein and relying too much on refined sugars, high-calorie foods, and highly processed items.
Advice on weight loss in the vegetarian diet
There are several strategies that can help promote weight loss in a vegetarian diet, including:
Fill half your plate with starch-free vegetables. Choosing high-fiber vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, green vegetables, and mushrooms helps you keep your calorie intake low and low.
Include protein in every meal and breakfast. Vegetarian foods high in protein include beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, eggs, dairy foods, and soy foods (such as temp, tofu, and edamame).
Preference for complex sugars. These foods include whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruits, and lemons.
Check out parts of your high-calorie diet. Combine nuts, seeds, and healthy fats with low-calorie foods so you don't overwork.
Basically, take the whole meal. Unprocessed foods like whole fruits and vegetables do not contain unnecessary ingredients.
Limit highly processed foods. Avoid meat substitutes, frozen foods, and other over-processed foods as these may contain unhealthy additions, excess salt, and added sugar.
A balanced vegetarian diet that emphasizes whole plant foods and limits refined sugars and high-processed products can help you lose weight.
Still, don’t forget about other important factors that contribute to weight loss, such as adequate sleep, hydration, and exercise.
SUMMARY:
Including protein in all foods, eating plenty of whole foods, and cutting out high-processed foods are some of the strategies you can use to lose weight on a vegetarian diet.
Vegetarian Foods that Help you Lose Weight
To increase weight loss, choose vegetarian foods rich in whole, minimally processed plant foods.
You can also include milk or eggs according to your specific method.
Vegetarian foods that may aid weight loss include:
Non-starchy vegetables: broccoli, bell pepper, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, celery, and cucumber
Starchy vegetables: peas, potatoes, corn, and winter squash
Fruits: berries, oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, citrus, kiwi, and mango
Whole grains: quinoa, brown rice, farro, millet, barley, and bulgur wheat
Beans and legumes: lentils, black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans
Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and nut butter
Lean proteins: beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, nut butter, eggs, Greek yogurt, milk, and soy products like tofu, tempeh, and edamame
Healthy fats: avocado, olive oil, coconut, nuts, seeds, nut butter, and cheese
Water and other healthy beverages: naturally flavored seltzer, fruit-infused water, and plain coffee or tea
SUMMARY:
Eating a variety of starchy vegetables, whole grains, lemons, nuts, and seeds can help you lose weight on your vegetarian diet.
Foods to avoid the vegetarian diet to lose weight
Most plant foods contain less than highly processed and naturally healthy vegetarian foods.
If you are on a vegetarian diet to lose weight, you should limit or avoid the following foods:
Highly processed vegetarian foods: veggie burgers, meat substitutes, freezer meals, frozen treats, and mixed dairy products
Refined carbohydrates: white bread, white pasta, bagels, and crackers
Delicious foods and drinks: candy, cookies, cakes, table sugar, soft drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks and sweet tea
Also, try to avoid oversized servings of any food, especially those that are high in sugar and calories.
SUMMARY:
If you want to lose weight on a vegetarian diet, you should avoid overly processed products, refined carbohydrates, and sugary drinks.
Vegetarian Meal plan for Weight Loss
This 5-day eating plan offers some ideas for a vegetarian diet for weight loss.
Day 1
Breakfast: steel-cut oats with apples, peanut butter, and cinnamon
Lunch: a salad with greens, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette
Dinner: black-bean soup with a dollop of Greek yogurt, whole-grain bread, and a side salad
Snack: almonds and dark chocolate
Day 2
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with broccoli and cheddar, plus a side of berries
Lunch: a burrito bowl with brown rice, pinto beans, tomato, onion, and avocado
Dinner: zucchini noodles with marinara, sunflower seeds, and white beans
Snack: string cheese or an orange
Day 3
Breakfast: plain Greek yogurt with pineapple, shredded coconut, and walnuts
Lunch: lentil soup, chopped bell peppers, and guacamole
Dinner: Eggplant Parmesan served over whole-grain pasta and green beans
Snack: a whole-grain granola bar or berries
Day 4
Breakfast: a smoothie bowl made from unsweetened almond milk, spinach, hemp seeds, frozen berries, and a banana
Lunch: an egg salad on whole-grain bread with strawberries, carrots, and hummus
Dinner: stir-fry with tofu, carrots, broccoli, brown rice, soy sauce, and honey
Snack: dried mango and pistachios
Day 5
Breakfast: two eggs and one slice of whole-grain toast with avocado, plus a side of grapes
Lunch: a salad with kale, pecans, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and edamame
Dinner: homemade chickpea patties alongside sautéed mushrooms and a baked sweet potato
Snack: Plain Greek yogurt with cherries
SUMMARY:
These food and snack ideas can help you get started on a vegetarian weight loss diet.
BOTTOM LINE:
A vegetarian diet that focuses on nutritious plant foods can help you lose weight.
However, it is important to eat protein when it comes to serving size and high-calorie foods, refined carbohydrates, and high-processed foods.
Remember that not all vegetarian foods are healthy.
Article source healthline.com
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