Vegetarian Discussion TopicsFirst time dieter/vegetarian!
Posted by happygolucky11
at 01/01/2013
Hello everyone!
I'm pretty overweight at the moment and feel frequently tired and rundown and I know its due to my poor diet.
I'm looking at making some very healthy changes and having read about how bad meat actually is for you and your diet and all the horror stories of slaughterhouses I've decided to give Vegetarianism a try along combined with a healthy diet.
However, I'm worried that making such a drastic change to my diet, that at the moment is very sugar and meat based, I'm really going to struggle staying focused.
Also, I'm worried that by being vegetarian i'll become too 'skinny' and lose my boobs and curves!
Any guidance on the above would be really appreciated.
Thanks :)
Responses
hi Happygolucky,
It's true that switching to a vegetarian diet combined with regular exercise is a great way to stay fit and lose weight. That said, you don't have to worry about losing your boobs and curves. You won't become some skeleton creature, you'll just be a healthier more fit version of you! : ) Remember it's also about portion control and what you eat as a vegetarian. For example, vegetarians eat dairy and that means cheese, ice cream, butter. Those things pack on the pounds. So be careful not to overdo it on the dairy. I find that real weight loss kicks in for people when they go vegan (eliminating dairy) and/or add more exercise to their daily regimen.
On to your next concern, you say you're worried about staying focused. I understand, but you can do this. You can make the change. Write down a paragraph now about how you feel - overweight, unhealthy, tired, rundown, etc. and how you don't want to be this way for the rest of your life. When you're tempted to go back to your old ways of eating, look at that for motivation. If you are ethically motivated, as I was when I made the switch, I carried around a pamphlet that had photos of animals being factory farmed. Just the idea of pulling that photo out and seeing those poor creatures being so abused was motivation enough. Find what works for you.
Next, you mention sugar. Talk about highly addictive. That may present your biggest obstacle to staying focused. You must commit to this dietary change for at least 3 weeks. For many people it takes 2 weeks, and for most after 3 weeks, if you do not cheat whatsover and stay on course, you'll find your cravings have disappeared. I'm talking sugar cravings, meat cravings and this also works for dairy. You must be patient and keep at it, the cravings will go away and there will come a time you don't even think about eating sugar-rich foods. You'll find the health and energy gained will be worth all of the cravings you endured.
Lastly, as you embark on your journey toward healthy eating, you'll need to have some fallback measures in place when those sugar and meat cravings kick in. When you crave something sweet, instead of reaching for a sugary snack, be sure to have your favorite fresh fruits around. Have ingredients for a smoothie around. They are healthy and very filling. When your meat cravings kick in, have some veggie sausage around that you can fry up. Be prepared.
My personal fallback measure when I need comfort food or am tempted to mindlessly eat while watching my favorite TV show is to make a hot beverage. It may seem trite, but there's something very comforting about having a warm cup of tea, coffee, de-caf, hot cocoa that soothes and thereby eliminates cravings.
You can do it!
It's true that switching to a vegetarian diet combined with regular exercise is a great way to stay fit and lose weight. That said, you don't have to worry about losing your boobs and curves. You won't become some skeleton creature, you'll just be a healthier more fit version of you! : ) Remember it's also about portion control and what you eat as a vegetarian. For example, vegetarians eat dairy and that means cheese, ice cream, butter. Those things pack on the pounds. So be careful not to overdo it on the dairy. I find that real weight loss kicks in for people when they go vegan (eliminating dairy) and/or add more exercise to their daily regimen.
On to your next concern, you say you're worried about staying focused. I understand, but you can do this. You can make the change. Write down a paragraph now about how you feel - overweight, unhealthy, tired, rundown, etc. and how you don't want to be this way for the rest of your life. When you're tempted to go back to your old ways of eating, look at that for motivation. If you are ethically motivated, as I was when I made the switch, I carried around a pamphlet that had photos of animals being factory farmed. Just the idea of pulling that photo out and seeing those poor creatures being so abused was motivation enough. Find what works for you.
Next, you mention sugar. Talk about highly addictive. That may present your biggest obstacle to staying focused. You must commit to this dietary change for at least 3 weeks. For many people it takes 2 weeks, and for most after 3 weeks, if you do not cheat whatsover and stay on course, you'll find your cravings have disappeared. I'm talking sugar cravings, meat cravings and this also works for dairy. You must be patient and keep at it, the cravings will go away and there will come a time you don't even think about eating sugar-rich foods. You'll find the health and energy gained will be worth all of the cravings you endured.
Lastly, as you embark on your journey toward healthy eating, you'll need to have some fallback measures in place when those sugar and meat cravings kick in. When you crave something sweet, instead of reaching for a sugary snack, be sure to have your favorite fresh fruits around. Have ingredients for a smoothie around. They are healthy and very filling. When your meat cravings kick in, have some veggie sausage around that you can fry up. Be prepared.
My personal fallback measure when I need comfort food or am tempted to mindlessly eat while watching my favorite TV show is to make a hot beverage. It may seem trite, but there's something very comforting about having a warm cup of tea, coffee, de-caf, hot cocoa that soothes and thereby eliminates cravings.
You can do it!
Happycowgirl is spot on again, as usual. (I'm probably her no. 1 fan, even though I like to tease her). At my own incredibly old age (like most oldies that should be pushing up daises) I've had a lot of experience over a wide range of issues including weight control - both as a qualified clinical hypnotherapist and as a pig. Generally speaking weight control challenges involve far more than simply diet. And very often far more than diet and exercise. But, you could well be the exception. What am I referring to? There is often an underlying emotional issue and without resolving it satisfactorily we tend to lose weight, and then get fat again no matter what type of food we eat and how much we exercise. We over-eat. We feed our frustrations and our layer of extra body fat somehow protects us from the sharp edge of the world. I maybe am reading far far far too much into your words but possibly your subconscious was speaking through your words - reference your curves? It is impossible to say simply from a brief note. Only you will know if my generalisations may or may not apply to you. Whatever the case I wish you well.
It sounds like meat or not meat, your not eating a healthy diet to begin with. So your talking about a lot of changes. I would first start a food diary, I use one. there's many available for free online that will even tell you approximate calories. You need to look at how many calories you are eating per day. if your eating 2500 calories a day for example, going veggie won't change anything if you still eat 2500 calories. You need to look at what foods you are eating, and which foods are packing on the calories. Start switching those out for healthier lower calorie items. The best way to change your diet is to go one aspect at a time. Once you evaluate what your eating, you'll know what changes to make.
Hi Longdrive, I'm so happy to have a fan! It may be a fan club of one, but I'll take it. : ) Lol.
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