My 2nd day as a vegetarian (its not that bad)

[Arkitech]

Yesterday I started my first day as a vegetarian, this is kind of a health experiment that I'm hoping to pursue until the end of the year or longer. As a hardcore meat eater I thought it would be difficult for my first couple of days but so far so good.

One of my goals is to lose weight, so I've decided to of course avoid meat. Also I'm abstaining from soda, candy, fast food, bread and processed foods. I'm hoping that if I eat as natural as possible I will lose weight and gain energy. This leads me to my first question.

I recently started lifting weights again and I'm curious what some of you vegetarians who do the same eat to insure maximum muscle growth?

Can too many nuts (cashews, almonds, peanut butter, etc..) cause fat gains? I've heard a few people say that nuts are very fattening, but I always thought they were healthy fats.

Is too much brown rice counterproductive to losing weight? So far I'm eating about 1-2 cups of brown rice per day, I like the taste and it fills me up. But I don't want to over do it.


Finally can you guys critique my meals so far? This is my first time taking on such a drastically different eating pattern so I'd like to know that I'm eating enough of the right things.


Sunday
Breakfast - grapes and cashews

Lunch - 1 cup of brown rice with lots of olive oil for taste, sauteed
mushrooms and onions with parmesan cheese

Dinner - Home made french fries and onions (2 small potatoes, 1 medium
onion) cooked in canola oil

Late Snack - 2 apples (sliced) with peanut butter

Second Late Snack - 4 slices of swiss cheese and crackers (I kind of went
wild with this last snack

Monday
Breakfast - 3-4 baby carrots, 2 apples (sliced) with peanut butter

Lunch - 1/2 cup of brown rice with sliced, toasted almonds and lots of olive
oil. Sliced eggplant sauteed with parmesan cheese



I would like to add more snacks to my eating schedule to keep my metabolism high. Maybe more carrots or celery with some kind of dip.

Thanks for any advice or helpful criticisms

 

[forfor]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
One of my goals is to lose weight, so I've decided to of course avoid meat. Also I'm abstaining from soda, candy, fast food, bread and processed foods. I'm hoping that if I eat as natural as possible I will lose weight and gain energy. This leads me to my first question.

Meat is natural. There are plenty of healty meat. I don't understand your rationale for giving up meat, especially when you are lifting weights and want to maximize muscle growth.

 

[Atheus]

Where do you get protien and iron? There may be some in there, but I don't see it.

You will be very thin very fast eating like that I reckon.

 

[forfor]

 

[djheater]

Cut out trans fats as well.

Hommous with tortilla chips or freshly toasted pita
Red beans and rice

 

[vi edit]

Sorry to be an ass, but going veggie ain't going to fix things. Lean cuts of meat like chicken breast, fish, and sirloin aren't your problem. Cutting them out deprives you of clean, quality sources of protein that you can't replicate from other food groups.

Your diet also looks very lacking in carbs to help keep your body fueled for athletic activity.

 

[KK]

I just had a juicy ribeye yesterday. It was awesome.

 

[jhayx7]

My wife and I have not been eating meat for over a month now. She has some health reasons and I agreed so it would be easier for her. My favorite vegetarian meal is black bean burgers (Morningstar brand), they are better than regular burgers IMO. Soy meat replacements are a good alternative too. We use it in tacos, soups, etc.. We have found the Publix brand that comes in bag to be the best. I actually do not crave meat now, the first couple of weeks was a little tempting and I did eat meat twice but none since. Also, taco bell is a great meatless fast food option. Bean burritos rule and you can get anything without meat, Meximelts and Mexican Pizzas are my fav.

 

[imported_LoKe]

Better get started on those vitamins and supplements.

 

[Descartes]

That diet is a mess. No offense, but you seriously should have planned this out rather than just grabbing random food items. You will lose weight, but if you keep that up you'll be losing a lot of muscle as well.

There's so many things to say that I don't really even know where to begin. I implore you to go to the bookstore and buy a book on nutrition and vegetarian diets. You're going to waste away if you keep eating like that.

Overall though, it's pretty simple: Find your BMR, find out what caloric deficit you require to lose weight (which could be coupled with exercise), and from that find the foods that get you to those calories. Balance the calories between protein, carbs and fat. A split of 40/40/20 might work for you, for example. Find a good nutrition book to tell you what a good source of those calories are and eat them. If you knew your BMR you wouldn't be scared of brown rice. Is it too much? Who knows, but if you break it down in your diet you should know without question. It's not a matter of opinion.

Sorry to come off a little harsh, but you seem to be a little hard-headed about this and you didn't seem to listen to what anyone in that previous thread was saying, specifically about protein.

[edit]Thought I'd also recommend something like FitDay to track your calories (and the source, be it fat, carbs, etc.) until you get your diet on track. You're likely to be very surprised.[/edit]

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: forfor

Originally posted by: Arkitech
One of my goals is to lose weight, so I've decided to of course avoid meat. Also I'm abstaining from soda, candy, fast food, bread and processed foods. I'm hoping that if I eat as natural as possible I will lose weight and gain energy. This leads me to my first question.

Meat is natural. There are plenty of healty meat. I don't understand your rationale for giving up meat, especially when you are lifting weights and want to maximize muscle growth.

It's a personal choice, I just feel that for me going without meat for awhile will help me reach my goals faster. I'm not trying to convince anyone that the way I eat is better, but just for me personally I want to try a vegetarian diet and see how it works out.

 

[jhayx7]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Sorry to be an ass, but going veggie ain't going to fix things. Lean cuts of meat like chicken breast, fish, and sirloin aren't your problem. Cutting them out deprives you of clean, quality sources of protein that you can't replicate from other food groups.

Your diet also looks very lacking in carbs to help keep your body fueled for athletic activity.

Soy is a great protein replacement. It seems the OP needs to eat more (protein and carbs).

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Atheus
Where do you get protien and iron? There may be some in there, but I don't see it.

You will be very thin very fast eating like that I reckon.

I'm working on getting more variety into my meals, I still have some grocery shopping to do.

 

[rhino56]

i havent eaten meat in about 15 years now. i need to lose some weight but its mainly from my lack of activity and indulgence of foods, beer, pop, and anything i want. i have recently started running a bit and its making me drop weight fast.

ill be in great shape in about a month i guess.
im age 40

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: djheater
Cut out trans fats as well.

Hommous with tortilla chips or freshly toasted pita
Red beans and rice

What is hommous made of? I see that in recipes from time to time

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: jhayx7

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Sorry to be an ass, but going veggie ain't going to fix things. Lean cuts of meat like chicken breast, fish, and sirloin aren't your problem. Cutting them out deprives you of clean, quality sources of protein that you can't replicate from other food groups.

Your diet also looks very lacking in carbs to help keep your body fueled for athletic activity.

Soy is a great protein replacement. It seems the OP needs to eat more (protein and carbs).

Soy is an "okay" protein souce but it simply is not a replacement for eggs and *real* meat. There is much more to protein than what you read on a nutrition label.

 

[HamSupLo]

I don't think eating meat is the cause of your obesity.

 

[TuxDave]

Umm... you may want to plan out your meals a little better. French fries and fried onions for dinner? Come on....

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Sorry to be an ass, but going veggie ain't going to fix things. Lean cuts of meat like chicken breast, fish, and sirloin aren't your problem. Cutting them out deprives you of clean, quality sources of protein that you can't replicate from other food groups.

Your diet also looks very lacking in carbs to help keep your body fueled for athletic activity.

I was hoping the rice and fruits would give me enough carbs. I have'nt worked out in a couple of days though, so I need to see if those are enough cards to get me through a workout.

 

[jmdeathsquad]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: djheater
Cut out trans fats as well.

Hommous with tortilla chips or freshly toasted pita
Red beans and rice

What is hommous made of? I see that in recipes from time to time

chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini - thats the basics, you can add other stuff

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
My wife and I have not been eating meat for over a month now. She has some health reasons and I agreed so it would be easier for her. My favorite vegetarian meal is black bean burgers (Morningstar brand), they are better than regular burgers IMO. Soy meat replacements are a good alternative too. We use it in tacos, soups, etc.. We have found the Publix brand that comes in bag to be the best. I actually do not crave meat now, the first couple of weeks was a little tempting and I did eat meat twice but none since. Also, taco bell is a great meatless fast food option. Bean burritos rule and you can get anything without meat, Meximelts and Mexican Pizzas are my fav.

I may give the soymeat a try, but is'nt that kind of a processed food? I never could eat beans, the taste does nothing for me.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Arkitech

Originally posted by: djheater
Cut out trans fats as well.

Hommous with tortilla chips or freshly toasted pita
Red beans and rice

What is hommous made of? I see that in recipes from time to time

Chickpeas. You don't need to make it - in fact I suggest you don't - you can just buy it.

Pulses like lentils are good fro protien, so try those. And spinach has iron it, I suggest you go for that too.

Seroiusly though, if you don't have an 'animal rights' type problem with eating meat, and just want to lose weight, you should eat meat. One of the quickest ways t lose weight is to eat almost _only_ meat - Atkins.

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: KK
I just had a juicy ribeye yesterday. It was awesome.

tuscan t-bone from olive garden for me.

 

[CVSiN]

Thats ok bro you just keep trying to be a rabbit..
me... I'll take my Rib eye extra rare with a side of fried chicken and Leg of lamb..

 

[Arkitech]

Originally posted by: Descartes
That diet is a mess. No offense, but you seriously should have planned this out rather than just grabbing random food items. You will lose weight, but if you keep that up you'll be losing a lot of muscle as well.

There's so many things to say that I don't really even know where to begin. I implore you to go to the bookstore and buy a book on nutrition and vegetarian diets. You're going to waste away if you keep eating like that.

Overall though, it's pretty simple: Find your BMR, find out what caloric deficit you require to lose weight (which could be coupled with exercise), and from that find the foods that get you to those calories. Balance the calories between protein, carbs and fat. A split of 40/40/20 might work for you, for example. Find a good nutrition book to tell you what a good source of those calories are and eat them. If you knew your BMR you wouldn't be scared of brown rice. Is it too much? Who knows, but if you break it down in your diet you should know without question. It's not a matter of opinion.

Sorry to come off a little harsh, but you seem to be a little hard-headed about this and you didn't seem to listen to what anyone in that previous thread was saying, specifically about protein.

[edit]Thought I'd also recommend something like FitDay to track your calories (and the source, be it fat, carbs, etc.) until you get your diet on track. You're likely to be very surprised.[/edit]

Dude is it just me or are you having a bad week or something? I don't know if you're trolling or honestly trying to offer advice. Whatever you're doing you tend to reply with negative statements. At any rate its my goal to grab some reading material along with internet research on a well balanced meal plan. I may not be eating perfectly just yet, but I'm sure its far better than the McDonald's meals I was eating last week. I'll check out that Fitday link, I've heard some co-workers raving about it recently.