I want to lose weight and get healthier this next year. I’m attempting once again to cut meat out of my diet, but I don’t know if I can do it. As a fat American, I love meat. Last year I attempted this same thing and within a week I was eating meat again. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I have zero energy. And yes I eat beans and soy products; it just doesn’t seem the same.
Any vegetarians out there with some advice? I start tomorrow.
When I was a vegetarian I didn’t eat processed things, like seitan or tofu, a good substitute for the meat protein is black beans. I don’t like soy that much, I maily stand with vegetables and legumes, and my GP said it was the healthiest time of my life. I might go back to vegetarianism. Tonights dinner is vegetarian.
I’ve toyed with vegetarianism for years. Honestly, if I were you I’d limit myself to something like salmon for awhile. Buy lots of nuts, beans nonwhite rice ect. Cut out white bread and unhealthy carbs. Always have fruits and veggies for an easy snack. Worked for me for 7yrs. Unfortunately, I have been eating horrible lately.
Every once in awhile I’ll go raw for a cleanse. That is an eye-opener.
What’s Portuguese food like? I have never had it.
Do you have a lot of American fast food restaurants there?
My problem is that in place of meat, I was eating a lot of carbs to compensate. That would be okay, but since I’m diabetic, it was a problem. Nuts and beans are on my shopping list. I buy bulk, so it’s not to bad.
Thanks for the advice.
Oh and smoothies. I buy large bags of frozen fruit and add some juice or almond milk, mix it up in my Ninja…guilt free breakfast. Just don’t add sugar or icecream 
I am vegan and I don’t eat processed foods.
I can’t drink juice because of the diabetes. I wonder if there is a good vegetable recipe for smoothies.
Ah,yes there are tons online.
I hate beets, lol.
Anyway, cutting out meats is not the answer according to certain diets. I don’t know why I don’t hear about The Atkins Diet anymore but a few years ago they were in the news frequently. I lost 63 lbs on The Atkins diet and that diet was centered around eating different meats i.e. beef, poultry, pork, etc. The diet had lots of critics but millions of people followed it. There’s a statistic that says that most people who lose weight on diets will gain it back after 5 years and sure enough it happened to me.
The Atkins Diet was based on meat and cutting carbs. The doctor who it is named after wrote a book about his diet. In his book he gives the minute details of his diet. The problem with the diet is that the amount of carbs you ate allowed varies according to your metabolism. Some people can lose weight on his diet while eating 120 grams of carbohydrates a day. Other people like me can handle only 20 grams of carbs a day to lose weight. That is a ridicuosley small amount of carbs per day. I could eat a 1/2 cup of vegetables in a whole day which is not a lot. Or I could eat a half cup of cottage cheese in a day etc.
So I did his diet and I lost the 63 lbs and I got to eat unlimited amounts of meat per day (within reason) and there were hundreds of great recipes available that were OK for his diet and I never went hungry which is a huge plus. But I wouldn’t go on his diet again. If you’re interested you can easily find info online about it and it might suit you. BUT… meat is outrageously expensive nowadays (as are most groceries, at least here in California) so you would have to take the price in to consideration.
Anyway, I tried a new diet 4 years ago. It’s called The Dukan Diet and it is named after the doctor who invented it too, Dr. Dukan. It is also based on eating almost unlimited protein every day but that includes dairy products. You can also eat unlimited vegetables every other day. Later I can add a few things like cheeses bread, pasta, and once you lose the weight you want, you can eat relatively freely of most foods but only in moderation. Anyway, I lost 70 lbs on this diet and I never went hungry either. I realize that yo yo dieting is not healthy. So you can read up on this diet too if you want.
Just try for one or two days a week without meat and build from there if you like it?
I tried and found it difficult to go cold turkey. Now I am going veggie every couple of days.
I’m a vegetarian, but in all honesty it doesn’t make me lose any weight. The only good thing is I don’t eat at fast food places anymore because there aren’t any vegetarian options. If you want to be vegetarian, embrace plain Greek yogurt. Any of the flavored stuff is loaded with sugar, but the plain is actually healthy and full of protein. But even if you just stick to lean cuts of meat, and grill it instead of trying, you’ll probably lose some weight.
I won’t go anywhere near soy now:
I don’t even use soy sauce these days – I substitute coconut aminos instead.
Pixel.
Seriously Pixel? You’re anti-GMO? You do realize that literally everything we eat is GMO unless you only eat wild-caught meat and no vegetables, right? Humans have been genetically modifying foods through selective pollination for years.
There’s enough research coming in and it’s of high enough quality that I’m hesitant to consume soy. Same goes for corn. I’m okay with GMO rice and some other grains. Case by case basis. Spent the last decade living and working on an organic farm.
Pixel.
I just eat whatever and hope for the best because I’ve recalled at least 3 times in my life “experts” have warned certain things are carcinogens and then soon after they say they were totally wrong.
You have every job in existence. DJ, photographer, trucker, school bus driver, and farmer? How do you do all that?
Yeah, I’ve lived through reversals of medical opinion on salt, eggs, and fats now. More info:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/04/soy-dangers-summarized.aspx
I don’t sleep worth a damn. That helps. Not driving school bus much right now. Maybe a day or two a month as a spare driver. Truck driver full-time now. Moved off the farm just over a year ago as the parents are getting ready to retire. DJ and photo bizzynesses both slow right now so I do them more for fun than $$$. Most of my spare time goes into an amateur, non-profit Net radio station we built for our schools and our community to use together.
Pixel.
One I remember in particular the media blew out of proportion was Teflon cookware causes cancer and less than a week later they apologized for getting more excited about it than a 8 year old at Christmas because it wasn’t true or whatever.