Vegetarian Diet – Lose Weight without Eating Meat or Fish
In this article you will read everything you need to know about vegetarian weight loss. You will learn which vegetarian products are best to eat (and which are better to avoid) during weight loss.
Note: not all vegetarian foods are healthy. Some vegetarian products are full of flavor enhancers, dyes, sweeteners or sugar. Use the free vegetarian weekly menu from this article if you want to lose weight quickly and healthy.
Vegetarian weight loss: is it healthy?
A vegetarian diet is a diet without meat or fish. Chicken and shellfish are also not on the menu. With a vegetarian diet you still eat other animal products such as eggs and dairy.
Just as with a standard diet with meat and fish, you can also eat unhealthy and healthy food with a vegetarian diet. If you eat the right products, a vegetarian diet can be just as healthy as a ‘normal’ diet.
It is important that you eat protein-rich products and pay special attention to the amount of carbohydrates. Meat and fish are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, so make sure to replace them with products that are also high in protein and low in carbohydrates . You can read how to do this later in this article.
Vegetarian weight loss also has its advantages. Below you can read which they are.
You lose weight effortlessly
Research has shown that people who switch to a vegetarian menu automatically lose weight. In this study, participants lost an average of 3.4 kilos in four weeks, without making any further effort.
This is probably partly due to the many fibers that are present in vegetable products. Fiber fills your stomach, but doesn’t provide calories. They keep you satiated for a long time and prevent you from getting hungry again quickly.
In addition, vegetable products often contain less fat. As a result, the number of calories you consume with a vegetarian diet that contains many vegetable products is lower.
In other words, a vegetarian diet allows you to eat more for the same number of calories. But note: it is important that you eat the right products. You can read which ones later in this article.
Fats may be high in calories, but they are certainly not unhealthy – provided you choose the right fats. Omega 3 fats are the healthiest fats available, and you will find them in abundance in vegetarian products such as nuts, seeds and nut butters.
Vegetarian food is healthy
A vegetarian diet can lower the risk of premature death.
Research shows that vegetarian diets can reverse cardiovascular disease. Carbohydrates also have a negative effect on how your body deals with cholesterol. That’s why following a low-carb diet is so important.
Summary: If you eat more vegetarian and less animal products such as meat and fish, you will get more fiber and omega-3 fats. This ensures that you burn fat quickly and make your body healthier.
Watch out for unhealthy vegetarian food
But beware : vegetarian food does not automatically mean that you eat or lose weight. After all, toasts with fatty cheese, ice cream, chips and biscuits are also simply vegetarian. And if you like meat and fish substitutes too much cheese or nuts, you can even arrive in weight.
Just like a meat and fish diet, you need to know what to eat. Low-carbohydrate, healthy, unprocessed food is the path that will give you that slim body.
Vegetarian and low-carbohydrate: is that possible?
A low- carbohydrate diet is key to permanent weight loss. By eating less carbohydrates you activate fat burning and you avoid getting hungry. This is the most important thing when it comes to losing weight successfully.
As a vegetarian it is also important that you limit your carbohydrate intake. A diet high in carbohydrates slows weight loss. There is also a good chance that you will experience hunger, do not maintain the diet and will quickly gain weight again.
Successfully lose weight with a low-carb vegetarian diet
Research has shown that a low-carb vegetarian diet is very effective. People who followed a low-carb vegetarian diet lost more weight than people who followed a high-carb vegetarian diet.
It is perfectly possible and not at all difficult to follow a low-carbohydrate diet without eating meat or fish. And it is just as effective for weight loss as a ‘normal’ diet. If you know which products to eat and which to leave, you have already won most of it.
In the next part you will read how to best approach a vegetarian diet for maximum results!
How do you lose weight with vegetarian food? What you need to know?
Losing weight with vegetarian food is not difficult. You just need to know the smart tricks that will help you lose weight. The secret to a successful vegetarian diet is a combination of the correct portion size and the amount of carbohydrates you eat. In this last part of the article you will read how to burn fat and lose weight quickly without hunger.
Rules of thumb for vegetarian weight loss:
- Replace meat and fish with protein-rich vegetarian products (see bonus below)
- Eat a lot of vegetables
- Leave potatoes, rice and pasta
- Choose eggs for your money
- Eat low-fat cottage cheese with breakfast or as a snack
- Take care with other dairy products
- Do not eat sweet snacks
- Do not eat junk food
Bonus: Healthy vegetarian meat substitutes that replace 100 grams of meat or fish:
- 1 boiled or fried egg
- 150 grams cottage cheese
- 125 grams of cooked beans or lentils
- 75 – 100 grams of a vegetarian meat substitute from the supermarket
Read the packaging and choose the product with as much protein and as few carbohydrates as possible. Preferably choose a meat substitute based on vegetables and / or wheat gluten (seitan), and not based on soy protein.
Vegetarian weight loss: the product list
To help you make the right choices, below is an overview of healthy vegetarian products that fit perfectly into a successful vegetarian diet.
Eat:
Raw vegetables, boiled vegetables, avocado, eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, seeds, oatmeal, legumes, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil.
Eat limited:
Potatoes, whole grains, quinoa, brown rice, rice cakes, fruit, butter, cheese, peanuts, dark chocolate (85% or more).
Avoid:
Sugar, candy, biscuit, cake, pie, ice cream, soda, fruit juice, sweet yogurt and yogurt drinks, fried food, pizza, pasta, white rice, bread, flour, ready-to-eat products, sauces, artificial sweeteners (and of course meat , fish, chicken and shellfish).
Vegetarian weekly menu and tips
To get you started, we have put together a weekly menu with some examples of healthy vegetarian meals. The dishes are low in carbohydrates and high in protein, fiber, healthy omega 3 fats and vitamins. With this weekly menu you ‘turn on’ your fat burning and keep hunger out for a long time.
Vegetarian Breakfast
- Breakfast 1: Cottage cheese with strawberries and pecans
- Breakfast 2: Omelet of 2 eggs, 1 diced tomato, ½ chopped onion and a handful of spinach
- Breakfast 3: 2 rice cakes with 2 boiled eggs, 1 sliced tomato, sea salt and black pepper
- Breakfast 4: Banana smoothie or strawberry smoothie
- Breakfast 5: Oatmeal porridge with apple and cinnamon, cooked in unsweetened almond milk
- Breakfast 6: 2 rice cakes with cottage cheese, sea salt and black pepper + a piece of fruit
- Breakfast 7 : Greek yogurt with red fruit and almonds
Vegetarian Lunch
- Lunch 1: Arugula salad with nuts, apple, pine nuts and lime juice
- Lunch 2: 3 rice cakes with avocado and hummus
- Lunch 3: Spicy lentil soup
- Lunch 4: Omelet of 2 eggs, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and cottage cheese
- Lunch 5: Kale smoothie (winter) or spinach smoothie (summer ) with extra oatmeal
- Lunch 6: Salad with chickpeas, beetroot, chopped walnuts and a dressing of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper
- Lunch 7: Pancake made from 1 banana, 2 eggs, dash of unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp oatmeal and pinch of cinnamon
Vegetarian Dinner
- Dinner 1: Mexican bean dish with brown rice and extra vegetables
- Dinner 2: Oven dish with lentils, vegetables and egg
- Dinner 3: Meat substitute (without soy) with steamed vegetables and raw vegetables
- Dinner 4: Sweet potato and endive stew + scrambled eggs
- Dinner 5: Quinoa salad with zucchini , unsalted nuts, olives and sun dried tomatoes
- Dinner 6: Meal soup with pumpkin and coconut milk
- Dinner 7: Wok dish with vegetables and vegetarian minced meat
Healthy vegetarian snacks:
- Cup of cherry tomatoes
- Half cucumber with cottage cheese dip
- 3 carrots with 30 grams of hummus
- Hand of unsalted nuts
- Boiled egg
- Cup of unsweetened cottage cheese or yogurt (possibly with pure stevia and / or cinnamon)
- 2 rice cakes with cottage cheese, pepper and sea salt
- Bowl of olives
Do you exercise a lot, do intensive work or do you need more carbohydrates for other reasons? Then eat a little more from the eat-limited list. For example, scoop up some extra beans, quinoa or brown rice with your meal, or eat an extra piece of fruit when you feel the need.
Before you start … read this
Then it is now time for action. With the tips below you can make your vegetarian diet plan even easier and more fun! Follow these tips for the very best results, and lose up to 2 pounds per week with a vegetarian diet.
Get the right groceries at home: if you don’t buy products that prevent weight loss, you can’t eat them either. Give away the unhealthy products in your kitchen cupboard or throw them in the waste bin. Unfortunately, but your life is worth more than that pack of cookies.
Use low-calorie seasonings: such as pure stevia, cinnamon, herbs and spices. Some of these seasonings, such as chili, turmeric and cinnamon, boost your metabolism, making weight loss even faster.
Have a stock of low-carb snacks: this will prevent you from reaching for a sweet snack in case of an attack of appetite. Bring cucumber, bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots and low-fat cottage cheese into your home for ‘urgent needs’. Always have at least one fresh raw snack vegetable available. If you are hungry you can always eat raw vegetables.
Plan ahead: In the evening, make sure you already have a plan for what to eat the next day. This applies to breakfast as well as lunch, dinner and snacks. If you are not used to this, it may be a puzzle at first, but rest assured: after a few days it will go by itself.
The Vegetarian Diet Plan
With the Vegetarian Diet Plan you immediately lose weight by replacing meat and fish in the right way.
The Vegetarian Diet Plan is the first diet plan in the America that is both low carb and vegetarian. With the four delicious weekly menus, you get the same amount of protein as a meat eater (an average of 85 grams of protein per day), so you won’t be lacking anything.
Enjoy delicious recipes without meat or fish.