Gained weight since going vegetarian - help!

I've been vegetarian for 3 years, (not for health reasons, for animal cruelty reasons).

Since I went vegetarian, I've gained lots of weight. (about 20 pounds). This is mostly because since I'm not eating meat or poultry or seafood anymore I'm not getting "full", so instead i've just been eating a lot of vegetarian snacks.

I want to lose 25 lbs, but every diet program out there isn't made to accomodate veggies like me.

What are some healthy filling meals or foods I can buy that are vegetarian that'll help me lose weight?

I am not a vegetarian but I do eat a lot of tofu and I find that is very filling.  if you take a look at the www.wholefoods.com they have some good recipes.  Also, I find a lot of vegetarians gain because they resort to eating a lot carbs but not the right ones.  make sure that you are eating nuts (i eat almonds and they fill me up).  Not too many but maybe an oz a day is ok.  That is about 24 almonds.

Also, there is a section on this site for vegetarians, I would check out those forums as well.

do you eat dairy? because cheese and yogurt are a great way to get protein into your diet.  Also eggs, but not sure if you eat those or not.

I am a vegetarian and I have no problem with feeling full.  I eat a lot of legumes... lentils, kidney beans, garbanzos,edamame(soybeans) and tofu. I do eat some lowfat cheese, but not much, because of the sodium content. I eat nuts and seeds daily.  My carbs are high but they are good carbs.  Any bread that I eat are 100%whole wheat.  The cereals that I eat  have 7 - 9g fiber in them or I dont mess with them.  Cauliflower, broccoli,vegetarian chilli, peas,edamame. the list is endless.

If you eat 25-35g fiber daily... you will find that you wont be hungry.  It takes longer to digest.  I had 12g of fiber for breakfast.  You have to add fiber slowly, if you arent used to much fiber, otherwise you will have GI discomfort....gas and bloating.

I' love to help you...You can add me as a friend if you like.

love, karen

Hi, I checked and you do not have a profile made.  If you make one, I can add you as a friend  and I can help you with suggestions and receipies... Are you a vegan as well?

Love, Karen

Hey amanda! Welcome! I am a vegan and losing weight. Congrats on becoming veggie :) If you search around the vegetarian forums you will find a great list of forums that talk about good foods for a vegetarian to eat. You should eat a lot of protein (nuts/tofu/soy) plus tofu and soy have iron (VERY IMPORTANT!) and for Fiber you will find in a lot of your fruits (apples, etc) the fiber and the protein will help keep you fuller longer.

If by "vegetarian snacks" you mean starchy, fatty foods, then that has to change.

I'd say, fill up on plenty of veggies, lots of legumes (beans, lentils, pulses), whole grains and find a protein source you like.  If you eat eggs, egg whites are good.  If you eat dairy, non fat dairy products are good.  Tofu and other soybean products are a great source of protein.  Stay away from refined flours and baked goods, white sugar (have fruit instead) and too much sodium.

The food log here is just wonderful for keeping track and making sure you're getting your nutrients.

Fibre, fibre, fibre! I find I'm LESS hungry as a veatarian, because I eat so many more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, as well as legumes, which have ltos of fibre AND high volume for the calories you eat, so they fill you right up. If you are eating a HEALTHY vegetarian diet, you should be full. Here's a vegan recipe I LOVE to make (not sure if you eat dairy and eggs?), which fills me right up and is very good for you.

1/4 cup dry red lentils
2/3 cup coarsely chopped carrot
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
1/2 tsp of vegetable bouillon powder
10 almonds, chopped
(Squeeze of lemon juice, whatever herbs and spices I feel like...usually I use lemon juice and powdered ginger)

Rinse the lentils until water runs clear. Place in medium saucepan and add 1/2 cup cold water and bouillon powder on top (you could sub this for vegetable broth if you want, but I like to control the level of flavour). Bring to a boil. Add garlic. Reduce to medium heat and let cook unti liquid has been absorbed. After cooking is finished, add carrot and almonds (sometimes I'll put in 1/4 cup of chopped apple, as well), cover, and let stand for 3-5 minutes. Serve hot or refrigerate. (I take it cold for my lunch at work!)

You can eat this on its own, though it's pretty low in calories for a meal, or else you can serve it with tofu, either prepared separately in your favourite style, or else added to the recipe during cooking.

Here is the nutritional breakdown (bear in mind this includes the bouillo I use, Knorr, so your mileage may vary):

274 calories
Fat - 21.5% (7 grams)
Protein - 23.2% (16 grams)
Carbohydrates - 55.3% (39 grams)
Sodium - 270 mg
Fibre - 18 grams (more than half of what you need for the whole day!)

All the fats in it are good fats, so you'll feel satsified but it's still healthy, you get 16 g of protein from the lentils and the nuts (more, if you add tofu!) and since almost half of those carbs are fibre, you'll stay full much longer. Plus, it's delicious. You can add apple to it, which will slightly change the flavour and texture (and the ratios, obviously) or raisins, or substitute sunflower seeds for almonds--it's infinitely flexible. The only downside to it is that it's a bit high in sodium from the bouillon.

I'm a vegetarian & I've been one since I was 10 yrs old. I noticed when I was in high school that I had been gaining weight & thought it was odd since I don't eat meat. I was VERY active w/ sports & kept busy, but boy did I snack!! It's difficult sometimes to find the right thing to eat, but if you think it through & get everything ready for the next day the night before, you'll be fine. I recently started eating fiber. I eat close to 30g of fiber a day, Fiber One Clusters. I love it! It's delicious & is so healthy! I have also found that eating egg whites really fills me up as well, plus there's a LOT of protein in them! Something that has worked for me is making it a routine to buy veggies/fruits from a local market every weekend & cut them up immediately. I put everything in sandwich bags & they're all set to grab for when I'm on the go. It may seem like a hassel, but believe me, I lost 10 lbs in 2 weeks; I'm now 22 yrs old, 5'7" 135 lbs. I exercise 2 hrs a day in the mornings & go straight to work & I have LONG days. Snaking on the fruits/veggies are really filling! Try to stay away from pastas (I loaded up on that when I started) & if you do like pasta, go w/ whole/multi grain! Hope this helps!

Try going to www.drmcdougall.com it's an all vegan "diet".  You could probably modify it to vegetarian.  There's a recipe forum and a lot of good ideas. The main thing is to maintain balance in your diet.  Complex carbs like potatoes, beans and grains are the best thing to fill you up.  Apples are really filling too.  I would go easy on dairy products, like cheese.  20lbs isn't that bad, I gained 40 when I went vegan!  I've since lost 20 since I started eating only whole grains and vegetables.  Hope this helps!

Amy's brand frozen meals are a great way to help count calories. They use no meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or peanuts in their foods, and nearly all their ingredients are certified organic. Naturally, that makes them a little on the pricey side; I think they go for about $4.50 for a full meal and $3.00 for a burrito or hot-pocket at Safeway, and somewhat less at Shoppers' Food Warehouse, compared to about $1.50 for Lean Cuisines when they go on sale. The website has a store locator which can tell you where your nearest Amy's vendor is. All the meals are under 400 calories, and almost all have less than 33% of calories from fat and more than 5g of fiber.

Also, re-evaluate your "snacks". Are you eating highly processed convenience foods? If you are, you're not doing yourself a favor. Try stocking up on items that take less than five minutes of preparation to turn into a nice mini-meal - one of my favorites is a corn tostada topped with a mixture of ~1/4 cup Old El Paso fat free refried beans from a can mixed with a couple of tablespoons of hot bottled salsa.

 Pre-cut fresh fruit and veggies are also good snack options; try the snack cups of mandarin orange sections packed in juice or light syrup (and don't drink the liquid that's left!) or a bag of baby carrots with a homemade dip of fat-free plain yogurt (I'm a fan of Fage Total 0% Greek Style but I haven't found it cheap in bulk yet so I just use Dannon) or silken tofu, mixed with dill and a little lemon juice.

If you must have your chips, then consider investing in 100-calorie packs. I found several assortments at Costco, including iced soy crisps, some good old-fashioned Nabisco brand favorites, and a 24-pack of organic packaged snacks.

In terms of a diet plan, so far I've really enjoyed The Hacker's Diet. There aren't a lot of big secrets in it, but the style is friendly and approachable without a lot of psychobabble, and teaches you not only how to lose the weight but how to keep it off, and get in shape too in just 15 minutes a day. Plus, it's completely free and includes some Excel tools to help you monitor your progress!

One caveat: if you are going to use the spreadsheets, READ THE MANUAL. I got pretty frustrated with the broken macros until I went into the documentation, where the author explains how to circumvent a bug in Microsoft Office that's causing the errors (it involves only opening the files through the Open... option in the File menu) .

I was a vegetarian for about 4 years before switching over to veganism. My freshman year of college I was still eating dairy, eggs, and occasionally fish, and my weight jumped about 10 pounds (which is a lot for someone who is 5'2''). the weight jump was not only food but also booze! yet it was also eating late night pizza, fries, and a generally highly palatable, high calorie, nutrient poor diet. basically, i was a "bad vegetarian"--i ate things that didn't contain mean but i didn't eat anything that my body really needed like whole grains, high protein, fresh fruits and veggies. However, I decided to go vegan after getting fed up with feeling fat. I lost what i gained and then some! here are some ideas to help get that weight off:

--by going vegan (if you want, go slowly at first or even semi-vegan) you cut out a lot of the fat and calories in dairy and egg products, not to mention all of the heart clogging cholesterol.

--exercise! i trained for and ran a marathon (!!) because i felt so good and had so much energy once i stopped eating like crap. and that only reinforced the weightloss

--buy a foodscale. this is a great way to count calories with precision. i bought a salter food scale, which was about $50. it may seem expensive, but it's worth it if you are serious about losing weight and improving your health and appearance.

--i love snackfood: currently i'm obsessed with pita chips and soy buddies vanilla ice cream sandwiches. buying treat foods keeps you from binging. buying in portion controlled bags keeps you from binging. buying vegan drastically reduces the variety of snackfood i can stock up on. also, i try to buy organic things whenever i can. if you pledge to only buy snack food that is vegan, organic, and portion controlled, you should have a handle on snacking in no time. and if you really can't resist, don't buy the snack food. if it's not around you can't possibly eat it.

eating well and losing weight is hard to do for a lot of americans. but eating well and losing weight is almost a given for someone who is serious about eating a nutritious vegan diet and burning calories through exercise. if all else fails, see a nutritionist for professional guidance.

I also eat tons of veges but I used to (say last month) have lots of bread/pasta cravings (and satisfactions!).  Now, I feel not only full but that I'm forcing myself to eat all the alloted food I need.  Below is a sample day:

Breakfast:  1 cup lowfat yogurt, 1 cup Optimum Power cereal, 1 cup fresh strawberries (about 430 calories)

Lunch:  2 cups fresh mixed veges (steamed four minutes), 6 Tbsp thai peanut sauce (I make my own) (about 320 calories)

Dinner: 1/3 of 12" pizza, fruit of choice, and a salad (370 + 50 + 150 calories)

There's room to play with this of course.  My main thing is to eat only veges at lunch. I prefer the steamed veges with a yummy sauce so I feel like I've really had a meal.  I'm stuffed with that lunch.

dcgirl is right.  If you eat dairy, you can introduce protein into the diet very easily.  Just a reminder with cheese though...Make sure that you don't rely on it too much.  When I first became a vegetarian, I started to eat more cheese here and there for protein without really thinking of the consequences.  The result was that I quickly developed high cholesterol. (And I was only 20! Yikes!)  Just make sure that you are choosing cheeses that are low in fat and cholesterol. (Try fat-free cottage cheese with fruit for lunch. Yum!)  Also, make sure that if you do have yogurt, that it is low in sugar.  Dannon's Light & Fit is pretty good.  And if nothing else fails, try just drinking a glass of skim milk before dinner.  It fills you up, but gives you about 9 grams of protein per 8 oz. glass and it has no fat.  Put in some sugar free chocolate syrup and you can even pretend that it's a dessert.  :)    Good luck! 

I have been Veg almost my whole life. Here are some things I eat on a regular basis that seem to keep me full..

Cream of wheat w/applesauce, cinnamon, and a little soymilk.

popcorn sprayed w/cooking spray and coated w/nutritional yeast or taco seasoning.

spaghetti w/marinara sauce and a salad w/vinegar (no oil)

gardenburger brand Chik'n patties. These are high in protein and at 100 calories they are pretty filling. I put barbecue sauce on them.

Baked potato w/salsa.

stir fry a whole bunch of veggies w/tofu and put over rice. So filling and so good.

Tacos! Smart ground Taco meat in taco shells w/onion, lettuce, tomato, and hot sauce.

  Dunno if this will help, but Ive been a vegetarien for roughly 6-7 years... since middle school anyway. Noone in my family were vegs so I didnt know how to go about being a healthy one, and I binged. oh baby did i ever.
  Ive been trying to diet for years with zero success. finally I picked up some vitamins, fairly strong multivitamins (and calcium ones b/c I dont drink much milk). You can get non-animal-bi-product ones out there i think, but I doubt mine are... either way, almost every urge to snack is gone... And Im Finally starting to lose the weight Ive been putting on those 6 years.

consume half a cup of any beans a day. in whatever form you wish. this will help you out greatly!

eat oats and other cereals for breakfast!

tofu

seitan

tempeh

try out new things!

I just recently decided to go vegetairan but before this I had cut chesse almost completely out of my diet.  I used to sit and eat hunks of cheese for a snack and add it to everything. 

While okay if you do low fat or in moderation cheese has a lot of fat.

I ate most everything else the same but was able to keep my weight steady (I had lost 20 pounds with my trainer - but am was no longer with her) I honestly think in part to removing cheese from my diet.