Vegetarian Weight Loss Plan

Welcome to the August 2010 edition of “A Vegetarian or Vegan Diet Carnival”. Feel free to submit your posts about vegetarian/vegan dieting and weight loss at the link below.

photo credit: Capeside.

Thailand Breeze presents Honey-Citrus Yogurt Drink posted at Tip.

axel presents Weight Loss And Healthy Habits posted at axel g.

Graham Alice presents 50 Most Amazing Food Tools on the Web posted at MedicalCodingCertification.com.

Aparna presents Drumsticks for health posted at Beauty and Personal Grooming, saying, ““The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” goes a popular proverb. How true! Health conscious people, who are busy counting calories and spending a fortune on expensive and nutritious foodstuffs, hardly spare a thought to the humble drumstick (sahjan) tree which is a common sight in the gardens of so many Indian homes. They don’t mind consulting dieticians who charge exorbitant amounts for chalking out a suitable diet chart but are hesitant to make use of any home-grown, nutritious or cheaply available vegetable. Why the special emphasis on ‘drumstick’ ? Simply, because it is loaded with all the vital health ingredients. Read on to find out more…”

Sommer Collier presents Can’t Beat The Heat? posted at A Spicy Perspective.

Ron Delfs presents Top 10 Food Items Made From Soybeans posted at Environmental Science Degrees.

Edward Phillips presents The Future of Food: 10 Scary Facts About “Nano Foods” posted at MedicalCodingCertification.com.

CPF presents Okra Health Benefits posted at Natural Health Ezine, saying, “Eating okra has many benefits for your body. Add it to your diet today!”

Graham Alice presents 10 Foods With a Really High Price Tag posted at CriminalJusticeDegreesGuide.com.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents How to Buy Organic Food and Eat Well for Less Money posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

Chris presents Fasting For Health: Enlightenment Not Included? posted at Martial Development, saying, “On a 20-day vegan fast, David Rakoff got less than he bargained for…”

Thanks to all who submitted articles for the a vegetarian or vegan diet carnival. Use the following form to submit entries for next time: carnival submission form.

Welcome to the July 26, 2010 edition of “A Vegetarian or Vegan Diet Carnival”. Every two weeks I will be publishing this carnival with the best submissions from other blogs. Here is the information, in case you would like to submit a post to a future edition of the carnival. Anything related to vegetarian/vegan topics is fine to submit.

Editor’s pick for best article:

Silicon Valley Blogger presents A Healthy, Colorful Diet: Good For The Waistline & Wallet posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Thanks!”

Other submissions:

Carrie Oakley presents The 10 Dirtiest Chain Restaurants in America posted at Online Colleges, saying, “To help you make informed decisions about your next burger, fries, and beyond, we have gathered factual reports on the 10 dirtiest chain restaurants in America.”

Carolyn Friedman presents Radiography Schools » 15 Insanely Unhealthy Junk Foods You Probably Ate as a Kid posted at Radiography Schools, saying, “Every child grew up favoring a particular sugary, salty or greasy snack; even those whose parents painstakingly monitored their diets with the hope of encouraging healthy habits probably snuck in a surreptitious candy bar or bag of chips from time to time. Unfortunately, however, many of these treasured childhood treats contribute to medical issues such as heart disease and diabetes later on in life if not consumed sparingly.”

Kristin Conroy presents 2 Green Smoothies, 6 Ways to Enjoy Them posted at Words Are Food, saying, “6 delicious ways to enjoy your greens!”

BWL presents Coriander – A Green Leaf Full of Life posted at Natural Health Ezine, saying, “Add flavor to your everyday meals that will give you amazing health benefits!”

That’s it for today. Thanks to all who submitted articles. Submit your blog article to the next edition of A Vegetarian or Vegan Diet using our carnival submission form.

I have been on a vegan weight loss plan for 6 weeks now, and I have lost 8 pounds. I think that is really good. It is an average of a little over a pound a week. It is not good to lose weight much more quickly than that.

I have lost the weight without being hungry at all. I just follow a basic vegan diet, and in addition, I don’t eat too much sugar. I stick to fruit for my sweets. I also don’t eat much white flour. I eat a nice whole grain bread that is made at my local grocery store. I eat some packaged meals, a lot of soups, lots of fruits, vegetables, and salads. From time to time, I have a veggie burger or cook something vegan.

If I want something sweet to munch on, I have some granola (plain without milk) or some Giradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, which have only vegan ingredients (no milk).

There are plenty of vegan foods that you can eat while you are out too. I get a salad most days at work, and sometimes a vegetarian soup. I have found out that there are also vegan versions of “lunch meat” and cheese, so I can make a sandwich and bring it along if I really don’t think I will be able to find something to eat.

photo credit: Ned Raggett

So this plan is really not much of a plan, which is good for me. I am not good at sticking to a rigid plan. It is more of a lifestyle. You can call it a “vegan weight loss plan”, but it is basically just becoming a vegan and mentally making the switch, along with some common sense.

It is easy to make low calorie vegetarian meals to help with your weight loss. There are many vegetarian cookbooks around that will give you easy to prepare recipes.

Here are a couple to get you started:

20 Minutes to Dinner: Quick, Low-Fat, Low-Calorie Vegetarian Meals

1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes: Delicious, Easy-to-Make, Healthy Meals for Everyone

There are several different types of vegetarian diets.  Here are some of them:

1. Pollo-Vegetarians.   All vegetarians have in common that they don’t eat meat, but some define meat differently than others.  Pollo-Vegetarians will eat poultry, chicken, for example.


photo credit: Hejl

2. Pesco-Vegetarians or Pescatarians. They don’t eat any “meat”, but they do eat fish.
3. Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians.  They do not eat meat, poultry, or fish, but they do eat animal products such as dairy products and eggs.
4. Vegans.  Vegans will not eat any animal products at all.  This includes meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, and honey.  They also don’t use animal products such as wool, silk, or leather.
5. Flexitarians.  They are flexible, sticking to a vegetarian diet for the most part, but occasionally eat other food.

The diet you choose depends on your reason for going vegetarian – is it for religions reasons, health reasons, or ethical reasons (not wanting to exploit or cause pain to animals)?

There is no right or wrong.  You can make your own decision on what type of vegetarian diet to follow.

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I believe that a vegetarian diabetic diet plan can be one of the best plans you could consider if you have diabetes. Especially the diet plan by Dr. Neal Barnard that I discussed in a previous post.

I myself have reduced my blood sugar levels with Dr. Barnard’s diet. I think you do have to stick to his plan in all aspects though. That is, in addition to a vegan diet, he recommends staying away from high glycemic index foods.

In my opinion, you should not take a diagnosis of diabetes lying down. That is, you should do what you can to help your blood sugar levels through diet, and not rely on medication alone.

photo credit: avlxyz

What is the relationship between being a vegetarian and weight loss? Well, the two do not necessarily go hand in hand.

photo credit: Bob B. Brown

You would think that all you would have to do would be to become a vegetarian to lose weight, but it is not guaranteed to work that way. You can eat a lot of high fat, high sweet, food and still be a vegetarian.

When I first became a vegetarian, I think my downfall was two things – cheese and chocolate! I was eating more cheese, to make up for the meat, and chocolate just because I loved it and had such a sweet tooth.

I found out that in order to lose weight, at least for me, it was easier to become a vegan. That eliminated the cheese and the chocolate! I started eating healthier proteins, such as beans and soy products. And my sweet tooth disappeared after I got used to eating fruits and raisins for sweets. That’s when I started to lose weight!

Can you lose weight on a vegan diet? You bet you can! In fact, it is very easy, as I am experiencing myself. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I have already lost 6 pounds, and I have only been doing this diet for a month so far.

photo credit: Muffet

The trick to losing weight on a vegan diet is that you have to watch your fat intake, and also stay away from a lot of sweets (except fruits). You might not think a vegan diet has a lot of fat, but it can, if you think of vegetable oils, olive oil, high fat salad dressings, etc. You don’t have to eliminate fats entirely, but just go easy on them.

Also, sweets – it is surprisingly easy to stay away from sweets on the vegan diet, once you get used to it. You still get a lot of sweet taste from fruits, and I eat lots of them. Once in a while I do have something sweet, like granola. I just make sure it is something relatively healthy.

In doing this, as I said, I am steadily losing weight. So, yes, it is possible to lose weight just by eating a vegan diet!

I just read a great book on a vegan diet for diabetics. It is called “Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes”, by Neal D. Barnard, MD. In fact, this is the book that got me started on a vegan diet.

I was already on a vegetarian diet, but I was not losing any weight. On Dr. Barnard’s vegan diet for diabetes, though, I have already lost 6 pounds in my first 4 weeks. I am not a diabetic either, but it does run in my family, so I was interested in diet that could prevent me from getting diabetes.

Besides recommending a vegan diet, Dr. Barnard also recommends staying away from a lot of fats, and also to avoid foods with a high glycemic index. That would be things like sweets – candy, cookies, etc. – and refined, white bread, etc. These are the things that raise your blood sugar too quickly. The sugar in fruits is ok, though. That is a natural sugar that does not cause your blood sugar to spike.