Do vegetarians lose weight?

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I'm thinking that I've got far too porky, and, given the fact I've done Atkins before but I've tended to put the weight back on (along with some more) after I've finished it, I was wondering whether trying going vegetarian (possibly including fish, I know that means you are not vegetarian!!!) may be a more sensible option.
I won't hide the fact that I wouldn't be doing it for any ethical reasons but rather to try living a healthier lifestyle and to try to sensibly lose some weight.
So, do vegetarians lose weight? Are they healthier?
Any good arguments from rampant pro- or anti- vegetarians, and why?
Open to all your opinions ;) George :)

― George C, Friday, 7 April 2006 13:14 (twenty years ago)

Hell no.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:18 (twenty years ago)

not if they wind up eating nothing but bread, cake, and pasta

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:18 (twenty years ago)

i've been veggie since january and have barely lost a 2 pounds. there's no meat in chocolate, my friend.

― teh_kit says 'dont fight u nubs just run in teh instance!' (g-kit), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:18 (twenty years ago)

cheese aint no diet food

― Washable School Paste (sexyDancer), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:19 (twenty years ago)

most booooooze is vegetablearian, too. v. v. fattening.

― Bernard's Summer Girlfriend (kate), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:21 (twenty years ago)

Vegans, on the other hand, do.

― Mädchen (Madchen), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:22 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, not if you follow a misrepresented version of a vegetarian diet. But sure if you eat soups and grains and beans, and of course...greens. I've lost about fifteen pounds in the past couple of months.

― veg, Friday, 7 April 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

it depends on what you eat as a meat-eater. when i first went veggie (12 years ago) i lost weight. i've since gained it back, by a long shot.
my boyfriend is currently keeping a food diary & found a website that will calculate calories for him. instead of changing your diet drastically (although it may not be drastic if you eat minimal meat now), why not just see how much food your putting in your body & compare it to daily caloric allowance & what your caloric output is?

― Sweet Tater (kelstarry), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

My wife and I have been vegetarians for 14 years now, and neither of us had any trouble gaining too much weight. Calories are, by and large, calories, and if you eat double portions of things all the time, or don't eat sensibly, you're gonna get fat. No two ways about it. I'm 5'9", and at my peak I was nearly 225 lbs.

― phil d. (Phil D.), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:24 (twenty years ago)

I rofled at some tv presenter saying she had gained weight:"But I switched to a veggie diet!"

sparkspeople.com is quite interesting in that regard. i have lost some weight, but not enough. grrr. need... to... lose... more... weight. :-)

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:27 (twenty years ago)

just cut down on the dairy products

― Ste (Fuzzy), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:32 (twenty years ago)

i've been veggie since january and have barely lost a 2 pounds. there's no meat in chocolate, my friend.
-- teh_kit says 'dont fight u nubs just run in teh instance!' (kittenslikemil...), April 7th, 2006.

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me too, and no u dont. its the cheese. getting something low fat thats also vege is actually harder than u'd think. if you're u know, lazy.

― piscesboy, Friday, 7 April 2006 13:43 (twenty years ago)

I've been a vegetarian for twenty years, it's a pain in the ass esp when travelling.Unfortunately I cannot eat any flesh since a takeaway chicken/food poisoning combo nearly killed me. But I think it's a healthier option being veg as you can't consume nearly as much processed or packaged food. But I gave up smoking in January and have gained 6 kilos since. No bad thing for a bony bod such as I.
I wouldn't bother with a veggie diet, just eat properly.
Man I miss those bacon rolls.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Friday, 7 April 2006 13:45 (twenty years ago)

Given that you don't have any ethical etc. concerns, it might be good to cut back to meat once a week or so. I've found myself (a person who loves most meat) eating it maybe a couple times a month, simply by only eating it when I eat out at a real restaurant. Makes the meat I do eat that much better.

Whatever you decide to eat, the right way to loose weight seems to be:

1) Pay attention to your diet. Find food that you like that offers good nutrition, and eat less of it. Don't cut rich foods out of your diet if you don't like, just have less of them. If you drink soda, stop. Eat slowly.
2) Exercise more. You are unlikely to lose weight if you don't exercise every odd day, if not every day. There are additional benefits.

Anything else is pretty much destined for eventual failure. But don't listen to me, I'm just some guy farting around on the web. Why don't you ask a doctor or something?

― Darth Sinatra, Friday, 7 April 2006 17:37 (twenty years ago)

Wasn't this just in the news?

― Paul Eater (eater), Friday, 7 April 2006 17:54 (twenty years ago)

But I think it's a healthier option being veg as you can't consume nearly as much processed or packaged food.

http://www.veat.com/images/main_boxes_a.jpg
http://www.cspinet.org/quorn/images/quorn_pic.gif
http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/j/h/jhl4/breakfastlinks.jpg
http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/photos/Tofurky.jpg

― phil d. (Phil D.), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:01 (twenty years ago)

I clicked through to each of those images and then felt like there was something very pointed about the Tofurky telling me "You are not authorized to view this."

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:04 (twenty years ago)

Like:

Veggie burgers? Okay.
Frozen dinners? Okay.
Breakfast sausages? Okay.
Tofurkey? You can't handle the Tofurkey.

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 7 April 2006 18:06 (twenty years ago)

when i was a vegan i lost a shitload of weight - its tempting to do it again, just for that reason, but then again - it sounds DULL.

― i've dreamt of rubies! (Mandee), Friday, 7 April 2006 19:05 (twenty years ago)

I've been a vegetarian for the last nine years and I have gained quite a bit of weight since then, mostly because I'm quite lazy and my principle interests are reading, records, movies, video games, and televised sports. Diet is only half of the battle.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 7 April 2006 19:07 (twenty years ago)

principal, rather.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 7 April 2006 19:08 (twenty years ago)

I think if you want to lose weight by adjusting your eating habits probably the best thing to do is only eat things you've hunted and killed with your bare hands. And vegetable don't count - I'm talking things like rabbit and moose.

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 7 April 2006 19:15 (twenty years ago)

I hunted this latte with my own hands, does that count.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Friday, 7 April 2006 19:35 (twenty years ago)

Did you kill it?

― Thermo Thinwall (Thermo Thinwall), Friday, 7 April 2006 20:11 (twenty years ago)

I'm not a veggie but I only eat meat maybe 3 times a week max, and only lean, quality stuff. Like I might have a good fillet steak with vegetables, or chickenbreast with something like stir fry. I tend to eat loads of lentils and veggies just because I like em.

But stay on the booze, and that weight ain't going anywhere :(

― Trayce is not a guy! (trayce), Friday, 7 April 2006 22:30 (twenty years ago)

People who eat burgers and fries everyday lose some weight, just because of the shock of the body not being weighed down trying to digest all that crap, and you feel revitalized and are motivated to eat healthier in the short term. It's a matter of whether you decide to keep at it, or just fall back to regular fast food habits, but just stick to fries or something.

A vegetarian diet can still be the worst diet in the world.. even a vegan diet... all the potatoes and corn fried in peanut and coconut oil you want! Vegan!

― DOQQUN (donut), Friday, 7 April 2006 22:40 (twenty years ago)

but you won't lose weight bouncing from diet to diet, dude. atkins to no meat to whatever. like d.s. said up there, you almost gotta just modify your OWN diet. keep a record of what you eat! figure out how many calories you're eating, how many carbs, etc. you must have some idea how to do that if you've done diets before. then you need to make the calories go down to the right amount by either consuming fewer or burning more by exercise (lift some weights too, not just cardio). protein is important, too. you don't want to be some soy protein-eating homo and you don't want to be eating cans of chickpeas. eat fewer calories, eat more often (don't fucking starve yourself to lose weight, you want to be eating food throughout the day! even if it's a can of tuna or a protein shake or an apple or, fuck it, a nutragrain bar), eat clean protein, exercise, and you'll lose weight, possibly slowly but definitely better.

― methandrostenolone, Friday, 7 April 2006 23:12 (twenty years ago)

I've lost 50 pounds in the last 4 months!

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:25 (twenty years ago)

Gee, I wonder why. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:26 (twenty years ago)

Thats one fat baby! ;P

*flees*

― Trayce is not a guy! (trayce), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:28 (twenty years ago)

I've been vegetarian for 4 years or so and my weight has stayed stable (140 lbs ± 5 depending on how active/idle I am). Before quitting meat I was gaining about 5 lbs/year, regardless of my activity level.

― naus (Robert T), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:32 (twenty years ago)

Tofurky? Ya shittin' me right? Sound likes a foot disease.I can't even eat those meat substitutes but anyway, I see your point Phil D, guess I meant more along the lines of junk food like MacDonalds, Burger King and that crap, I definitely eat much healthier stuff as a vegetarian as there is far, far less veggie junk food.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:36 (twenty years ago)

i haven't gained any weight since 10th grade. turned veg 3 years ago, still didn't gain (or lose) any weight. the only difference came when i started a full-time receptionist job after i graduated college (1.5 years ago) -- i gained 15 pounds in 6 months. i could say that i've GAINED weight as a vegetarian, but it's just that stupid job. the moral of the story is: don't eat meat, don't be a secretary.

― killy (baby lenin pin), Friday, 7 April 2006 23:57 (twenty years ago)

http://www.funnypics4all.com/pics/0/0/22.jpg

― It's no fun being an illegal alien, Saturday, 8 April 2006 00:54 (twenty years ago)

Tofurkey's actual tofurkey is just really blah. Like a big pad of veggie broth flavored soy taffy with saltier veggie broth flavored stuff in it.

Tofurkey brand veggie sausages however are ace.

Also, Unturkey >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tofurkey's tofurkey

― DOQQUN (donut), Saturday, 8 April 2006 04:52 (twenty years ago)

I was a vegetarian for three years. And at the end I ended up with a word for my kind of vegetarianism: ice-cream vegetarian. Gene Pitney is pretty good. That is all.

― regular roundups (Dave M), Saturday, 8 April 2006 08:19 (twenty years ago)

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2403/1254/1600/tgif-tofurkey.jpg

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Sunday, 9 April 2006 10:29 (twenty years ago)

me: 5 years. mountain dew, coffee, and cheezits. lost weight. some monsterism.

― friendship7, Sunday, 9 April 2006 10:33 (twenty years ago)

the tubbiest chap i know - and believe me, he is a BIG LAD - is a vegetarian. mind, he's also covered in tattoos (pretty much literally) and rocks like a hardcore muthafucka, so he kinda suits it.

still looks fucking weird seeing him tuck into tofu rather than raw burger, but hey.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Sunday, 9 April 2006 17:30 (twenty years ago)

I went veggie in 1992 and lost nearly two stone in six months. Must have been all those burgers etc.

You put it all back on eventually of course, but I can recommend it as an alternative to Atkins.

Oh, and no sneaky going back to eating meat afterwards either!

― Reg Veg, Monday, 10 April 2006 09:13 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

My boyfriend is vegan and he has a nice little spare tire growing around his midsection. He's been known to eat a full package of hummus and pita chips in one sitting.

― Andi Mags, Friday, 28 December 2007 00:21 (eighteen years ago)

Also, Unturkey >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Tofurkey's tofurkey

we made an Unturkey from scratch the other day since the real thing is no longer gettable

― J0hn D., Friday, 28 December 2007 00:43 (eighteen years ago)

No more Unturkey? Seriously?

-(u_u)#

― Mackro Mackro, Friday, 28 December 2007 02:47 (eighteen years ago)

I tried to make a talk-to-the-hand emoticon, but now it looks more like a Bud Dwyer emoticon

― Mackro Mackro, Friday, 28 December 2007 02:49 (eighteen years ago)

Wow. All I see in that thing is mug eyes.

― Andi Mags, Friday, 28 December 2007 03:25 (eighteen years ago)

I know some morbidly obese vegetarians who eat all the cheeses and chocolates.

― Dan I., Friday, 28 December 2007 03:40 (eighteen years ago)

But we're cool because I know whenever they're around I'm going to be eating cheeses and chocolates too.

― Dan I., Friday, 28 December 2007 03:41 (eighteen years ago)

list junk food dressed up for yuppies who are too smart for junk food

― gr8080, Friday, 28 December 2007 03:43 (eighteen years ago)

yeah, a lot of vegetarians i know are a bit paunchy. that was the biggest thing that surprised me when i first got to know veggies. also, i stave off middle-aged big guttedness by cutting down on my carbs and sugars, i think i'd be less successful if i didn't have a meat option to fill me up. i don't know enough vegans to judge their skinny/fattey tendencies

― gershy, Friday, 28 December 2007 04:03 (eighteen years ago)

I wonder if going vegan would help me lose a few pounds. I mean, because, seriously fuck exercise.

― Casuistry, Friday, 28 December 2007 09:08 (eighteen years ago)

I've thought smoking might help. But, meh.

― Casuistry, Friday, 28 December 2007 09:09 (eighteen years ago)

I'm no vegetarian. If i was i wouldn't be enjoying this website right now: http://www.whopperfreakout.com/ LOL

-Big Jim Swells

― murderdogger, Friday, 28 December 2007 09:23 (eighteen years ago)

My whole family is vegetarian and my mother is the only one comfortable with her weight, I think, as she is shrinking.

― o-ess, Friday, 28 December 2007 09:24 (eighteen years ago)

Sumo wrestlers are all vegetarians.

― The Real Dirty Vicar, Friday, 28 December 2007 11:56 (eighteen years ago)

Even that one guy?

― jaymc, Friday, 28 December 2007 14:10 (eighteen years ago)

Just get a job delivering sheetrock and eat whatever you want.

― Kerm, Friday, 28 December 2007 14:15 (eighteen years ago)

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