im thinking of going Vegetarian

[dgjp8991]

Hi everyone I need some guideance on going vegetarian, any advice would be :) taken. Gina H

[fitmamajen]

Hi there!
I was a vegetarian from age 12 to 21 (I stopped because I felt my body needed to incorporate certain foods back in). There is a lot of information on the web--vegweb.com, vegetarian times, peta, veg cookbooks, ect. I think that it is really easy to go veg now because of all the soy products and info.
I read that many vegetarians don't eat right, they just don't eat meats. For example most veggies were eating mostly processed carbs and fats just like everyone else instead of whole grains, beans, and produce. I would encourage you to be a healthy one..but I know you will! Also, some veg cookbooks have a lot of fat in their recipies so you may need to modify for WW.
If you become a vegan there are other things to condsider (I think the B vitamins are harder to come by) and you may need supplementation, especially if pregnant or nursing. There are really good books and people to talk to at natural health stores too!
Remember you can just try it for a month and see how you feel...our bodies all have different needs at different stages of life!
Good luck and be healthy!!!!! :kiss:

[WhereForArt]

Gina, first you need to look at what kind of vegetarians there are - there is vegan (absolutely no meat, poultry or dairy products), lacto-veg (same, but with dairy added), lacto-ovo veg (same but with dairy and egg products added) or a no-red-meat vegetarian (some folks consider this vegetarian, other's do not).

And of course, no matter which you prefer, you can switch around - I tend to think of vegetarian as more of a label than a way of eating. I eat mostly vegetarian products with some organic chicken, and organic beef rarely - yet I am healthier than a friend of mine who is a vegan, but eats tons of junk food.

There are tons of websites and books out there. There is a great magazine called Vegetarian Times (http://www.vegetariantimes.com/) that has wonderful recipes, as well as tips and ideas in it. A couple of other good ones are The Vegetarian Society (http://www.vegsoc.org/) and The Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/). If you check out those, you can get dozens more links. as well as names of good vegetarian restaurants, etc. The last site I listed as an online brochure called Food for Thought: The Essential Guide to Going (and Staying) Vegetarian (http://www.vegsoc.org/newveg/fft/index.html). You might want to have a look at that.

Good luck! I was a vegetarian for a long time, and only started incorporating meat back into my diet in the last year or so.

[dgjp8991]

Thank you for the comments here I am only concidering this for my health, I joined ww weighing in at 202 and now im 132. If I eat meat now I only eat organic I dont want all the chemicals. I use soy milk and products like morningstar farms and bocca. I like meats but dont like how they make me feel and have noticed a huge difference on how I feel if I go out to eat and have a taste of something like beef or something non organic, For now its a thought and Im looking into it for health reasons I am trying to avoid processed foods sugars and Junk food in general, Thanks again Gina h

[sweetmaddie]

First of all, congratulations on being a big loser!:kiss: Sounds like you eat very well as it is. If I don't have meat/eggs/cheese in my eating, I do not feel satisfied, but that's just me. Since starting WW again, I know I will incorporate many more fresh veggies and fruits, whole grains, etc. and limit red meat and fats. I didn't eat red meat for 4 years before dd was born, and truthfully, I didn't miss it. I ate chicken and turkey mostly. However, after dd was born and with nursing (until she was 16mos!) the first thing I wanted was a juicy steak! Listen to your body, which you seem to be doing anyway.

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_34.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZBxdm066YYUS)

[rincaro]

I would definitely vote for Vegetarian Times magazine. They even give you nutritient breakdowns on all their recipes. Sometimes I tweak their recipes to make them more WW friendly.