Why do some people gain weight when starting a vegetarian diet?

Often, even on television, it has been said about the vegetarian diet as a means for weight loss or as a diet. The truth is that not just want to lose weight: the motivations that lead a person to adopt a vegetarian diet usually quite deeper. This does not mean that those who follow an omnivorous feeding feel no respect for animals or the environment: vegetarianism is just one more option within different types of diet that we follow.

Many of the people who join vegetarianism with the idea to lose weight end up getting the opposite effect: after a few months have not only gained weight but your diet is unstructured and with a cast of nutrients that leaves much to be desired. The consequence? Many return to their previous omnivorous feeding, tremendously disenchanted. Today we analyze why some people gain weight when starting a vegetarian diet?

The main error: change animal protein for flour

Whenever we change our eating pattern should consult with a professional in the field (a dietitian-nutritionist in this case) or, at least, reliable sources inform usabout how we should do to maintain a balanced and healthy eating.

One of the main problems is that the fact of going to consult or inform is not very common and especially in nutrition, can fall into the trap of thinking that we eat and cook every day, we know how to do it at all cases.

The dreaded question when we started a vegetarian diet and it’s time to get in front of the stove, appears “but as neither fish nor fowl, and what I eat today?” And the most common answer is “pasta”. It is not uncommon, just pasta is a very appealing product (especially if accompanied by rich sauces), easy to prepare and we all have a hand in the kitchen. Thus, most often we ended up changing sources of animal protein meal.

Do not forget legumes

As we have said on occasion, legumes should be the basis of the protein intake of vegetarian diet : we provide complete proteins, and those that are not can be completed easily through the consumption of cereals (without requiring that ingested at the same meal).

For many speak of legumes it is reduced to classical lentils or soup, but there are dishes that require less preparation through which we can make a good protein intake.

“Vegetarian” does not mean “healthy”

A product (and not talking about products and food) is suitable for vegetarian consumption does not imply that this is healthy or that should have no place in our regular diet. A quick example: crisps. Its ingredients are fully compatible with a vegetarian diet, as none is of animal origin, but if you look a little on the list we find elements that should not be included in a healthy diet: sugar, dextrose (i.e. more sugar) a good pinch of salt, flavors and artificial flavors …

The bakery also usually suitable for vegetarians (at least for ovolactovegetarianos, we eat eggs, milk and dairy products) and we must not think that is healthy. Yes, it is suitable, but we need to stop and think about what gives our body: a good amount of sugar and empty calories and very few interesting nutrients for our body.

A vegetarian diet is not a healthy diet by definition always depends on our choices and how our diet is structured. I can feed based soft drinks, pastries and savory snacks and I will be following a vegetarian diet. However, the quality of it, the distribution of macronutrients and micronutrients will be a perfect disaster.

You need to continue reading labels

As with an omnivorous diet, vegetarians must also know how to read nutrition labels and choose from what most benefits provide us with our bodies. Read the labels and lists of ingredients is what gives us power as consumers to choose what best for us.

Certain nutritional education is necessary in the population, much more if you opt for a minority style food. Do not get what they tell you the advertising claims and go a little further to know what you eat.

The difficult time of social gatherings

Fortunately, most restaurants already offer choices of vegetarian dishes (and sometimes vegan) in his letters: surely the reason more responsive to the need to open up to a wider audience, but the fact is that it is possible to eat in many sites and not end up calling the “salad of lettuce and tomato.”

Perhaps the problem of social gatherings appear more often in the home meetings: special occasions like birthdays, dinners , Christmas Eve, Christmas meals, gatherings of friends in which we see full of sausage dishes and we were face “and I what like? “…

On these occasions it is common to jump into bread or savory snacks that are normally suitable for vegetarians, but do not bring us anything interesting, apart from a good number of calories. We must understand, though, that is specification and are not the norm, but we still did not feel comfortable, we can always tell the host of our food option for the note.

Make your own proposals

A good idea that works very well is to spend time in the kitchen and bring to these social gatherings something we have prepared ourselves, which is suitable for vegetarians and non junk food. In this way we will ensure to have something to eat in these situations, as well as encouraging our friends or family to try new flavors and vegetarian dishes and healthy food.

Remember that the most important thing is to organize your diet so that you secure you that you contribute all the necessary nutrients and you stay in an appropriate range of calories for your metabolism and physical activity.

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