Vegetarians that want to lose weight enjoy many choices in creating a healthy diet plan. If you're a vegan, a healthy weight loss plan is a little trickier to achieve, but you're probably accustomed to finding substitutions for egg and dairy products. If you're not currently a vegetarian, switching to a nonmeat diet may produce weight loss and two other benefits: lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol.
Lose a Pound a Week on Vegetarian Meal Plan
Susan McQuillan, a New York registered dietitian, offers a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet plan for vegetarians. Most women could lose1 lb. a week on such a plan, given that the average woman needs about 2,000 calories a day to maintain her current weight. A 500-a-day deficit would provide a weekly caloric reduction of 3,500, the amount of calories in a pound of fat. Men would lose more on a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, as they need several hundred calories a day more than women.
Sample Meal Choices
McQuillian recommends a breakfast that includes a cup of oatmeal, an apple or pear and a cup of skim or low-fat milk. Vegans could substitute soy or almond milk, both of which are fortified with calcium. McQuillan's lunch includes 2 cups of salad greens topped with 1 cup of mixed fruit and a tablespoon of flavored vinegar or lemon juice. Her sample dinner includes 1 cup of pasta topped with 1/3 cup tomato sauce and four soy "meatballs" with 1 cup of steamed broccoli and ½ cup of orange sections. Adding two snacks a day, such as a cup of yogurt and a 1/3 cup bean dip, ¼ cup salsa and eight baked tortilla chips would yield a balanced 1,500 calories, McQuillan says.
Government Guidelines for Dieting Vegetarians
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a vegetarian food pyramid with these suggestions for maintaining a daily intake of 1,500 calories: six servings of grains, three servings each of fruits and vegetables, two to three servings of dairy and milk products and 6 oz. of protein from beans, nuts, seeds, eggs and meat substitutes. Vegetarians can get adequate amounts of protein by consuming beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, seeds, whole grain breads, corn and potatoes, according to the USDA. Vegans can meet their calcium needs by drinking calcium-enriched drinks, including soy and almond milks and some fruit juices as well as by eating leafy green vegetables.
Additional Health Benefits
Vegetarian diets provide health benefits in addition to weight loss. In a 2008 study conducted by T.B.J. Kuo andYang Ming, scientists at National University in Taiwan found that participants that followed vegetarian diets had lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol than those that consumed meat. The study published in the "Chinese Journal of Physiology" and reported in "Biotech Business Week" included 70 postmenopausal women, half omnivores and half vegetarians. Another study, published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" suggests that a vegetarian diet may be inherently conducive to weight loss. Lora Burke and colleagues found in a 2007 randomized clinical trial that obese persons placed on vegetarian diets lost weight.
Balanced Diet Best
The key to healthy weight loss on a vegetarian diet is balance. McQuillan's advice and USDA guidelines both provide calorie-restricted meals plans that include healthy amounts of grains, fruits, vegetables, calcium and fat. Weight-conscious vegetarians, like all dieters, may have better success by avoiding refined and processed foods as these can contain extra calories without additional nutritional benefit. Vegetarians are not immune from being overweight, but their natural inclination toward examining food choices may make them better able to stick with a healthy calorie-restricted diet plan, says nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston.
References
- Fat Free Kitchen: Vegetarian Weight Loss Diet
- Calorie Lab: Healthy 1500 Calorie Vegetarian Meal Plan
- "Daily Record"; Changing Your Diet is Fruitful; Becoming Vegetarian Has Many Benefits; Craig McQueen; May 24, 2010
- "Biotech Business Week"; Scientists at National University Detail Research in Blood Pressure; July 14, 2008
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Effects of a vegetarian diet and treatment preferences on biochemical and dietary variables in overweight and obese individuals; Lora E. Burke etal; 2007
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