Most high-protein diets like Atkins and The Zone emphasize eating large amounts of meats. Atkins has a freer approach, allowing you to eat anything from beef to bacon. Other programs recommend sticking to lean proteins like chicken or fish. While some of these diets offer recommendations for eating vegetarian protein, you might be better off designing your own high-protein vegetarian plan and incorporating the veggie proteins you know and like.
What to Eat
Vegetarians who eat dairy products and eggs can incorporate those into their diets. Choose low-fat dairy products to avoid too much saturated fat. Milk and yogurt can be high in carbs. If you're cutting down on sugars, read labels and compare brands so you can choose the one with the lowest amount of carbs. Good sources of vegetarian protein include tofu, textured vegetable protein (TVP), seitan and legumes. If you buy these products plain, without added sauces, they should be low in calories and a good choice for weight loss.
High-Protein Diet
According to MayoClinic.com, high-protein diets work well for weight loss, especially in the short-term. In general, they're not recommended for long periods of time, as you can end up losing muscle mass, which in turn will lead to a slowing down of your metabolism. High-protein diets are usually low in carbs. Depending on which program you're following, you might have to give up just white flour or you might need to control your intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. Vegetarians might do better with a program like South Beach, which allows fruits and whole grains. More strict high-protein diets, like Atkins, will take away those choices, making it difficult for a vegetarian, since you'll have fewer food choices.
Benefits
A high-protein diet that excludes meats offer a number of benefits. For starters, it allows you to significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat you consume. This can help prevent high cholesterol, heart disease and other health problems. Vegetarian protein is also low in calories, which can help speed up the weight loss process. Many sources of vegetarian proteins, such as legumes, are also high in fiber, a nutrient you can't find in animal products.
Drawbacks
One possible drawback of this diet is that some sources of vegetarian protein contain lots of carbs. While beef, poultry, fish and cheese all contain close to 0 g of carbs, 3 oz of seitan contain 8 g of carbs. You will also need to eat larger quantities of vegetarian protein in order to get the same amounts you would get from meat sources. For example, 1 cup of canned chickpeas contain about 12 g of protein but 1 cup of roasted turkey has 41 g of protein.
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