What? Becoming vegetarian will make you gain weight??
You read it correctly. I was recently asked to share a tip with my readers:
When choosing a vegetarian lifestyle, be aware that
gaining weight is easy to do.
"What? How can this be?" you ask.
The problem is simple enough: When you cut meat out of your diet, you look for other things to eat.
Think about it: While your coworkers are eating burgers and chicken sandwiches, you might opt for a PB & J sandwich - tasty, but lots of carbs, fat, and sugar. Then you're fixing dinner for your family, with meat as the staple, and you opt for pasta with jar sauce & yummy parmesan or other aged cheese - again, tasty, but plenty of refined carbs (which convert to sugar) as well as sugar itself (most jar sauces have sugar added for flavor, along w/ salt), and the fat that comes with cheese.
So, does this mean you can't eat?? Of course not!
But it does mean that you have to become knowledgeable about carbs and portion control. Now, as many of you know, not all carbs are created equal, and to maintain healthy eating habits, we need to seek out the 'good stuff'' - vegetables in their natural state and fruits in very small portions. Fruits, while natural, are loaded with sugar, and add to your daily caloric intake very quickly. (I had to learn this darn fact when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I LOVE fresh fruit, so this was a tough pill to swallow.)
Bottom line:
When removing meat from your diet:
- Be aware of what and how much you eat
- Take time to research & try out vegetarian recipes
- Stock your fridge and pantry with healthy, vegetarian snack choices (before you're raiding them!)
- Learn about portion control and what serving sizes really look like
- Know what the daily requirements are in the food groups for your age/gender
- If you enjoy eating out, seek out restaurants who offer vegetarian versions or are willing to modify for you; I've found that most, if not all, are happy to accommodate my requests
Happy Eating and Cooking,
Robin
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