Lose Weight on a Vegetarian Diet: It is Not as Easy as it Seems

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when switching to a vegetarian diet is assuming that it will automatically help you to lose weight. If you enter into a vegetarian lifestyle with this misconception guiding your food choices you will quickly learn that you can easily gain weight even when you are not eating fatty meats. This is because not all vegetarian foods are healthy and some are very high in calories and fat. If you want to become a vegetarian to lose weight you need to figure out what vegetarian foods are good for you and which ones are not so good for you.

Tip #1 - Know What Vegetarian Foods to Avoid

There are many vegetarian foods that are just not good for you to eat. The first food item on this list is margarine. Margarine is really not a good fat source because it contains trans fats and hydrolyzed oils. These chemically altered ingredients make you age faster. Another type of bad vegetarian food that you will want to avoid are fried foods like potato chips, tortilla chips and other fried foods. A healthy alternative are baked chips and pastries.

Tip #2 - Know What Vegetarian Foods to Eat Only in Moderation

The next group of vegetarian foods are not necessarily bad for you, but they can impair your ability to lose weight because of their dense calorie content. Nuts, for example, are healthy to eat in small servings. However, if you eat a lot of nuts the calories, fat grams and sodium mg can quickly add up and affect your dieting. Vegetarian starches also need to be eaten in moderation, especially if you are diabetic or if you have blood sugar concerns. Starches will not only make you feel hungrier, but they will also turn quickly into fat if you do not burn off their energy.

Tip #3 - Know What Vegetarian Foods Are Low in Calories

The best strategy for losing weight on a vegetarian diet is to focus on low calorie high fiber vegetarian foods. These are going to be fresh fruits and vegetables. You will want to focus your food selections on the fruits and vegetables that have rich colors, particularly those with greens, oranges and reds. These foods are high in nutrients and generally low in calories. To help prevent food boredom try a variety of different vegetables and fruit combinations.

Tip #4 - Know the Vegetarian Foods That Have Negative Calories

There are a few foods that have negative calories. This means that you burn more calories during their digestion then the food item contains. Celery is one example of this type of negative calorie food. Other examples of negative or nearly negative foods include asparagus, lettuce, dandelion, garlic, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower.