This is in response to Lisa Hill who wrote:
> Ever since I've become a vegetarian; not only have I not lost weight,
> but I've GAINED some. I don't understand why this is happening. I
> thought that meat was just about the worst food as far as fat content
> (among other things...). I've never eaten so many vegetables & fruits in
> my life. I also buy non-fat versions of everything & eat many small
> meals a day,etc... I feel I'm doing everything the "right" way, but yet
> the weight is not going down.
I understand how frustrated you are. One of the myths that
still circulates regarding vegetarians is that they are all thin,
pale looking waifs. Unfortunately, that's not always true. I
haven't eaten meat for several years, but I am still struggling with
my weight. The one good thing about switching to a veg diet has been
that my total cholesterol went from 225 down to 195 -- and I am
continuing to work on lowering it more. Since heart problems run on
both sides of my family, anything I can do to help prevent that is
good. In any case, I think you need to just stick with what you are
doing and give your body some time to adjust to your new lifestyle.
Make sure you are exercising, and don't make the mistake I made when
I first did away with meat -- which was to use large amounts
of cheese and eggs to replace the meat I was no longer eating. Also
make sure that you get some information on proper serving sizes -- a
person can still gain weight eating fruits, vegetables and grains if
you consuming more calories than your body is using. I hope this
helps. Good luck with your new life changes!