Name: Erika
Age: 17
Height: 5'5"
Current Weight: 181
Goal Weight: 150s (for now)
Vegetarian since: I've been on and off for the past 4 years, but now am hardcore vegetarian
Weight Loss Plan Began: 10 days ago
Hobbies/Work: anything marine...i love saltwater fish, and have a 75 gal tank with some pretty cool fish and I'm planning on majoring in marine biology when i start college next year

Welcome Erika! Good job on the switch to hardcore vegetarianism! I've been one forever so I love to hear the people become one. Good luck!

hey erika! Its great that your here ifyou have any questions or anything at all feel free to ask! It can be hard to go full vegetarian I know but im glad you did it!

I have gone through phases where I am vegetarian. I find it hard as I am the cook for the family and well, the family demands.. MEAT!!! It would be great to have outside support.

Lady, I concur that it's difficult. I still cook meat for my family. I look for easy to follow directions and recipes I used to use when I was a meat eater. Believe it or not, I won a chili cook-off about 5 years ago...with chili I couldn't eat or even try, lol. It IS possible to make tastey food without trying it. What I usually do is divide portions of meat up when we have just purchased it from the store and use it in my vegetarian meals. For example, I made a spinach and mushroom omelette for me today...and my fiance had one that was bacon (bits) and sausage with cheese.

I also find that the "meatless" products go over well with Jason if I don't tell him they're meatless. The hotdogs, don't even bother. But vegetarian cheese and corndogs...the meatless ribs. Some of the stuff Jason will eat without griping. I can also make "hamburger helper" with vegetarian meat (go easy on it) and he can't tell. I usually wind up making home cooked meals at least 2 out of 4 meals...

For the most part if you don't push too hard (my mother always had a "you have to try, chew and SWALLOW just one bite of everything I made" rule...that'll quell the picky eaters!) and most family members will at least give it a shot. For years my own mother thought that vegetarian food was absolutely disgusting...just couldn't stomach the idea of consuming so much soy. Just this year, I took her out for sushi...and she tried edamame...and was stunned that it wasn't bad. Now she's striking it out on her own to try to sample new foods that AREN'T meat based. All you have to do is open a door...(and if you're trying something brand new that might not go over so well...do it when you're home alone).

My mother only eats raw food.. nothing cooked, so thats 1 diner, i am vegan/vegetarian thats another, my step moms and brother and sister eat meat 1 more. and my other sister has OCD, has to cook her own, and shes highly allrgic to some stuff so another... thats 4 =) not to meantion we make homemade dog food...


lets say the meat-eaters have chicken and rice, i'll have a fake chicken patty with rice, mom will have raw sushi , and sister will have homemade special chicken patty things made out of beans, and rice so were all eating the same type of stuff except differant

I made my first tempeh meal yesterday. It was as follows:

100 grams of Tempeh =150 cals
210 grams of Tofu = 210 cals
fried in a teaspoon of oil. 41 cals
2 toast = 180 cals
quarter parsnip and 2 mushrooms fried in a teaspoon of oil = 80 cals
I used 5 heaped teaspoons of thick bisto roastpork gravy to make lots of gravy.

Incredibly I found that I felt full up when I had only eaten half of this. I forced myself to continue eating but I still could not eat three quarters of one toast after I had eaten almost everything on the plate.

I have had meat dishes having the same amount of calories in the past 4 weeks but have mostly felt not quite full after I had eaten them.

This tempeh meal has made me wonder whether tempeh has some kind of chemical in it that decreases appetite. Does anyone know ?

Thanks.