Heya everyone, I was noticing that there isn't a club here for vegetarians seeking to lose weight, so... lets start one!

Introduce yourself, your hobbies/work, how long you've been vegetarian, how much weight you're trying to lose, and anything else you think would be neat to know.

One of the biggest challenges of being an overweight vegetarian for me has been that pasta has been my staple food and I'm trying to change that. I always feel a little silly when I tell people I'm vegetarian and I can tell that they're thinking "aren't vegetarians supposed to be thin?" That's such a myth, like anything, a vegetarian diet requires balance and many of us don't have time to cook at home, so we go out to restaraunts and end up with a choice of 1) house salad, or 2) fettucine alfredo, for instance. It's a choice, yes, but by gods I don't consider a salad dinner just because I'm a vegetarian!

Introducing myself:
Name: Becky
Age: 27
Height: 5'3"
Current Weight: 208
Goal Weight: 150 (at first)
Vegetarian since: 15, almost 16 years ago.
Weight Loss Plan Began: 3 days ago!
Hobbies/Work: I just got my degree in environmental biology and zoology, and I love being outdoors in almost any activity, I also enjoy reading and computer gaming (when I have time) and I'm currently doing an internship that ends in December, so I'm stressing about finding a job!

I'm not completely vegetarian, so I hope it's OK for me to join, too. I agree that eating out sucks. That's the only reason I'm not completely vegan. Salad is not dinner unless it's got a ton of beans. Why are people so afraid of legumes? They are my favorite protein source. *grin*

Name: Blackwdw
Age: 29
Height: 5'6"
Highest Weight: 195
Starting Weight: 173
Current Weight: 169
Goal Weight: 140
Vegetarian since: I've been ~95% vegan for about a year and a half.
Weight Loss Plan Began: About a month and a half ago.
Hobbies/Work: I enjoy reading, music and artsy-craftsy stuff. I am a computer programmer.

Hi, what a good idea!!

I am not officially a vegetarian either, but I've been thinking about it for a long time! SO many people I am close to are vegetarians. My boyfriend, my housemates, my brother, and several other close friends. I was myself for almost 2 years, when I was 14ish, then I drifted out of it.

I already would class myself as only an occasional meat eater (maybe a couple of times a week) but this past week or two I've been thinking about cutting it down even more. My main reasons for this 1)The conditions animals are kept in during factory farming. 2) The environmental impact of intensive farming. 3) My own health. (I have also decreased my dairy intake for the same 3 reasons)

I don't believe it is morally wrong to eat meat. At the end of the day, we are animals and we are higher in the food chain than sheep and cows. Simple as. But what I do believe is people eat way too much meat. I try now to only eat organic, free range meat. And that pretty much solves the problem for me, except it is expensive hence I don't eat it every day!

I've probably been rambling, and this may not even be the place for me to post as am not 100%veggie!!! I am just v interested in all things veggie as I lean more and more towards the idea of cutting out meat completely!! guess I wanted to ask any veggies out there your reasons behind it? Do you ever miss meat? How do you cope with non-veggie family dinners etc?

Anyway-here's my stats!

Name: Kez
Age: 21
Height: 5'5"
Highest Weight: 168
Starting Weight: 168
Current Weight: 149
Goal Weight: 125
Vegetarian since: See above
Weight Loss Plan Began: 2 months ago
Hobbies/Work: Student. Interested in all things medical/scientific! Also work at local shop. Hobbies inc various exercise, browsing internet, going to the theatre when I can afford it, cooking good food.

Cruelty within the farming and slaughtering industries was my reason for giving up most meat and dairy. The only meat that I miss is bacon. Would never eat any, ever again, but salty/fatty stuff is so yummy. Family dinners with MY family suck. I am terrible at dealing with my parents; I usually end up eating fish and/or seafood and ignoring the hidden dairy. Dinners with my husband's family are great, because they are understanding and accomodating. They all tried the Tofurky I made last year at Christmas, and even said it wasn't bad.

All forms of vegetarians (or semi-vegetarian) are welcome! I eat eggs and milk, but that's more out of convienience than anything else - they're just in a lot of things.

I became vegetarian because I have a lot of empathy for animals, but I'm not the type of person that looks down on meat eaters or thinks everyone should change to vegetarianism. It's a personal choice. My husband eats meat, and we've decided that our kids will be raised eating meat until they choose for themselves whether or not they want to adopt vegetarianism.

When cooking dinner for myself and my husband, I usually cook the meat separately and then toss it in at the last minute after I've pulled out my serving. It's not hard at all to have a separate pan for meat, and I don't mind cooking with white meat for my family, but I can't bring myself to touch red meats so I leave that to my husband.

As for coping with family gatherings and whatnot, I honestly don't think that most of my family knows I'm vegetarian, and most people that I go out to dinner with don't know either - I've gotten pretty good at choosing items on a menu and altering them to my tastes, and I've never had problems with waitresses, as long as the items are on the menu, sometimes I have to pay a little extra, but it usually works out. Fast food places are really awful though, the people can be very stupid and usually like to make it more of a big deal than it is - if everyone is stopping at McDonalds I'll order a Big and Tasty without the beef patty, so basically it's a veggie sandwich, and the workers are usually really annoying about it "You want it without BEEF? Hey! That Burger is without BEEF! How do I ring it up with no BEEF?!" Luckily I don't often end up at McDonalds or places like that.

I don't miss meat at all, I eat the boca or morningstar farms, etc, products and I toss in "fake ham" when making bean soup or things like that, so I don't have a reason to miss it.

I still prepare meat for my husband. When we met and got married, I was a meat eater and have always been the family chef. I didn't feel it was right to just say "You're on you own, now!" Dinners often consist of some sort of whole grain or potato, a couple of veggies, a pork chop or chicken breast for him and some beans, etc. for me.

Hi, my name is Cathy, and I am a vegetarian. I just joined the forum and I need to lose appox. 30 lbs. I am also a snacker, and an ex smoker for 10 years, so the weight gain has been gradual over that time period. I am happy to meet you all, and I am going to try the 1200/cal. diet with 45 minutes of exercise daily. Happy to meet you all.

Heya, Cathy! Welcome. I am a total snacker. I try really hard to plan healthy snacks that fit into my overall diet. Works pretty well. Good luck on your journey.

Thank you. I am trying healthy snacks also. I was happy to find this forum, because I feel motivated again after reading a lot of the posts.

wow what a great idea! i'm kinda of a vegetarian also. its' kinda tough because being full time vegetarian means eating a lot of bread and bread made me really fat.
i'm 5'6
female
highest: 182
current weight: 152
goal weight: 130
i'm been stuck at 152 for a really long time and i'm becoming lumpier

Being vegetarian doesn't have to mean eating a lot of bread. I don't eat bread every day. Plus, 100% whole grain bread is good for you. Don't fall into the low carb trap. Whole grains are full of things your body needs and will not make you fat.

I am a vegetarian because I love animals, and I would never want to hurt them or want anyone else to hurt them for me. This whole slaughtering culture is so wrong..

Name: Leen
Age: 21
Height: 162 cm
Current Weight: 68 kg
Goal Weight: 50 kg
Vegetarian since: 3 years
Weight Loss Plan Began: today
Hobbies/Work: I'm a university student, and Im eager to get a job and start my own life.
I love animals, music, movies...My fav music is Depeche Mode and my fav movie is LOTR.

Welcome, white_dolphin! Always good to have more herbivores around.

Hi!

Name: Ganymede
Age: 21
Height: 5ft 3 and 1/2 inches
Current Weight: 140 lbs
Goal Weight: 120-125 lbs
Vegetarian since: Oct 2006 Strict veggie since Jan 2007 Vegan since August 2007
Weight Loss Plan Began: today
Hobbies/Work: I love to cook, organize things, sing Morning Musume songs and Para Para dance. I work at a Wendy's which cramps my Vegan lifestyle, but I really need to pay rent. I love animals, reading, singing, church stuff, helping people, and just being fun!
I am getting a second job at a grocery store so I can be around produce more often.

Name: Nicolas
Age: 21
Height: 162 cm
Current Weight: 307 Pounds
Goal Weight: 200 (for now)
Vegetarian since: A few months, not sure exactly
Weight Loss Plan Began: A few weeks ago seriously (became a vegetarian and lost at least 25 pounds.
Hobbies/Work: I work as Tech Support for the city that I live in. I like to watch Movie, I have a 2 year old son that I love to play with. I like Heroes…blah, anything else just ask lol >< Hate these things.