any veggies doing weight watchers

molly09

Hi

Just wondering is there any veggies doing weight watchers

I need to loose weight adnd I know I eat too much Carbs

I dont eat meat fish and do not like soy or tofu products, so mainly get my proten from beans and nuts

Any advice or recommendations greatly appericated

thanks

M

nervous_twitch

I'm not doing WeightWatchers, as I don't really rate their system, but I did lose a lot of weight on a moderate carb, entirely vegetarian diet. Do you eat dairy/eggs? Do you cook? For me, it worked as follows: high protein, high fat, lower carb, no sugar. I've never once counted a calorie or denied myself food when I was hungry.

Typical Day:

Breakfast - Scrambled eggs and spinach, made with full fat butter/milk/grated cheese, and a bowl of greek or natural yogurt with a handful of nuts and seeds. Berries, occasionally. If I was planning on having eggs for lunch/dinner, I'd go with porridge.

Lunch - Soups and Salads. It was about this time that I learned the 'garden salad' was the enemy; a salad should never be bland. Use all the veg you want, and add things like cheeses, herbs, chopped nuts, eggs, seeds, mayonnaise, houmous etc. Dress it with a gud glug of olive oil and balsamic. Things like grilled haloumi with beetroot, sundried tomato with mozarella and roasted red pepper, avocado with walnut, make for great comfort food. If you're working, you just need to make it the night before and stick it in the fridge. Strict low-carbing would advise against the root veg, like potatoes and carrots etc, but I don't think it's the worst thing - especially as a veggie - to consume small amounts of these. Full of vitamins Soups are tasty and filling, and you just can't beat a bowl of hot soup on a winter's day.

Dinner - This is where your pulses/beans come in. OK, they're not low-carb, but they're good carb, and full of iron and protein. I take it you don't eat Quorn or anything? There are so many other options: I'd make stuff like curries, bean burgers (no bread!), chili's, falafel, stir fries, stuffed peppers/mushrooms, bolognaise, stews, bakes etc with lots of lentils, beans and chickpeas. Omelettes are good. Then instead of pasta/rice/bread/ chips on the side, I'd cook heaps of nice (green) veg, maybe with butter or cheese depending.

Snacks - Crudites with houmous/baba ganoush/salsa/guacamole dips. Nuts. Squares of dark chocolate. Boiled eggs. Spoonfuls of good peanut butter. Tomatoes with grilled cheese. Soup.

The first few days is tough-going , but that's just the body getting used to the absence of refined/any sugars, and you'll actually find you have more energy than ever following an initial slump. I'd often give myself a day at the weekend to be a bit more relaxed - sneaky bag of chips, chocolate, bottle of vino or something I actually find this 'off' day keeps the metabolism at its peak, but maybe that's just me. Also, if you exercise a lot, particularly cardio, you can increase your carbs for energy. If you don't exercise at all, DO! Drink lots of water. Finally, I've let go of that plan for the time being - once you get to a weight you're happy with, you can bring back a few things and try to maintain.

Sorry, that was longer than I'd planned, and nothing to do with WW, but maybe someone will benefit.

molly09

HI nervous_twitch
thanks for the message,

I dont eat eggs or cheese either and I guess up to now my diet was mainly filled with carbs such as bread and potatoes and rice,

However now I am trying to fill up on homemade veg soup and stirfry with beans but I am concerned about the amout of cabs in these foods. I am getting rid of having potatoes regularly and switching to carrot and turnips roasted and mashed together but I do wonder are these just as high in carbs!!

I have now stoppped eating nuts as the high fat content. I am definently not a good cook but I am trying and reading up stuff online. I never really used spices or herbs before but am trying to make the stirfrys more exciting.


thansk again for your tips ad ideas, I was thinking of joining weight watchers but feel it is more geared towards meat eaters. And as i dont eat eggs, fish, quorn or cheese I am pretty limited in my diet!!

M

nervous_twitch

OK M, I think as your diet is so restricted, you shouldn't be lowering your carbs, only changing them. Good carbohydrate sources can be found in things like porridge, beans/chickpeas, lentils (these are great for protein/minerals), and also some grains like quinoa or millet, which need to be flavoured. This is why you should start experimenting with lots of spices and herbs, which can make the blandest foods taste great.

Do NOT get rid of nuts; all vegetarians - in fact, everyone imo - should be eating nuts. They do have a high fat content, but it's good fat; the kind that won't make you 'fat' fat. Same with avocados, oils and other seeds - you should definitely be eating them. Obviously, there's a high calorie content, but you just need to watch your portion size. Besides, if you're only really eating veg, you need all the calories you can get, otherwise you'll be starving.

Turnips, carrots and potatoes are hardly devil's food, but they are high-carb and will just make you hungrier long-term. Have them, but maybe in smaller amounts. There are alternatives like 'cauliflower mash', but I've yet to eat this without it tasting like 'diet food.' If you really find you can't curb things like pasta and rice, eat smaller portions of the brown/wholegrain kind.

So you're pretty much vegan then? If you can eat (greek) yoghurt, do. Also, it might be worth investing in a supplement or two, as I'm not sure you'd be getting all you require on your current diet. Beans are not enough. Get in the kitchen and practice your cooking, there are sites/videos all over the web to help you. It's really not that hard.

Lastly, I'd say don't think too much about calories or fats in general. If you eat WELL, I guarantee you the weight will drop. Head over to the nutrition forum in Health/Fitness; they have some stickies that are invaluable for good eating. Best of luck.