Vegetarian diets are often cited as a healthful way of eating. And eating vegetarian can often help weightloss endeavors. But not everyone wants to give up steak and burgers, or even chicken cutlets and sushi. 

A survey by the Vegetarian Resource Group shows that just under 3% of Americans are actual vegetarians, though 4$ to 10% identify themselves that way (even though they eat fish or poultry). 

Yet, there is an obvious interest in at least eating partially vegetarian. If you’re part of the 30 to 40 percent of Americans considering cutting some meat – or all meat – out of your diet, give “eating more vegetarian” a try.

In the beginning, eating vegetarian can be like following a weight-loss diet.  To be successful, you need to slowly cultivate healthful habits that will last a lifetime.  It’s the same moving toward a vegetarian way of eating. 

Don’t try to do it all at once.

And don’t beat yourself up if you succumb occasionally.  Just start eating vegetarian meals more often than not.  You may not ever be a vegetarian, but if you start thinking like a vegetarian, by adding plant foods and subtracting animal foods, you’ll find it equals better health.

How to Eat More Vegetarian

• Explore new recipes and new foods. Don’t assume vegetarian and vegan foods and recipes are unappealing or won’t fill you up. You won’t know unless you try.
• Go for a three-week “test drive” of a vegetarian diet to give it enough time to change your habits and your tastes, as well as improve your blood levels and weight.
• If you decide to go back to meat, compromise and eat just half the amount of animal protein you ate before.
• Aim to eat one-half cup of beans, peas or lentils daily (start with one-quarter cup until your body gets used to dealing with the gassiness). If you substitute one-half cup of beans for one ounce of meat each day, you will improve your animal-to-plant ratio considerably.
• Start with a goal of eating vegetarian all day at least twice a week, quickly working up to four times a week at a minimum. Going further is your choice, but this much makes more than half your meals free of animal protein.
• Don’t feel bad if you eat small protions of beef, pork, poultry or seafood at times, but stick to low-fat, unprocessed meats.

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Weightloss Wisdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.