[SlowMoMo]

Does anyone practice Vegetarianism or Veganism? All moralities aside, I was wondering on purely a health standpoint. Would it be healthier if I decided to cut out meats from my diet?

I am currently about 30 lbs overweight and would like to lose weight. I currently am on a limited caloric intake diet. I would just like to boost my metabolism and perhaps make my body overall healthier. Everything I have read states that red meat doesn't really have any advantages for your body other than the protein. Which I could get elsewhere. I was thinking about a Pollotarian diet. Which consists of cutting out all meat, except for poultry.

I feel as if I am strong enough to cut out all meats if it makes me overall healthier. Any opinions would be nice, I don't have a nutritionist or anything so any advice is welcomed.

HI SlowMoMo, I turned vegetarian for the second time around recently and lost a few pounds without even trying because the food is just healthier and I had tons of more energy. I was eating lots of chickpeas and kidney beans, veggie lasagne and bombay potatoes and loads of salads.. feel great

[skeksi]

I'm a vegetarian of many years. It's kind of what you make of it. You can be a healthy or an unhealthy vegetarian, just like you can be a healthy or unhealthy meat-eater. I am overweight, but otherwise quite healthy with regards to cholesterol, sugars, etc. Whether that is due to the veg diet, I don't know.

When I have been at my best weight, it was because I was careful not to let too many carbs into my diet and focused on including a variety of proteins in my diet. There are some reports that there can be drawbacks to having too much soy in the diet (and just as many reports that a lot of soy is okay) so seeking a balance of different proteins is always a good idea.

If you aren't doing it for moral reasons, then your idea of first cutting out red meat makes good sense. If you like having fewer animal proteins in your diet, you could cut out chicken after that. I think switching over from meat can be a bit of an effort if one is not used to thinking meatless!

Good luck!

[Perna]

I would just stick with your limited caloric intake diet; trying to lose weight and learn a wholly new way of eating could be stressful to you and your system. Yes, a lot of people eat too much red meat but it can be easy to cut back some, anything we eat too much of can be unhealthy -- ever eaten a couple pounds of grapes in one sitting? There are overweight vegetarians too.

If you want to up your metabolism some, get more activity/exercise in; that's what it is for.