Gradual Vegetarianism: The Easy Way to a Slim Waist

Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.

Faithful reader and commenter Ann M. wrote recently about her new habit of going meatless for one day a week:

During Lent, I didn’t eat any meat on Fridays. It didn’t bother me too much because I don’t eat that much meat anyways because it’s tough to cook meat for one person! My plan is to continue this habit of no meat on Friday’s even though Lent is over. While it’s not being vegetarian, it’s still (generally) healthier than eating meat again. I actually did this for a little while last year too I think.

This is similar to how I became a vegetarian, and it’s a great idea. Many of you have gone a day or two without eating meat before, I’m sure … you might eat at an Indian restaurant and try some of their spicy and delicious dishes … or even try a vegetarian restaurant now and then. If you have, you know that there are a lot of very tasty dishes that don’t require meat. My favorite soup is vegan, as is my favorite chili recipe, and I make some great stir-frys, fried brown rice, and tacos. My sister and brother-in-law recently made some great vegetarian Greek food for us. Yum! The list is endless.

So if you’re looking for a way to eat healthier, but have a hard time “dieting”, try going one day a week without eating meat. It’ll cut back on the amount of cholesterol and saturated fat you’re taking in, increase the fiber, nutrients and healthy fats, and slim down your waste while adding to your lifespan.

Sound interesting? Here are some tips:

The Big Day. Set one day a week as your Vegetarian Day. Plan ahead so that you’re prepared with different recipes and ingredients to try out.
Be adventurous. Look online for some great recipes. Start with GoVeg, the Post Punk Kitchen, the Vegan Chef, and Fat Free Vegan, and branch out from there. Shop for your recipes beforehand. Try a different ethnicity each week: Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Greek, Moroccan, South American, Caribbean … there are many! You’ll love this stuff.
Eat out. If you’re going to be on the road at lunch or dinner time, try and find a good vegetarian restaurant to check out. Try Happy Cow or VegDining for eats in your area.
Veg potluck. Have a great time and invite your friends and family over, and have everyone bring a vegetarian dish. It’ll be a blast! Everyone gets to try out a lot of new dishes. Mmmm. I’m getting hungry.
Try vegan. Be even more adventurous, and try vegan dishes — those without dairy or eggs or other animal products. I do it all the time and it’s my fav! It’s even more healthy, because eggs and milk have a lot of saturated fat.
Try frozen. If you’re lazy, and aren’t we all, try prepared vegetarian dishes once in awhile. Amy’s is one of my favorite — it’s usually organic too. Amy’s has great chili and soups, burritos, pizzas. Don’t do this all the time, but once in awhile’s not a bad thing.
Fruits and veggies. Get plenty of tasty and fresh fruits and veggies to snack on. Apples, berries, bananas, carrots, salads, broccoli, peaches, plums …. yum. Snack on them throughout the day and get your vitamins and fiber.
Breakfast ideas. Breakfast is probably easiest, with cereal and whole wheat toast and oatmeal (add flaxseeds and frozen blueberries!) … but get creative and try scrambled tofu (with onions and spices and veggie sausage), or veggie fried rice: fry up some onions and garlice, toss in some veggies like carrots, bell peppers and broccoli, some tofu marinated in soy sauce (or tamari) and a little brown sugar, brown rice, spice it up with soy sauce or tamari and black pepper, and you’re good to go!
Lunch ideas. There are some great salads (try Greek, with feta and olives and nuts), or you can have a veggie burrito, a faux-chicken sandwhich, a veggie burger, some veggie chili. Pack your lunch and take it to work.
Expand to slim down. In a month or two, if you’re enjoying Vegetarian Day, consider expanding to two days, and eventually 3-4. Your life will be better off for it, and so will your waist. You don’t need to do it all at once, but gradual change won’t be hardly noticeable at all.
Join a vegetarian forum. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to join … but these forums are great sources of information, along with very friendly members who are willing to share recipes, links, resources, restaurants, cookbooks, and tips for becoming part or full vegetarian. Awesome resources. Some to start with: Hip Forums; Vegetarian Forums; VeggieBoards; Healthy Pages.

Gradual Vegetarianism: The Easy Way to a Slim Waist

Every Friday is Health Tip Day at Zen Habits.

Faithful reader and commenter Ann M. wrote recently about her new habit of going meatless for one day a week:

During Lent, I didn’t eat any meat on Fridays. It didn’t bother me too much because I don’t eat that much meat anyways because it’s tough to cook meat for one person! My plan is to continue this habit of no meat on Friday’s even though Lent is over. While it’s not being vegetarian, it’s still (generally) healthier than eating meat again. I actually did this for a little while last year too I think.

Sound interesting? Here are some tips:

The Big Day. Set one day a week as your Vegetarian Day. Plan ahead so that you’re prepared with different recipes and ingredients to try out.
Be adventurous. Look online for some great recipes. Start with GoVeg, the Post Punk Kitchen, the Vegan Chef, and Fat Free Vegan, and branch out from there. Shop for your recipes beforehand. Try a different ethnicity each week: Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Greek, Moroccan, South American, Caribbean … there are many! You’ll love this stuff.
Eat out. If you’re going to be on the road at lunch or dinner time, try and find a good vegetarian restaurant to check out. Try Happy Cow or VegDining for eats in your area.
Veg potluck. Have a great time and invite your friends and family over, and have everyone bring a vegetarian dish. It’ll be a blast! Everyone gets to try out a lot of new dishes. Mmmm. I’m getting hungry.
Try vegan. Be even more adventurous, and try vegan dishes — those without dairy or eggs or other animal products. I do it all the time and it’s my fav! It’s even more healthy, because eggs and milk have a lot of saturated fat.
Try frozen. If you’re lazy, and aren’t we all, try prepared vegetarian dishes once in awhile. Amy’s is one of my favorite — it’s usually organic too. Amy’s has great chili and soups, burritos, pizzas. Don’t do this all the time, but once in awhile’s not a bad thing.
Fruits and veggies. Get plenty of tasty and fresh fruits and veggies to snack on. Apples, berries, bananas, carrots, salads, broccoli, peaches, plums …. yum. Snack on them throughout the day and get your vitamins and fiber.
Breakfast ideas. Breakfast is probably easiest, with cereal and whole wheat toast and oatmeal (add flaxseeds and frozen blueberries!) … but get creative and try scrambled tofu (with onions and spices and veggie sausage), or veggie fried rice: fry up some onions and garlice, toss in some veggies like carrots, bell peppers and broccoli, some tofu marinated in soy sauce (or tamari) and a little brown sugar, brown rice, spice it up with soy sauce or tamari and black pepper, and you’re good to go!
Lunch ideas. There are some great salads (try Greek, with feta and olives and nuts), or you can have a veggie burrito, a faux-chicken sandwhich, a veggie burger, some veggie chili. Pack your lunch and take it to work.
Expand to slim down. In a month or two, if you’re enjoying Vegetarian Day, consider expanding to two days, and eventually 3-4. Your life will be better off for it, and so will your waist. You don’t need to do it all at once, but gradual change won’t be hardly noticeable at all.
Join a vegetarian forum. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to join … but these forums are great sources of information, along with very friendly members who are willing to share recipes, links, resources, restaurants, cookbooks, and tips for becoming part or full vegetarian. Awesome resources. Some to start with: Hip Forums; Vegetarian Forums; VeggieBoards; Healthy Pages.

Posted on 21 April 2007 in Health Tip Day |
Digg |
Del.icio.us |
Stumble |
Print

Comments (7)

jessica Says:

April 21st, 2007, 22:01 pm

great post, but it is not meat itself that makes you fat, nor is ommitting meat from your diet going to necessarily make you slim. It is your entire diet in general.

Aaron Says:

April 21st, 2007, 23:02 pm

Yes, meat in itself will not necessarily cause you to get fat, but living in a culture of meat with 56 oz steaks and 1/2 pound+ burgers doesn’t help.

I can attest that a vegetarian diet can help lose weight. I’m probably 80 pounds from my peak weight and it all started when I broke my meat addiction through a vegetarian diet. Losing weight entails eating healthily, and breaking old habits is the key.

Wonderful post!

Ann M. Says:

April 21st, 2007, 23:56 pm

Thanks for posting my suggestion Leo.

One of my favorite recipes is Sweet Potato Burritos. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos/Detail.aspx).

*Tip–mash the beans before you add them.

When I make these I freeze a bunch of them and take them to work for lunch as well.

Wallet Rehab - Ways to save money Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 0:15 am

I think i’m the only one bucks the trend. Last year, I spent 6 months trying to lose weight by going vegetarian every other day. I didn’t lose any weight. Instead, I’m using the Physicsdiet now, aka the Hacker’s Diet. It’s not so much a diet as a habit to weigh yourself every day. And the statistics force you to pay attention to everything you eat.

Leo Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 4:38 am

Hi guys, thanks for the comments. While jessica has a point, that meat by itself won’t guarantee any weight loss, I can testify that it does have an effect on weight loss.

First of all, meat is high in fat (especially saturated fat), and fat is dense in terms of calories (more than twice the calories per gram than protein or carbs). So eating other sources of protein that are lower in fat is a big step in lowering the number of calories you take in.

Now, someone could eat french fries and coke and technically be a vegan (well, except for the processed sugar), so what you replace the meat with is important. You can’t just eat anything you want instead of meat. So yes, jessica is right … you still need to pay attention to other things besides meat. That’s why I suggested eating more fruits and veggies and cutting back on fatty milk and eggs. There are other options you should research too.

But here’s the thing: starting out by doing one day of vegetarian, and then two or three, is a small but significant step in the right direction. It’s a step away from fatty foods and towards fresh, whole foods. And that small step can lead to big changes over time. It’s worth a try.

Nneka Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 8:47 am

As usual Leo, you provide a great way to step into big changes. Great job!

I’m going to try some of your suggestions:-)

In Spirit,
Nneka

steveb Says:

April 22nd, 2007, 21:21 pm

I tried a different tact. I made Friday my only meat day during the week. This focused my meat cravings into a single goal. Two things happened. First, the Friday meat dishes easily doubled in deliciousness and were an earned highlight to my week. Second, I found that when I did have meat on other days, the satisfaction level of the Friday dish diminished, and this conversely gave me more willpower to stay away.

After doing this for several months, I inevitably missed some Fridays. Although most times it was due to a busy schedule, sometimes I had simply forgotten that I wanted it. When I missed a cherished meat day, I allowed myself a bonus meat day in place of the missed meal. But when I started forgetting more and more meat Fridays, I changed the rule (my rules are mine to change any time I want) and allow no makeups — Fridays only. This added a little more pressure, but not enough to cause a relapse. At one point I was surprised to find I had missed three straight meat Fridays. I realized that I didn’t really crave it anymore, the craving was all in my head. I decided to leave meat out altogether and only needed to stay on track to soon have a nifty one-month head start. I’ve never looked back.

Good luck to everyone. Tiny steps will take you far.