Natural, plant-based weight control
By switching to vegetarianism, you’ve probably already noticed a boost in your health, and may have already lots a few pounds without even trying. The standard vegetarian diet is naturally high in complex carbohydrates and lower in fat – a vegan diet, with all the nutrients coming from plant foods, is the lowest in fat of all.
But it’s still possible to eat too much fat. Nuts, seeds, avocados and olives are all high in fat, and soy – including tofu, that staple of the vegetarian diet – are about half fat. And as we’ve already mentioned, just being vegetarian doesn’t guarantee that you’re eating a healthy diet if you’re constantly munching on fries, chips and cookies. So while you’ve got a good head-start on weight control by becoming vegetarian, you still need to give your diet some thought.
We’ll discuss meal planning – and give you some great recipes! – in the next two chapters, but for now, let’s take a look at the basics of your vegetarian choices with an eye towards weight control:
Vegetables are, of course, the mainstay of your daily diet. Use fresh whenever possible, frozen if you have to, and stay away from canned vegetables (canned products usually contain a lot of sodium and, well, they just don’t taste very good). Steam them and squeeze some lemon juice on them, or eat with non-fat dressing. If you insist on sauteeing them in fat, use olive oil.
Fruit can be fresh, frozen or, if necessary, canned (beware of sugary syrups, though). Fruit juice has more calories than whole fruit, and you’re missing out on the fiber, so eat whole fruit whenever possible.
Grains should be processed as little as possible – go with whole grain products for better texture, more fiber and more nutrients. For breakfast, hot cereals are usually higher in fiber and lower in fat than cold cereals, and keep an eye on how much fat is in favorites like muffins, pancakes, snack crackers and biscuits.
Legumes are excellent sources of high protein, low fat nutrition. Beans are loaded with nutrition, although if you use canned beans watch out for added salt. Soy products like veggie burgers and tofu hot dogs are healthier options than their meat-based counterparts, but they can still add a hefty amount of fat to your diet if your rely on them too much. Read labels, and make processed foods a small part of your diet.
Nuts and seeds are good sources of important nutrients, but contain up to 70 percent fat. Limit the amount of these that you eat while trying to lose weight to one serving each day. You can increase the amount when you’re at the point of maintaining your weight – but still watch those portions!
Dairy products, remember, are derived from milk – a substance high in both fat and sugar so that it’ll fatten up baby cows. If you’re ovo lacto, drink 1 percent or skim milk. If you use soy milk, keep in mind that it has about the same amount of fat as cow’s milk, and usually has sugar added to it. Rice milk is tasty, and lower in calories than soy milk – although non-fat soy milk is available. Cheese, even soy cheese, is very high in fat and should only be used in very small amounts when trying to lose weight.
Fats must be used sparingly, if at all, when cooking on a weight loss diet. Whenever possible, use olive oil, but eliminate them by steaming, broiling or baking foods instead of frying or sauteeing. If you’re eating a well-balanced diet, you’re getting all the fat you need to keep your body healthy, so don’t add more!
Skinny vegetarianism
Carbohydrates have gotten a bad rap in recent years, but the biggest sin isn’t how many carbs we eat – it’s the manner in which we eat them. We dunk perfectly good potatoes in hot oil, or soak them in butter, or cover them with cream sauce. We spread an inch of butter on our whole wheat rolls, and cover our broccoli with cheese sauce. No wonder we’re fat!
Transitioning to a plant-based diet is about thoughtful, healthful eating. That holds true for the way you prepare the food that you eat, too. Many people think they don’t like vegetables when, in fact, they rarely taste the vegetables they eat because they’re drowning in a puddle of butter sauce. Give your food the same respect that you give your body, and enjoy it without disguising it under a high-fat coating.
Choose healthy substitutions when snacking. Instead of reaching for greasy potato chips or an order of fries, grab a handful of fat-free pretzels or popcorn. Dip celery and carrots into hummus, salsa or black bean dip instead of guacamole.
Lower the fat in your baked goods. Almost any cookie, cake or muffin recipe can be made with less fat, and there are recipes for low-fat baked goods using applesauce, tofu or mashed bananas as a fat substitute. Whole wheat pastry flour has less glutin than all-purpose flour, and will make a more tender product when cutting down on fat.
Learn to love the spud. As the basis for a meal, it’s hard to beat a baked potato – with less than a gram of fat, just 95 calories and loaded with vitamins, it’s an almost perfect natural food. But once you’ve piled on butter, sour cream and cheese, it’s a nutritional nightmare. But there are lots of things you can use to top your potato. Vegetarian chili, vegetable curry, baked beans and steamed vegetables are all great potato toppers, low in fat and loaded with vitamins and minerals.
Add flavor, not fat. Think about the flavors in the foods you’re cooking and consider ways to enhance them without added fat. Saute vegetables in dry wine, use fresh herbs and garlic, and freshen up vegetables with lemon juice.
Avoid the dairy trap. Lacto ovo vegetarians often make the mistake of leaning too hard on eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt and other dairy products when they first start out, and these foods are all rich in fat. Go easy on the cheese and drink skim milk, and limit eggs to just two or three meals per week.
