Why is every vegetarian I know, very slim?

[samy23]

Does meat make people gain weight? I swear every vegetarian person I've met in my life has been very slim/slender, so it's made me wonder why?

(x posted in vegan/vegetarian forum)

[pianojazzgirl]

Well, first of all I do know several vegetarians who are not slim.

I do think that often people who choose to become vegetarian are more conscious about what they put in their bodies and therefore develop more of an understanding of healthy eating (though not always... thinking of my dh who, when veg, ate mostly french fries...).

[bandgeek]

Vegetarians come in all shapes and sizes. I was 40 lbs overweight when I quit eating meat and I didn't lose any weight. I have to actively diet and exercise to lose it. I do find it easier to feel fuller on less calories with no meat though.

I know people who have been vegan their whole life that are obese. I think that's the exception rather than the rule, but it's certainly possible to gain too much weight on a meat-free diet. A lot of it just comes back down to calories. If you take in too many, you will gain weight.

Like the pp, I think a large portion of the vegetarian population are particularly concerned about their health and what they put in their body. I've only been veg 4 months but I've learned a LOT about making better choices in this time. I feel tons better and I'm inspired to be healthier now. I used to not care about what I put in my body. Now that I feel so much better I realize how much food really can make a difference.

I'm still 25 lbs overweight though. But one day I may be one of those slim vegans. It won't be *because* I went vegan though. It'll be because I realized how badly I was treating my body and decided to do better. It just went along with my transition to a meat-free diet.

[laohaire]

I agree with PP. Vegetarians are conscious of their food intake and tend to choose healthy foods. But not all do. I, for example, gained weight just fine on a vegetarian diet of less-than-stellar food. (I don't blame vegetarianism, just poor food choices). I know a couple other people who did the same. Some vegetarians become pasta-and-cheese-atarians, you know?

[witchygrrl]

I know one very obese vegetarian, and two normal sized vegans. It's all in how you eat and take care of yourself.

[cheryllynn]

Ever hear of Susan Powter? She was vegetarian when she gained to her largest size.

I was vegetarian, then vegan for several years and nope, not thin. You can gain a lot of weight on carbs plus all the soy that vegetarians love was horrible for my thyroid.

I haev another friend who thought she'd lose weight by eating vegetarian and she has gained 20 pounds.

[tinuviel_k]

I agree: vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores all come in a range of sizes. I know slim people of each of those three diets, and I know medically obese people that follow each of those three diets, too.

[MyLilPwny]

Originally Posted by samy23

Does meat make people gain weight?

No. Excess carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates do. If a vegetarian is eating a lot of pasta, bread, sugar, etc., he/she will be gaining weight. Many people do low-carb (eating meat) to lose weight because it works.

[tanyalynn]

The typical vegetarian probably thinks about health more than the typical omni, since omni is the default choice in US society. But people also talk about their diets more when they're working well for them, solving their problems. Maybe you know a few people who are veg who don't talk about it because it hasn't (maybe yet) solved health issues for them.

I talk about cutting out gluten and dairy because they were really good for my health. It's not the solution for everyone, but when people share what's working for them, it helps other people start their problem-solving processes.

[kjbrown92]

My step-brother was a vegetarian because he didn't want to hurt animals (except swordfish because he liked it "too much to stop"). He ate most of his meals at Taco Bell. He was about the least healthy person I know, so not all vegetarias are health conscious. Just like all vegetarians aren't slim. I know 4 vegetarians in the real world, 1 is slim, 2 of them are what I'd call average and one is overweight. And that's probably about the ratio of the SAD people I know as well. I'd say most of the health-conscious people I know in the real world (and those are very few) are all slim. And I'd say that's the better predictor than vegetarianism. I'm slim (technically underweight) and I eat lots of meat). My mother has gained most of her weight since becoming vegetarian (which for her means no beef/pork, but poultry and fish are okay).

[chezlyryan]

I know two very slim vegetarians and an obese vegetarian. I was lectured by a vegetarian about why not eating meat was healthier while the vegetarian was eating a deep fried chocolate bar. It depends how healthy you eat over all, how active you are, and how much deep fried chocolate you decide to skip.

[pianojazzgirl]

Originally Posted by chezlyryan

I know two very slim vegetarians and an obese vegetarian. I was lectured by a vegetarian about why not eating meat was healthier while the vegetarian was eating a deep fried chocolate bar. It depends how healthy you eat over all, how active you are, and how much deep fried chocolate you decide to skip.

Whoaaaa.... where can I get deep fried chocolate?????.....

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by pianojazzgirl

Whoaaaa.... where can I get deep fried chocolate?????.....

Texas State Fair!

[Doodlebugsmom]

Originally Posted by cheryllynn

Ever hear of Susan Powter? She was vegetarian when she gained to her largest size.

I was vegetarian, then vegan for several years and nope, not thin. You can gain a lot of weight on carbs plus all the soy that vegetarians love was horrible for my thyroid.

I haev another friend who thought she'd lose weight by eating vegetarian and she has gained 20 pounds.

I don't know...Susan Powter is apparently vegan now and looks really good. She's obviously taking very good care of herself.

Plus, not all vegetarians love soy. I'm vegan and almost never eat soy products.

Like many of the other pps, I have to agree that how much animal products a person eats isn't necessarily correlated to their body shape/size.

[mommy212]

Well the climbing obesity/heart disease/cancer rate is directly proportionate to the increase in the amount of meat americans eat each year, on average. So I would say it certainly does not help.

[californiajenn]

Originally Posted by mommy212

Well the climbing obesity/heart disease/cancer rate is directly proportionate to the increase in the amount of meat americans eat each year, on average. So I would say it certainly does not help.

The studies indicating this info do not take into account these people are eating CAFO meat. Pastured animals are a completely different thing.

[NaturalMamma]

Originally Posted by laohaire

I agree with PP. Vegetarians are conscious of their food intake and tend to choose healthy foods. But not all do. I, for example, gained weight just fine on a vegetarian diet of less-than-stellar food. (I don't blame vegetarianism, just poor food choices). I know a couple other people who did the same. Some vegetarians become pasta-and-cheese-atarians, you know?

I agree w/this. I think a lot of people eat too many carbs...if they're not active, it's just not going to get burned off.

I have witnessed some vegetarians who basically just took the meat out of their diet and weren't conscious about replacing it with another protein source, lots of healthy produce and whole grains. And as vegetarian as it may be, chips are not healthy. (But I'm thinking those people are the exception and not the norm.)

I'm not vegetarian, though I don't eat meat everyday. I've always been slim and my DD is too. We have healthy metabolisms b/c we are constantly moving.

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by mommy212

Well the climbing obesity/heart disease/cancer rate is directly proportionate to the increase in the amount of meat americans eat each year, on average. So I would say it certainly does not help.

It's also directly proportionate to all the dairy, gluten, soy, and corn Americans eat each year, which is in at least 80% of the food chain. Correlation does not mean causation.

[LessTraveledBy]

I thought the calories in vs. burned calories was already considered to be a misinformed, old theory.

I can say from experience that a persons metabolism is matters hugely, no matter what they eat. In my case, I gained 20 pounds doing nothing differently, even nursing a toddler. In my case it is due to my thyroid problems. There are so many things that affect one's weight...

[berry987]

Originally Posted by mommy212

Well the climbing obesity/heart disease/cancer rate is directly proportionate to the increase in the amount of meat americans eat each year, on average. So I would say it certainly does not help.

Actually, that is the old theory....studies now show that the climbing obesity/heart disease/cancer rate is due to an increase in carbohydrate consumption, particularly refined carbs. Americans eat less meat now than they did 50 years ago. A great book about this is "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.

I agree that vegetarians are not always slim - in fact I know several very heavy vegetarians. And I was my heaviest as a vegetarian. I was a vegan for a period of time and was fairly slim, but that was because my food options were VERY limited (this was pre-Whole Foods and an abundance of vegan options) so I lived on salads with kidney beans. So I didn't eat any meat or dairy, but I also didn't eat many carbs (because most carbs have egg or some form of dairy in them). I'm now a meat and veggie eater. Seems best for my body and health.