Becoming Vegetarian to Lose Weight by Laura Ng

You've probably seen people becoming vegetarian to lose weight, but will it work for all, or more to the point, will it work for you too? What you actually see from other people's success is the end result. What about the transitional phase when they're progressing to becoming vegetarian?

Admittedly, some non-vegetarians do find it easy to convert quickly. But for most people, if you do it the wrong way, you can end up worse than before you take up the vegetarian diet. Let me share with you on how you should prepare for a vegetarian lifestyle. You may or may not lose weight after becoming vegetarian, depending on how well your transition is.

You don't quit cold turkey on your meat consumption. That's way too difficult. Even if you're able to do so, you may face meat cravings after few days. The effective way of phasing out meat is to do it gradually and progressively so that your meat cravings will vanish all by itself.

Take away the meat you like least for a few days, say 5 days. Then advance to remove another meat up your "The Meat I Like" list. Give yourself at least 3 - 8 weeks to phase out meat totally. The good news is, while you're eliminating the meat from your list one after another, and upgrading to the whole natural vegetarian food, you might experience some positive weight loss along the way, naturally.

By the time you become a full vegetarian, you would have lost some amazing pounds then. That's not all, after becoming vegetarian, you'll probably continue to lose weight if you stick to a healthy vegetarian lifestyle which includes a vegetarian diet in its most natural form plus an active exercise routine.

On the contrary, your effort to becoming vegetarian to lose weight may backfire if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, at the same time, indulging in high-sugar, high-sodium and high-fat processed vegetarian foods.

You need to know the truth - becoming vegetarian doesn't guarantee you'll lose weight. As I said, it depends on how well you transition to a vegetarian. In your transitional phase, choosing the right types of vegetarian foods is of utmost importance. Done right, it will set the stage for your future healthy vegetarian lifestyle and help you lose weight, thereafter maintain your weight for life. Done wrong, you may grow even fatter than before you become a vegetarian, which does happen to some people, admittedly.