Eating the right way is often listed as the most important factor for losing weight.
It is true, weight loss does start and end in the kitchen. However, what you are putting into your stomach each day is going to vary from person to person. Some are going to be meat eaters, while others are going to be vegetarians.
It is important to know whether or not being a vegetarian helps lose weight faster or not. Here is a breakdown of what you can get by being a vegetarian.
Benefits of Being Vegetarian for Weight Loss
Contents
1. Less Saturated Fats
It all starts with a noticeable reduction in saturated fats.
If you are eating meat all the time, it’s going to be high in saturated fats even if it is a good source of protein [1]. This is something to take into account as saturated fats are not good for losing weight and can also impact your organs.
It is essential to tamper down how much you eat when it comes to these types of fats. A little bit is not going to harm you, but excessive consumption of saturated fats can set you down the wrong path. This can include more than simple weight gain.
On the other hand, a vegetarian is not going to deal with this ordeal.
You are not going to be eating as many saturated fats due to how fruits and vegetables are. This makes it easier to avoid saturated fats and stay healthy at the same time. Naturally, this also helps keep the weight down.
2. Eat Filling Foods
Let’s assume you are a meat eater and want to have a good meal.
You will end up having meat that is not going to be as filling as vegetables. This leads to a situation where you want to eat more to fill your stomach and that is when the caloric intake rises. Eating too many calories is the reason you are packing on the belly fat.
It will immediately slow down how quickly you can lose weight.
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On the other hand, vegetarians are not as restricted when it is time to shed excess weight. This has to do with being able to eat filling foods that are going to suppress your appetite. It’s highly recommended to eat filling foods for this reason alone.
A person that is eating fruits and vegetables will have a much simpler time doing this. The nature of these fruits and vegetables means you are going to get fuller faster by eating them. The same does not often apply to meats.
The less you eat, the faster you are going to lose weight. While starvation is a serious health risk, the same does not apply to being a vegetarian. This means you get the best of both worlds and it’s a win-win.
3. Constant Access to Fiber
You are going to need a good amount of fiber to keep the metabolic rate high during the weight loss journey. A person that does not have a good metabolism will struggle to lose weight and will also become sluggish with time.
This is why more and more people transition into becoming vegetarians because it fills them with energy and they gain access to more fiber per gram.
This is useful because the metabolic rate has to remain high at all times. If you don’t do this, you are not going to feel comfortable at all. This is when people struggle a lot and don’t eat as well as they need to.
Vegetarians have a much easier time keeping the metabolic rate high enough to shed fat. This helps speed up the process in comparison to someone that is eating a meat-heavy diet.
4. Reduced Exposure to Unhealthy Fats
Research shows a person that is exposed to unhealthy fats tends to pack on the pounds faster than someone that is not [2].
This has to do with the body’s inability to store excess fats in a way that keeps a person fit. This means you end up adding body fat all over the place and it leads to an unappealing and rather unhealthy situation to be in.
By being a vegetarian, a person has more control over what they are putting into their body because unhealthy fats are not as common. This becomes an automatic way to control the fats that are being consumed and that is useful over the long haul.
Constant exposure to unhealthy fats can lead to overconsumption of food. This is common with meat-heavy diets.
5. Increased Discipline
It’s essential for discipline to be a part of your lifestyle when shedding weight.
A person that is not disciplined will start cheating along the way and eat empty-calorie meals (i.e. junk food). This is when the weight becomes hard to keep off and you end up running around in circles without ever seeing appropriate results.
By becoming a vegetarian, you are not going to have those issues to contend with. This has to do with the discipline of avoiding meat and getting all of your nutrients through a specific food type. You will start to regulate how you eat and that is when the results pour in.
A person that is unwilling to change their diet is going to struggle. This does not mean eating meats makes it impossible to shed fat. However, it does make the process slower and there is a learning curve that is harder to contend with.
If you are someone that wants to move forward with a lifestyle change (i.e. sleeping more, working out, eating well) then becoming a vegetarian is a unique option.
It is not the only way to tackle weight loss but it is going to speed up the process during the short term. You are going to see tangible results within the first few weeks as long as you stick to the diet and eat the right types of foods during the process.
This is when the disciplined structure shines through.
6. Greater Access to Key Nutrients
A vegetarian is going to have one benefit over meat eaters that has to be taken into account and that comes in the form of nutrient intake per gram.
You are going to gain access to a wide array of nutrients as a vegetarian and it will happen in each meal. While a meat eater might not be afforded the same luxury unless they are willing to mix up their diet from time to time.
The reduced consumption of nutrients is not going to have an impact in the short term but it can slow down your ability to lose weight. This is why more and more people transition to a vegetable or fruit-dense diet over time.
Those nutrients are important because they keep the system running the way it needs to. Over time, this is how you are going to lose a bunch of weight.
Final Thoughts
Losing weight is all about understanding what your body needs.
This includes more than being a vegetarian or a meat eater. You have to recognize how many calories you are eating, your lifestyle, and the nutrients you’re getting during the week. Each factor is just as important as any other.
For those who are vegetarian, it’s much easier to lose weight simply due to the nature of eating fruits and vegetables. You gain access to more nutrients per gram along with the reduction of calories. This sometimes does not apply to those who eat meat.
References:
1. https://www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org/full-article/es/vegetarian-diets-vegan-diets-weight-loss-2702
2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170612094458.htm#:~:text=Vegetarian%20diets%20almost%20twice%20as%20effective%20in%20reducing%20body%20weight%2C%20study%20finds,-Date%3A%20June%2012&text=Summary%3A,a%20new%20study%20has%20found.
