It’s not necessarily true that being a vegetarian will help you lose weight.  Sometimes vegetarians can supplement meat in their diet with carbohydrates.  They end up eating a lot of rice and pasta which can turn into unused calories and the pounds pack on.

Also, your body needs protein in order to maintain lean muscle.  Without lean muscle, your body can not burn calories efficiently.  Muscle burns more calories and burns them faster.

If you eat meat, you can get protein from chicken and fish (and red meat sparingly).  If you don’t eat meat, you’ll need to eat tofu to get enough protein. Some vegetarians argue that they get enough protein from beans, but again, beans are packed with extra carbohydrates and they are not a ‘complete protein’.  Generally proteins derived from animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and milk) are complete. 

So the bottom line when it comes to healthy eating is balance and portion.  If you want to be healthy, you need a balance of protein, carbs, good fats, vitamins and minerals.  Eliminating any of the above in its entirety is never a good idea (ex: carb free diets). 

Each of your meals should contain a small amount of protein, carbohydrate and good fat.  You can reduce or eliminate your carbs at night as long as you get a healthy dose during the day.

For example:

Breakfast:

Oatmeal (carbohydrate), 2 egg whites (protein), slice of smoked salmon (good fat)

Lunch:

Mesculan lettuce with grilled chicken (protein), small side of whole wheat pasta (carbohydrate), drizzled olive oil (good fat) and balsamic vinegar over your salad.

You get the idea….if you want to reduce your meat intake, I suggest you do your research on complete proteins and find out which vegetarian options (like tofu and beans) are your best source for a balanced diet.

Getting good fats (omega 3s) is the most challenging part for Americans.  The typical American diet contains very little, if any Omega 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3s are known to help prevent cancer, cardio vascular disease, boost immune function, enhance brain function and more. 

If you wan to get a good dose of Omega 3s, here are some foods that are high in the essential fatty acid:

•  Salmon
• Flax Seeds
• Walnuts
• Sardines
• Mackerel
• Cooked soybeans
• Raw tofu
• Halibut

Breakfast: Yogurt

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Grilled chicken on whole wheat wrap

Snack: carrots

Dinner: Fish and broccoli

Looks seemingly healthy right?  Plenty of servings of fruit, some veggies and some whole wheat carbs. In actuality, this diet is not good for many women trying to lose weight.  For starters, this diet is loaded with sugars.  Yogurt is packed with sugars, even though it claims to be light or low-cal.  Apples and carrots have sugars too. I’m not saying to avoid fruits, but in this diet, the combination of fruits and  yogurts is entirely too much sugar. 

Instead of yogurt for breakfast, try egg salad made with low-fat mayo. It’s easy enough to make at home and bring to work in a container.  You can even have it on a slice of whole wheat bread.  Or, have a few egg whites on a slice of whole wheat bread.

For a snack, Apples are good, but they do contain sugar.  Sugars are best when eaten along with a protein.  Eating your protein first helps slow the absorption of sugars into your blood stream, reducing the chance of a spike in blood sugar levels, which leads to your body storing fat.  Have half of an apple with some all natural peanut butter, almonds or walnuts.

Just because your wrap is whole wheat, doesn’t mean it is healthy.  Wraps pack plenty of carbs even if they are whole wheat.  You are better off with low-carb breat, or have a sandwich and remove one piece of bread. The grilled chicken is good.  Having it over lettuce with some tomatoes, cucumbers and a low fat dressing is even better.

Read the labels of the foods you are eating and watch for hidden sugars.  20+ grams of sugar for one meal/snack/drink  is too much.  So check your yogurt labels and rethink breakfast.