Health Tips

We have always been told that a vegetarian diet is a sliming diet but is this always the case? Or are there fat vegetarians hiding away somewhere?

Firstly, vegetarian based food means, of course, that you cut down on ‘calorie dense’ foods like fat and animal protein but doing this does not automatically make you slim! And the bad news? Yes, there are fat vegetarians.

The amount of fat you have depends on the quantity of calories you eat. That’s it! If you are a vegetarian and you have a good appetite you can easily eat more calories than your body needs. If you do this your body will save the surplus as fat, simple as that.

This is particularly so with ‘new’ vegetarians who tend to overload their diet with cheese. The problem here is that cheese is nice but high in fat and it piles on the calories.

However, set against this, plant food is not calorie-dense. So, for example, it is hard to eat so much salad that you put on weight but plant food alone can be pretty boring.

So, if you are new to vegetarianism or are thinking of becoming a part-time vegetarian it is worth looking at the not-so-well-known alternatives to animal protein like tofu, tempeh and quorn products. These are filling, extremely tasty and not nearly so high in fat.

So, be a vegetarian by all means, but be aware of your fat intake and be prepared to try other alternative vegetarian foods to ensure that your calorie intake remains within normal limits. That way you, too, will not become a fat vegetarian!