Message Replying To

From melissa, Age 16

Ht. 5'6", Wt. 145 - i keep reading all this stuff on here about people going vegetarian because it's healthy and an easy way to lose weight. don't get me wrong, it is very healthy if you are doing it correctly. i've also read that some people who come on here that say they've been a vegetarian for a few months and haven't lost any weight. you can't just stop eating meat and expect to lose weight. getting protein is a key to losing weight because it promotes the growth of lean muscle mass that helps to burn more fat. but when you just cut out meat and don't get protein from other sources (nuts, beans, etc) then you are not going to lose weight. fruits and vegetables are essential to a healthy diet and losing weight, but you have to get protein from some where if you really want that weight to stay off. you might just want to cut out red meat at first, and when you find other substitutes for protein cut out chicken, fish, etc. i would recommend not giving up dairy products because they give protein and calcium. if you go vegetarian, make sure that you have other sources of protein and taking a vitamin or something like that.