Laura Ng

Tips to Overcome Weight Loss Plateau for Vegetarians

Have you gone vegetarian to lose weight but now you seem to have hit a weight loss plateau? Fret not. Let me show you how to break your weight loss plateau as a vegetarian now...

Getting stuck at a weight loss plateau for up to 8 weeks can drive anyone mad, especially for overweight vegetarians. That's because vegetarian weight loss diet has been crowned one of the most effective natural diets for fat loss. But why does it work half-way for some vegetarians?

Why Do Vegetarians Face Plateau?

Many vegetarians seem to favor nuts and seeds, fruits and grains more than vegetables. What's worse is that few of them do not even include vegetables in their vegetarian diet plan to lose weight.

I came across some vegetarians on forums saying that they hit weight loss plateau after losing 20 pounds, 40 pounds etc. When I probed, some told me they take very little vegetables, whereas few of them told me they totally take vegetables out of their meal plan.

No wonder they reach weight loss plateau. Let me explain.

Look, many vegetables may contain several times more nutrients than those in fruits, nuts and seeds. Take a cup of spinach (30 g) for instance. It carries 0.81 mg iron and only 7 calories. Fruit like banana (medium) provides as much as 107 calories but gives you only 0.31 mg iron. Simply put, you can easily heap on excess calories and absorb less nutrients than you need when you omit vegetables from your vegetarian weight loss diet plan. So, you should start adding vegetables today.

You can't take all kinds of vegetables in a day. Like all other foods, rotate the varieties and mix and match them to make your food choices more interesting.

For example:

Monday - broccoli, cauliflower, kale, tomato, carrot

Tuesday - cucumber, spinach, carrot, eggplant

Wednesday - red cabbage, squash, potato, turnip

Thursday - eggplant, cauliflower, bok choy, swiss chard

Friday - beet greens, squash, kale, watercress

Saturday - ceylon spinach, rapini, endive

Sunday - cherry tomatoes, beetroot, basil

I'm just giving you some ideas to jumpstart. You're free to alter the patterns and food varieties based on what your nearby grocery store or supermarket have, but just don't stick to a fixed pattern as making it fixed will stop you dead in your weight loss plateau again.

Bonus Tip to Break Your Weight Loss Plateau with Vegetables

For those who really find hard to munch on vegetables, I had a good idea to help you get rid of the feeling of nausea vegetable might give you. That is, make a green smoothie by blending vegetables and fruits together. Give it a ratio of 1:4 (veggie to fruits) or 2:3 if you want to overcome weight loss plateau faster.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR