Posted on: September 6, 2013 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

 

 

As vegetarians, we like to think that we are fit and have our weight under control. The good news is that we’re in better shape than our omnivore friends, but obesity is still a real problem. For example, a study of women in Sweden showed that 40% of those who were omnivores were overweight or obese. That figure went down to 29% for semi-vegetarians and vegans, and down to 25% for lactovegetarians. That still means that a quarter to a third of us are carrying too much weight even if we are vegetarian – and that’s an awful lot.

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While we all try to diet from time to time, the truth is that it’s very difficult to succeed and keep the weight off if you try to go it alone. There are a number of companies that provide healthy diet plans that are designed to help you lose weight, but most people don’t associate these with vegetarian cuisine. We’re going to take a look at some of these companies now and see what they have to offer in the way of healthy diet plans.

 

Let’s start with Nutrisystem. They have a vegetarian diet plan for both men and women, and deliver food directly to your door. They offer 75 different vegetarian meal choices, including everything from vegetarian lasagna through to red beans and rice. The plan focuses on giving you lots of fiber, protein and good carbs, while putting you on a restricted calorie diet that avoids nasty additives such as MSG and saccharine. The plan cost about $10 a day, and for that you get breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks morning and afternoon, and a dessert to finish things off.

 

Weight Watchers has a different approach. They don’t have a specific vegetarian plan, and they don’t require you to buy food from them. Instead, they have an overall PointsPlus program that allows you to choose what food you want to eat, provided that you stay within your points allowance. This includes vegetarian options, so it’s easy to adapt the plan to avoid meat, fish or dairy, depending on what type of diet you follow. Weight Watchers also provides a huge range of online recipes, advice and support, and also allows you to sign up to local Weight Watchers groups where you can meet, share your diet experiences and keep up your motivation.

 

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Then, there’s Medifast. Like Nutrisystem, they require you to buy food from them at a similar cost. However, they don’t have a specific vegetarian diet plan. Instead, they offer some vegetarian items that you can include in their regular plans, although the range is somewhat smaller than Nutrisystem’s. However, you will find items such as vegetarian Sloppy Joes, veggie meatballs, vegetable burgers, and cereals. They also point out that their plan gives you 72 grams of high-quality protein even if you do choose all vegetarian options. It’s worth pointing out, however, that they say their meals are not suitable for vegans.

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