Becoming a vegetarian isn't an easy life decision. Not only do you have to change the way you've been eating, but you often need to change how you interact with food in order to maintain your choice. While not everyone will understand why you've chosen to eliminate meat and other animal products from your diet, you need to understand how to keep up your new diet in a healthy manner.

Why Be a Vegetarian?

Being a vegetarian has a lot of positive benefits. Because many scientists believe that this way of eating stems all the way from the prehistoric eras, it's understandable that not eating meat might have bigger ramifications than political and environmental impact. Here are some of the current thoughts about the benefits of going meat free:

• Lower cholesterol levels – You are reducing the cholesterol in your diet when you go absolutely meat free, this means that your body has a higher chance of having a lower cholesterol levels. Some people still have genetic tendencies toward higher cholesterol readings, but removing meat from their diets can often help control the upward trend.


• Lower caloric intake – Since your diet will be focused on vegetables and beans more than meats, you will often take in fewer calories, assuming that you prepare meals in a healthy manner. When you deep fry foods in vegetable oils, those are still going to be unhealthy, even when they contain no animal fats.

• Lowered cancer risk – Some studies are indicating that people who eat vegetarian diets are often at a lower risk of developing a wide range of cancers. This might be due to the higher antioxidant levels or simply from the lack of meat.

• Greater life expectancy – Some other research is indicating that vegetarians often live longer because of their eating habits, though this is difficult to measure as most vegetarians have healthier lifestyles overall.

What Kinds of Vegetarians are There?

But there are also three main types of vegetarians out there. And each will have their own problems with managing this kind of diet along with a new fitness regimen.

• Vegan – Eat no animal products of any kind
• Lacto Vegetarian – Still eat dairy
• Ovo Vegetarian – Still eat eggs

There are also lacto-ovo vegetarians (eating dairy and eggs) and semi-vegetarians that will still eat fish.

The fewer animal products you take in, the harder it will be for you to balance your diet and still get enough protein – but it can be done.

The Question of Protein

The biggest question you will get when you announce your vegetarianism is whether or not you will be able to get enough protein. Since your body requires certain proteins in order to function, you need to make sure your diet includes these proteins. But the problem is that many of these proteins can only be found in meats and animal products, making it difficult for vegetarians.

But what most vegetarians don't know is that while vegetables, grains, and legumes may not be able to provide the proteins be themselves, combining them will yield a healthy and complete protein.

For example, you will want to eat beans with whole grain rice or pasta in order to eat a balanced meal. Or you could have a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread. The point is to choose a high protein item like a nut or legume and then balance the meal with a whole grain. It's actually quite simple and becomes second nature after a while.

You can also look into fish oil supplements that are not derived from fish in order to get enough Omega 3 fatty acids.

Timing Your Meals

When you want to begin weight training, it's not just about what you are eating, but when you are eating it too. You want to make sure that your body is constantly fuelled with protein in order to keep building muscle and maintaining the muscle you already have.

To do this, you will want to think about fuelling up at particular times of the day:

• If you exercise in the morning – Try to get up about an hour earlier than your workout to eat a light carb and small amount of protein. If you can't stomach food in the morning, be sure to eat a good portion of protein right after your workout.

• If you exercise in the afternoon – Be sure your breakfast contains protein and that your lunch contains carbs that will fuel your workout.

• If you exercise at night – Fuel up on carbohydrates and proteins at your meals, but then a light snack of carbohydrates (i.e. fruit) about two hours before your actual workout.

Your body typically needs about two hours to digest foods before you workout so that you can avoid stomach cramping. However, light snacks like apples or pretzels are often easy on the stomach and can be eaten about an hour before your workout. Everyone's different, however, so experiment with what works for you.

You need to keep eating in order to maintain your energy levels. And current research is indicating that eating proteins after a workout can often head off any soreness.

Want to Lose Weight Too?

But many people are actually weight training in order to lose weight too. So, are there ways to adjust your vegetarian diet to help with this goal?

If you are a vegetarian and you want to lose weight, the same rule applies – you need to take in fewer calories than you are burning off in your workouts. You can do this by adding more fruits and vegetables to your day as well as cooking with less oil.

Studies are also showing that adding a small amount of protein to each meal can stave off hunger, while making sure to eat at least 1200 calories a day will allow you to keep your metabolism working hard to burn off any excess fat.

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