Hello! To start my name is Cheryl and I just turned 16, I am 5'2" and after faithfully eating low-carb foods I now weigh around 97-100 pounds. And it's great! I have never been quite defined "overweight," but according to our nutrition teacher it's best to develop good eating habits while you're young cuz they'll most likely stick with you for FOREVER. and so that's what I'm doing!!

I decided to finally join this board thingy because I've been visiting this site for quite some time now, everyone's stories and the instructions have helped me out a tonne. I need some support as well, cuz I've been told that you won't get far without people helping you out, and being surrounded by all of the evil overly processed food at skool today I'm starting to mess up reeeeal baad.

BUT anyway! As it says on the title thingy, I'm a vegetarian because I don't like the idea of eating the flesh of a dead animal and stuff like that. Is it all right to eat all of the nuts, cheese, vegetables and fruit and forego all the chicken and beef in this woe? Just wondering if I'm doing this properly...

K I'm off then, luv ya all ba bye now!

Welcome!

My girlfriend is a devout vegetarian and was wondering if Atkins could be helpful for her. She does not have much weight to lose at all, although she thinks she does :-)

Anyway, I think what would be most beneficial for her is to cut the junk and starchy over processed sugar loaded food out of her diet (I already did...). I cook for her all the time: tofu, stir fry veggies, garden burgers, etc and she loves it all. I think that you and her could do just fine cutting out the things mentioned above and not necessarily going for the Atkins WOE (which I didn't read you were on).

Summary: less sugar/carbs, starches, processed food = a nice healthy you :-) Keep up the good work!!!

Mike
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260/249/210 - Started 1/5/2004
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yes, it is very hard to do Atkins induction as a vegetarian. ongoing weight loss, however, is a definite possibility, and I beleive the South beach diet has a vegetarian version, though I'm not 100% sure about that.

The main thing is to minimize processed grains and avoid products with any kind of sugar added. When you have rice and beans, have more beans than rice. And make sure it's not WHITE rice. etc. In general, use dried fruits as "treats" and stick to whole unprocessed fruit. Stuff like that.

Lower carb is very doable in a vegetarian version. My only concern for you is that you need to check with your school nurse or your doctor so that you are getting your complete proteins and adequate nutrition. As with low carb, there's a right way to do vegetariansim, and a wrong way. And with both eating styles, if you do it wrong, you can get ill.

So do run your daily diet by a qualified person. You're only 16, and you still have special nutritional needs. You're clearly at a low weight for your height, so as you say, you want to be eating for optimal health, not weight loss.

But I commend your resolve to avoid the "evil skool food". Most of it is, indeed, full of processed carbs and trans fatty crap.

And I hope you can avoid what many of us old ladies have been through. I'm 5'2", and my dear, I haven't been under 100lbs since I was 9.

Hang in there, and really do check with someone on your diet...
LCandrea

hi ultra_dutch_bus,

hun..I completely understand where your teacher is comming from. They are correct with the information you have just mentioned.

However.. you mentioned that you weight 97 to 100lbs and are 5'2". I would like to know if you plan on loseing more weight. That seems awefully low for a person being your height. The reason why I say this is because I am the same height. I only ask this because I am concerned for your health.

On the vegetarian issue... I have seen others accomplish lc'ing while sticking with a vegetarian lifestyle. It will be a harder but it can be done.




"No more looking back and saying "what if", now I look forward and see success!"

Tanya
Member since Jan 2002
Way of Life since Jan 2003!
272/180/172<--(next goal)

Thank you all for your replies! Yey. I feel so enlightened now.

You honestly think that 100 lbs. is a low weight? I ran it by my personal trainer and he said it's just about right. It's not nessesarily pounds I'm trying to lose, but inches. Who knows, apparantly the fat on me isn't showing up on the scale or something! But I will talk to my doctor again. Thank you guys loads!

arrivederci! <3
eat the cheesecake at ruby tuesday's.

I'm not sure why a 16 year old girl has a personal trainer. Are you an athlete? Please be careful not to lose too much weight. 100 pounds is not very much, even at your height. At your age it's really easy to get sucked into eating too little and thinking you're fat because the girls in the magazines are so thin. It can become an obsession, which isn't healthy at all.

Geeesh, I was almost 100 pounds when I was born! :-)

Mike
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260/249/210 - Started 1/5/2004
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Cheryl, I think I read in another post that you eat cheeses. That is good. Have you tried the Morning Star veg burgers or Boca Burgers? They are very GOOD and LC Friendly. You want to maintain your weight, so LC fruits are a good choice as are the nuts too. Do you do eggs at all?

Have a great day!!!!

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Ultra,
I'm glad to see that you want to eat healthy. What do your parents think about you beginning a low carb vegitarian diet?

I am 5'3" and when I was 98 pounds. (wow that was 12 years ago) I was embarressed by just how skinny I was! I used to wear long johns under my jeans to add some "padding" (My padding is built in now lol) I think I look best at about 115 to 120 pounds. I would imagine at only 1" shorter then me, you would look your best at about the same.

Don't be fooled by the airbrushed model in the magazines. And trust me, guys like a girl with a little meat on her bones. Right guys? All you men chime in on this.

Jen

Atkins since 11/11/03

5'3" 140/131/115

I really should get a better signature...

quote from Jen:

All you men chime in on this

absolutely!

IMHO vegetarian and low carb are possible but I think you need a high tolerance for monotony in your diet. You'll eat a lot of soy protein and much of the meat substitutes like Boca burgers are pretty good. You might want to look into the Schwarzbein Principle (I and II) by Diana Schwarzbein. It was mainly written for type 2 diabetics but is used by many as a weight loss/maintenance diet. I only mention her books because she has a vegetarian version of her plan and even a vegetarian cookbook which looks pretty good from a quick browse i did at B&N.

Rob
310/234.5/180

Me, a skeptic? I trust you have proof.

Ultra - so glad you decided to post - you pose some very interesting questions.

One comment I would like to make is that it is imperative for you to take vitamin supplements. As a vegetarian (just like those of us who don't eat other types of foods), you run the risk of not getting all the vitamins and minerals you need to maintain health. And, at 16, even though your are female, you have not finished growing (I grew 2.5 inches in college, after being the same height since 6th grade - that was a shocker). As a matter of fact, women continue to build bones into their 20's.

I, too, am concerned about your comment that you don't want to lose weight, but inches. At 5' 2", 97 - 100 pounds, youmust have a very petite frame, or already be a little underweight. I just can't imagine that you need to lose anything. Being underweight at your time in life can drastically affect your reproductive future, as well as the health of your bones and organs. I would hope that you would focus on eating low carb in order to maintain a healthy body, and use weight training and exercise to build lean mass.

I sincerely hope that your doctor and your parents know and understand all the aspects of your diet and exercise.

I didn't mean to jump all over you - howver, I have been around the block and know too many women who succumbed to the thin at any cost mentality. It ain't worth it.

Jen
175/129/120

From a fellow tiny person (well, ex-tiny in my case):

When I was your age (not THAT long ago, now in my 20's) -- I hovered around 115. At that time, I was on varsity sports and did 2-3 hours of exercise 6 days a week, including strength training. My friend, who had a slighly smaller frame and didn't exercise as much, hovered around 105.

Your BMI is about 19 right now. You should not be looking to lose any weight at all. In fact you are clinically slightly UNDERWEIGHT, if that makes you feel better. Toning up and building muscle mass is generally a great thing, but in your case be prepared: the scale will likely go UP, because muscle weighs more than fat.

As for the vegetarian thing. Of course you can, but then you have to be careful. Doing low carb AND low fat (which is easy to do almost accidentally as a vegetarian) could be very dangerous, because you are then depriving your body of the fat/carbs/protein it needs to build muscle mass and generally stay healthy. You don't want to start eating up what little muscle mass you have.

SO -- just be careful!

Well said everyone. Schwarzbein is an excellent resource. Vitamins are crucial as is getting enough calcium. You don't want to set yourself up for osteoporosis later on in life. I know that seems far away right now, but it will be here before you know it. Take heed of everyone's advice. We are just looking out for your best interest.

Barb - 30 lbs gone FOREVER!
www.iwsgroupinc.com - website design and development


Atkins-3/14/03
174/144/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Over on an Atkins site, I found these vegetarian recipes. There may be other information about vegetarian versions of Atkins at this location as well.

http://atkins.com/Archive/2004/1/12-80952.html

Barb L.
Started Atkins January 2003
162/137/130

Ultra, please, please, PLEASE be careful about judging your size and weight by the world around you, it will lead you to trouble.

When I was 16, I was trying to model and while I can now see that I was very thin (I’m 36 now) I thought I looked fat and was CONVINCED all the other girls were thinner than me. How wrong I was.

Take a look at this picture…



That’s me in April of 1984 – 16 years old in a fashion show at the mall. Do I look fat? No. Did I THINK I looked fat? YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!

I can distinctly remember, on that very day, getting dressed with the other girls in the dressing rooms and looking around wondering what size they were wearing. For crying out loud, I was wearing a 5 and didn’t think that was good enough! Just what size would I have thought was OK? 4? 3? 2? 0?

It is absolutely INSANE the pressure our society puts on young girls to look this way, that way, or the other way. Truly. I know because I was there. I would walk into agencies and they’d tell me I needed to lose 10 pounds and I’d be perfect. 10 pounds? I ALREADY HAD NO TUMMY AND NO ARSE! Does a bony butt really look good? I think not.

You know what all that got me? A major problem with body image and an extra 100 pounds. I’m only now realizing (at 36) that I looked FANTASTIC at 16, 17, 18, etc. I didn’t need to lose a thing and in fact, if anything, I should have GAINED about 10 pounds. At least then I’d start looking like a WOMAN again – not a 13 year old boy.

Don’t sell your soul to the fashionistas. Just be you – that’s good enough. And if you meet people who actually have the NERVE to make comments or roll their eyes and act as if being a size 6 or 8 if fat, tell them to *$%(@ OFF!