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Alise
11 November 2010, 05:24 PM
Namaste,

I'm not yet a vegetarian but I really want to know. So I'm underweight, naturally, I can eat anything (even food with with lot of calories) & still I stay the same. I have heard that vegetarians are naturally thinner than meat eaters & that is one of reasons why I haven't changed my diet yet. But is there possibility to be healthy vegetarian and gain weight? Any tips?

I think there is big topic for being overweight & people find it surprising that there are people who want GAIN weight.

If I do become vegetarian, it will be very slow process to get there. I would appreciate also non-veg tips but if I could gain naturally weight with vegetarian diet as with being meat eater, I would love to move step forward for being a vegetarian.

Have a nice day,
~Alice

Sahasranama
11 November 2010, 05:38 PM
full fat milk, nuts, grains, avocados, cheese

It will come down to calories eventually, you got to eat more calories. Maybe also do some weightlifting to gain more lean tissue in your body (musle, bones, connective tissue), otherwise you will be gaining mostly fat. If you can calculate your calorie requirements for maintance, you could go 500 calories above that.

Eastern Mind
11 November 2010, 05:56 PM
Vannakkam SA:

Yes it is very possible to gain weight being a vegetarian. It happens to me every winter when I don't readjust my caloric intake to be in line with my work output. Pasta, potatoes, all grains are good starts for high calories. I would avoid sugar still though because of the other not so great effects. But put very basically, you have to eat more. Meat is almost all protein, not carbohydrate, so its not really a fattener. Athletes usually stock up on high carb stuff like pasta about 6 hours before game time.

Good luck with it.

Aum Namasivaya

yajvan
11 November 2010, 08:00 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté & hello Alice,


Namaste,

So I'm underweight, naturally, I can eat anything (even food with with lot of calories) & still I stay the same.
From an āyurvedic perspective there are 3 body types¹ - vata, pita and kapha. It would be good to find out your body type. Then you can see if you are
just a naturally thin person and look to the foods that are best for your composition. There are some simple 'tests' you can find on line.

A questionnaire to figure out your body type : http://www.holisticonline.com/ayurveda/w_ayurveda-dtest1.htm (http://www.holisticonline.com/ayurveda/w_ayurveda-dtest1.htm)
Note the 4 parts to the questionnaire - look in the left side of your screen for Part 1,2,3 & 4.


You can also 'google' auyurveda if you wish to learn more of this approach. PLease feel free to ask questions about this ancient science of āyur- ved.
This is from āyus = life , vital power , vigour , health , duration of life , long life + ved = knowledge.



praṇām
1. 3 body types with different combinations that are possible: vata-pita, pita-kapha, etc.

Alise
12 November 2010, 12:25 AM
Namaste,

Thank you for all the replies. :)

Yajvan, I actually first encountered ayurvedic wannabe book then was really interested to found out about ayurveda, I also saw Ganesha in ayurvedic store (then I thought of having that statue as decor, because I liked him, I even asked 'Can I have other religion's God's statue if I don't pray to him?', I don't even know what happened that I really turned to Hinduism, it happened really fast), so actually ayurveda brought me to Hinduism. I'm Vata & thank you so much for link, some answers have changed since last time I had dosha test.

Have a nice day,
~Alice

c.smith
12 November 2010, 06:12 PM
Dearest Alice,

I, for one, gained weight when I "converted". I've always been a fan of Indian cuisine (figure that), but most of it is very balanced. Just make sure that you are getting fair amounts of vitamin b12 and iron so anemia doesn't set in - then you WILL lose weight, energy, etc. As always, fruits and vegetables are great too - get plenty of them. As mentioned in other posts, do check out your Ayurvedic constitution for pointers and perhaps buy an Ayurvedic cookbook or two. Best of luck to you if you embark on the vegetarian lifestyle.

Adhvagat
12 November 2010, 07:17 PM
full fat milk, nuts, grains, avocados, cheese

You just made me very hungry!