Weight Loss Plan
Vegetarian diet is very popular among health conscious people as it has several benefits over non vegetarian food and that is
- It lowers down the cholesterol level in the body
- It reduces hypertension and maintains a normal blood pressure
- It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
- It avoids unnecessary fat
- It makes you full without loading you with calories
- It helps in weight loss
But if you think that you will eat vegetarian food and lose weight then it is never going to happen unless you eat a balanced diet and perform physical activity like walking, sports or exercise. You will need a meal plan which provides you adequate amount of energy to drive you throughout the day but you have to make yourself disciplined enough to stick to the meal plan.
What to consider while making a meal plan?
Calorie requirement
Every person has different calorie requirement which depends on various factors such as age, sex, metabolism, physical activity level and medical condition (recovery patients, pregnant women or nursing mothers). You should calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to know your calorie requirement of your body to function properly.
Content
Rather than spending your fortune on expensive supplements and foreign products, you should look for food source for a particular nutrient which is available in your local market. You can use seasonal fruits to avoid the hassle of fruit search in local market or supermarkets.
Plan ahead
You should stock your fridge with fresh fruits and veggies along with some frozen or canned items like beans which can be helpful just in case you are hungry but you don’t want to make something. Try to eat fresh as much as possible. Make your list of recipes which you are going to use in your meal plan.
Simple and realistic plan
Don’t get influenced by a diet plan which has got many likes or recommended by many nutritionist. Always remember it is not necessary that a plan which has worked for many will also work for you. Another thing is, you should include dishes which are simple to make and you are familiarize with the ingredients. Trying a totally different food can also leave you hungry.
Sample vegetarian meal plan
Your meal plan should be stomach filling, energy boosting and low on calories and vegetarian food is very able to do that because it is rich in fibers which makes you full, provides carbs and good fats (unsaturated fats and Trans fats) for energy and has less calories. Here is a suggested vegetarian meal plan which you can change according to your preferences.
Early morning – you can have glass of lukewarm water flavored with tablespoon of honey and lemon juice. Drink it on an empty stomach and it will cleanse your digestive system and refresh you completely.
Breakfast – it should be light but energetic. You can have a glass of skimmed milk and brown bread or bowl of bran/oats/cornflakes with milk or a bowl of sprouts with some lemon juice and salt or fruit salad.
Mid morning snack – you can take a glass of juice or tea/black coffee and handful of almonds or walnuts as snacks. The fibers in the seeds and nuts will satiate your hunger.
Lunch – this meal should be comparatively heavy than the rest of the meals. You can have chapatti (Indian bread), brown rice, dal (cooked lentils), vegetables, yogurt and salad.
Evening snack – 1 whole fruit like apple/ banana/ avocado or bowl of sprouts or fruits salad or biscuits with cup of green tea
Dinner – soybean nutrela or tomato soup, chapatti, brown rice, dal, salad can be taken in dinner.
Before going to bed – you can have a glass of warm skimmed milk before going to sleep as it helps in inducing sleep. You can also eat fruits instead of drinking milk before going to bed.
This was just a simple diet plan to give you a rough idea about how should your meal plan look like. You can add fruits, veggies, dishes according to your choice and ingredient availability.