Hi Terri,

I'm super new, so maybe what I have to say won't be that great. I am, however, a vegetarian & have been for fifteen years or so. I read that vegetarians can do this program. We just need to pay more attention to grams than ounces. There are all kinds of delicious alternative sources of protein from veggie burgers to my favourite hickory smoked tofurky lunch "meat", not to mention eggs, nuts, soy, and cheese.

Right now I'm step one and when I found out that we were only supposed to count dense protein, rather than the total protein for the meal, I got very discouraged. I thought I was going to have to eat four eggs a day, which just grossed me out. As it turns out, I discovered protein powder (with the help of the step one list). Now I have a shake, an egg, some cheese, & a brown. It's really satisfying.

But also, the only meal I worry about at the moment is breakfast. I'll figure out how to meet my protein requirements in other meals when I get to that step. I trust that it will be fine, though. One fake chicken breast has the entire amount of protein I need for one meal. For now, though, I don't even think about it. I just eat my usual lunch and my usual dinner. I'll make adjustments when the time is right.

Anyway, I read your post and just wanted to say hang in there. I'm a vegetarian and I feel pretty confident that getting enough protein will manageable. It certainly became manageable very quickly for breakfast.

All best,
Lisa Ann

: Hello All!

: I've gotten to a point where I always
: get in the program and in the past
: have gotten frustrated and off I
: go and leave. This time I'm
: choosing to post about that
: frustration in hopes to get some
: help/ideas. I read recently
: somewhere either in Kathleen's
: newsletter or somewhere on the
: site that vegetarian/vegans don't
: do well on this program. I was
: doing fine until this past Monday
: when I ate this steak and felt
: awful after eating it and very
: repulsed. I haven't been able to
: eat meat since....not chicken,
: beef, turkey or fish or even
: dairy. My body is just craving
: vegetables a ton and wonder if I'm
: lacking in something that would
: cause that.

: This has happened several times now
: and off I go eating veggies,
: fruits and small amount of carbs.
: I actually don't even like much
: fruit because it's too sweet for
: me. It takes many months of doing
: that before I'm back but I really
: want to understand what goes on in
: my body where I can't stomach
: eating meat of any kind for many
: months. Is it truly difficult for
: a ss to eat a vegetarian
: lifestyle? I grew up on a farm and
: always had plenty of beef so it
: doesn't make sense to me at all.
: It feels like a texture thing now
: too that gives me the willies.

: Being that this program is about
: dense protein and that's what I've
: been eating but something
: happened/shifted and I don't
: understand it. I'm struggling to
: get my protein amounts in. Two
: meals today I ate beans with a
: whole grain pancake and veggies
: for one meal and beans and
: spaghetti (sauce only, no meat)
: with veggies for the other. It
: holds me about 3 to 3.5 hours and
: I'm not able to eat any more. I
: need 36 grams of protein per meal.

: I don't know if it's a phase and I'll
: get past it again or it's an
: emotional/psychological thing or
: what? I'm wanting to hang in there
: to see if it shifts again but
: anyone have any ideas what might
: be going on. Any other
: vegans/vegetarians out there and
: what do you do? I'm hoping it will
: pass because I don't want to give
: up the program or I wouldn't be
: posting. It's been going on a few
: days but feel badly so haven't
: wanted to post about it.

: Thanks for listening,
: Terri F