But that's not nutrition. Boback, a vegetarian herself, believes that the more restricted a person's diet is, the more educated he or she needs to be about well-balanced meals. Vegans cut out all animal products, including dairy and eggs, so they need to understand exactly what will replace those nutrients. Susan Sewell, a registered dietitian at the Jewish Hospital Weight Management Center, has seen a few patients at the center who are vegan or vegetarian. In some cases, when someone makes the switch to a non-meat lifestyle, they end up eating more starches and foods with more fat and take in more calories than they realize, she said.
Vegans tend to gain weight more slowly than vegetarians, but it can happen.
The recommendations are the same whether you eat meat or not. Fill up half your plate with vegetables, a quarter of the plate with starch and a quarter of your plate with protein. There are protein substitutes for meat, of course, but you have to be careful. Use low-fat tofu, and watch the amount of cheese you use. In reality, substitutes like lentils and rice can have a lot more calories than a piece of fish, and cheese can be much more fatty than a piece of chicken.