Hey All!
Didn't mean to offend anyone. I myself haven't managed to lift a weight for nearly 5 months now. I've put on 3lbs... all fat and I am sure I've lost a ton of my muscle and replaced it with fat...
IMO and the opinion of my doctor, carrying any excess fat (15%bf and above for men, 20% and above for women) is unhealthy. Regardless of whether you take vitamins or eat well (but just eat too much) or exercise or what have you. That excess weight leads to higher risk factors for all sorts of things, diabetes, heart disease etc.
I think one of the big problems that vegetarians face is getting enough protein... and then people hear that peanut butter is a good source of protein. Ummm. Nuts are great and healthy (in small amounts). But as a source of quality FAT not protein.
1 tablespoon peanut butter (organic):
Total Calories: 95
Fat: 8 73 75%
Sat: 2 15 15%
Poly: 2 20 20%
Mono: 4 35 36%
Carbs: 3 9 9%
Fiber: 1 0 0%
Protein: 4 16 16%
Sorry, thats 75% of calories from fat, 36% of the overall calories being from mono fats (good ones)... 4 grams of protein? IMO, it's not a protein source.
Personally, I'll risk hormones in my meat and stay thin but that's because I know if I gave up meat, I'd eat a TON more carbs to stay full and that would mean I'd be consuming a ton more calories and I'd get fat.
Anyways, getting sidetracked - no one likes someone preaching to them, regardless of subject matter. But... fat is fat is fat
Being fat is bad mmmkay? Whether you are a vegetarian or not.
As I said before, good luck with the lifestyle change and hopefully you'll do your research and find a good, healthy diet you can live with.