I have been a vegetarian and an on again off again vegan for years prior to joining the program. I like being a vegetarian and sometimes a vegan. I don't like eating meat. It's just gross. Milk and eggs are kinda gross too, if you really think about it.
Anyways, after one week of being on the program and being really tired of the six dinner options that I had and thinking that some of the meat options sounded pretty tasty, I caved and ordered some of the chicken/turkey/fish meals.
But I still had principles! I would not eat any beef or pork products. In spite of the dubious stares and the convincing that I had to give my JCC that it was OK to sub more than three items on the preplanned menus I would not eat anything that couldn't die in less than 2 seconds! (Except for the fish, but I've always wondered if fish were even particularly aware of the fact that they were alive).

Until this week.....
I'm tired of subbing out foods. I broke and ordered the meatloaf and the turkey club pannini (bacon).

There's a part of me that's horrified and another part of me that doesn't care. If anything, I'm trying to see it as motivation to lose this freaking weight so I can go back to not eating any meat.

I applaud the other vegetarians on this program who are able to stick to their principles and not eat meat.

catgirl667- I too am a vegetarian on the verge of being vegan. I don't care for milk, cheese or eggs. My breakfast is always either Cherrios or plain oatmeal with no milk. But when I was 100% JC I had the Triple Grain Crisps every morning just right out of the bag (but I think there are a lot more veggie breakfast options). For lunch I had pesto pizza or the reg pizza with the cheese brushed off and loaded it up with some diced tomatoes or peppers & mushrooms. Now I have some days I have the Boca (vegan) burger on a whole wheat hamburger bun. For dinner I have Pasta Fagioli (which I believe the only animal product in there is egg white) five nights a week either over a bed of spinach or over broccoli and a 1/2 cup of marinara sauce on top (my 1 added starch). On another night I will have veggie fajitas, I just pick out the chicken and add mushrooms peppers & onions and some salsa. And my other dinner would be the lasagne.

This Sept will be 2 yrs on JC and I have not really gotten tired of it yet. I still have Pasta Fagioli 5 nights a week and I still have the pizza's for lunch a few days a week. I am now back on JC for all my lunches and all my dinners again after trying to go vegan for a few months. I am not a fan of the processed veggie products so I was eating mainly brown rice, various beans that I cooked from scratch and tons of veggies. My problem was I was getting in all my exchanges that I needed for the day, but was seriously under in calories. I was around 800-1000 cals per day and slowly my weight was stalling and started creaping back up. I just find it easier to use JC foods for now until I reach my goal, then I will try again to go vegan.

I would try to use the JC vegetarian options until goal and then slowly make the transition to veganism. You just need to get a little creative with the limited veggie options.

Good Luck!

Chris

You should not be eating foods that make you feel bad about yourself. JC isn't for everyone, and if you feel you are going against your conscience or principles, I think you should reconsider doing JC altogether. My husband is vegetarian and he has a few pounds he would like to loose so he was considering joining JC along with me, but I had him first try a few of the foods and he found that he only liked the pizzas. There is no way I felt that he should join if he was going to be so limited.

What is it you like about JC? The food is not magic, only portion controlled... so if its just the convience factor of throwing a meal together in minutes, then there are alternatives out there (such as Amy's). If its the accountability that you need, then try a program like WW. If its the privacy factor and one-on-one consultations, maybe try a dietition or a counselor who specializes in weight loss.

Good luck to you on your weight loss journey!

Take care,
Angela

hey there --
I know it is tough!

other options to keep the variety up on the vegetarian options:
-- add your own spices to the JC meal (like chili powder, curry, basil, pepper, other). You can change the flavors a fair bit without having to order meat.
-- try subbing in a few "meals on my own" each week. Eat a veggie burger, or go get frozen foods from companies like Amy's.
-- serve the JC food on different plates, bowls, service ware, and garnish with really different veggies. Changing the look, and not just eating out of the container they come in, does add variety to the experience.

good luck and best wishes!

Just wanted to say thanks to my fellow vegetarians for writing in on this issue. I'm sticking with the vegetarian foods for now, but it's week 3 and I'm already bored. I'm used to cooking fabulous vegetarian meals (and eating too much of them!), so I'm going through processed food shock as well.

On the other hand, I'm verbalizing this to my coach every week and she said that the corporate offices are hearing the request for more vegetarian dishes all the time-so hopefully something new will come out very soon.

For those of you that are subbing meals like boca burgers or Amy's, do you recommend doing that this early in the program? My energy level is so low since I've been on this plan as well-I'm concerned about getting enough iron and whatever else we need.

Thanks!

Hi Erin! Thanks for putting it so well! I also *LOVE* to cook amazing delicious vegetarian/vegan meals--hence the diet!
As for why I am staying on this diet, even though I have to shut off the part of my brain that wants to puke at the thought of eating a dead animal, there are two simple reasons:
1. The diet works. The accountibility and the not having to figure and plan every meal is really convenient.
2. I paid a buttload of $$ to be on this diet. I knew that avoiding eggs and dairy wouldn't be possible, but I had no idea how few meatless options there were, especially for dinner (there are six! Six!!!!!!). If I'm getting bored enough of poultry/fish to order cow, hwo am I supposed to subsist for 6 months on six different dinners? Seriously.

I hhave found if you add grilled veggies in bite sized pieces on top of the lasagna and penne- it does change the flavor and is a nice boost fiber. I grill the veggies with a spritz of olive oil and then sprinkle on a southwestern spice.