Doesn't sound like a well thought-out plan to me. I'd focus on leaner cuts of meat/poultry, a bit more seafood, boosting veg-to-meat ratio on your plate, and most importantly cutting out the empty carbs.

Do you have a doctor's advice on this? You can do yourself a world of hurt if you change your diet radically, all of a sudden. Additionally, if you're not used to eating a lot of vegetables to begin with, and fiber and roughage, you could distress your guts.

Advice:

1. Check with your doctor to make sure you don't have any underlying health issues this could affect.

2. Study up on healthy vegetarian eating, before you start in. A lot of vegetarians don't get enough protein in proportion to the rest of their intake, and are missing major nutrients from their diets. It helps that you're eating eggs and some, if not much dairy, but there's a lot more to it than eating vegetables. :) That's also important, mind you. A lot of vegetarians don't eat enough vegetables. So learn what nutrients you need to seek out in your food choices, and perhaps supplement.

3. Ease into it. Even if you're only eating yummy food, going from a lot of meat to no meat at all will probably affect your moods, too, as well as probably making your food less satisfying. Why not start with some grilled chicken or seafood in your lunch salad? Total Calories do matter, so have that protein instead of fruit or dried fruit, which are heavy in sugar and often found in salads. You could even have some lean beef in your salad. So you have the sense of eating meat, but a smaller portion, while you're introducing yourself to eating salads daily.

You haven't mentioned your dinners. Here, again, if you can start with a much smaller portion of meat and pair it with vegetables proteins, you'll make an easier transition. You can grill saitan right alongside your meat, and it will pick up the flavor. Saitan also makes a good burger, with lots of vegetables. You can crumble up some tofu as well as your hard boiled egg into another salad, and get used to the flavor and texture of tofu.

Make sure you get all the vitamins and compounds that you should be. Go for the most varied diet that you can. For instance, if you keep with the salad lunches, have a lettuce salad with toppings one day, a kale salad the next, a broccoli slaw type of thing on a third day, and maybe a chopped salad with all kinds of crisp veg another. The variety is good not only for nutrients but to help you not be bored.

Remember that a good diet has protein, carbohydrates and fats. You need these even while losing weight. Your muscles need the proteins, your nerves and hormones need the fats, and your energy balance needs the carbs. Beans are kind of perfect in that way. They have all three in pretty much the correct proportions, are high in fiber, and have lots of trace nutrients.

Good luck to you!

Meat isn't making you fat - if you eat the right, lean cuts. Living on bacon will make you fat. Pork filet is SO low fat. Rabbit is very healthy. Lean beef, turkey/chicken breasts with no skin. Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer. If you try to live off salads, you'll be be very sad and hungry! Get some advice or get a book!

Along with all the sound advice already given, study what a serving of food is and how many servings per day of each food type you should be eating. Just following a basic meal plan (Basic-4 - which I've followed since the 70's, the Food Pyramid, or the new My Plate) and choose low-fat and low-glycemic foods (foods from the lower half of the glycemic index of foods) from a variety of food choices and using a variety of colors, in order to get those nutrients necessary to feed your body.

It has been proven over and over how people will slowly lose weight just by checking those serving sizes, not eliminating a whole food group. Eating too much of anything, especially high-glycemic carbohydrates, is not only wasting food and money, it's also going to cause weight gain.

When you eat, do so with thought and enjoyment. Choose foods that are nutrient-dense, which means whole foods rich in nutrients and fiber, not highly-processed versions. Nutrients feed the body, not empty calories.

My plate usually has a Michael Pollan look (author of "In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto, and other titles). A green, a grain, and a bean, with a little meat or meat broth.

I have one vegetarian day each week (Friday), just to save on my meat budget ($10 per week for 2 adults). We have 2 servings of meat (2 to 3-oz. = a serving) or meat alternative (2 T. peanut butter or almond butter, 2 eggs, 2 T. hummus, 1/2 c. beans/lentils) each day.

Here is a link that might be useful: Decrease Portions - USDA

The nutrients you have to think about on a vegetarian diet are protein, iron, and vitamin B12, among others. B12 is only found in animal products, so if you're eating eggs and cheese, you'll probably be good there.

Dark leafy greens, actually dark green veggies in general will help you with iron and lots of other nutrients as well. Beans have iron, also.

I eat salads almost every day for lunch at work. I usually use mixed greens as a base, but I'll also make spinach salad or kale salad, or whatever green I'm in the mood for. I'll add chopped celery, carrots, radishes, scallions, olives, whatever I have on hand. I usually just use olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar as a dressing. I'll grate parmesan cheese or some other kind of cheese over it and mix it all up. I take a small container of nuts to eat on the side, and have a piece of fruit for desert. This lunch fills me up and satisfies me well enough to last till supper.

Remember that to get enough protein, you'll need to eat multiple protein sources. The traditional beans and rice is an example, or cornbread and beans. Soy products such as tofu or tempeh can be used many ways and are a good source of protein. Quinoa is a good source of protein. It's one of the few plant sources of protein that is a complete protein.

As others have said, portion control is paramount. I've seen overweight vegans. As an example, those nuts I take for lunch are very high in calories, so just an ounce, which is about a small handful, is close to 200 calories.

Don't forget about exercise, either. Good luck.

Sally

All very good advice, simply switching to a vegetarian diet is not going to prove successful. Many vegetarian recipes are high in fat and calories. I heartily agree with the recommendations for portion control. We have switched to salad size plates for all meals. Whatever size plate I use, I tend to fill it up. Down sizing has helped.

Being cognizant of protein vs fat, complex carbohydrates vs empty carbs, small, nutritious snacks like a few nuts, pretzels (instead of potato chips), an apple with a bit of smoked Gouda (my fav!!). Good luck, stay the course.

I've been a vegetarian for most of my life and I wouldn't switch to that kind of diet just to "loose weight." Particularly if you don't like many vegetables and don't cook much. If you don't like vegetarian forms of protein, (whole grains and legumes make up a large portion of a vegetarian diet, particularly if you leave out dairy), then it's not going to work for you. I'd focus more on exploring healthy food choices that you like and finding ways to cook and incorporate more of them into your daily diet, in place of high calorie, high fat foods. This works well in my experience, regardless of whether you eat meat or not. There are TONS of diet Web sites to help you with food choice ideas, like Eating Well and Cooking Light and Live Strong and Calorie Count, to name a few.

I'd aim for just increasing your vegetable and whole grain food choices, because they contain the fiber to fill you up, and many grains, legumes and vegetables also contain protein to supplement lean meats to fill out a meal. Eggs and yogurt are good for breakfast, as are fake sausages, if you like them, which are made from textured vegetable protein and have much less fat than the real versions. Hot cereal is a good source of protein and fiber if you eat whole grain types like whole oats, cracked wheat or corn, millet, etc.

For lunch, soup, sandwiches made from whole grain breads and salads work well, along with leftovers from dinner if you can heat them in microwave. For dinner, some type of pasta with whole grains, or pilaf with something like quinoa, brown rice or barley, along with vegetables. Try to find ways of incorporating greens into your diet, even if it is just plain ol' coleslaw. You may find that you like some vegetables raw that you didn't like cooked. Spinach, for example, tastes totally different raw in a salad than cooked. And many vegetables in the mustard family are similar, like kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc.

Buy the big bags of frozen vegetables and keep them on hand, you can toss a handful of vegetables into casseroles, pastas and soups to up their fiber content, which helps you feel full and adds nutrition to your dishes. Same with legumes, you can toss them into salads, vegetable dishes, casseroles and soups. Learn to snack on whole fruits.

As the mother of three pet rabbits I am horrified by the suggestion of rabbit. Also, it is NOT healthy-those eating rabbit develop the same deadly diseases as cannibals. Google it.

Thanks for all of the advice. I have TMJ pretty badly so it is hard to chew meat, raw veggies and nuts. I'll try the beans and rice. How do you cook the quinoa? I cooked it longer than the directions said and I felt like I was eating small pebbles. I'll check out the websites.

Deeby - I googled it, unsuccessfully. Could you link a good starting point?

Meat can be made into meatloaf or pate, or cooked as a braise or stew, which require little chewing. Salads require a lot of chewing. Try soups, terrines, hummus, smoothies, etc.

Remember that you need to chew some to stimulate the saliva interaction that's an important part of digestion. Just use the softer stuff when you're really in pain.

Quinoa needs to be "fluffy" to be nice to eat. The Kitchn has instructions which emphasize the fluffy. I haven't cooked through this one, but it looks right. The rubbing and rinsing step is important.

What are you doing for the TMJ? If it hurts that much to chew, you might try an anti-inflammatory, and since you're talking about changing your diet, you could go towards an anti-inflammatory diet as well. Do you have a "wet" heating pad? (Not literally wet, but draws moisture from the air as it heats.) It's excellent for loosening up the muscles. Do you get any kind of physical therapy? Your insurance should pay for it. Besides traditional PT, chiropractors and Feldenkreis therapists have strategies for helping TMJ.

If you're feeling tight, this really helps:

Sit up or stand. Holding your head still, look up by moving your eyes to look up. Look down the same way while slowly dropping your jaw. Look up again while slowly raising your jaw closed. Repeat a few times. Now look up while slowly lowering your jaw, and look down while raising it. Repeat a few times.

Now do the same side to side: Look to the right while moving your jaw to the right, then look left while moving your jaw to the left. Repeat several times. Reverse: Look to the right while moving your jaw to the left, then look left while moving your jaw to the right. Repeat.

This sends the muscles into WTF mode and they get confused about how to overtighten and give up for awhile.

Take care of yourself. Work the problem, not the symptoms.

Well if you have TMJ and it hurts to chew, this may not be the time to start adding raw fiber to your diet! There are still ways to up your protein and fiber with whole grains, veggies and legumes though. Hot cereal goes down very easily in the morning, as do yogurt smoothies, scrambled eggs or omelettes, etc. Soup is great too, stick with the small legumes like split pea, red lentils and navy beans. Butternut squash makes awesome soup too if you like it. Tomato and many variations of that soup is good, you can add some small bacon bits (real or fake) for added protein and flavor. You can mash up the soups or put them in a blender. Strata, which is a soft bread casserole, is good too, along with smaller pasta like ditalini or orzo or acini de pepe. You can roast some veggies and then add them to dishes. Roast onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, etc. You can also later mash them. Shred up greens like cabbage and broccoli and then saute, braise or stir fry with some seasonings to make those things easier to eat. Cooked spinach is great mixed in with cheese and egg dishes. Can't beat applesauce for dessert--learn to make home made, it is a treat. Good luck!

@zackey: although less common in the US, quinoa actually has a hard outer coating that is often removed. A big pot, as mentioned above, will last a long time. The recipe linked below was very tasty --- lightly spicy.

We had a soft, low effort vegetarian meal this evening: roasted root veggies, baby kale salad (not so soft -- could saute this), and pumpkin/cheese filled pasta (premade) in a sage butter. DH went veg earlier in the year. For T-day, I made veggie pot pies as his main.

An alternative to an all-vegetarian diet is a pescatarian diet -- many fishes are much softer than meat and poultry, and are low in calories as long as you don't fry them or drown them in butter.

Perhaps deeby was referring to the risks associated with wild rabbit and tularemia. I'm certain with the number of French and Italians eating rabbit, risk in the domesticated food stock is minimized.

Here is a link that might be useful: FN recipe

I have been a vegetarian for over 2 decades and do not encourage people to become vegetarians.

Why?

Because especially if you eat out, the healthiest option isn't usually the vegetarian one. In my case, I am the only vegetarian in my family, so it is tricky logistically in general.

Instead of thinking about taking away, think about adding: add more whole, unprocessed foods to your diet. Variety is really important. Add exercise. Add new routines to your mealtime, such as eating without being distracted, and having a really satisfying meal where you felt like you ATE. Add water. IMO, water is really the only drink we should be drinking most of the time. Again, think about MORE options overall.

I agree with you that dairy should be had in moderation. Much as I love it, I feel it's hard on our systems. This is another reason to not go veg. all the way, at least now-- you will need time to transition in the logistic sense.

Yes, as others suggested, do this slowly. Eating this way is a lifestyle change, so ease into it and have fun. Don't think of deprivation. Look at the big picture, too. Often, when I eat well, I genuinely feel better even right after a meal.

Mother to rabbits?

IC, we have expressions like "pet parents". In this case, "mother" means primary caregiver.

As mentioned above, if you want to reduce your weight you would be better off eliminating processed carbs and sugar from your diet. The protein in lean meat actually helps you feel full and less hungry.

I agree with what others are saying re protein, weight gain, b-12, etc. I'll just add that I worked with many vegetarians over the years and have seen their weight fluctuate as well. It's not the meat, it's the empty calories and high carbs. It's a lot harder to do low carb on a vegetarian diet. I never went vegetarian, but I did cut out a lot of meat and found I not only didn't lose weight, but I started having issues with my muscles, hair and nails too from lack of protein, as well as lots more cellulite due to the carbs. DH has also had issues with anemia if he doesn't eat sufficient meat.

If you have tmj, then look for some whey protein powder (unsweetened) and make some smoothies. I have one for breakfast every morning with chia seeds (soaked for 10 min) kale, coconut oil, banana and other frozen fruit. Delish and nutrish! You can find many recipes for smoothies on line.

Thanks for the explanation, Plllog.

If you're contemplating a vegetarian diet, there are two books I'd recommend.

'Laurel's Kitchen' is really quite good. I'm not a vegetarian, but this is one of my most used cookbooks. And, it's an excellent reference about nutrition in vegetables.

The second book is by Lorna Sass, 'Great Vegetarian Cooking under Pressure'. Using a pressure cooker is quite handy for cooking grains and beans in a short time rather than hours.

As Sally noted, B12 is not present in any vegetable, so you need to make sure you either take a vitamin pill containing B12, or eat eggs or dairy. A B12 deficiency is serious; it causes a nasty type of anemia.

Here is a link that might be useful: laurel's kitchen