Q: hi mike,

i am a vegetarian and need to trim weight. the problem is i have never workedout much. I am 24, is it too late? I weigh 170 but want to trim at 150 in toned shape.

I looked at your earlier questions and you mention about lentils and eggs. Are they any other substitute?

It really sucks, I have been a vegeboy and still am, my entire life. we never get enough of the proteins on daily basis.

A: It's NEVER too late to get in better shape! And at 24 you're at your prime and it will be quite easy for you to shed the extra fat.

If you're a pure vegetarian, your best protein sources are beans and lentils. Many of them contain 40-50% of their calories in protein which is as good as lean beef!! (Beef has the rest of calories in fat while beans/lentils have it in carbs, of course). If you allow for eggs and dairy, then whole eggs or egg whites or egg white substitute or cottage cheese or whey protein powder all would provide you with high-quality protein and you should have no problems getting around 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. But even if you don't eat dairy or eggs, by incorporating lots of beans and lentils into your diet should be good enough.

Other plant sources of protein include flax seed and other seeds and nuts (10-20% of calories from protein, the rest mostly from fat), whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice (10-15% of calories from protein, the rest from carbs), green veggies like spinach or broccoli (up to 50% of calories from protein! Though very light on calories overall of course).

So even if you don't eat any animal products, by incorporating a lot of beans/lentils and green veggies along with variety of other foods you'll be alright. Also check out my weight training article to learn about weight training which has tremendous fat-burning benefits. Good luck!