Naturally, when most people think of vegetarian foods and weight loss, they think of men and women eating healthy meals with plenty of energy to spare.

But, what most people don’t realize is there are a number of these so-called “health foods” that vegetarians are regularly consuming that aren’t just unhealthy, but lead to weight gain, and I’m not talking muscle.

Over the years I’ve made many mistakes when it comes to eating healthy on a vegetarian diet and so I thought I would share with you some of the lessons I’ve learned.  This way, only one of us has to make the vegetarian blunders.

With that being said, here are the 5 biggest weight loss dieting mistakes people make when switching to vegetarian meal plans:

1. Eating “health food bars” and protein bars as a healthy snack alternative or as a meal replacement.

This one is a biggie.  These bars are loaded with junk binders and fillers with very little nutritional value.  Unfortunately, many people believe the advertising and so think they are eating a healthy substitute.  My advice, read the labels before you eat them.  If nothing else, skip the bars altogether and have fresh fruit instead.

2. Falling for the convincing advertising that energy pills, energy drinks, or anything labelling itself as “thermogenic” will lead to fat loss.

While you’ll get a two hour burst of “mania”, the incredibly large dosage of caffeine in these products will bring your “high” to a crashing halt that often lingers for two to four hours.

Tip: avoid these ingredients: taurine, guarana, caffeine

Truth be told, energy products do NOT accelerate fat loss and none of them even work to curb your appetite.

So, do yourself a favor; skip the energy roller coaster and avoid every energy product that contains either sugar or caffeine.

3. Thinking there is a magic cereal diet.

There isn’t one.  In fact, most recently a popular women’s magazine was glorifying a particular cereal as the breakfast of choice for those wanting to lose fat. Shame on them!

What they don’t tell you is that many of these cereals contain way too much sugar and refined carbs, little-to-no protein, a small amount of fiber, and worst of all, fat derived from hydrogenated oils.

With that being said, if you really want to lose fat, then whatever you do, avoid processed grains and do NOT eat cereal in place of real food.

4. Wasting money on bodybuilding supplements

Why spend your hard-earned money on a product that is really just processed milk?  Simply put, you don’t need the junk that is advertised in bodybuilding supplement magazines.  You can avoid them and still lose fat and build a better body.

5. The misconception that low-fat products are your best bet for fat loss

Again, those advertisers are real sneaky I tell you!  But here is something they don’t tell you; the only way to make these low-fat foods taste worthwhile is by pumping them full of sugar.

Sugar causes a number of potentially damaging side effects to your body, but the most visible nasty side effect is the fat that is stored right on your belly and thighs.

Tip:  I recommend consuming no more than 6-9 grams of sugar per sitting.  Just be careful of the nutritional label as it might indicate 6 grams/1 cup serving, while you’re eating 2 cups and oops, you just consumed 12-18 grams of sugar!

So, those are 5 of the biggest mistakes made by those switching over to the vegetarian lifestyle.  If you follow those guidelines you’ll be well on your way to a healthy vegetarian fat loss diet.