Vegetarian switch

Not only am I looking to lose 70 pounds permanently, but I am switching to a "no sugar" eating behavior as of tomorrow morning, and, once I've eaten the chicken and pork chops that are in my freezer, I will be going vegetarian as well. Any ideas on how to lose this weight and still get the protein and nutrition I need on a vegetarian diet? This is all new to me. HELP!

There are tons of protein products specifically for vegetarians and vegans that are just packed with protein (usually from soy). It's really simple to get your daily amount of protein from one or two servings of those products. They have burgers, veggie dogs, veggie strips, tofu, etc. Trader Joe's is usually the cheapest, but sometimes there are good veggie burger prices at other grocery stores.

Not to sound like a harbinger of doom, but I'd really recommend against diving into vegetarian eating without doing a good amount of research. You need to make sure you're accounting for all the essential macro- and micro- nutrients. Tales like The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability exist of people who have permanently ruined their health by doing vegetarian -- you don't want to end up there.

If you're doing no sugar vegetarian, check out the resources in Vegetarian Low Carbers.

As a vegetarian myself, I second what healsdata said. DO YOUR RESEARCH! You need to know a bit about nutrition in general, and vegetarian specific needs before just diving in.

I'll also add that a vegetarian diet isn't some sort of magical cure-all. I actually gained about 10 pounds when I first went vegetarian because I relied too much on full fat cheeses for protein. The same rules apply to all diets, even plant-based ones. You have to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight.

That being said, I have no plans of going back and I wish you luck if you decide to stick with it after doing a bit of research.