| As "resident scientist" I can say that the human body has a fair amount of tolerance for a variety of foods as long as they are close to their "natural state". An example of this that everyone knows and pays no attention to: our species grew up eating a fair amount of meat, but it was meat that did a lot of running. The amount of crappy fat it contained was way down. The species also grew up eating a lot of carbohydrate, but not so refined a carbohydrate that it flowed right into the system and overloaded pancreas function to balance it out.
We need plenty of protein, so monitor what you're eating to make sure that there's a bunch of good protein in there. Without the protein it's not just the muscles which waste, but the immune system depends on it for, example, building antibodies.
Having said all that, the key to weight loss is to ingest fewer calories than you expend in muscle activity --- that is simple physics. That's why there are only ever two alternatives [beyond cutting off body parts --- a limited program]: consume less ["diet"] or work more ["exercise"]. Sticking to that harder-than-it-sounds basic principle, and not ingesting stuff that the body didn't evolve with over thousands of years, should give everyone the optimal shot at good health.
Intelligent vegetarianism is one way of doing that, but not the only one. You might "study" the egg, for instance --- astoundingly well balanced natural food source, which when LIGHTLY fried in minimal vegetable oil, maintains a highly positive balance of good vs bad fats, and the white is solid protein. Hard-boiling shifts the fat ratio so it's better to lightly fry [or swallow the raw egg straight].
Much of this is logic. We evolved as prehistoric hunter/gatherers, and it must be true that the so-called "Palaeolithic diet" is approved by Mother Nature. If you got a decent deal on the genetics, you'll become a healthy old man. | 
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