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  #1   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 15:10
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
Default vegan, new to low-carbing

Hello, all!

I'm male, 34 years old. I recently read "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes and found the overall argument pretty compelling (although I think he gets some things wrong), so I decided to try doing low-carb. I started trying to eat low carb on 3/7/12, experimenting with different things and doing a lot of research. There is really not much out there in the way of practical advice for doing vegan low carb.

I've been vegan for 4.5 years. Back in 2010 I lost about 20-25 lbs (went from low 190s to mid-high 160s). I was reasonably happy with my weight at around 167, but not totally content. I think my best weight would probably be about 160 (assuming muscle mass stays about the same). I lost the weight basically by just not eating very much. It worked, but I can't say I felt particularly healthy when it was all done. And then the weight has been slowly coming back.

I had also become aware that something was off about my diet. Over the last 18 months a decent amount of the weight has come back (although my body composition is better now due to doing a lot of muscle building). My weight was going up, but I was also feeling unhealthy. So I started dieting on 3/5/12 and started reading "Why We Get Fat" that same day. By Wednesday I had finished the book and was already making a concerted effort to reduce my carb intake. So far, so good. I now know what it feels like to run on fat most of the time. It's a waaaay different feeling than when I was losing weight on a low-calorie diet. I've lost about 3-4 pounds so far (and I know it's real loss because I weigh myself daily and pay attention to my average weight, not the peaks and valleys).

After I started doing the low-carb thing, I started doing a lot of research about the nutritional content of foods that I was eating (and foods that I was thinking about eating more or less of). I was pretty disappointed when I realized that I was definitely NOT getting enough vitamins and minerals (V&M). And for the most part, I had been eating less-than-optimal amounts of a whole array of V&M for a number of years (I say "for the most part" because I did go through phases of better eating habits). So this hit me hard. Most days I was getting less than 100% of vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, folate, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, zinc and copper! Before I was eating nutritional yeast consistently, I was also probably low in thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and B6. I also found out that a deficiency in one can cause or exacerbate a deficiency in another (or example, being low in Vit A or Vit D can cause a secondary zinc deficiency, and I was probably not getting enough of ANY of them, except probably Vit A - good ol' carrots!). Vitamin C also helps you absorb iron (of which I was getting too little), and I wasn't getting C on a consistent basis. Folate and B12 levels are often highly correlated as well, and I wasn't getting enough folate.

So my two main goals now are to lose weight AND to ensure that I get 100% of V&M every. single. day.

The core of my diet is as follows:

*74 grams sesame seed, 54 grams flaxseed, 47 grams sunflower seeds (all ground up and drunk with protein powder in two separate drinks, one in the morning, one in the afternoon or evening) - this provides the majority of my minerals
*two 30 gram scoops of gemma pea protein powder - this provides a little over a third of my protein
*1-1.5 cups sauteed kale and turnip greens (with lots of olive oil) - this provided Vitamins A, C and K in abundance
*6 grams nutritional yeast (eaten with the greens) - B vitamins
*100 grams firm tofu OR one serving of beans or lentils (105-167 grams, depending on the type - always 20 grams of carbs per serving) - more protein, potassium, calcium, iron etc.
*2 brazilnuts - all the selenium I need

In the evening I'll eat a little bit more carby, at least in part because it makes it easier to eat with my wife or go out to eat with people). But I still try to keep it fairly low (making sure to eat 20 grams or less of "carby" carbs like rice, potato etc.). We often have stir fries and curries, so I just eat the vegetables and beans and/or tofu and really minimize the grains and whatnot. I'm still experimenting with eating other carbs, mainly for the mineral content.

When I first started I (more or less randomly) set 113 grams carbs as my daily limit, but now that I've figured out the details and realized that I don't really need a lot of carbs to feel full, I'm going to shoot for 100 as my goal this coming week. If this feels fine I may go lower still, maybe 90 or 80. I'm getting 130 grams (or more) of protein per day and I don't count fat grams, but between the seeds, olive oil and tofu, I'm getting a lot. And I'm totally okay with that. Fat is yummy.

I'm getting 100% (or more) of all vitamins and minerals with the exception of pantothenic acid and potassium. I still need to figure out a way to ensure that I'm getting enough potassium every day (I could eat cauliflower and broccoli every day, but honestly, most days I'm just too full!). Pantothenic acid is also something I have to figure out - it's just not available in high quantities in many vegan foods (or vegetarian food, for that matter). But I've figured out how to get 100% of everything else, so that's been really encouraging (and a huge relief). I also take a B12 supplement, which is standard practice for vegans (but I do get 50% RDA from nutritional yeast, and I'm considering doubling my daily dose just to get all my B12 from actual food).

So... I realize that this is not truly low carb. It's more like moderate carb. But we'll see where it goes. I might end up going pretty low, depending on how I feel and how bored I get of eating this way. I'm not in a huge hurry to lose weight as it's mainly just "vanity fat," so I'm okay with it possibly taking longer than it might if I went truly low carb.

I have not been all that lucky in finding good resources for vegan low carbing, but that's okay. I don't mind doing the research because it forces me to REALLY know what I'm doing, so then I can defend my choices to others. If you think it's hard to explain to people why you're low-carbing, try explaining why you're vegan low-carbing! People love to scrutinize what I'm eating (for multiple reasons), so it's good to be armed with data to defend myself.

Are there any other vegetarian or vegan low-carbers out there? Got any tips? I'm open to advice from anyone, just so long as it's given with the understanding that I'm vegan, so I don't eat things that come from animals. It's just the way it is with me. Being vegan for me is not about nutrition, it's about ethics, and I'm not here to debate ethics (and I imagine most people here feel the same way). I'm vegan, but I don't care if you are or not. I'm just here to learn more about low-carbing, so I'm open to info from anyone.

I am also pretty into strength training. My core exercises are deadlift, hang clean, barbell row, overhead press, overhead squat, front squat, back squat, bench press, weighted dips, weighted pullups and pushups (different varieties). I also do a little bit of the bodybuilding lifts (biceps curl, lateral raise, rear lateral raise), but my goal is primarily to increase strength (not to "get huge"), so I don't devote much time and energy to isolation/bodybuilding exercises. I put my energy into heavy compounds. I also run a little bit, usually 5k or less. If anyone else is into any of this, I'd love to get some advice on how you think low-carbing does or should relate to all of this.

Anyway... hello to everyone! I hope to get some good ideas and meet some nice people

Last edited by LowCVegan : Mon, Mar-19-12 at 01:58.
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  #2   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 16:09
MandalayVA's Avatar
MandalayVA MandalayVA is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,545
 
Plan: whole foods
Stats: 240/180/140 Female 63 inches
BF:too f'ing much
Progress: 60%
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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First off, welcome.

Secondly, I think you've set yourself a very hard road to travel. Being a low-carb vegetarian is very doable since one can eat eggs and dairy. As a vegan? The lowest carb option is tofu, which has 2 carbs per 4-ounce serving, which isn't bad, but it doesn't have a lot of protein. You should be eating real food, not shakes and powders. Start eating coconut oil, totally vegan and a very quick way to add fat to your diet.

You're a young man and don't have much weight to lose. I think just upping your fats and losing the shakes and powders would go a very long way to getting where you want to be. Good luck!
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  #3   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 16:43
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
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Have you read The New Atkins for New You section for vegans? It's still going to be tough, but at least you'll have a road map. Good luck!
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  #4   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 17:10
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
First off, welcome.

Thank you!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
Secondly, I think you've set yourself a very hard road to travel.!

I'm actually finding it pretty doable so far. I just gotta figure out a few more things. But I guess time will tell if I get sick of it and lose willpower.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
You should be eating real food, not shakes and powders.

I agree that the reliance on protein powder is not ideal, and I do plan to lessen my dependence on it (should've mentioned that). I started using it last year as a post-workout drink and I only increased my use of it just a few weeks ago when I began dieting. With all the muscle-building exercise I do, I need to ensure adequate protein intake, so that's why I'm doing it. It's just hard getting 130 grams of protein a day when you're vegan (actually, it's challenging for pretty much any diet - just more so when you're vegan). I'm experimenting with trying to eat even MORE nuts and seeds, and I'm also seeing how much volume of tofu and legumes I can reasonably expect to be able to do on a daily basis. My goal is to halve my protein powder intake in the next two weeks. I also may decrease my protein intake a bit as long as I continue to make gains with weightlifting (which would be a pretty good indication that my protein intake is adequate). 130 grams is probably on the high side for me. I'm just eating more than I truly need because I know that some protein-burning is inevitable when I'm eating only a small amount of carbs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
Being a low-carb vegetarian is very doable since one can eat eggs and dairy.

I hear what you're saying, but it's not like it's really EASY to get a huge proportion of your daily protein from eggs and cheese. At 9 grams a piece for jumbo eggs, and c. 7-8 grams per ounce for cheese, I'd be eating a LOT of eggs and cheese to get even 1/2 of my protein. I'd still have the problem of being too full. Because that's been a big part of the challenge so far. It's not that I couldn't get enough protein from the combination of nuts, seeds, legumes, soy products and (limited) grains. I totally could. I've done the math. It's just eating that volume of food on a daily basis gets challenging.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
Start eating coconut oil, totally vegan and a very quick way to add fat to your diet.

That's a good suggestion. I've also been thinking about eating more coconut milk. It has good mineral content, it's high fat, and best of all, it's delicious!

Quote:
Originally Posted by MandalayVA
You're a young man and don't have much weight to lose.

Like I said above, my TWO main goals are to lose weight AND to ensure adequate intake of vitamins and minerals. So I'm trying to make changes that I can stick with long-term. I'm willing to be patient with the weight loss. And I am committed to eating lowER carb for life. Probably not as low as what I'm currently doing, but certainly lower than what I was doing before. I just don't have room for all the nutrient-rich foods when I'm eating so many carbs. It just doesn't work.
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  #5   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 17:27
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Have you read The New Atkins for New You section for vegans?

I had no idea. Thanks for the suggestion! I just put it on hold at the library, so I'll check it out this week.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
It's still going to be tough

I don't think it will actually be as hard as you might think. I think that most non-vegans tend to overestimate how hard it is to be vegan. It's probably more work if you're the type of person who cares about having an optimally nutritious diet, but it's not exactly a walk in the park to have an optimally nutritious diet, regardless of whether you eat animal products. It takes work and knowledge no matter what. I just work within a narrower range of foods is all. One of the biggest challenges so far has just been a lack of information (websites, blogs etc.).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Good luck!

Thank you!

Also, does anyone have any advice or references/book suggestions about exact carb limitations? I know a lot of people do 20-60 a day, but I've been finding that I'm losing fat by doing 100-113 carbs a day, which is probably pretty high for most people here (I'm assuming).

Does anyone here use ketosticks? Do they work well?

Last edited by LowCVegan : Sun, Mar-18-12 at 21:30.
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  #6   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:00
Rosebud's Avatar
Rosebud Rosebud is offline
Forum Moderator
Posts: 23,881
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/135/135 Female 5'4
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Well, IMHO, the most optimally nutritious diet is one that includes animal products, which is why I'm wondering why you are vegan? If it is for religious reason, fine, I'd never argue with that, but if you believe you are being healthier by being vegan, well, you really are not. Just curious.

I hope you are at least supplementing with Vit B12?
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  #7   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:15
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,842
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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Just one small correction and I'll shut my mouth.

You can't really eat vitamin D, unless you eat the livers of animals or have it added synthetically to your food. If it is a synthetic vitamin D, it probably isn't the sort readily used by your body. D3 is a scary vitamin to lack since low levels affect your body is so many ways and is associated with lots of scary diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Most people don't get enough sunlight these days. We wear too many clothes and stay indoors too much.

Anyway, welcome to the board and best of luck to you!
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  #8   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:24
Rosebud's Avatar
Rosebud Rosebud is offline
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Posts: 23,881
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/135/135 Female 5'4
BF:
Progress: 100%
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
I hope you are at least supplementing with Vit B12?

Oops, I see from your OP that you are. Sorry 'bout that.
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  #9   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:32
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
Well, IMHO, the most optimally nutritious diet is one that includes animal products

Diets that include animal products certainly can be optimally nutritious. So can vegan ones. It's not like there is only ONE type of diet that can lead to optimal health. Any optimally nutritious diet takes work, knowledge and commitment. Including low-carb, right? It's not like it wouldn't be easier to just say "f%$^ it!" and eat cake and cookies all day long. An optimally nutritious vegan diet does take more work and knowledge, but I am fine with that. The ethical ramifications of one's dietary choices should not be ignored. For me, I have very good reasons to have qualms about eating animal products, so I opt not to. I also want to be healthy, and that is totally possible. You just have to be smart about it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
If it is for religious reason, fine, I'd never argue with that

No, it's for ethical reasons. And why does religion get a free pass? That doesn't make any sense.

Listen, I know a lot of low-carbers are anti-vegetarian, anti-vegan, anti-grain, etc etc etc. That's fine. Whatever. I didn't come here to change anyone's mind about anything. I just came to learn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
if you believe you are being healthier by being vegan, well, you really are not.

I am aware that many vegans have cruddy diets. I allowed myself to slowly morph into one. Now I'm changing that. I'm getting healthier by eating a healthy diet.

If there is something that you think I'm getting too much or too little of (some macronutrient, vitamin, mineral etc.), I'm all ears. But unless you're talking about potassium or pantothenic acid (the two things that I still need to figure out how to get more of), I think you're barking up the wrong tree. I've done the math. I'm getting all the vitamins and minerals that I need and I'm getting my bodyfat percentage down to an optimal level (right now it's at an "acceptable" level, meaning that I'm already in pretty good shape).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosebud
I hope you are at least supplementing with Vit B12?

If you would have taken the time to actually read what I wrote before commenting, you would know that I do indeed supplement B12 and that I am getting half the RDA from dietary sources.
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  #10   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:42
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
Most people don't get enough sunlight these days. We wear too many clothes and stay indoors too much.

Yes, I should have mentioned this.

Yes, I do rely on sunlight for Vit D. It can be challenging living in the north, but I do what I can to get sunlight whenever I can in the winter. In the warm months I get plenty of sun, and from my understanding, one should be able to get enough sun in the warm months to carry them through the winter (please let me know if you feel this is inaccurate). I also supplement D3, and I share your concerns about the bioavailability. It's just something I do for an added measure of protection.

Once I've been on this improved diet for a few months I am going to get a full blood panel to check for all V&M. If I am low in certain areas I will take steps to correct that for a few months and then get tested again. If I still haven't improved, then it will be time to consider adding small amounts of meat to my diet (probably liver or some type of offal). I have qualms about eating animals, but I do not feel that my health should have to suffer for it. I'm not suicidal.

Thanks for the comment and the concern.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
Anyway, welcome to the board and best of luck to you!

Thank you.
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 18:56
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
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While I think we should all eat the way that is best for us in all ways, the truth is that in terms of vitamins and minerals, except for vitamin C, eating meat allows us to get way more of them for fewer calories. It is a concentrated form of nutrition.

Now if you are able to eat 130 grams of carbs per day, you may be able to get bare minimum amounts that way. I'm glad to see you will consider offal if your health becomes compromised. Good luck to you.
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  #12   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 19:20
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
in terms of vitamins and minerals, except for vitamin C, eating meat allows us to get way more of them for fewer calories.

True, but is minimizing calories really the point? I don't think it is. If I can get the nutrients I need in the optimal amounts AND maintain an appropriate weight, I don't care if I'm eating 1,400 calories a day or 14,000.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
It is a concentrated form of nutrition.

Right. Because you're eating an animal, an animal that itself had all of the required nutrients to make the muscle. And the majority of the animals that people eat are vegetarian (actually vegan) themselves.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Now if you are able to eat 130 grams of carbs per day, you may be able to get bare minimum amounts that way.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I'm getting the majority of my minerals from seeds and legumes (low carb and moderate carb) and I'm getting nearly all of my vitamins (except E) from greens and nutritional yeast, which together contribute a whopping 5 carbs. Add in some cauliflower or broccoli to cover my potassium and whatnot and I'm all covered, all for around 100 carbs. What I've found out is that I don't really need to eat much "carby" fruits and vegetables to get my V&M. And if I wanted to, I could cut my carb intake even further (tofu instead of beans), but I'm losing weight doing 100-113 carbs, so why bother?

And it's not that I "may be able to get" the RDA of V&M, I AM getting the RDA of V&M (with the caveats and exceptions already discussed).

I thought about posting all the math, totals, calculations etc. for each nutrient, but I figured no one would care for that kind of detail. But I've done it. This is not guesswork.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
I'm glad to see you will consider offal if your health becomes compromised.

Yup. Like I said, I'm not suicidal, I'm not a martyr. I know that it's possible for most people to be perfectly healthy (even optimally healthy) on a vegan diet, but everyone is different - we don't all process and absorb nutrients as well as the next guy. If I find out that I'm harming my health by being vegan, I will reconsider my dietary choices. Until then, I'm trying to be healthy AND stick to my convictions. So far, so good.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Good luck to you.

Thank you.

Last edited by LowCVegan : Sun, Mar-18-12 at 21:31.
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  #13   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 19:38
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
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Re: the calories comment...I was under the impression you still wanted to lose a bit of weight. I read an analysis just yesterday, I believe it was at Zoe Harcombe, but can't find the exact post right now, where she analyzes how many calories it takes to meet the RDA requirements on a meat eating, a vegetarian and a vegan diet. It took fewest with meat eating, most with vegan. Depending on how much you can take in each day you may be fine. I have to watch every calorie but you may not.

It sounds like you've done a lot of research. Good luck and let us know how you do.
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  #14   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 20:06
LowCVegan LowCVegan is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 42
 
Plan: vegan lowcarb (self-made)
Stats: 178/172/160 Male 72 inches
BF:
Progress: 33%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
I was under the impression you still wanted to lose a bit of weight.

I do, and I have been. Everyone is different, but I'm finding that I'm losing weight on 100-113 carbs a day (and there have been a few days where I probably went over that). The carbs that I do eat are ALL very low GI, so I'm still keeping my insulin quite low. And as I said above, I could go lower if I wanted to, but it doesn't seem to be necessary for me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
I believe it was at Zoe Harcombe.

Is this the post that you are referring to? - http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2011/06/...a-food-pyramid/

It's an interesting post, but I'm not convinced that overall calories really matter a whole lot. At the very least, overall calories seem to matter less than keeping your body in a state where it can use its own fat as energy. I seem to be doing that pretty successfully so far. The weight is coming off. We'll see how it progresses.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
It took fewest with meat eating, most with vegan.

That doesn't surprise me at all. Think about it. You're eating an animal that itself had to have all the essential V&M to maintain life. OF course the muscle (and fat) of that animal is going to contain V&M in quantities far greater than what is found in the (vegan) food that the animal eats. That's what bodies do. They get V&M from food and put it where it needs to be and burn off the energy/calories for fuel. Meat contains high concentrations of V&M for the same reason that your muscle tissue does. If I ate YOU, I would get all the V&M that you've worked so hard to maintain. None of this should be surprising. And don't worry - I don't eat people

Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
It sounds like you've done a lot of research.

I have, and it's made me feel much better about my diet. I know that I can get everything I need. It's given me peace of mind. If everything continues to go well, I need to start evangelizing low(ish)-carb in the vegan world (as well as increasing attention to V&M - a lot of vegans do not eat enough of the good stuff).


Quote:
Originally Posted by Liz53
Good luck and let us know how you do.

Thanks, I will.

Last edited by LowCVegan : Sun, Mar-18-12 at 21:32.
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  #15   ^
Old Sun, Mar-18-12, 20:06
Carina8's Avatar
Carina8 Carina8 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,247
 
Plan: Eat to Live
Stats: 250/199/110 Female 5'1"
BF:don't know
Progress: 36%
Location: Michigan, USA
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I didn't read most of the responses... just want to give you my own.

I was on Atkins from June 25th until March 1st this year. I did lose weight and felt MUCH better than my Standard American Diet (SAD). I think that is because I ate anything I wanted, had plenty of sugar and bagels and whatever I wanted. Usually very sugar/refigned carb heavy. Then went to Atkins. I cut out all processed food (except for the occasional diet soda). I was eating meat/veggies/berries mostly. I'd also have whipped cream on my berries or just some whipped cream for a treat w/ cinnamon on top.

I started watching Netflix documentaries. Good ones like "Forks over Knives" and "Engine 2 to the Kitchen rescue" and my all time favorite "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" with Joe Cross. I learned about all the V&M our bodies need, and how much we don't need the animal products. That we get adequate protein from our veggies if we eat ENOUGH! It's hard to eat enough to get all you need without supplementing.

I read the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Furman and am on his 6 week plan before going on the life plan. I find this to be the most nutritious plan I've found with the science to back it. I'm no longer convinced that low carb should be coupled with high protein. I instead believe that the "nutritarian" diet is ideal.

I eat daily:
1 pound raw veggies (mainly salad and all the veggies you can think of in it)
1 pound cooked veggies
1oz nuts/seeds (Omega 3s good fats)
4 servings fruits
1 serving grain (generally Kashi cinnamon heart to heart YUM)
1 cup of beans/legumes

Put the numbers into fitday or atkins or whaterver site you want to use to see what kind of nutrition you get with a diet like that. It's amazing!

Last edited by Carina8 : Sun, Mar-18-12 at 20:57.
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