Concerned about what the doctor suggested

[sevenfish]

:wave: Hi,

I'm new here & I'm hoping a community of other vegetarians can help me with something. When I saw the doctor the other day, he saw that I'm 5'6", 140 pounds, 30% body fat and hold most of my weight in my belly. He suggested that I go on a low-carb diet, which, in a way, sounds like hell to me, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in loosing the weight. I've been a vegetarian for 23 years (I'm 32 now) and unless eggs are in something, I just don't like to eat them--so I'm mostly a lacto-veg and I'm severely allergic to Iodine, so I don't eat seafood, seaweed, etc. Here's what the doctor recommended:


a diet of mostly veggies, cheese, nuts and eggs
little to no milk (because it contains too much sugar)
only occasionally eating apples, sweet potatoes and red potatoes
eating less than 40 grams of sugar/day and 1200 calories


I've heard nightmares about low-carb diets (that my breath with smell like a combination of acetone/rotting pineapple, constipation, dehydration, that a very low-carb diet it counter-indicated by both the American Dietetic Association and the FDA and that all the weight will boomerang if I ever go off the diet.) I also have medical concerns--mostly, that I have stomach troubles following gall bladder surgery (lots of stomach acid, despite acid reducers, and a touchy gut), my kidneys ache sometimes and I'm on thyroid replacement (had a thyroidectomy last year) and so my metabolism works in spurts instead of staying steady. Also, they removed all of my thyroid because there was a cancer scare, so I've been steering clear of *all* soy products that could produce a false-positive on the 1-year follow-up PET scan.

I'll never give up baked goods, sweets or milk completely, living on such a limited diet as I am now, they're one of the few joys I have (besides a cup of milk tea) that remind me of good times with my family.

Is there a way to do this low-carb thing without feeling and smelling miserable?

Thanks!

(In terms of exercise, I generally do 3 miles of walk-aerobics/day.)

[sevenfish]

:help:
Come on, anybody. Is this possible at all? If I were to sacrafice & just live on seeds, nuts and cheese can I eventually go back to normal foods once I've lost the weight?

[tuscany]

Hi, I am loosley following protein power as a vegetarian & my experience was that it was hard for the first week to 10 days until I "found my rhythm" and figured out what to eat instead of the bread, beans, rice & pasta. So I didn't do a "induction" as such & have never had "ketosis breath". I didn't like eggs a whole lot before, but found that if I scrambled them with a lot of vegetables & cheese, I did like them.
Do you like quiches ? If yes, then there are probably several kinds you could have.
Looks at the recipe section for ideas for vegetables, eggs, & even baked goods. You could try low carb tortillas ( I like La Tortilla Factory brand) & breads (haven't tried these yet) in moderation.
I do eat some soy products, though not everyday, because I keep coming across concerns about it.
In general, I eat a lot of nuts, berries, vegetables, eggs, lc yogurt, cheeses, beans sometimes. I did find the woe restrictive, but have gotten used to it, have lost weight without any exercise and have very even energy through the day.
It is overwhelming to change your lifestyle so radically, but don't let that stop you at the starting gate. remember you can always go back to the way you eat now. But really give this a try for a couple of months and see how you feel. Look up recipes at this site, at south beach websites and protein power websites.
btw, don't think of this as a "diet"; as with any diet, if you go back to eating as you did, then the weight comes back too. You could eat low-fat & low cal for 3 months & lose weight, but if you go back to the usual, expect your weight to follow suit. Keep in mind though, that you start out restrictive & then add in more variety slowly, including fruits. There is also low carb milk available, so you don't have to give it up either. And how about lc cheesecake, if you want baked goods ? Yum !
One last piece of advice - everyone has slip-ups; be prepared for those. A lot of people eat off plan once & then never get back on.
Good luck !

[Kristine]

Hi. I saw your post, but I didn't really have any ideas for you. You're really in a bind. :daze: I think you could do this, though. :thup:

- lots of LC veggies, including spaghetti squash. Ever tried that? It's really good with pasta sauce of any type.
- berries
- yogurt
- cottage cheese, other cheeses
- protein powders and smoothies made with them
- nuts, including coconut
- avocados
- baked goods - I've made muffins out of almond flour (ground almonds), cheddar cheese and an egg. They're great. :thup: There are flax seed based muffins, too. You can make lots of different flavours.
- If you're not avoiding grains, you can easily make low carb crepes/pancakes/popovers/wraps out of gluten flour, bran, flax, etc. There are lots of recipes. I know the stuff you buy in stores is soy based - make your own and you get around that.

For the record, being in ketosis has never given me you dragon breath. In fact, it's far better now that I've cut the carbs, because that's what bacteria feed on in your mouth. When you don't feed the bacteria, your teeth are way cleaner. :thup:

ETA Muffin recipes:
Chocolate coconut muffins (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=230001)
Dobie Muffins (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=180415) (I don't know where the name came from. :) )
Nutty Cheese Muffins (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=168686)

[foxgluvs]

Hiya, maybe the South Beach plan would be good for you - from what you want out of it; it is a healthy but liveable plan with lost of healthy veggies/fruit and a sprinkling of good grains and bean choices.
Also unlimited protien, so lots of meat and fish.
Maybe going on atkins would be too restrictive, but eating the South Beach way is not quite so much of a shock to the system, but achieves the same results.
Just my 10c's worth

[innermusic]

Try a vegetarian CKD. You'll feel great after the first week. But you need to be in the gym doing weight training 3x a week.