LoCarb no-nos
 

For all the vegetarians out there, what foods do you NOT eat, or at least try to stay away from because of the large amount of carbs in them? And what are your alternatives/replacements?

???

same as other people here I guess. Like bread, potato, corn, sugar, rice......

Alternatives? soy flour, flax meal, vegetables, nuts..

Why should this question be different between veggies and non-veggies?

Some of the vegetarian meats can have quite a bit of carbs in them. I always check the package when picking up a new product and just stick to the 'meats' with lower carbs.

Because many lowcarb vegetarians seem to eat foods that are definite no nos to most omnivores, such as nuts and beans. There must be some variation between lowcarb omnis and low carb vegetarians.

This is a valid question to ask...and a real concern for me, because I am considering a major change....and doing a low carb pesco vegetarian style. I failed as a veggie in the past....and I now believe it's because I did it all wrong...I ate a lot of starchy foods...potatoes, corn, breads and pasta. Yet....the year and a half I did strict Atkins (including meat...) I lost very little weight of what I needed...and have been unable to lose more no matter how many "tweaks" I give the program. I really don't care for meat...and would be glad to give it up AGAIN. I'm allergic to beans....and can't handle many nuts anyway. It would be great to know if any other veggie protein source would be low enough carb. I'm checking things out in the supermarkets...reading labels....hoping to get ideas.

this is definitely a valid question, because i do eat a lot of the regular vegetarian staples. i love my whole grains and beans; i just eat them in moderation. ie. in my chili, i use 1/2 kidney beans and 1/2 soy beans (used to do it entirely w/ soy beans but now am in maintainence). i adore hummus, but i stick to a small serving. i also eat whole grain crackers but only a few at a time.

i think the point i am trying to emphasize is that i do not eat refined carbs and i limit my intake of carbohydrates. that is, i will eat a half a baked potato, but i will not touch french fries.

(do remember that since i'm in maintainence, this is my way of life...i am not dieting anymore. i could not live if i was always denying myself fruits and grains, etc.)

forgot to add one more thing: as vegetarians, our fat intake tends to be lower than meat-eaters, thus, our carb intake can be higher than most low carbers. see, the body uses either fat or carbs for energy. if you are too low on both, you will be weak.

Very good point. that's a good and healthy way of looking at eating.


How long did you give up fruits and grains in the past? Was that a kind of induction? What did you eat at that time?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but this is interesting stuff :)

I switched to eating berries and melons as my fruits. And while I get the low carb bread, I only eat one to two (at the outside) pieces a day.

I think the major thing I have given up is soup. I love soup in the winter. There are now some low carb alternatives out there, which is nice and I have tried some Miso soup, which is fairly lc.

no problem, glad to answer your questions. i really followed the atkins plan as closely as possible to the description in the book. i had a VERY severe carbohydrate addiction, and that was more my concern that weight loss. i had to give up all the forbidden foods to break the addiction (took a good month), and then slowly reintroduced them at basically the 5/carb weekly increase. i actually ate whole grains long before starchy vegetables, because i attributed my addiction more to them than the grains. bulghur wheat and oats are great examples of low-glycemic grains, and higher-glycemic foods are still more difficult for me.

I'm some type of vegetarian living in Costa Rica new to Atkins
 

I am on the 13th day of Atkins Induction, I am a veg. for years who eats dairy and fish (fish only within the last 5 years though), M&M's, Chips Ahoy Cookies, Bagels hehehehe.. Does that type of vegetarian have a name?

I had a carb addiction since I was handed candy as a toddler way back in the '50's, not to mention loads of dental work! Not only that, REALLY LOVE alcohol, father was an alcoholic, and I have taken antidepressants and antianxiety meds. for a LONG time, most recent drug was Prozac.

So I am kicking it ALL and have found that after 3-4 days into induction I lost those cravings. I'm praying this works for my depression, anxiety and alcohol addiction.

I do live in Costa Rica and have mangos, avocados, bananas, pineapple and papaya dropping from the trees in my yard. We grow coffee too! I figure when I've gotten to my weight goal I will eat small-1/4-1/2 C. portions of fruit and hopefully this won't bother my weight loss or re-activate my carb cravings. Oh, also the mainstay in my diet has been tons of beans and rice and corn tortillas, it's the culture in Costa Rica. I will try to find some black soy beans as a substitute and forget about the rice, maybe find some quinoa, or steel cut oats or something else to eat in small portions. Bye bye to the tortillas I suppose. So if anyone has suggestions for doing low carbs in a latin, tropical country where the frozen food aisles in a grocery store do not carry the Boca, Morningstar or any variety of meatless foods, thanks for your suggestions. I have found TVP though. Has anyone had experience with depression cessation and low carbing? I don't want to go back on meds. Grateful for the support here.

again, i suggest to all veggies, if you're going to do low-carb...do south beach. it allows you to have a lot of the staples. during phase 1 you can have beans! yeah beans! and during phase 2you can start adding in whole wheat pasta etc.

Ohmigosh, I have to add my two cents:) I made the decision today to go veg again, my guilt is getting the better of me! I bought super firm tofu, 4 carbs 2 grms fiber, Boca vegan burgers, 4 carbs 2 grms fiber, Soy slender, 3 carbs 1 fiber, all at Wal-mart and very cheap, cheaper than meat, oh, Bag of salad 88cents!

I also make a large pot of low carb soup and carry it with me in a thermos for lunch at work everyday. I also buy the soy lunch meat and roll that with a slice of veggie cheese as a sort of a lunchmeat burrito. Black soy beans are low carb, or those little red beans of course you need to soak and cook them. What I do is cook large batches and freeze what I don't use. Instead of rice I chop Cauliflower to look like rice and steam it. Then I use it like rice. For potatoes I use Daikon Radishes. I'll quit because I could ramble on forever. Judy

hmm. i have to cut out soy.
Help! i guess it's beans and nuts are all that's left?
what about dairy - what's a good percentage of dairy for total protein intake?