Low sugar, low carb, low wheat, vegan diet..is this possible?
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Fruit and sugar aren't bad for you at all. Excess of anything is bad for you.
If you ate an excess of spinach it wouldn't be healthy either
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mamapeach910 wrote: »michaelkipp wrote: »If you'd prefer to cut your carbs, you've already been given some great advice on the lower carb forms of vegan protein. Add some nuts, nut butters, things like avocado for fat, and plenty of non-starchy vegetables.
Thanks! I was also reading Grain Brain which is what started me on this no wheat low carb thing, But that is difficult to do vegan style! ha0 -
Yeah, Grain Brain is pretty much not that great a source. It's got a lot of iffy information in it.0
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I am vegan by choice, and grain free due to allergy. There is no way I could be low carb. I love my legumes far too much.0
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michaelkipp wrote: »I know that the high protein veggies all have some carbs in them but if I am eliminating wheat...those are the bad processed carbs. I think it will be ok.....no?
Can you live healthily without wheat? Absolutely.
Is there a reason to eliminate it unless you have a sensitivity? No.
I don't really believe in the concept of a "bad carb." Nor do I believe that processing a food removes the value of it.
As an vegan (or a vegetarian or an omnivore), there is nothing wrong with a piece of bread or some pasta. They provide energy and protein. They are a great compliment to protein or fat (toast with hummus, pasta with some olive oil). For many of us, foods like this promote satiety or a feeling of wellbeing. Wheat can also be turned into seitan, one of the most protein-rich foods available to vegans.
You don't have to eat wheat, but there is no reason to eliminate it.
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Sometimes it really boils down to the simplest things.
Calories in, Calories out - works. You can eat after 7pm, you can eat carbs, you can eat wheat. Just restrict your calorie intake to a deficit and you will lose weight.
Funny I don't eat many bread products simply because I do not enjoy them as much as I used to. I have made my main rule, apart from keeping under my calorie limit and meeting my nutritional macros, to be "If I don't really really REALLY love it, I'm not going to spend the calories on it."
Some days I will have an English muffin, if I'm in the mood. It's about the only bread product I enjoy anymore apart from fresh bagels or something from Panera Bread. I might have a piece of pizza if I'm in the mood but last night the fam had pizza and I had leftover chicken breast and cabbage salad, because I wasn't that thrilled about the pizza for the amount of calories.
If you don't have some serious medical or ethical reason to restrict things, don't do it. Just eat within your calorie goals. It really is that easy.0 -
michaelkipp wrote: »
Yeah I agree. I think SUGAR might be my biggest enemy. Using it a lot in the past. Even the natural sugars in fruits I hear spikes your blood sugar and is not good to have all the time? I was having fruits smoothies with unsweetened almond milk daily and that might not have been a good thing?
Has a doctor told you that you need to monitor your blood sugar? In the context of a balanced diet and no medical issues, I wouldn't worry about sugar.
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Spirulina! That's it!
If you decide to go low-wheat instead of low-carb, a whole bunch of vegetable proteins can be put back on the table.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »michaelkipp wrote: »I know that the high protein veggies all have some carbs in them but if I am eliminating wheat...those are the bad processed carbs. I think it will be ok.....no?
Can you live healthily without wheat? Absolutely.
Is there a reason to eliminate it unless you have a sensitivity? No.
There's also no reason to NOT eliminate it, if someone really wants to.
The OP asked a pretty specific question - how about the community help him answer it, instead of trying to evangelize him over to some other way of eating?
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sorbus33rowan wrote: »Okay:
As for the "cheating", I'm not sure how you can cheat a political stance and lifestyle choice of doing as little harm as possible. You can however cheat a plant based diet which sounds more like what you've got going there. (Sorry it just annoys me when people use the word vegan to descibe their diet when that's really not what it's about). There are plenty pf vegan cheeses, mayos, eggs, cakes, chocolate, sweets, etc. No need to cheat.
Sugar is bad for you but only certain types, aka the refined types. Sugar in fruit and veg is absolutely not something to cut down on.
Unrefind carbs are also bad but the good news is other carbs arent. Fruit, veg, wholegrains, legumes, and other plant food are very healthy. As for protein don't worry about it, you don't need as much as you think (about 55g a day for average men).
For optimum health (and therfore weight loss) stick to a whloefoods plant based diet: this includes nuts, seeds, whole grains, vegtables, fruits, and legumes.
Some good websites include nutrionfacts.org, onegreenplanet, and websites organisations such as viva! and the vegan society.
Nope, sugar is sugar...your body cannot tell the difference between refined sugar and natural sugar found in fruit.
Op - As already pointed out...it will be really really difficult to do a plant based diet that is low carb and still get all your basic nutrients. Make sure you are taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement! You should also have your doctor periodically check your blood work to make sure you are staying healthy.0 -
kamakazeekim wrote: »sorbus33rowan wrote: »Op - As already pointed out...it will be really really difficult to do a plant based diet that is low carb and still get all your basic nutrients. Make sure you are taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement! You should also have your doctor periodically check your blood work to make sure you are staying healthy.
Thanks! Yes I take vitamin's daily. I appreciate the info0 -
"Nope, sugar is sugar...your body cannot tell the difference between refined sugar and natural sugar found in fruit. "
What study has shown that fruitis recognised in the same way as refined sugar? I don't mean sugar separted from fruit I mean only whole fresh fruits. From what I was aware of it is okay to eat lots of fruit and veg becaus eof the fibre and antioxidents.
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michaelkipp wrote: »Thanks everyone. I have been vegan for 4 years now. And by cheating I mean VERY rarely. I have heard so many things about how bad wheat is for you and carbs. I know that there is no vegan Atkins plan. I am just now starting here and logging my food....so I can just look at that. I didn't mean to ruffle feathers on the cheating comment, just trying to be 100% honest.
Just another option if you would like, you can look up the documentary "Forks over knives" if you are really trying to stay vegan. Its on netflix. It sounds like that might be a good eating plan for you. it does include carbs, but it explains why on that particular eating plan carbs are ok. you have to stick to one form of diet/lifestyle, and not combine them all. they all work in different ways. there is a lot of information out there and a lot of it contradicts each other. you just have to choose what is best for you.
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tawnyanmorgan wrote: »michaelkipp wrote: »Just another option if you would like, you can look up the documentary "Forks over knives" if you are really trying to stay vegan. Its on netflix.
Seen it several times, love it! Thanks0 -
I find my own diet restrictive. You can hit your macros on low carb veggies alone, but, you have to be seriously dedicated to kale. I love salad, eat it every day for lunch. But, 3c of spinach is far, far different ftom 3 lbs of it.0
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michaelkipp wrote: »Thanks everyone. I have been vegan for 4 years now. And by cheating I mean VERY rarely. I have heard so many things about how bad wheat is for you and carbs. I know that there is no vegan Atkins plan. I am just now starting here and logging my food....so I can just look at that. I didn't mean to ruffle feathers on the cheating comment, just trying to be 100% honest.
I don't think wheat is bad for most people, and carbs is a varied category, but I don't think you will find any reputable nutrition scientist who claims that carbs in general (or sugars and starches in general) are bad for you. (Of course, then we get into who's reputable, I suppose.) Some people find it easier to lose weight on a low carb diet, as they are less hungry or just find such diets more sustainable for them. (My guess is that most such people are not vegans.)
However, if you want to try limiting sugar (perhaps mostly added sugar?) and wheat and see how that makes you feel, that would be a much easier step than actually going low carb, and leave you a lot more variety (like legumes and various other starchy veg sources, like quinoa and rice) for protein than you otherwise have. I think there's something to be said for not overrestricting your diet, as it's easy to miss something that might be important--for example, vegetable proteins require a broader set of sources than animal-based proteins because they are usually not complete proteins.
So maybe try easing into it by just cutting out wheat and added sugars?
I don't actually think there's any need to do this, but added sugar (or even fruit) doesn't really contribute protein, and there are plenty of carb sources of protein that are as good or better than wheat, so that would not be nearly so hard.
You do get some protein from green veggies, but the amount you have to eat to get any substantial amount plus the need to make sure you get the complete proteins in your diet as a whole makes me think you'd be better off not trying to limit yourself to that, nuts and seeds, and tofu, unless there's some reason besides suspicion of carbs.0 -
I'm sorry but this always comes to mind when I see statements like this from vegans.michaelkipp wrote: »(although I sometimes cheat with eggs, cheese and mayo but I really try not too)
I travel a lot and sometimes, I have the choice of no food or having something available. I do the best I can to commit every day to not using or eating any animal products. But, like everyone else, I am human. Sometimes I fail. But I am honest about it and I do not pretend to be something I am not.
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janejellyroll wrote: »michaelkipp wrote: »I know that the high protein veggies all have some carbs in them but if I am eliminating wheat...those are the bad processed carbs. I think it will be ok.....no?
Can you live healthily without wheat? Absolutely.
Is there a reason to eliminate it unless you have a sensitivity? No.
There's also no reason to NOT eliminate it, if someone really wants to.
The OP asked a pretty specific question - how about the community help him answer it, instead of trying to evangelize him over to some other way of eating?
Well totally eliminating wheat for a vegan can be problematic because a great many commercially available vegan protein sources contain gluten. It also takes another great source of vegan protein -- seitan -- off the menu.
If he's just going LOW wheat? How low? Just eliminating bread? Does he still want to eat seitan? Is some vital wheat gluten used in the making of Gardein products okay?
If he's looking to eliminate wheat entirely, then the issue restricts his protein choices further.
So it's sort of germane to the discussion to flesh out the issue a bit.
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