Vegetarian or low carb??

lyssa1210

I would like to hear from people who have tried both. I was doing a high fat high protein diet for a week or two and my digestion was horrible. I've been on a somewhat but not total vege diet the past two days and already feel better and lost two lbs! Any thoughts ?

MelaniaTrump

Try a plant based diet such as the Mediterranean diet.
I also like the Mayo Clinic Heart Healthy Diet (lots of recipes online).
The dash diet also has lots of recipes and follows the heart healthy diet.
I also google cholesterol lowering foods to find snacks to eat.
A library is a great place to find books on the subjects
Fiber is important as we get older. Don't forget to track your calcium.

Many doctors will tell older patients to limit saturated fats after a heart attack or stroke. Why not start a bit early?
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/heart-healthy-diet/art-20047702
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp
Get your cholesterol tested yearly free with insurance.

elphie754

Neither vegetarian or low carb will result in weightloss, not bare they needed for weightloss.

Weightloss occurs when you are in a calorie deficit. While low carb CAN help with creating a calorie deficit, it is not required. Same with vegetarianism.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Try a plant based diet such as the Mediterranean diet.
I also like the Mayo Clinic Heart Healthy Diet (lots of recipes online).
The dash diet also has lots of recipes and follows the heart healthy diet.
I also google cholesterol lowering foods to find snacks to eat.
A library is a great place to find books on the subjects
Fiber is important as we get older. Don't forget to track your calcium.

Many doctors will tell older patients to limit saturated fats after a heart attack or stroke. Why not start a bit early?
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp
Get your cholesterol tested yearly free with insurance.

Where did the OP say anything about cholesterol? Also, not all insurance covers yearly blood work.

lyssa1210

Actually I wanted to hear from people who have tried both a low carb diet and then have also tried vegetarian diet and see the difference. Not necessarily about weight loss.

Yi5hedr3

Hmmmmm....lost 2 lbs of what? Muscle??? That's what I found when I did it. Best to do low carb, moderate protein, high fat. Try 15c/20p/65f.

IGbnat24

I've never tried vegetarian diet, but if I had, I imagine I'd really miss meat and dairy!

bclarke1990

My honest opinion here;

If you have to make a post asking whether you should do keto or vegan, I think you may be placing too much emphasis on labels and diet styles, rather than simply on eating healthy.

I'm personally a vegan. I feel better on a mostly whole foods plant based diet, and I think dairy, meat, eggs etc. are less healthy than plant based foods, whether it be the saturated fat, animal protein or even just the lack of nutrients that you get when you eat plants. I also appreciate the environmental message, (as well as the ethical one, although I'll gladly be honest and say my move to veganism was diet-health related before it was activism driven)

With all of that being said, you should just focus on eating healthy, imo. If you want to go vegetarian to satisfy a lifestyle change, by all means go for it. If you want to eat low carb and lose weight quickly, (although, in my humble personal opinion, almost inevitably less healthy), you could focus more on lean meats, legumes, etc.

If you're not doing it for the animals, there's no reason you have to just identify with a vegetarian diet. Obviously focusing your diet around nutrient dense vegetables is great; you don't need the veg label to accomplish that.

Likewise, you don't have to eat potatoes and rice every day, but you also don't have to identify as a low carber, unless that's something you specifically want to do (and in that case, there's probably not much benefit in asking MFP forum which you should choose).

Just a little rant, though

kommodevaran

I think any extreme measure has the potential for making you feel horrible

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_qO_op_

I've been a veggie of some stripe or another off and on for the past twenty years. And I've tried low carb dieting off and on a few times, too. Personally? I feel my best when I'm eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains with modest amounts of dairy and meat. It doesn't make me drop weight super quick or anything, but if I maintain a calorie deficit the pounds come off slowly but surely. But YMMV.

ReaderGirl3

I've played around with both, back in the day, and neither did anything magical. I gained weight on the vegetarian experiment and with the low carb thing I lost weight initially and then gained it all back when I realized how utterly crappy of way it was to eat for any length of time (for me). I also experimented with primal eating-another dud as well. Sooo after I got all of that out of my system I just focused on eating at an appropriate calorie deficit, following portion sizes and keeping things simple. Shockingly I lost over 50lbs and greatly improved my health, go figure. Now in maintenance and still doing the calorie thing, still enjoying all the foods that I like to eat, still in pretty fantastic health

Nothing wrong with experimenting with different woes, but weight loss ultimately comes down to making sure you're eating the right amount of calories. And also, weight loss is for a very short period of time, it's maintenance that goes on and on and on....so make sure whatever you decide to do, you can do it for the next 20, 30, 40+ years. Weight loss means nothing if you can't keep it off long term.

KarlynKeto

lyssa1210 wrote: »

I would like to hear from people who have tried both. I was doing a high fat high protein diet for a week or two and my digestion was horrible. I've been on a somewhat but not total vege diet the past two days and already feel better and lost two lbs! Any thoughts ?

I briefly tried to go vegetarian, which turned into more of a I-greatly-limited-meat to small portions a few times per week diet. I think the reason it didn't work for me was because I didn't get much more than 50 grams of protein per day, despite taking a vegan protein shake in the morning, and it made me weak and lethargic. Once I switched my macros to higher (adequate, to be specific) protein, and higher fats I felt ten times better. (And the be honest, the food got ten times better too). I am now 'low carb', but that still allows me plenty of room in my diet for a lot of green veggies. For someone who can do vegetarian and keep their protein up in higher ranges (like double what I was getting!) they will likely have a very different experience than what I had. Good luck on whatever choice you make.

janejellyroll

I've "tried" veganism in the sense that I have been vegan for ten years. But it isn't a weight loss method and neither is vegetarianism. There are fat and slender vegans and vegetarians. It's possible to put on weight as a vegetarian or vegan. It's going to come down to calories consumed (just as it does for people who eat fewer carbohydrates).

viren19890

janejellyroll wrote: »

I've "tried" veganism in the sense that I have been vegan for ten years. But it isn't a weight loss method and neither is vegetarianism. There are fat and slender vegans and vegetarians. It's possible to put on weight as a vegetarian or vegan. It's going to come down to calories consumed (just as it does for people who eat fewer carbohydrates).

I agree. I have relatives who have been vegetarians for life and are overweight to a point where their cholesterol and other things are out of wack.

viren19890

OP,

Since Jan 1- I've been vegetarian - no meat/fish/seafood - only dairy products. I'm down from 230 to 209 lbs now.

I've tried everything -low carb (extremely hard for vegetarians lol) and then intermittent fasting. For me all of these worked but maybe they worked because one thing I didn't change was that I never came out of deficit.

That stayed consistent.

lyssa1210

Thank you all

johnna1212

Tried the vegetarian thing, watched my cholesterol levels skyrocket. 6 months on low carb and my levels are down and I've lost 40lbs.

beagle1983

I'm vegetarian, and low carb high fat. Going in my third week and already really love it so much more than when I was restricting fat and calories alone. I eat foods that were only treats before, and never get hungry or frantic, like before. I eat slightly higher carbs than most keto folks because I'm breastfeeding, but stick to 60-80g (15c/25p/60f) and feel great.

Basic day is 3 eggs scrambled in butter with cheddar on top, coffee with half and half

String cheese and 2 tofurkey deli slices and hard boiled egg for lunch

Celery and ranch, or quorn chikn cutlet and ranch, or cucumbers and cream cheese snack

Fajitas veggies with avocado and sour cream and cheese, or zucchini noodles and "meat" sauce with mozzarella, etc for dinner.

lyssa1210

johnna1212 wrote: »

Tried the vegetarian thing, watched my cholesterol levels skyrocket. 6 months on low carb and my levels are down and I've lost 40lbs.

Really your cholesterol got higher being vegetarian? I've never heard that before

lyssa1210

Do you eat red meat now on low carb??

Naley2322

playdeadbunny97 wrote: »

I wouldn't do vegetarian or vegan at all because protein is important yes, but for me, I can't live off nuts and beans lol. I lose a pound every two day by just sticking to my diet of eating under 1200 calories per day plus exercise daily. And for my food, I have steel cut oatmeal for breakfast and for lunch, a four ounce organic chicken breast with 1 cup of broccoli, and for dinner either 4 oz salmon of chicken with a salad! I know it sounds boring, but you are more than welcome to snack on nuts, fruits, and vegetables throughout the day, and you can season your chicken however you like (never fry or use oil though. I also cut out all dairy and bread and drink only water. You should try it! It will definetly give results and introduce you into. Lifestylw that feels so natural and healthy! Your energy levels will also be at an all time high

You obviously haven't looked into the vegan diet properly, we don't live off of beans and nuts

We don't need NEAR as much protein as the diet industry is leading you (and buying) you to believe, you should look into taking a basic human kinetics class!

I eat a high carb vegan diet, I have a lot of energy and was a professional ballet dancer for several years on this diet never sustained an injury. I eat unlimited plant carbs, like potatoes, rice, oats, wheat, lentils etc. and haven't broken 108 pounds even on my best days of eating 300 plus carbs

lyssa1210

It is. Wry interesting how each person is so different. When I tried being totally vegetarian before I felt. Wry tired and spacey.

lyssa1210

Naley2322 wrote: »

playdeadbunny97 wrote: »

I wouldn't do vegetarian or vegan at all because protein is important yes, but for me, I can't live off nuts and beans lol. I lose a pound every two day by just sticking to my diet of eating under 1200 calories per day plus exercise daily. And for my food, I have steel cut oatmeal for breakfast and for lunch, a four ounce organic chicken breast with 1 cup of broccoli, and for dinner either 4 oz salmon of chicken with a salad! I know it sounds boring, but you are more than welcome to snack on nuts, fruits, and vegetables throughout the day, and you can season your chicken however you like (never fry or use oil though. I also cut out all dairy and bread and drink only water. You should try it! It will definetly give results and introduce you into. Lifestylw that feels so natural and healthy! Your energy levels will also be at an all time high

You obviously haven't looked into the vegan diet properly, we don't live off of beans and nuts

We don't need NEAR as much protein as the diet industry is leading you (and buying) you to believe, you should look into taking a basic human kinetics class!

I eat a high carb vegan diet, I have a lot of energy and was a professional ballet dancer for several years on this diet never sustained an injury. I eat unlimited plant carbs, like potatoes, rice, oats, wheat, lentils etc. and haven't broken 108 pounds even on my best days of eating 300 plus carbs

lyssa1210

Do you bake the chicken breast? It does sound a wee bit boring. I cook for husband and son so doubt they'd want to eat the same thing all the time. But I can give it a shot. I do eat oatmeal sometimes for breakfast but also like egg once or twice a week. I love vegetables! My vice is popcorn and sometimes wine

blueeyez939

I am not vegan by any means. But I definitely notice, the more I lean that way the more my whole body just seams to operate better! I also am a firm believer in eating plenty of carbs for breakfast, a little carbs for lunch and as close to no carbs/all protein for dinner. And yes, it is possible do to while eliminating animal products to! If you want any food ideas, feel free to send me a private message! Hope this helps! Good luck!

lyssa1210

Thanks! If I just ate what the girl up above eats I would be so hungry!!! But I'll try. I am trying to be more vegetarian but not totally

Unknown

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