Low carb vegetarian. Is there such a thing?

Balaru

Got off track the month of October and m still trying to get into a fitness routine since starting my new job in August. Vegetarian works best for me because of food allergies. Went in for annual check up and even though numbers are lower they are still not good enough so Doc suggests a low carb diet.

The things I have been reading about low carb menus shows a lot of meat and cooking with oil or butter which from what I've read is not very heart healthy.

Could use some direction. Fasting blood sugar 106, total cholesterol 232

Any suggestions. Only positive comments please. I am an expert at beating myself up so no need for that.

queenliz99

You would eat only vegetable and no grain, beans or fruit.

Showthyme

There are low carb vegetables and fruits. Look up low glycemic recipes and consider using coconut or almond oil instead of butter. Many low carbers use zucchini or spaghetti squash in place of noodles and cauliflower in place of rice. Long-term low carbers eat a more healthy version and do not rely on meat and butter.

charlenekapf

Balaru wrote: »

G Vegetarian works best for me because of food allergies. Went in for annual check up and even though numbers are lower they are still not good enough so Doc suggests a low carb diet.

The things I have been reading about low carb menus shows a lot of meat and cooking with oil or butter which from what I've read is not very heart healthy.

Could use some direction. Fasting blood sugar 106, total cholesterol 232
.

This doesn't make sense. You are allergic to meat? I have not heard of people who cannot have chicken, fish, beef, pork, lamb, etc. Please clarify. Is that really why you think vegetarian works better for you? You're better off finding a meat you can tolerate to meet your protein requirements and lower the carbs a bit. However, If you're active you can usually get away with <150 carbs as long as you weigh your portions. People say low carb but they just mean "lower" and not atkins level.

charlenekapf

BTW you CAN do low carb veg but it is way less exciting because most vegetarian diets are higher in carbs due to no animal source of protein. They often argue that plants have plenty of protein....sure...but you need to make more of an effort to plan where the protein is coming from.

Balaru

Yes I am actually allergic to meat (beef, pork, fish, chicken),, wheat corn, rice....It's easier to say what I am not allergic to. Zuchinni, yellow squash. Water. So I eat it and pay for it with stomach issues, headaches and generally feeling like crud. I am the "unusual case" translation let's poke and prod and run every test known to man then circle back to "strange must be allergies". The cure for allergies stay away from the allergen. Well that doesn't work when you are allergic to everything. So you go with denial. My mantra since I was 12 " I am fine" Just keep smiling. Really I am fine. Have not had an anaphylactic attack since high school. When I eat vegetarian style I am 100 times better. Higher energy levels, zero headaches, no eczema, no wheezing. But if I listen to my mainstream Doc cutting out the carbs takes out half my foods. And there are no alternative docs around here like functional medicine. Some of those docs just fill you up with supplements anyway. And before anyone says go back to the allergist, the last one I went to wrote 10 prescriptions in the first 15 minutes of our appointment. Couldn't afford that and even if I could, how does one function with 10 prescriptions flowing through their veins. Non drowsy is not something this body does. One tylenol and I am out.

It's like the allergy rotation diet which looks great on paper but is nearly impossible to adhere to. The premise is if you are allergic to wheat make sure nothing you eat has any trace of wheat. Replace with corn. Hello allergic to corn too. I have learned through the years which ones are really going to make me I'll and I do avoid them.

Very frustrating!!!

So I continue the trial and error. I feel like this doc I have now just runs the blood tests looks at the numbers and puts you in the box that says statton drugs and low carb diet. End of story. Last time 3 years ago I said no to the drugs I would like to try changing my diet. They were fine with that and even with falling way off and eating junk food and drinking sodas since going back to work the numbers still came down just not far enough because I didn't stick with it. So back in the box I go.

Time to reboot because now I know my numbers and I feel like crud again. But this time I know how to fix it except for the carbs part.

My journey is not mainstream at all and it's not by choice nut it works. I don't wear vegan t-shirts and join in anti meat rallies. It's what works for my body. I am not here to debate. I am here to find out about carbs.

So I am trying to combine what works for me, vegetarian diet, walking 5k races and the docs advice of low carbs.

Sorry for the long back story but it's been quite a ride. I've been dealing with it for over 40 years . No negativity to anyone but the disease.

littlechiaseed

What numbers are you talking about exactly? Cholesterol or? I wouldn't say go low carb, but be mindful of the carbs you eat like eat more vegetables. I have heard of people having meat allergies. It's rare but it happens.

marm1962

I didn't see you state that you had any problems with dairy or eggs, but maybe this site can help you out. Good Luck! https://authoritynutrition.com/low-carb-as-a-vegetarian/

courtneyfabulous

Make sure you get enough protein. For weight loss and exercise I find that's the MOST important thing- and just have carbs and fats in a good balance.

I feel like when doctors suggest a low carb diet what they really mean is just stop eating excessive carbs. If you just take it down to a reasonable amount that's fine, you really don't need to swing the pendulum so far and go low/no carb.

Check out your daily nutrition stats in myfitnesspal- do you tend to go over on carbs and under on protein or fats? If so try to adjust your eating so that you are within your macronutrient ratios. And within your calories of course.

GottaBurnEmAll

I will reiterate the question about eggs and dairy. It could be quite easy to low carb as a vegetarian if you could eat either of those.

If you can't tolerate dairy and eggs, tofu and TVP are pretty low carb sources of protein. Load up on them. I would stay away from the typical low carb recommendations to load up on coconut oil, I too have high cholesterol and am not on board the MCT train. I'm still leery of saturated fat. I've successfully lowered my cholesterol on a vegetarian low fat diet.

Anyway, I'd stick to nuts, nut butters, nut oils, avocados, and olive oil for fats and add in plenty of fibrous vegetables of whatever kind you can tolerate.

cmriverside

Many times weight loss in and of itself can help cholesterol numbers; I know that was the case with me. I've never heard of low-carb being a way to lower cholesterol, but it is (an often suggested) way to lose weight.

I eat lowish carb. 150g a day or less at 1600 calories. It keeps me from eating stuff that I tend to binge on, mostly.

lkpducky

I would ask for guidance specifically from a registered dietician; he or she is qualified to help you plan a diet around the blood test results and your allergies (what foods you've found you are okay eating). I don't know if your doc has the nutrition background to do so.
Also get clarification on "low carb": how much per day?

jgnatca

The low carb was suggested to get your blood sugars under control, right? I have good news. You can get really good blood sugar numbers with moderate carbs and weight loss.

This works, I promise.

Work at balanced macros at every meal, every snack. Eat on a routine never going more than three hours between meals excepting the overnight fast.

You know vegetarian works for you so stick with that as much as you can. Add fats/oils as necessary for satiety and to keep your blood sugars stable. Pick fibrous carbs as much as possible. Never eat a carb without pairing it with your protein/fats.

Finding enough protein is the big challenge in vegetarian diets. Soy and Seitan can help with that. Someone else mentioned dairy, which can help a lot. Then there's the wide range of beans and other legumes, which come with fiber and carbs built in.

There are a few vegetables that are naturally balanced with their macros. These include Edamame and Lupini beans. I've been trying to convince my colleagues to try them but no luck so far.

charlenekapf

I apologize if I offended you. I have just never come across anyone allergic to all animals. I hope this resolves for you eventually. However I agree with others regarding eggs and dairy to help with the low carb lifestyle. Also agree with jganatca about moderate carbs: weighing them and portioning them to a reasonable level and supplementing the rest with adequate proteins+fat and making sure you are in a caloric deficit will result in weight loss. However I disagree with the eating every 3 hours...if you're eating adequate fats and proteins, you should be able to go way longer than that but it is up to personal preference what your meal frequency should be.

Balaru wrote: »

Yes I am actually allergic to meat (beef, pork, fish, chicken),, wheat corn, rice....It's easier to say what I am not allergic to. Zuchinni, yellow squash. Water. So I eat it and pay for it with stomach issues, headaches and generally feeling like crud. I am the "unusual case" translation let's poke and prod and run every test known to man then circle back to "strange must be allergies". The cure for allergies stay away from the allergen. Well that doesn't work when you are allergic to everything. So you go with denial. My mantra since I was 12 " I am fine" Just keep smiling. Really I am fine. Have not had an anaphylactic attack since high school. When I eat vegetarian style I am 100 times better. Higher energy levels, zero headaches, no eczema, no wheezing. But if I listen to my mainstream Doc cutting out the carbs takes out half my foods. And there are no alternative docs around here like functional medicine. Some of those docs just fill you up with supplements anyway. And before anyone says go back to the allergist, the last one I went to wrote 10 prescriptions in the first 15 minutes of our appointment. Couldn't afford that and even if I could, how does one function with 10 prescriptions flowing through their veins. Non drowsy is not something this body does. One tylenol and I am out.

It's like the allergy rotation diet which looks great on paper but is nearly impossible to adhere to. The premise is if you are allergic to wheat make sure nothing you eat has any trace of wheat. Replace with corn. Hello allergic to corn too. I have learned through the years which ones are really going to make me I'll and I do avoid them.

Very frustrating!!!

So I continue the trial and error. I feel like this doc I have now just runs the blood tests looks at the numbers and puts you in the box that says statton drugs and low carb diet. End of story. Last time 3 years ago I said no to the drugs I would like to try changing my diet. They were fine with that and even with falling way off and eating junk food and drinking sodas since going back to work the numbers still came down just not far enough because I didn't stick with it. So back in the box I go.

Time to reboot because now I know my numbers and I feel like crud again. But this time I know how to fix it except for the carbs part.

My journey is not mainstream at all and it's not by choice nut it works. I don't wear vegan t-shirts and join in anti meat rallies. It's what works for my body. I am not here to debate. I am here to find out about carbs.

So I am trying to combine what works for me, vegetarian diet, walking 5k races and the docs advice of low carbs.

Sorry for the long back story but it's been quite a ride. I've been dealing with it for over 40 years . No negativity to anyone but the disease.

Balaru

No offense. I am the unusual case. It is what it is. As for cheese and dairy I do better without.

It's just a pain in the butt to always be thinking about food but if that's what gets me healthy and allows me to have a abundant life then that's what I have to do. This week I am gathering info, gearing up, getting all of the not so good for me stuff out and coming up with a plan.

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I did see a nutritionist many years ago and they mentioned about having protein with carbs. So I will try to incorporate that this week.

Thanks for the support everybody. We'll get this figured out eventually. No pity parties just plans and tweak the plan.

Hopefully learning about the macros will help. Have an awesome on track day!

nvmomketo

There are a few low carber, and even very low carbers / keto'ers (eat under 20-50g of carbs per day) in the Low Carber Daily group. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group I would join the group and see what advice you can find there.

I eat low carb but I include a lot of animal products in my diet. Full fat dairy on most days too. Without those I would eat more eggs, seeds, nuts and coconut. I would probably make more use of protein powders whether it is dairy or vegan based.

I would suggest the book, Wahl's Protocol. It's a largely plant based LCHF diet that might work for you. Whole 30 or South Beach may be low carb enough for you.

Also, perhaps look into slow carb - low GI carbs. That might be a healthy route for you to go down.

Best wishes.

cwolfman13

Balaru wrote: »

No offense. I am the unusual case. It is what it is. As for cheese and dairy I do better without.

It's just a pain in the butt to always be thinking about food but if that's what gets me healthy and allows me to have a abundant life then that's what I have to do. This week I am gathering info, gearing up, getting all of the not so good for me stuff out and coming up with a plan.

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I did see a nutritionist many years ago and they mentioned about having protein with carbs. So I will try to incorporate that this week.

Thanks for the support everybody. We'll get this figured out eventually. No pity parties just plans and tweak the plan.

Hopefully learning about the macros will help. Have an awesome on track day!

I think you would be hard pressed to eat a low carb vegetarian diet if you're not into dairy and eggs. Most vegetarian diets are higher carb...I do have a friend who is low carb vegetarian...she eats a *kitten* ton of eggs and dairy and high fat things like nuts and avocados.

Where are most of your carbs coming from? It might be better to look at sourcing rather than cutting out carbs in a vegetarian diet. I eat vegetarian 3-4 days per week and things like legumes and lentils and oats and potatoes and sweet potatoes are staples...eating more complex carbohydrates should help with your glucose numbers, at least it did for me.

lynn_glenmont

jgnatca wrote: »

The low carb was suggested to get your blood sugars under control, right? I have good news. You can get really good blood sugar numbers with moderate carbs and weight loss.

This works, I promise.

OP mentioned statins, so I would assume her doctor thinks low carb is a way to improve blood cholesterol.

Weight loss and exercise can help a lot with cholesterol in some patients, along with dietary changes such as increasing soluble fiber, monounsaturated fat, and omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, some people just have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol.

Finding enough protein is the big challenge in vegetarian diets. Soy and Seitan can help with that. Someone else mentioned dairy, which can help a lot. Then there's the wide range of beans and other legumes, which come with fiber and carbs built in.

There are a few vegetables that are naturally balanced with their macros. These include Edamame and Lupini beans. I've been trying to convince my colleagues to try them but no luck so far.

Seitan is made from wheat gluten. OP says she is allergic to wheat. (OP, if you're allergic to something else in wheat other than the gluten, perhaps you could still eat seitan.)

leanjogreen18

I'm pescatarian but eat tuna only once or twice a month.

I don't know the carb count in things as I don't do low carb...

Seeds, nuts, peanut butter, potatoes, spinach, Black beans, Tofu, tempeh, eggs, cottage cheese, soy/almond/hemp milk, Gardin products are where I get the most of my protein. I need to up mine protein a bit as well so I plan on including a pea protein powder.

I eat a carb/protein/fat at every meal and this helps with feeling satisfied.

GottaBurnEmAll

johunt615 wrote: »

I'm pescatarian but eat tuna only once or twice a month.

I don't know the carb count in things as I don't do low carb...

Seeds, nuts, peanut butter, potatoes, spinach, Black beans, Tofu, tempeh, eggs, cottage cheese, soy/almond/hemp milk, Gardin products are where I get the most of my protein. I need to up mine protein a bit as well so I plan on including a pea protein powder.

I eat a carb/protein/fat at every meal and this helps with feeling satisfied.

Good luck with pea protein. I could not get past the taste.

jgnatca

Oops about the Seitan recommendation.

liznotyet

Just in case you haven't heard of him, John McDougall is a northern CA doctor promoting plant based eating. https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/free-mcdougall-program/steps-to-recovery/foods-not-allowed/. The recipes have helped me to be more creative with vegetables.

charlenekapf

This plan is exactly the opposite of her Dr recommendations. McDougall promotes a VERY low fat high carb style of eating. Check out the potato fanatics in his groups across the internet. If you want to subsist on potatoes give it a try. Many find the lack of fat difficult for satiety and no improvement in their glucose numbers. Fats help regulate hormones, provide satiety, slow digestion so you won't be as hungry between meals I would be very careful with this approach. however his recipes for vegetables may be helpful...I would not try his full plan if your doctor specifically is advising lower carb.

liznotyet wrote: »

Just in case you haven't heard of him, John McDougall is a northern CA doctor promoting plant based eating. https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/free-mcdougall-program/steps-to-recovery/foods-not-allowed/. The recipes have helped me to be more creative with vegetables.

Balaru

I have heard of Dr McDougal. My Dad had a heart attack back in the 80's & followed McDougal. Within a year they couldn't even tell he'd had a heart attack. That was our first attempt at vegetarian and yes I love potatoes.

charlenekapf

Well then if eating no fats doesn't seem like a deal breaker to you, give it a try. You won't be eating much protein so expect to see less muscle definition and retention...but if you think you can follow this long term then maybe let your dr. know you're doing it. at the very least your glucose numbers will be high in the short term until you've been extremely low fat for awhile as the influx of pure carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar to stay elevated.

Balaru wrote: »

I have heard of Dr McDougal. My Dad had a heart attack back in the 80's & followed McDougal. Within a year they couldn't even tell he'd had a heart attack. That was our first attempt at vegetarian and yes I love potatoes.

workfromhome84

There are many vegetarian options to get protein, my favorite being tempeh. Beans, lentils, quinoa or soy to name a few. Google is great for finding plenty of alternatives.

GottaBurnEmAll

charlenekapf wrote: »

Well then if eating no fats doesn't seem like a deal breaker to you, give it a try. You won't be eating much protein so expect to see less muscle definition and retention...but if you think you can follow this long term then maybe let your dr. know you're doing it. at the very least your glucose numbers will be high in the short term until you've been extremely low fat for awhile as the influx of pure carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar to stay elevated.

Balaru wrote: »

I have heard of Dr McDougal. My Dad had a heart attack back in the 80's & followed McDougal. Within a year they couldn't even tell he'd had a heart attack. That was our first attempt at vegetarian and yes I love potatoes.

You can eat beans following McDougall, IIRC. There's plenty of protein in them.

While I don't follow McDougall, I am not a person who is at all satiated by fat, and find that too much of it causes me digestive upset. I successfully dealt with my familial high cholesterol eating 50% carbohydrates, 20% (or less) fat and 30% protein. Starch and fiber along with protein fill me up, not fat. I'm not the only person like this. A lot of people aren't satiated by fat, and a huge amount isn't really needed for basic functioning.

Also, his blood sugar will only spike in response to meal times, as is normal. There's nothing wrong with this. It won't stay elevated unless he's insulin resistant.

Balaru

I did a little more research today and yes the numbers are slightly elevated. They came down from last time I was checked and I really blew it last month. Started a new job 2 months ago and have been trying to get routines established. I talked to the Nurse today and told them I'm not taking the statins and will continue to address it with diet and exercise because the numbers did come down. She laughed when I fessed up and said I was REALLY bad in October so that may have had something to do with the numbers. If they can come down after all that chocolate and soft drinks I had in Oct. then there is hope. I also have a Health Coach through our Wellness plan at work so with all that going for me I'm pretty sure I can conquer this. They were perfectly fine with me trying to handle it with diet. One of my numbers was only off by literally 1. I will try to limit the potatoes to once a week (cuz Lord knows I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and maybe a snack too - I do love me some potatoes - Lol) and I'm getting off the Dr. Peppers. Had my last one at work today. Gonna make this work. Thanks everyone for your input! Onward to the treadmill!

azulvioleta6

N0--the macros just don't add up. Even a moderate carb diet (75-100G carbs/day) is very difficult to achieve without eating some animal products.

Try putting together some sample meals plans with the foods that you can eat and see how that adds up. Perhaps you can work out something that is just a bit lower than what you are used to.

Wait...SOFT DRINKS? With sugar? Seriously? If you have pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, etc. you shouldn't even be thinking about consuming such things.

lodro

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

N0--the macros just don't add up. Even a moderate carb diet (75-100G carbs/day) is very difficult to achieve without eating some animal products.

Try putting together some sample meals plans with the foods that you can eat and see how that adds up. Perhaps you can work out something that is just a bit lower than what you are used to.

Wait...SOFT DRINKS? With sugar? Seriously? If you have pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, etc. you shouldn't even be thinking about consuming such things.

I'm a vegetarian and I eat to a low carb - high fat pattern. I bought a protein powder I liked, so my protein needs are spoken for. The rest is eating low carb vegetables and sufficient fats, in my case mct oil. There's a medical reason I eat to this pattern, so I'm motivated to continue. It's for health reasons, not weight, although I've been at my goal weight for 2 years now, and have started to do endurance sports in a rather big way, compared to my level of exercise before.

savithny

Still no mention of whether eggs work. With the other restrictions mentioned, eggs would be about the only thing to crank up the healthy fats and proteins in that diet.