Lacto-Ovo​ Vegetarian Help. Vegetarian Newbie

RebelMoonlights

I'm week 3 Latco-Ovo Vegetarian. Can I have some pointers on how keep my Crabs down.

KristyDonovan

Carbs? What are you eating for protein? I've been vegan for about a year and vegetarian for 13. I eat more veggies than fruit. I don't eat bread usually but always have brown rice or quinoa cooked and in the frig. I eat TONS of beans- mostly because I just love them

livingleanlivingclean

Eat more protein and fat?

Perhaps consider supplementing with a protein powder if you can't get enough from food...

AliceDark

What are the reasons you think your carb macro is so high right now? Are there individual foods you can point to? And does that also mean that your protein macro is low?

I'm ovo-lacto as well, and I have to build all of my meals around the protein source (and then allocate whatever calories are left over to carbs and fat). Some of my go-to protein sources are eggs, greek yogurt, cottage cheese and protein bars/powders, with a lesser emphasis on beans, brown rice, legumes, things like that.

One thing to watch is that lots of new vegetarians replace meat items with things that have a similar function as meat, but don't replace the macros that meat has. For example, a portobello mushroom can function like a burger but it's a terrible meat replacement. Or we'll make pasta with marinara instead of bolognese, but we don't replace the meat with anything.

RodaRose

<- Not vegetarian

Try eating fewer fruits and less rice/bread/pasta/quinoa.
Eat more cheese, yogurt, tofu, beans, broccoli, kale, nuts, seeds,

amusedmonkey

I'm not a vegetarian but my diet leans heavily in that direction. I don't really watch carbs because reducing them wouldn't be sustainable to me. Carbs are awesome and if you tolerate them well and don't crowd out protein and fat, then you have nothing to worry about.

Things I eat often that help a bit with the protein: dairy products, beans, eggs. It's the hardest one for me to hit.

Things that help me with fat: full fat yogurt, eggs, olive oil, sunflower oil. I don't really have problems hitting my fat minimum, it happens naturally.

Things I eat often regardless of macros: vegetables, fruits, grains.

Things that help me with hunger: white potatoes, grains and grain products (bread, pasta, rice..etc), beans.

I don't have nuts or dried fruits often because I tend to overeat them a lot screwing my calories for the day.

It's very important to find a point of balance where you are comfortable with your food choices, even if it doesn't fall traditionally under what in your mind is considered "optimal". Consistency and sustainability are the most important aspects of any diet. Now, if your comfort zone happens to be on the low carb side, just have more dairy, nuts and non starchy vegetables and less grain products and starchy vegetables.

SarahLascelles1

Some info on veggie protein sources
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/vegan-sources-of-protein/