Plant based
tina_bella1
Posts: 25 Member
Hi everyone! I recently started a plant based diet. I have to say I feel great! Lots of energy! I gradually made the transition which I think really helped alot. I've done lots of research and just feel this is the best option for me. If anyone has any tips for me it would be greatly appreciated. Add me if you would like. Thank you for reading
17
Replies
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The only advice I have is to track your calories and your protein so that you eat optimally for your health
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Thank you Maxxitt. Yes it's been tough getting enough protein and calories in. I find myself getting full easily1
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Supplement B12 and omega 37
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Supplement B12 and omega 3
I'm taking both thank you!1 -
Definitely what cwolfman13 said, and I'll add to that the D vitamins and possibly iron. Those are typically what start getting lower when you let go of meat. Or get annual (full) bloodwork done so that you know for sure if your levels fall in the recommended Reference Ranges. Then you'll know exactly what needs to be supplemented. I've never had issues getting enough protein or calories. We've been brainwashed to believe that plants have zero or super low protein (by the meat and dairy industry), but there are lots of plants that have protein. Additionally we've been led to believe that humans require tons of protein, but we do not. Too much protein will cause issues. OH also, please read the China Study--that is a great one for information on plant-based and the reasons why, etc. with a ton of legit and extensive research backing it.19
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I’ve been WFPB for about 7 months (switched from vegetarian). I feel great and honestly don’t worry about macros. Add me if you’d like.2
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I've been vegan for just under two years and I'm still enjoying the health benefit effects including more energy, better sleep, better skin, better digestion, and reduced nutrient deficiencies. I gradually transitioned to pescetarian then vegeterian then vegan.
I've found the following helpful, so perhaps give them a try:
* Herbs and spices are great for flavour and extra nutrients. Many work well dried and can be kept in the pantry.
* Nuts are nutritious and add flavour and crunch. I love them with salads, stir frys, steamed veggies, pretty much everything!
* Blended cashew nuts make sauces deliciously creamy.
* Nut milks are great for getting lots of calcium and they're usually fortified. I love almond milk lattes! Go for unsweetened where possible.
* Avocado is great for making creamy sauces or fluffy chocolate mousse.
* Nutritional yeast is great for getting B12 and adding flavour in sauces and when sprinkled on foods like baked potatoes, pasta or toast.
* Chia seeds are helpful for getting omega-3s, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc.
* Experiment with different veggies and cooking methods to find what you enjoy most. I really like roasted veggies, even ones I don't otherwise like.
* Frozen steam fresh veggies are great for when I'm short on time or don't feel like cooking. I add herbs, spices, a bit of sauce/dressing, and nuts or tofu and I have a tasty nutritious meal in under 5 minutes.
I don't worry about protein intake as there's plenty of protein in plant foods and people don't need as much protein as many seem to think we do. Great sources include legumes, nuts, and tofu, especially sprouted tofu. The China Study mentioned above is worth a read.
Feel free to ask any questions if you like.14 -
I recently also switched to a primarily plant based/vegan diet. Add me if you'd like 😊1
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Here are some good resources: The China Study, Whole, Forks Over Knives, Plant Pure Nation, The Okinawa Diet, Vegan For Life. Take B12 and Zinc. Make sure you are eating whole foods so you don’t turn into a “junk food vegan.” You can adjust your macronutrient goals to be more in line with The China Study, if that’s your thing. I adjusted my protein and fat down to 15% and increased my carbs to reflect the plant foods I’m eating.13
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Yayy!! I'll add you now:) I'm a vegan and have been for the past 10 months ... I'd love to share recipes with you if you have any tasties?!2
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Hello everyone! I’ve recently started to eat this way as well. Transitioning into it as I learn how to eat this way. I hope you don’t mind but I will be adding those of you that are willing to allow me to be part of this group with y’all. Day one improvement is no acid reflux. 😊3
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Here are some good resources: The China Study, Whole, Forks Over Knives, Plant Pure Nation, The Okinawa Diet, Vegan For Life. Take B12 and Zinc. Make sure you are eating whole foods so you don’t turn into a “junk food vegan.” You can adjust your macronutrient goals to be more in line with The China Study, if that’s your thing. I adjusted my protein and fat down to 15% and increased my carbs to reflect the plant foods I’m eating.
China Study has been thoroughly debunked. Forks over Knives is also terrible BS as is pretty much every "health" documentary on Netflix. There are probably great resources out there for plant based; China Study and Netflix documentaries are not among them.17 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Here are some good resources: The China Study, Whole, Forks Over Knives, Plant Pure Nation, The Okinawa Diet, Vegan For Life. Take B12 and Zinc. Make sure you are eating whole foods so you don’t turn into a “junk food vegan.” You can adjust your macronutrient goals to be more in line with The China Study, if that’s your thing. I adjusted my protein and fat down to 15% and increased my carbs to reflect the plant foods I’m eating.
China Study has been thoroughly debunked. Forks over Knives is also terrible BS as is pretty much every "health" documentary on Netflix. There are probably great resources out there for plant based; China Study and Netflix documentaries are not among them.
"Vegan for Life" is a fantastic resource for vegan/plant-based nutrition. One of the authors of that book maintains veganhealth.org which is probably the best website for science-based vegan nutritional guidance.7 -
When I started my whole-foods, plant-based, no added-oil journey 2.5 years ago (after watching Forks over Knives and reading the China Study), I quickly learned to cook because the prepared vegan products were not that appealing. I try to make time for food prep after I go shopping and bulk cooking. It takes time and effort but worth the time in my opinion.
Some great online resources for recipes are "Nora Cooks" (https://www.noracooks.com); Susan Voisin's "Fat Free Vegan" (https://blog.fatfreevegan.com) and Angela Liddon's "Oh She Glows" (https://ohsheglows.com).
We eat a lot of bowl-type meals with grains (rice, quinoa), veggies, plant-based protein (beans, lentils, tempeh, tofu) and a flavourful sauce (salsa, homemade dressings). I find these bowls filling and allow for a good variety. We also eat a lot of plant-based burgers (e.g., beet-carrot-chickpea-quinoa; mushroom-lentil-onion-oat; black bean-sweet potato-oat) either as wraps or as a side or topping on a salad: I usually bulk cook these and use them as home-made "fast food". For breakfast, lately I have been eating a bowl of fruit with quinoa on top.
We take B12 and D supplements daily.
Feel free to add me as a friend; I allow viewing of my diary.6 -
I just joined MFP today and love to read all these comments and ideas. If I knew how to add a friend, I would
I have been PB, mostly WFPB, for 6-8 months now, mostly organic eating/living at home since 2012. Anyone so inclined, please add me as a friend.. Jenn0 -
Vegan here! Anyone can add me too if they want starting weight 240 (before MFP) current weight 161.5 lets do this! 4
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If money isn’t an issue, you might wasn’t to try a vegan meal delivery service to get you started. I like Hungryroot because the meals come together in 10 mins or less. But some items have a bit of oil. It’s expensive, but it takes the thought out of meal prep for now.
Sometimes I just cook a bag of frozen broccoli, dump on canned black beans and sriracha. Easy.
Tip: for cooking, anyplace you would normally use oil (except baked goods) substitute low sodium veg broth.
I like the Clean Food Dirty Girl Facebook group for support and advice, but it’s nice to see more WFPB here on MFP.1 -
I had scrambled tofu and cauliflower rice with black beans this morning! 20 g of protein and only 270 calories! Bit of onion powder, bit of garlic powder, pinch of salt and pepper to taste, all fried up on pan using 2 tbsp water. Oh and a pinch of turmeric is lovely in it too!5
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hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all0
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tina_bella1 wrote: »hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all
You do not need to avoid all processed foods to maintain good health! In fact, during some times of year (like winter) when we don't have access to a lot of affordable fresh food, including some processed foods in your diet (like frozen or canned vegetables) can help us stay healthy. There are also some processed foods that make it much easier for us to meet our nutritional needs (like canned beans, tofu, tempeh, and plant milk) or foods that are nutrient-rich and help us create delicious meals (like coconut milk and nutritional yeast).
So many vegans find it smart to choose processed foods that fit well into our goals and just ditch the ones that don't.6 -
I think the most important thing to do is to locate reputable, science-based sources of information regarding plant-based nutrition. There's a lot of misinformation out there, including some that's already been mentioned on this thread. My go-to for nutrition questions is The Vegan RD (https://www.theveganrd.com/). I encourage checking out her site, starting with her Vegan Nutrition 101 section.4
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tina_bella1 wrote: »hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all
Everybody I know in real life considers foods like Oreos to be (vegan) processed foods. Here on MFP, however, a more technical definition is used, so basically any food that has anything done to it is considered processed, like canned beans.
Here I say Ultra Processed Foods and refer to the Brazilian definition: http://189.28.128.100/dab/docs/portaldab/publicacoes/guia_alimentar_populacao_ingles.pdf2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »tina_bella1 wrote: »hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all
You do not need to avoid all processed foods to maintain good health! In fact, during some times of year (like winter) when we don't have access to a lot of affordable fresh food, including some processed foods in your diet (like frozen or canned vegetables) can help us stay healthy. There are also some processed foods that make it much easier for us to meet our nutritional needs (like canned beans, tofu, tempeh, and plant milk) or foods that are nutrient-rich and help us create delicious meals (like coconut milk and nutritional yeast).
So many vegans find it smart to choose processed foods that fit well into our goals and just ditch the ones that don't.
My goodness!!! Thanks for the exclamation points. I hope I didn't offend you. Maybe I should of been more technical with my use of processed foods. Whatever works for you is fine. I buy frozen veggies ad have bought a can of beans once but if the label has added ingredients for example something to add color to the food then I will not buy it. Frozen veggie bags that is just the veggies I buy. If the can says water salt and organic beans I will buy it. I hope that clears things up for you.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »tina_bella1 wrote: »hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all
Everybody I know in real life considers foods like Oreos to be (vegan) processed foods. Here on MFP, however, a more technical definition is used, so basically any food that has anything done to it is considered processed, like canned beans.
Here I say Ultra Processed Foods and refer to the Brazilian definition: http://189.28.128.100/dab/docs/portaldab/publicacoes/guia_alimentar_populacao_ingles.pdf
Kshama thank you for the link. In the real world that made me giggle. Yes I am learning as I go along that I have to chose my words wisely on here.0 -
tina_bella1 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »tina_bella1 wrote: »hey everyone!!! thank you so very much for all the replies. I have been loving this WFPB way of living. Now I did have a set back. I had some body aches and felt like I had the flu. I was taking B12 and Omegas so I figured it was ViT D that I needed. I started taking that supplement and the aches went away. Other than that everything has been great. I am definitely wanting to be healthy so stay away from all the processed foods. Again add me as a friend if you would like. Thank u all
You do not need to avoid all processed foods to maintain good health! In fact, during some times of year (like winter) when we don't have access to a lot of affordable fresh food, including some processed foods in your diet (like frozen or canned vegetables) can help us stay healthy. There are also some processed foods that make it much easier for us to meet our nutritional needs (like canned beans, tofu, tempeh, and plant milk) or foods that are nutrient-rich and help us create delicious meals (like coconut milk and nutritional yeast).
So many vegans find it smart to choose processed foods that fit well into our goals and just ditch the ones that don't.
My goodness!!! Thanks for the exclamation points. I hope I didn't offend you. Maybe I should of been more technical with my use of processed foods. Whatever works for you is fine. I buy frozen veggies ad have bought a can of beans once but if the label has added ingredients for example something to add color to the food then I will not buy it. Frozen veggie bags that is just the veggies I buy. If the can says water salt and organic beans I will buy it. I hope that clears things up for you.
There was one exclamation point. Not sure why that is a issue worth noting.
I wasn't offended at all. I'm not even sure how your comments could be viewed as offensive. I was trying to be helpful. This isn't about me and what works for me, it's general nutritional guidance for anyone.
I apologize if you felt my statement was inappropriate. Whenever I see someone, especially a new vegan or plant-based eater, say they're avoiding processed foods for health reasons, I want to make sure they understand that processing, in and of itself, isn't a bad thing. I bring it up because I want people to be successful and avoid some of the pitfalls that I often see people struggling with when they are newer to this way of eating. Since you've clarified that you are still eating some processed foods, it doesn't really apply so you can feel free to disregard my post.7 -
tina_bella1 wrote: »Hi everyone! I recently started a plant based diet. I have to say I feel great! Lots of energy! I gradually made the transition which I think really helped alot. I've done lots of research and just feel this is the best option for me. If anyone has any tips for me it would be greatly appreciated. Add me if you would like. Thank you for reading
Hey there! 9 months plant based here and 75lbs down. You don’t need more than 10% protein intake a day. It’s a myth that we need increased protein intake, it’s a way for the meat and dairy industry to make more $$. Follow John McDougalls advice. He is like jesus in my home.
[Edited by MFP Staff]
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blackcatfitness wrote: »tina_bella1 wrote: »Hi everyone! I recently started a plant based diet. I have to say I feel great! Lots of energy! I gradually made the transition which I think really helped alot. I've done lots of research and just feel this is the best option for me. If anyone has any tips for me it would be greatly appreciated. Add me if you would like. Thank you for reading
Hey there! 9 months plant based here and 75lbs down. You don’t need more than 10% protein intake a day. It’s a myth that we need increased protein intake, it’s a way for the meat and dairy industry to make more $$. Follow John McDougalls advice. He is like jesus in my home.
[Edited by MFP Staff]
Vegan for almost 5 years, and I find 10% protein to be low. I (personally) feel best and more satiated when I have close to 20% protein.2 -
Do NOT supplement omega 3. Focus more on keeping a healthy omega 3 to omega 6 ratio.
Examples of omega 3: chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds, brussel sprouts
Examples of omega 6: soy, pecans, sunflower seeds, nut butters
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Can I recommend to you the Much More Veg recipe book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It is a large book full of delicious and nutritionally balanced plant based recipes. I lend mine to everyone, and use it all the time 1
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blackcatfitness wrote: »tina_bella1 wrote: »Hi everyone! I recently started a plant based diet. I have to say I feel great! Lots of energy! I gradually made the transition which I think really helped alot. I've done lots of research and just feel this is the best option for me. If anyone has any tips for me it would be greatly appreciated. Add me if you would like. Thank you for reading
Hey there! 9 months plant based here and 75lbs down. You don’t need more than 10% protein intake a day. It’s a myth that we need increased protein intake, it’s a way for the meat and dairy industry to make more $$. Follow John McDougalls advice. He is like jesus in my home.
[Edited by MFP Staff]
There is a significant amount of science to back the claim that you need more protein, especially while dieting. Optimal ranges tend to fall in the 1.5-2.2g/kg (~1g/lb of your goal weight). Not only doesn't it support muscle sustainment, but it also supports strong muscles, bones and a healthy metabolism. The more muscle that you sustain during weight loss, the higher your metabolism will be, but also the more fat you will lose (since you won't be using amino acids for energy). On top of that, protein has a higher thermal effect of food, which means, you will burn more calories eating higher protein. And protein has the highest, along with fiber, satiety rating. He is one of many meta-analyses that support the need for higher protein; also, higher protein doesn't mean more meat and dairy. You can certainly get more protein from seitan, soy, legumes, etc...
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/apnm-2015-05491
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