I've found the secret
Ellienz1
Posts: 19 Member
I'm eating 1800 calories a day and am losing weight! I eat the starch soloution weight loss diet and I love it. I have porridge with 2 pears and berries for breakfast. 1 kumura with courgette for lunch. Dates and a banana for afternoon tea and for dinner I eat 3 potatoes and a head of broccoli for dinner. I'm happy to help anyone else wanting to lose weight on a low fat vegan diet
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Congratulations, you found something that works for you. It doesn't mean it will work for other people because adhering to a diet depends a lot on liking the food and feeling full. And both are totally individual. Some people feel full on lots of protein, others on fats. I feel full on rice, pasta and bread. On that note: Whatever you do, please make sure you get enough protein and fats as both are important for health.22
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There’s no secret. Weight is lost, eating less calories than you burn. That’s it. How you accomplish that is a personal choice. Nutritional needs are important, so you may want to make sure you are achieving them as well.15
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that sounds dreadful. personally, i would GAIN on 1800 calories a day. my maintenance is around 1400. not to mention, i dont like ANY of those foods. id rather be hungry than eat broccoli or porridge and i might eat 1 potato a month. then we have a lack of protein and fat is not the enemy. and, i dont know... variety?
but, if it works for you, thats all that matters. FOR YOU. just dont try to tell the rest of us what to eat.10 -
You're lucky... I have to eat 1200 to lose so on 1800 I'd be gaining.2
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Your lunch alone baffles me. I'd have to google that. Any foods I have to google are most likely off my list.
And I'm with everyone that says 1800 isn't low enough for them. But we're all different and it's great that life is filled with choices for each individual.
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A low fat diet vegan diet is fine as long as you are getting ENOUGH fat. Many vitamins are fat soluble and you do need some in your diet. I don’t know what your lunch included, but the rest looks a bit low on fat to me; as a vegan (or even vegetarian) do make sure you get enough protein too. I was vegetarian for 14 years and I know I was deficient in some areas, I had to overhaul my diet when I became anaemic and low on vitamin K.8
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I'm eating 1800 calories a day and am losing weight! I eat the starch soloution weight loss diet and I love it. I have porridge with 2 pears and berries for breakfast. 1 kumura with courgette for lunch. Dates and a banana for afternoon tea and for dinner I eat 3 potatoes and a head of broccoli for dinner. I'm happy to help anyone else wanting to lose weight on a low fat vegan diet
How many grams of protein is that?
I used to live on a vegetarian ashram filled with healthy and fit vegans. None of them avoided fat. All of them made legumes the backbone of their diet.8 -
I lost most of my weight eating 1800-2000 calories (that included Exercise calories. Female, 5'7".)
I agree with all the previous posters that it's important to get enough protein and fat.
So, make sure you're hitting those numbers for protein and fat in your FOOD diary.
The other thing I'd mention is variety. In my opinion I need a whole lot of variety in my nutrition plan. If I ate the same handful of foods every day I would be missing a lot of micronutrients. Even though it makes it easier to log food if I'm eating the same rotating foods, spending five extra minutes logging food is to me the better choice.9 -
Glad you've found something that works FOR YOU. However, people with actual performance goals etc would certainly find that diet horrifically inadequate, ditto anyone trying to build muscle/strength.4
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That diet would be a disaster for me. My protein needs are far higher.6
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The secret is to not consume protein?
Sounds like the secret to losing muscle mass.7 -
I'm glad to hear you've found something that works for you I've been a vegan for about 3 years, if you want to friend me.
I tried low-fat back in the day, when I was a new vegan. I really liked the high volume of food and how it made me rethink my nutrition. For example, I never really incorporated nuts and seeds into my diet before then and I eat WAY more greens now, which I credit to the habits I gained during that time. Even now, I tend to lean on some of the habits I learned then to help me get back on track or make stuff more calorie-friendly.
The main issue I had with a low-fat vegan diet was, well, it was low-fat. I learned that I didn't feel well and would still be hungry if I was below 35 grams of fat, even if I'd eaten so much I was heartily sick of eating. Once I bumped up the fat, I felt a lot better. Also, it was harder to get protein while eating mostly whole foods. Not impossible, obviously, but I had to research and be more careful about how I spent my calories.
Obviously, I don't know what your protein intake is like, but if you want a number to shoot for, I've found that 70-90 grams is ideal when eating 1,800 calories as a 5'7, 30-something woman who exercises and is trying to lose weight. Some of my favorite protein sources are tofu, tempeh, and seitan-- all of which are compatible with low-fat. Let me know and I'll send you some of my favorite recipes Good luck and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about the nutrition/supplementation side of things--it can be a pretty steep learning curve. 6 -
What a coincidence: I found the secret, too! I'm eating 2000+ calories daily as a 5'5" mid-120s pounds 66 y/o woman, and successfully maintaining a healthy weight that way for over 6 years now . . . .
. . . while eating healthy fats (50g+ daily), enough protein (100g+ daily), boatloads of varied & colorful veggies/fruits, as an ovo-lacto vegetarian (so there's plenty of dairy in there, and some eggs).
Moreover, I think other people can accomplish the same goals, and eat meat/fish, too. In my opinion, too many people eat too little of veggies/fruits for their own best health (most registered dietitians would agree, I think, since most USA-ians don't even get the minimum recommended 5 servings daily) . . . but that's about nutrition and health, not weight loss per se.
Gosh, it's almost like different people can manage their weight, feel full and happy, eating in different ways. Fancy that.
I'd encourage everyone to get well-rounded, balanced nutrition, too. There are also multiple ways to do that.
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Yeah, it sounds very limited, and not really healthy in the long run. But: you could mash the potato, add butter or oil to it for more creaminess, roast zucchini in slices, put the potato mash on top of it, and... maybe add chickpeas for some protein. Still somewhat restrictive, but somewhat better.3 -
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It works because it is fewer than your maintenance calories, not because it is low fat. Fat and protein are both essential nutrients, and it doesn't sound like that diet would provide enough of either, unless there are additional things being consumed that haven't been disclosed.11
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@Ellienz1 I believe that vegans who make the effort are, absolutely, able to take in all the protein and fats that they need. And they can do so without clogging anything with anything they don't want to consume.
On an 1800 Cal diet, 35g of protein is less than 8%. As a vegan you only run into a few sources of complete proteins, so I am not even sure at your current levels that you're taking in all the amino acids that your body needs.
There has been a lot of research in the past decade that seems to imply optimum protein intake levels are substantially higher than the RDA for protein which would be considered a rock bottom minimum. As in double the RDA, or even more! Yes, I am fairly sure that at >8% you're not even reaching the RDA.
At examine.com you can read an excellent discussion on how much protein might be optimal for you. https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/11 -
It is low fat but thats why it works the starch soloution instructs low fat. My protein is around 35g a day. Maybe it won't be beneficial for me in the long run but maybe it will. I'm not clogging up my body with dairy and red meat
There are many health and ethical reasons for going vegan or vegetarian, and you can defo eat well on either of those diets (with planning and monitoring so that you don’t end up deficient as I did). BUT, and this is a big “but” - red meat and dairy do not clog up your systems. As long as you are genetically able to digest milk then it is a v good source of cheap protein, fats and carbs, with lots of trace elements like calcium. There are ethical and sustainability issues around eating meat and drinking milk (disclaimer - I now consume both) but please don’t promulgate the misinformation about “clogging up”.
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It is low fat but thats why it works the starch soloution instructs low fat. My protein is around 35g a day. Maybe it won't be beneficial for me in the long run but maybe it will. I'm not clogging up my body with dairy and red meat
I did a quick Google search on the effects of low protein and you REALLY wanna worry about the benefits of getting enough and not just worry about staying low fat.
Also, my diet "instructs" a lot of cookies and I still lost weight. 😁12 -
It is low fat but thats why it works the starch soloution instructs low fat. My protein is around 35g a day. Maybe it won't be beneficial for me in the long run but maybe it will. I'm not clogging up my body with dairy and red meat
I did a quick Google search on the effects of low protein and you REALLY wanna worry about the benefits of getting enough and not just worry about staying low fat.
Also, my diet "instructs" a lot of cookies and I still lost weight. 😁
mine too. so much so I LITERALLY have a diary section called ' i need a cookie' LOLOL5 -
It is low fat but thats why it works the starch soloution instructs low fat. My protein is around 35g a day. Maybe it won't be beneficial for me in the long run but maybe it will. I'm not clogging up my body with dairy and red meat
That's going to end up being a problem for you. The minimum requirements for protein are around 50-60 grams (I believe it's a minimum of 54g for women, 58g for men) and it's vitally important that you get enough protein, especially while losing weight, so you don't lose muscle.
If you'd like to make your diary public, we could perhaps suggest ways to add some more protein to your meals? Or, if you'd just like recommendations, some things like tofu scramble, chickpea salad sandwiches (using avocado instead of vegan mayo, for low-fat), seedy oatmeal (a good source of omega-3's and protein), and lettuce, bacon tempeh, and tomato sandwiches could go a long way to making your protein goals as a low-fat vegan while also helping you stick with the diet long-term.4 -
The secret is finding a 'Diet ' that works for you and is sustainable forever.
But it may help to listen to the wise words of the posters on this thread that have successfully lost weight and are maintaining it.
A low fat vegan diet is my worst nightmare!
Especially the foods in the combinations you mentioned!
But if it works for you- great 👍
Maybe do some research on how to up your nutrition because the motivation to stay on that kind of limited diet will dissappear very quickly IMO6 -
It is low fat but thats why it works the starch soloution instructs low fat. My protein is around 35g a day. Maybe it won't be beneficial for me in the long run but maybe it will. I'm not clogging up my body with dairy and red meat
It works because it's fewer calories than your body needs...that's how any diet plan works. This would appear to me...at least the way you are doing it, to be an ill conceived vegan diet. I know vegans who eat a properly balanced diet to include healthy fats (very necessary nutrient) as well as protein (also very necessary nutrient). 35g or protein per day is pretty stinkin' low. One does not have to eat red meat or dairy to get adequate protein...plenty of vegans do it. Even as an omnivore, red meat and dairy are nowhere near the top of my protein sources and make up a very small part of my overall diet.9 -
I'm glad you found a way of eating that works for you but I wish you wouldn't push vegan propaganda. There is nothing unhealthy about consuming red meat or dairy and they don't "clog you up." Your protein and fat are very low, I don't really know what the health consequences of that are, but I would much prefer to have a more well rounded and balanced diet.9
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Speaking parochially, it irks me when vegetarians/vegans fall for the "don't worry about nutrients, just eat plants, they're thaaaaat good" nonsense pushed by some of the veg*n advocacy sites and so-called "documentaries".
(I'm vegetarian, 47+ years now.)
35g protein daily may not be kwashiorkor territory, but it's definitely not a zone of assured thriving. Watch out for slow healing, weakened immune system, problems with hair thinning/shedding, splitting or lined fingernails, muscle loss, weakened bones, fatigue/weakness, poor sleep, mood issues.
Are those things sure to happen? No. But risk is increased.9 -
@Ellienz1 I believe that vegans who make the effort are, absolutely, able to take in all the protein and fats that they need. And they can do so without clogging anything with anything they don't want to consume.
On an 1800 Cal diet, 35g of protein is less than 8%. As a vegan you only run into a few sources of complete proteins, so I am not even sure at your current levels that you're taking in all the amino acids that your body needs.
There has been a lot of research in the past decade that seems to imply optimum protein intake levels are substantially higher than the RDA for protein which would be considered a rock bottom minimum. As in double the RDA, or even more! Yes, I am fairly sure that at >8% you're not even reaching the RDA.
At examine.com you can read an excellent discussion on how much protein might be optimal for you. https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
A factual correction and extra explanation re my earlier post:
Lack of complete protein sources is not necessarily a problem if you take in all the necessary amino acids.
However you probably need to intake extra (not less) unbalanced protein sources in order to consume enough of each of the amino acids that you need.
And the sentence starting with Yes should read: YET (not yes)...and <8% as compared to the exact opposite >8% I wrote earlier.2 -
kwashiorkor
I seriously need to buy stock in google. I learn new stuff here every day. 5 -
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