Perfect balance of nutrition?

Vegansweetie19

Okay here's where I'm at. I'm trying to eat a lot of protein and fewer carbs because I want to lose serious weight. But how do vegans not get a lot of carbs since we have to eat a lot of grains, sweet potatoes and fruit? I'm trying to find the perfect balance of fewer carbs, LOW FAT and high protein. I have soy protein powder that I love to make shakes with, and I usually eat Kashi go lean with soymilk for breakfast, a salad with beans and stuff for lunch and usually stir-fry, a boca burger or sweet potato with veggies for dinner.
Doing Insanity I'm eating 5 meals a day, 300 calories each. (Or trying to)
p.s. I'm really really allergic to nuts and flax.
HELP!

ThriftyChica12

Here's one thing to consider:
WHY do you need to reduce carbs and up protein? Yes, you want to lose weight, but do remember that the whole "carbs are evil" and "we need HIGH protein" thing has been disproven as a fad diet perpetration mostly by people who eat the Standard American Diet (S.A.D)...lots of meat, and for whom "carbs" mean white bread and sugar candy, etc.

Yes, as a vegan, there are almost no foods we have that are pure protein with NO carb (unlike meat), so it can be hard to up our protein without upping our carbs.

I suggest the following: eat INTACT grains and avoid processed carbs (even tho whole wheat bread is better than white bread, brown rice on quinoa is better than ANY bread at all).
--eat intact grains (br rice, quinoa, millet, wheat berries, amaranth, farro, etc)
--do not consume refined sugar (found in vegan baked goods, ice creams, sauces, etc)
--if u need sweetner, use a little agave, maple syrup, or stevia
--ALWAYS choose a fruit over fruit juice. juice gives tons of "carbs" and sugars with NO fiber (ie: not filling u up)
--beans, seitan, tofu, some fake meat products, etc
--lots of dark leafy greens

Vegansweetie19

Awe thanks. I always eat those kinds of carbs, but I want high protein cuz I wanna not be hungry. Do you always feel satisfied with what you eat?

MTBSolo

Not read up on Insanity but if you're training hard then you might want to avoid muscle loss while burning fat. I've read an article (not got a link to it sorry) where after exercise the carbs you eat reduce the muscle loss while protein promotes muscle growth. Therefore you need both carbs and protein while training.

Having said that, I've also recently upped my protein intake based on the amount of training I do and advice from the gym instructors - including protein powder/water and a banana within 30 mins of a workout finishing (usually @ 6pm). This post workout "shake" has seemed to have the effect of me feeling less hungry in the evenings.

Initially I worried about the amount of fat I was having but it's generally from good sources - in my case nuts and seeds - as opposed to that in processed food so I only avoid processed fat now.

Same with carbs - I avoid processed carbs as much as possible so fruit etc. is OK. Refined sugar isn't.

So in answer to your question "do you always feel satisfied..." then if I avoid processed food the answer is "Yes". I aim to hit my protein and calorie targets and then let the fat / carbs take care of themselves.

BTW, For the last month my (very rough) percentage breakdown of carb / fat / protein in grams is 68% / 13% / 19%. Going forward I might try and up the protein a bit.

Good luck.

NGMama

Check out the Thrive Diet. He's an Ironman Triathelete and the formulator of Vega.

RawVeganFlirt

first of all low carb diets are SO overrated. sure stay away from white bread and white rice blah blah, but healthy carbs are amazing for you. i'm vegan and i lost the most weight when i ate a good balance of carbs fat and protein. i didnt force myself to eat high protein just because its the cool thing to do in the fitness world, and i didnt skip carbs or fat out of guilt. i managed to put on a noticable amount of muscle without excessive protein and lose 25 pounds eating peanut butter and coconut oil everyday. i ate what my body craved in a healthy way. i believe we crave for a reason.

redraidergirl2009

The whole high protein thing is a myth. You can lose weight with a normal amount of protein which for most women is between 40-55grams a day. The protein you eat in excess is just expelled.

Consider looking at fiber. Fiber keeps me fuller than protein.