Vegan Advice! :)

jennnny

I've been transitioning into a vegan lifestyle and the whole no meat or dairy thing is not an issue for me. I'm finding that I'm definitely eating healthier and I'm getting so many more vitamins and minerals in my diet but I'm just wondering if it's aiding in my weight loss. Here are a couple things I was wondering about:

-I find that I go over on my sugars pretty much everyday and that's without even eating anything dessert-like. I'm pretty sure it's from the fruit or my oatmeal. Is this something I should be concerned about? If it's just sugar from fruit does it really count as bad sugar? I've heard some people say to stay away from the fruit and other people say not to worry about it. I don't know which way!

-I know there are tons of places to get protein from and it's not that I find it hard to get protein but I am finding it hard to get enough protein without going over on my carbs or calories. I eat lentils and beans and peanut butter and almonds but I feel like I have to eat kind of a lot of those to get my protein and even with eating normal amounts I'm finding it putting me super close to my carbs and calorie intake for the entire day. Suggestions?

-Multi-vitamins? I picked up a multi-vitamin but with all the fruits and veggies I'm eating I'm finding that I'm going over my daily allotment every day. I'm not worried about the vitamin C but a lot of days I'll be over my Vitamin A by like 700%. Is that an issue? If I'm eating really healthy do I need to multi-vitamin? Is it too much?

-I would love some suggestions for meals! What do you typically eat in a day? My diary is open so feel free to check it out. I'm not the best at longing every single day and some days I accidentally leave things off. But any advice is welcome! I feel very strongly about being vegan so please no suggestions to eat meat or dairy. I'm not 100% vegan yet but that is my goal.

Thanks!

benol1

Hi
What sources of protein are you utilising?
If you don't know it - try quorn
If your protein sources cause your carbs to spike then you may wish to reduce carbs in the form of bread and grains (if they're in your diet).

I recently read some scientific research which backs claims that vegetarians and vegans do get enough protein and combining protein sources in the same meal is unnecessary.

Protein and vegetarian diets by Kate A Marsh, Elizabeth A Munn and Surinder K Baines, 2012, Medical Journal of Australia: https://www.mja.com.au/open/2012/1/2/protein-and-vegetarian-diets

I'm a little perplexed with the concept of 'bad sugars'. All sugars are simple carbs and the conventional wisdom is that they should be avoided.
wishing you all the best,

Ben

CoachReddy

- Don't worry about fruit sugars. They aren't nearly as bad for you as refined processed sugars. THAT said, try not to go TOO crazy on the fruit, but I don't really concern myself with it.

- How much protein are you shooting for? You really don't need more than 20%

- Multi-vitamins are always good, as are B12 supplements. And no, don't worry about going over on your daily vitamin intake unless you start noticing adverse side effects, but odds are very unlikely of that happening from regular food + multi

- My diary's open. I'm not 100% vegan, but I eat a lot of vegan meals. (sorry didn't log for a couple weeks recently up till two days ago, but if you go back a ways there are some good options)

There's also a group here on the site called Happy Herbivores. Check it out for lots of meal suggestions!

rayyesnk

I personally try not to eat too much sugar and that includes limiting my fruit intake. In fact, I hardly eat any fruits ... sometimes blueberries in my cereal or with yogurt. Maybe instead of oatmeal look for a low-sugar cereal or just eat almonds or other nuts with fruit. ??

jennnny

- Don't worry about fruit sugars. They aren't nearly as bad for you as refined processed sugars. THAT said, try not to go TOO crazy on the fruit, but I don't really concern myself with it.

- How much protein are you shooting for? You really don't need more than 20%

- Multi-vitamins are always good, as are B12 supplements. And no, don't worry about going over on your daily vitamin intake unless you start noticing adverse side effects, but odds are very unlikely of that happening from regular food + multi

- My diary's open. I'm not 100% vegan, but I eat a lot of vegan meals. (sorry didn't log for a couple weeks recently up till two days ago, but if you go back a ways there are some good options)

There's also a group here on the site called Happy Herbivores. Check it out for lots of meal suggestions!

MFP says I should be eating 45g of protein a day and I'm typically coming in at about half that unless I really make an effort to specifically eat more protein.

I JUST noticed that there were groups on here haha! I don't know where I've been all this time but I did just see the Happy Herbivores group and I'm totally going to join. It's exactly what I need!

ericadawn92

I'm not vegan, but I was on a vegan (+ other random restrictions) diet for about three weeks, so I can help you out with some meal ideas! Also, my diary is viewable to everyone and sometimes I make vegan meals, so if you want to creep on my diary or friend me, feel free to

Anyway, I love Mexican food, so one of my favorite meals to make was: quinoa (I like it better than rice because it has more protein!), black beans, salsa, corn, a few crushed yellow corn tortilla chips, tomatoes, spinach, and vegan cheese if you desire! Make sure you add some cumin and chili powder to make it taste more Mexican and just to add some flavor I loooved this meal - and depending on how much you put in it, it can be very filling!

My breakfast every morning was oatmeal, and I used old-fashioned oats or steel cut oats, made with soy milk (again, for more protein). I also added 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed meal and 1 tbsp of organic powdered peanut butter to thicken it. Then to sweeten/flavor it, I added frozen berries: always some combination of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, but I found that raspberries give the most flavor for the least amount of berries, and blueberries don't add much flavor by themselves. This is what one of my bowls of oatmeal would typically look like:



Another good meal is tofu stir fry...veggies (my favorites: broccoli, peas, red pepper, onion, mushrooms), tofu, soy sauce, peanuts, and rice or quinoa...always delicious.

Also -- if you're on instagram, one of the girls I follow is a super awesome cook and is going vegan, and she posts recipes ALL THE TIME...constantly making me hungry You can follow her: @lekiss_renee

Hope this helps!

Here was a typical day for me on my vegan diet (you can see I ate all the things I mentioned above ^^ that day!):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/ericadawn92?date=2013-01-31
And I had 80+g of protein in there

amyamzzz

I personally don't get worried when i go over on my sugars intake from fruit, but when I can I try replacing fruit with more vegetables, if i realise I've been eating fruit excessively. You could try that or look into which fruits have a lower sugar content, I think I read that berries have lower, but don't quote me on that! In terms of protein, perhaps you could try a protein supplement such as hemp or pea or a mixture of different (vegan) ones to get a better balance. Other than that you could look into upping your activity/exercise level so that eating too many carbs etc. won't matter. Plus it will boost your metabolism more food is always nice

For vegan inspiration, one of my fave blogs is http://ohsheglows.com/
she has some great recipes on there, aaaand whenever I check out comments on new posts theres always comments from other food bloggers (bloggers are like one big family i swear) so I've found countless other blogs and yummy recipes via that!

katied37

I am mostly vegan! I eat seafood once or twice a month, and will occasionally have a taste of cheese or chocolate, but my meals are generally vegan. Feel free to check out my food diary for meal ideas. I also have a tumblr blog where I post photos and links to vegan recipes. The link is http://katieeatsclean.tumblr.com. If you're on Pinterest, I also pin vegan recipes all the time here: http://pinterest.com/katiedreskin/clean-and-green-eating/

You should definitely try to stay away from vegan processed foods. I see a lot of vegans and vegetarians who eat a ton of frozen meals and processed meat/dairy substitutes. These foods are great in a pinch - sometimes if my friends or family are all eating pizza, I'll heat up a frozen Amy's pizza, either soy cheese or no cheese - but I try not to make it a habit. Instead, eat foods that are as close to their natural plant source as possible! That means tons of leafy greens and other raw veggies!

I don't worry about fruit sugars so much. I get sugar cravings all the time, and I figure reaching for an apple or some berries is infinitely better than whatever I happen to be craving, so I don't really limit myself in terms of fruit. You'll have to see how your weight loss goes though, and then make a decision based on whatever works for you. Everyone is different. Maybe I would lose weight more quickly if I limited the fruit, but I'm not quite ready for that step yet!

In terms of protein, check out this article from my favorite blog ever, MindBodyGreen: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4771/10-Vegan-Sources-of-Protein.html

It is hard to balance all that protein with your fat/carb/calorie counts, but you'll figure it out. I always tend to fall a little short on my protein, but I can usually eat around 40g in a day. As long as you're not feeling fatigued or starving, you're probably doing just fine! Again, take a look at my food diary if you need some meal suggestions! I add chia seeds to everything (smoothies, salads, black bean brownies) which are a good source of protein. Also, as you'll see in that MindBodyGreen article, lots of low cal veggies have protein!!

Good luck!

Laf4208

http://www.livestrong.com/article/449410-grams-of-sugar-needed-in-daily-diet/

Interesting/short article about sugar. I wouldn't be too worried about your naturally occurring sugars. Watch your intake of sugar that is added to processed food. That said, I wouldn't eat more than 2 servings of fruit/day. Sugar is still sugar.

beezipper

I'm basically vegan at this point and I've done tons of research. I have no real idea what my macros are because I can only pay attention to a few things at once, and right now it's how many calories and no animal products. If you want to friend me you can look at my diary and see all of the bizarre combinations of things that I eat - I just about always get enough (if not too much) protein from all plant-based sources.

Yogi_Carl

Quote: "What sources of protein are you utilising?
If you don't know it - try quorn "

Just to clarify - Quorn products contain eggs.

TVP is a lot better than it used to be if looking for a high protein meat substitute.