A question on carbs

albertabeefy

I am a vegetarian. I have tried to incorporate meat into my diet, but it just doesn't make me feel well. I will eat fish and eggs. My food diary is open now. Constructive comments would be great.

I'm a vegetarian, too. I eat tons of egg whites because they're all protein and I add protein powder to my oatmeal. There are tons of way to reduce carbs/increase protein on a vegetarian diet. I did vegan keto in the past (carbs >50g net). It was hard, but it's possible.

I know a few diabetics who are vegetarian and vegan. The vegetarians (who are both ovo/lacto-vegetarians) find it much easier (obviously) to eat a very-low carb diet. Both groups of people have done ketogenic diets to treat diabetes - one of the vegans I know of switched from vegan to vegetarian to maintain ketosis while getting enough food...

So as JSRG said - not easy, but can be done.

lhourin

Eat fat. Seriously. And less fruit.

lhourin

And don't be scared of FAT! I eat 5% carb, 65% fat and 30% protein. If you reduce carbs, the fat keeps you satiated. If you find yourself sensitive to grains and sugars that trigger cravings, then this is the way to go. Research it for yourself.

Same here. Maybe slightly more carb/less protein, but very similar. Very satisfying, and I weigh/look the same as I did 10 years ago as a fitness model...after two kids and a previous 10 lb weight gain. Plus my bloodwork is much better than before I ate so much fat. Don't be afraid of it.

albertabeefy

And don't be scared of FAT! I eat 5% carb, 65% fat and 30% protein. If you reduce carbs, the fat keeps you satiated. If you find yourself sensitive to grains and sugars that trigger cravings, then this is the way to go. Research it for yourself.

Same here. Maybe slightly more carb/less protein, but very similar. Very satisfying, and I weigh/look the same as I did 10 years ago as a fitness model...after two kids and a previous 10 lb weight gain. Plus my bloodwork is much better than before I ate so much fat. Don't be afraid of it.

I eat two different ratios depending on if I'm mass-building or dieting/maintaining:

Mass Building Phase: under 8% carbohydrate, ~30% protein and the rest (62-66% usually) fat.
Dieting / Mainenance : about 5% carbohydrate, 25% protein and 70% fat.

We're all different, but that works great for me. Both for weight-loss and in controlling my diabetes.

tracyschreier

This sounds interesting, but what foods do you eat where you can reach a 70% ratio of fat? I can't even imagine doing that without also increasing calories, increasing carbs, hell, increasing everything!

albertabeefy

This sounds interesting, but what foods do you eat where you can reach a 70% ratio of fat? I can't even imagine doing that without also increasing calories, increasing carbs, hell, increasing everything!

My typical breakfast is whole eggs (free-range chickens) fried or scrambled in bacon grease, 2 strips of naturally-cured bacon and a large chorizo sausage link (both from a good butcher who uses free-range product). This is usually about 600 calories, 1g of carbohydrate with about 50g of fat and 30g of protein. I often eat this with 1/2 a granny smith apple if it's pre-workout just for a tiny bit of glucose to help fuel my anaerobic activity.

Some mornings I don't feel like bacon/sausage/eggs and I'll have some low-carb pancakes covered in butter and walden farms 0 carb syrup, along with whatever I want that helps fit my macros.

I have two protein shakes a day - but they're not just protein. I also add 1/2c of heavy cream and a small handful of mixed berries. This typically comes to 560 calories, 7 net grams of carb, 44g of fat and 38g of protein.

Then I usually have something like some grass-fed steak (a fatty cut) grilled with added butter, chicken with the skin on (often covered in a low-carb bbq sauce, cheese and crumbled bacon), a fatty fish cooked with oil, etc. along with about 6 cups of leafy greens (I like the Costco spring mix and baby spinach mixed 50/50) and the highest-fat dressing I can make. (I don't like most commercial dressings, too many are made with highly-refined oils.). For meals where I don't have the leafy greens I'll have steamed broccoli and/or cauliflower covered in butter and a rich/creamy cheese sauce.

That's a typical 2,200 calorie day for me that keeps a very high fat ratio.

On higher calorie days I simply add another shake or meal... things like low-carb/high-fat chicken salad lettuce wraps, etc. Or maybe snacks which might be lots of cheese with a small serving of lower-GI fruit, maybe a 1/2 an apple with a big side of home-made peanut butter, celery sticks with peanut-butter, etc.

Basically there's lots of things like heavy cream, butter/ghee, home-made mayo, home-made nut-butters, cold-pressed nut and olive oils, full-fat cheeses (there's usually about 6 different kinds of cheese in my fridge at once), meats, fish, coconut and red palm oil, etc., etc.

lhourin

]My typical breakfast is whole eggs (free-range chickens) fried or scrambled in bacon grease, 2 strips of naturally-cured bacon and a large chorizo sausage link (both from a good butcher who uses free-range product). This is usually about 600 calories, 1g of carbohydrate with about 50g of fat and 30g of protein. I often eat this with 1/2 a granny smith apple if it's pre-workout just for a tiny bit of glucose to help fuel my anaerobic activity.
....
Then I usually have something like some grass-fed steak (a fatty cut) grilled with added butter, chicken with the skin on (often covered in a low-carb bbq sauce, cheese and crumbled bacon), a fatty fish cooked with oil, etc. along with about 6 cups of leafy greens (I like the Costco spring mix and baby spinach mixed 50/50) and the highest-fat dressing I can make. (I don't like most commercial dressings, too many are made with highly-refined oils.).

Basically there's lots of things like heavy cream, butter/ghee, home-made mayo, home-made nut-butters, cold-pressed nut and olive oils, full-fat cheeses (there's usually about 6 different kinds of cheese in my fridge at once), meats, fish, coconut and red palm oil, etc., etc.

I eat similarly, too. Well, except maybe just an egg or two in the morning, with my coffee with heavy cream.
And ditto to making your own mayo and salad dressing (both are so easy!). Almost all the ones you can buy have crap oils (like canola) in them. Avoid low/non-fat products (which only have some sort of sugar added to them to make up for the loss of fat anyway), use heavy cream for coffee (or over berries--delish!), snack on cheese, nuts, or veggies. It's not that hard. And the thing about calories is that the fats are more satisfying, so it's not that diifficult to stick within a calorie limit, if that's your goal.

grace42d

Wow, very helpful. Thanks. This is going to take a major mind-shift for me, but I will give it a shot by increasing my nut butters, dairy, and coconut oil.