High Fat-Low Carb Vegan Tips

sarahaldinger
sarahaldinger Posts: 74 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone,

I recently decided to tweak my diet and work toward high fat-high protein-low carb.
I follow a vegan diet and thus eat a lot of carbs from vegetables and fruit.

I always end up between 100-200 net carbs.
Today was 183 Carbs yet I ate really well.
I'm not really sure how to get that down or if this will negate going high fat.

Any input would be greatly appreciated?
Diary is public if that helps.

Thanks a bunch!

Replies

  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Nuts are the best option I can think of off-hand. Raw pecans have about 3g carbs, 3g protein and 19g fat, for example.
  • TheHorribleBlob
    TheHorribleBlob Posts: 84 Member
    Avocados supposed to be packed with good fats and, of course, tofu is a great source of protein.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Lose the banana - it sticks out in your diary as a big contributor of carbs and not much else. Watermelon is similar.

    One of your blueberry entries had an overstated carb content as it was the same as the calories.

    Peas and carrots are carbier than some of the alternatives.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    Why would you go low carb vegan?...

    what else can you consume... This is one of the worst ideas I have heard.
  • KimLee76
    KimLee76 Posts: 89
    Hi Everyone,

    I recently decided to tweak my diet and work toward high fat-high protein-low carb.
    I follow a vegan diet and thus eat a lot of carbs from vegetables and fruit.

    I always end up between 100-200 net carbs.
    Today was 183 Carbs yet I ate really well.
    I'm not really sure how to get that down or if this will negate going high fat.

    Any input would be greatly appreciated?
    Diary is public if that helps.

    Thanks a bunch!

    I am sure you have your reasons for taking this route but have you clearly defined it?

    Looking at your diary, your goals are 30% fat (which is in the 20% - 35% range that is considered low), 40% carb, and 30% protein.

    I don't see getting enough fat as the source of your problem. Add some mufas: oils (olive, sesame, soybean, flaxseed, etc), nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, and dark chocolate. At 9 calories a gram, you'd exceed your daily goal with a handful of cashews and an avocado.

    I think your issue is limiting carbs while getting enough protein. All your food sources are plants which are of course also in the carbohydrate food group. It's easy enough to reduce net carbs by eating high fiber veggies, but what are you going to do about protein - live off chia seeds and flax seeds? I know that legumes contain fiber, but even with lentils, you're looking at 12 net carbs for only half a cup.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
    Why would you go low carb vegan?...

    what else can you consume... This is one of the worst ideas I have heard.
    This
  • sarahaldinger
    sarahaldinger Posts: 74 Member
    I'm looking at trying to move toward a more paleo-raw version of vegan.
    Don't need any attacks, just seeing how my body reacts to limiting grains, bread, etc...
    Because legumes are frowned upon in paleo, I'm going to try and limit those as well.

    After a few days of limiting carbs, my body feels and looks better. Less bloated, more energy etc..

    Again, not looking for attacks but rather advice as to whether taking in 183 (Yesterday for example) of fruit and vegetable carbs is a lot.

    Usually these boards don't jump down on each other.
  • SarahSmilesCA
    SarahSmilesCA Posts: 261 Member
    I don't think people need to be rude or attack, but some nutritional facts probably should be interjected into this discussion.

    The problem is you have no way of getting enough QUALITY protein as a vegan without high carbs foods. Since you will not use any animal sources you are going to have to use grains, legumes, and nuts to get protein and they have LOTS of carbs, even nuts and other higher fat foods have a pretty high level of carbs. Nothing wrong with this method of eating, but if you are training I am not sure how you are going to get enough protein without using highers carb foods and/or going over calorie TDEE goals.

    Vegan and Low carb/Adequate Protein are almost mutually exclusive. However since you are set on it, I would first recommend adding a lot more fat to your diet, like 40 %. Coconut and nut meals will help this alot.

    You are only going to get the bare minimum of protein because of the high calorie/carb count of plant base foods with protein, not what is recommended by most trainers unless you supplement (are you working out???). It is recommended that you have one gram of protein for every lb of lean tissue. Not sure how you will do that and maintain a reasonable calorie intake on vegan foods.

    Sunwarrior has a great raw protein powder that can help you get closer to protein goals, two servings of this a day will help ALOT.

    Also unless you want a thyroid or estrogen issue I would avoid high levels of soy to make up protein levels. It suppresses hormone function, the last thing you want when managing weight and training.

    A suggestion I do have is to check out Elana's Pantry, a great website for low carb - vegan recipes. She uses a lot of almond and coconut. PS not all her recipes are vegan, but many are
    http://www.elanaspantry.com/
  • sarahaldinger
    sarahaldinger Posts: 74 Member
    Thank you for the great reply.
    I will check out that website.

    I do work out about 5-6 times a week (Running and lifting, interval, etc...), as well as working an "on my feet" job. (12 hour shifts at the hospital).

    I use the plant fusion protein powder which offers 22g protein with 4 carbs as supplementation.

    I don't eat much soy except for some Morningstar/Boca foods occasionally.
    Dislike tofu.



    I appreciate the input.
  • potatocar
    potatocar Posts: 250 Member
    I'm vegan, you can take a look at my diary, but I usually get around 200-250 carbs (the amount MFP set for me).
  • LisaDunn01
    LisaDunn01 Posts: 173 Member
    I usually eat 70% raw, vegan with the rest protein and fat. I avoid grains as much as I possibly can, and find that my total (not net) carbs fall between 90 and 115 grams per day. This works extremely well for me...

    I will have green smoothies such as:

    Juice of one lime (or lemon)
    1 small tomato (not grape tomatoes. hehe)
    Handful of baby carrots (or 1 lg carrot)
    1 stalk celery (no leaves)
    Lots of cilantro (15 stalks)
    1/3 avocado (1/4 if its large)
    ½ cucumber (med size)
    Salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
    Water and/or coconut water
    Ice
    Blend.

    or

    1 c. water
    1 1/2 handfuls spinach
    1/4 bunch fresh parsley
    3 fresh basil
    1/2 orange
    1/2 sm. banana
    1/2 c. frozen pineapple

    I love Sun Warrior Warrior Blend Protein Powder (Raw, Vegan) which is 17 g. protein in one scoop.

    Lunch:

    Greens
    1/4 c. walnuts
    3 strawberries sliced up
    2 tbsp. lemon tahini salad dressing

    Dinner:

    Baked Sweet Potato
    Chicken or Fish

    Maybe you can use some of this...
  • sarahaldinger
    sarahaldinger Posts: 74 Member
    Yes! Very much so. Gives me an idea of what to build my meals around.
    The tahini dressing sounds delicious! :)
    Been looking for other ways to use tahini (besides hummus)
  • suv_hater
    suv_hater Posts: 374 Member
    I think you have it backwards. This girl eats 80-90% carbs from FRUIT and doesn't restrict calories.

    hqdefault.jpg
    mqdefault.jpg
    l884067309.jpg
    profile_freelee_5.jpeg


    I would never do Paleo but those that do it eat meat. That's kind of the staple of the diet is animal products from healthy animals. You're trying to veganize the Paleo diet? This is not good, this idea. A lot of Paleo dieters also drink caffeine because they're not getting energy from their low-carb plan... are you doing that too? High fat is not sustainable for health long-term, not for an active person much less someone who sits all day. You will find this out eventually. Besides, eating nuts is not even natural in nature outside of the fall-early winter months. They literally all fall off the tree at the same time and only fresh for a few weeks. Ever tried to crack open a walnut with your bare hands? But eating cashew butter from a jar in June makes so much sense, right? Fruit is year-round for a reason. Fruit is our carbilicious fuel. You were bloated and having digestive issues because of carbs or all the grains you were eating? Ripe fruit is the most easily digestable food on the planet.

    I'm confused by your diary as well. The most calorically dense food you ate during one particular meal was protein powder (120 cals).... frankenfood from a jar that was sitting on a shelf before it sat in a warehouse? This is the answer to your personal health? There's no tips for high-fat low-carb paleo vegan because it can't be done successfully, period.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    I think you have it backwards. This girl eats 80-90% carbs from FRUIT and doesn't restrict calories.

    hqdefault.jpg
    mqdefault.jpg
    l884067309.jpg
    profile_freelee_5.jpeg


    I would never do Paleo but those that do it eat meat. That's kind of the staple of the diet is animal products from healthy animals. You're trying to veganize the Paleo diet? This is not good, this idea. A lot of Paleo dieters also drink caffeine because they're not getting energy from their low-carb plan... are you doing that too? High fat is not sustainable for health long-term, not for an active person much less someone who sits all day. You will find this out eventually. Besides, eating nuts is not even natural in nature outside of the fall-early winter months. They literally all fall off the tree at the same time and only fresh for a few weeks. Ever tried to crack open a walnut with your bare hands? But eating cashew butter from a jar in June makes so much sense, right? Fruit is year-round for a reason. Fruit is our carbilicious fuel. You were bloated and having digestive issues because of carbs or all the grains you were eating? Ripe fruit is the most easily digestable food on the planet.

    I'm confused by your diary as well. The most calorically dense food you ate during one particular meal was protein powder (120 cals).... frankenfood from a jar that was sitting on a shelf before it sat in a warehouse? This is the answer to your personal health? There's no tips for high-fat low-carb paleo vegan because it can't be done successfully, period.

    not all paleo dieters are ketogenic.

    their basis is raw food. they try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. It would be closer to a raw vegan if anything.


    The diet you are advocating is based around the consumption of whole raw products which will allow the person to reach satiation before they go into a hypercaloric state(assuming they aren't overindulging).


    fruit is not year round. if you were restricted to fruits in your geographical location you would be screwed in certain parts of the world.

    I am an advocate of consuming mostly nonprocessed foods due to the satiation it offers but your basis(just like paleo) is wrong
  • HappyElizabeth
    HappyElizabeth Posts: 231 Member
    I think you have it backwards. This girl eats 80-90% carbs from FRUIT and doesn't restrict calories.

    hqdefault.jpg
    mqdefault.jpg
    l884067309.jpg
    profile_freelee_5.jpeg


    I would never do Paleo but those that do it eat meat. That's kind of the staple of the diet is animal products from healthy animals. You're trying to veganize the Paleo diet? This is not good, this idea. A lot of Paleo dieters also drink caffeine because they're not getting energy from their low-carb plan... are you doing that too? High fat is not sustainable for health long-term, not for an active person much less someone who sits all day. You will find this out eventually. Besides, eating nuts is not even natural in nature outside of the fall-early winter months. They literally all fall off the tree at the same time and only fresh for a few weeks. Ever tried to crack open a walnut with your bare hands? But eating cashew butter from a jar in June makes so much sense, right? Fruit is year-round for a reason. Fruit is our carbilicious fuel. You were bloated and having digestive issues because of carbs or all the grains you were eating? Ripe fruit is the most easily digestable food on the planet.

    I'm confused by your diary as well. The most calorically dense food you ate during one particular meal was protein powder (120 cals).... frankenfood from a jar that was sitting on a shelf before it sat in a warehouse? This is the answer to your personal health? There's no tips for high-fat low-carb paleo vegan because it can't be done successfully, period.
    When I was high raw for the previous 2 years, not counting calories, or macros, and literally eating 10 bananas, countless dates, strawberries and pineapples per day, my body looked about the same as the girls in these photos and I was able to do Muay Thai for hours every day (and I'm 42!). I recently tried a lower carb/high fat raw vegan diet and I really did not have very good results. I am switching back to a carb based raw vegan diet. Just my 2 cents.
  • sarahaldinger
    sarahaldinger Posts: 74 Member
    In regards to the gal from the pictures -- I hadn't seen this before in the post;
    My body is already relatively toned to that degree. I'm down to 18.5% BF and am maintaining well.

    I'm basically just trying to go the extra step -- eating raw, cutting some grains, etc... eating healthier.
    My understanding of paleo was not as a meat-based diet but as a healthier, more raw, lower carb diet.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    In regards to the gal from the pictures -- I hadn't seen this before in the post;
    My body is already relatively toned to that degree. I'm down to 18.5% BF and am maintaining well.

    I'm basically just trying to go the extra step -- eating raw, cutting some grains, etc... eating healthier.
    My understanding of paleo was not as a meat-based diet but as a healthier, more raw, lower carb diet.

    nah paleo should consume raw fruits as well. Animal life beliefs aside omnivoric non processed foods and rarer meat is the way to go
  • Kankalamalini
    Kankalamalini Posts: 27
    I am vegan & I love fruit. Keto diets work better and faster than anything. But the point is to be healthy. And vegan doesn't always equal healthy unless you eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables. Just stay away from grains (regardless if they are whole or refined). Avoid eating breads, pastas, potatoes, rice, oatmeal, all types of flour. If you want to get into ketosis while being vegan you will not be able to eat even one banana in a day. Basically you will have to live on cruciferous vegetables and nothing else. I don't understand how doctors tell people following Atkins diet "You can't eat carrots" when a carrot has so many vitamins, antioxidants and countless benefits for your overall health. There is no point to avoid fruit because you are excluding a lot of valuable nutrients from your diet. Not only that but fruit certainly does not make you fat. There are so many fruitarians who eat more than 2000 calories of fruit in a day and still loose weight, detox and feel amazing.
  • danikanoodles
    danikanoodles Posts: 150 Member
    I can see why you would want to cut out grains. They are high in insoluble fiber thus creating bloating, digestive issues and other probelms. Proper food combining is something you might want to look into if your having bloating issues. When food isn't combined right it creates certain foods in your stomach to ferment and cause lots of bloating.

    However, I have been on the same diet as the girl in the photo(freelee) for the past 2 years or so and it has been the best thing I've ever done. It is something worth looking into. She has an informative youtube channel and a facebook group. Called the banana girl diet challenge. There's about 9,000 ladies in it and is full of info. Our cells run on sugar which would be the thing you would be avoiding. I'm not talking about refined sugar or whatever but fruits are extremely important to our bodies. Please don't restrict or limit them.

    I've worked with a lot of people doing high fat raw and felt good for a little while then started gaining weight, getting sick, tired and just over all not feeling well. Many of them resorting to stimulants to counter act the problems. Of course this is your journey and to figure it out there are many paths to go before finding the best one. Certainly steer clear o grains and look into proper food combining to help the bloating issues. Good luck!

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