Vegans and IIFYM

plantbasedpriincess
plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm an a 5'5" 175lb vegan that is interested in beginning counting my macros to lose 30lbs. I've done it once as a vegetarian & found it fun & quiet easy but when I went vegan I found it was hard to find a balance between carbs and protein & I am interested in hearing tips you all may have!

Replies

  • mxechelon
    mxechelon Posts: 9 Member
    as a vegan i've found it pretty hard to get enough protein without lots of carbs, but as long as you're getting enough protein and fats (and micronutrients) then i wouldn't worry too much about your carbs. to increase my protein i eat lots of tofu (tofu scramble, baked marinated tofu, etc), beans, chickpeas (they might be beans actually), lentils, tempeh, protein powders in smoothies (soy protein, hemp protein), quinoa, textured soy protein, and lots of veg are good sources of protein ie peas (are these beans!?), cauliflower, etc. and i try not to eat too much fruit, bread, etc. i hope this is what you were looking for!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you haven't, visit a library and read up on nutrition, especially complementary proteins, like mixing green beans and corn or whatever. Eat your soybeans. :)

    Check out the Oh, She Glows cookbook. smoke decent recipes in there. :)

    I have a friend who is vegan. You guys have it rough.
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have a friend who is vegan. You guys have it rough.

    What a strange comment

    I'm an a 5'5" 175lb vegan that is interested in beginning counting my macros to lose 30lbsLosing weight is still about calories counting your macros does not necessarily put you in a calorie deficit

    Try not to overthink it. Most people seem to aim for far more protein than you really need. The aim should be adequate protein not enough for an elephant which seems to be the trends. As a Sedentary person you need 0.8g per Kilo of bodyweight up this to 1g or 1.2 if your very active. Your protein will naturally increase the more active you get as you'll be consuming more calories.

    In my opinion IIFYM is just as much a dogma as so many other 'diets' out there. Personally my priority is to aim for a balanced diet with out obsessing over macros. I easily get plenty of protein as a Vegan

    Also don't get carried away with the complete Proteins. No one person eats just one source of protein during a day so a varied diet and you get all amino acids needed. (That's another thing people seem to obsess over)
  • plantbasedpriincess
    plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »
    If you haven't, visit a library and read up on nutrition, especially complementary proteins, like mixing green beans and corn or whatever. Eat your soybeans. :)

    Check out the Oh, She Glows cookbook. smoke decent recipes in there. :)

    I have a friend who is vegan. You guys have it rough.

    I mean I have seen multiple documentaries, I have the oh she glows cook book & skinny *kitten* & I've read blogs on vegan weightloss. I've tried 801010 & rawtill4 & I'm now just looking for someone to help me figure out how many macro nutrients I should be eating. I eat plantbased & i eat as little amounts of processed foods as I can, I workout 3-5 days a weeks & do a combo of weight training & cardio and I'm still not losing fat.
  • plantbasedpriincess
    plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
    isulo_kura wrote: »
    Kalikel wrote: »
    I have a friend who is vegan. You guys have it rough.

    What a strange comment

    I'm an a 5'5" 175lb vegan that is interested in beginning counting my macros to lose 30lbsLosing weight is still about calories counting your macros does not necessarily put you in a calorie deficit

    I have my cals set to 1600
  • DeniseB0711
    DeniseB0711 Posts: 294 Member
    We are just now exploring our way through becoming vegan....as in the last 7 days. We are making this move as a family. I prefer to eat more proteins than carbs and plants just don't have that going on. Once we are complete with our transition (when we no longer have meat and eggs in the house) I am going to switch over to supplementing with pea or flax protein a couple of times a week.
    I have considered checking some of the vegan bodybuilding websites to see what they recommend.
  • plantbasedpriincess
    plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
    DeniseB0711 wrote: »
    We are just now exploring our way through becoming vegan....as in the last 7 days. We are making this move as a family. I prefer to eat more proteins than carbs and plants just don't have that going on. Once we are complete with our transition (when we no longer have meat and eggs in the house) I am going to switch over to supplementing with pea or flax protein a couple of times a week.
    I have considered checking some of the vegan bodybuilding websites to see what they recommend.
    That's really exciting! I have found that going vegan cleared my acne and gave me so much more energy than what I had before! It's important to stay away from vegan junk food i.e. Oreos & potato chips. It's difficult to get protein w/o carbs. & may I suggest a juice detox after you slowly cut out all the toxic meats & animal products
  • DeniseB0711
    DeniseB0711 Posts: 294 Member
    Vegan Junk is not a part of it. All of this has been prompted by a family member finding out in a 24 hour period they had Extremely high Blood sugar, High Blood pressure and high cholesterol. So basically our diet is changing to bring these numbers down, in combination with low doses of medication.
    Prior to us getting this knowledge, I cut added sugar, and white flour, pasta, white rice and some corn from my diet. It was a decision I made based on how these things made me feel after eating them. That's not to say I don't eat carbs, I eat PLENTY of fruit and starchy vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and beans.
  • breathebelievejen
    breathebelievejen Posts: 83 Member
    edited June 2015
    I'm a little confused at your question.. your macros could be exactly the same as someone eating omni, veggie or vegan.. (ie. it's individual choice). It's simply the deficit in calories that is going to give you weight loss.. if you're not losing fat it's because you're eating more than you burn not because you're eating too many carbs, proteins or fats..

    ETA: to clarify- are you asking for ideas of low carb high protein vegan foods/ meals?
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    plantbasedpriincess wrote: »
    DeniseB0711 wrote: »
    We are just now exploring our way through becoming vegan....as in the last 7 days. We are making this move as a family. I prefer to eat more proteins than carbs and plants just don't have that going on. Once we are complete with our transition (when we no longer have meat and eggs in the house) I am going to switch over to supplementing with pea or flax protein a couple of times a week.
    I have considered checking some of the vegan bodybuilding websites to see what they recommend.
    That's really exciting! I have found that going vegan cleared my acne and gave me so much more energy than what I had before! It's important to stay away from vegan junk food i.e. Oreos & potato chips. It's difficult to get protein w/o carbs. & may I suggest a juice detox after you slowly cut out all the toxic meats & animal products


    You may suggest it, but typically....ok. certainly you will recieve huge backlash for bringing up juice fasts and 'detox' as they are a complete load of bunk. And I'm saying this as one vegan to another. ;)
  • plantbasedpriincess
    plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
    breathebelievejen wrote: »
    I'm a little confused at your question.. your macros could be exactly the same as someone eating omni, veggie or vegan.. (ie. it's individual choice). It's simply the deficit in calories that is going to give you weight loss.. if you're not losing fat it's because you're eating more than you burn not because you're eating too many carbs, proteins or fats..

    ETA: to clarify- are you asking for ideas of low carb high protein vegan foods/ meals?
    I am asking for advice! I need help calculating my macros & also low-carb high protein things or what other vegans have eaten that helped them lose weight & I'm trying to find other IIFYM vegans
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Kalikel wrote: »

    I have a friend who is vegan. You guys have it rough.

    I've been vegan for nine years. It really isn't rough. I eat protein, fat, and carbohydrates, just like everyone else. I gain and lose weight just like everyone else does. I have foods I love to eat, just like everyone else.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    plantbasedpriincess wrote: »
    DeniseB0711 wrote: »
    We are just now exploring our way through becoming vegan....as in the last 7 days. We are making this move as a family. I prefer to eat more proteins than carbs and plants just don't have that going on. Once we are complete with our transition (when we no longer have meat and eggs in the house) I am going to switch over to supplementing with pea or flax protein a couple of times a week.
    I have considered checking some of the vegan bodybuilding websites to see what they recommend.
    That's really exciting! I have found that going vegan cleared my acne and gave me so much more energy than what I had before! It's important to stay away from vegan junk food i.e. Oreos & potato chips. It's difficult to get protein w/o carbs. & may I suggest a juice detox after you slowly cut out all the toxic meats & animal products

    Vegans don't have to stay away from junk food any more than non-vegans do. As long as you are meeting your nutritional needs, you can have a cookie or some potato chips.

    A juice "detox" is completely unnecessary. If there are toxins in your body, your organs can handle those without the assistance of juice.

    I am a ITFYMs vegan. I've lost about thirty pounds this way. I aim for about 20% protein, 60% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. I run about 25 miles a week and have found this is a good balance for my energy and satiety. Most of my protein comes from tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, and vegetables. I have protein powder in a smoothie once or twice a week as well. I have usually have nut-based sauces once or twice a week.

    While I've noticed that my macros make a difference for my energy level and satiety, what has driven my weight loss has been the calorie deficit. I think I could lose weight eating just about anything as long as I remained in a deficit. How I FELT during that weight loss process might change significantly.
  • plantbasedpriincess
    plantbasedpriincess Posts: 7 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »

    I am a ITFYMs vegan. I've lost about thirty pounds this way. I aim for about 20% protein, 60% carbohydrates, and 20% fat. I run about 25 miles a week and have found this is a good balance for my energy and satiety. Most of my protein comes from tofu, tempeh, seitan, beans, and vegetables. I have protein powder in a smoothie once or twice a week as well. I have usually have nut-based sauces once or twice a week.

    While I've noticed that my macros make a difference for my energy level and satiety, what has driven my weight loss has been the calorie deficit. I think I could lose weight eating just about anything as long as I remained in a deficit. How I FELT during that weight loss process might change significantly.
    Those macros seem very reachable for a vegan! I will try eating those macros & up my cardio & see how I feel! Thanks so much for the advice!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    plantbasedpriincess wrote: »
    I'm an a 5'5" 175lb vegan that is interested in beginning counting my macros to lose 30lbs. I've done it once as a vegetarian & found it fun & quiet easy but when I went vegan I found it was hard to find a balance between carbs and protein & I am interested in hearing tips you all may have!

    The "Y" in IIFYM is pretty important. There is no universal, singular, optimal macro ratio for every individual. You can set your macros to whatever you need to set them to for optimal performance for YOU.
  • gonettie2015
    gonettie2015 Posts: 52 Member
    I gained 10 pounds in 2 years eating mostly vegan. Members of my household became vegan, so I was eating vegan too about 90% of the time. I had been a stable weight for many years prior to that change - which was about 20 pounds overweight. I am not saying that eating vegan caused me to gain weight but I think we were often eating high carb things (of more calories) in place of meats & dairy. And that didn't effect the others (male) like it did me. They lost weight. Maybe I was the only one not feeling satisfied from cutting back on protein and began overeating? Also, I think we needed to eat vegan with more nutritional thought.
    Using MFP to log calories and stick to the recommended macros, I have added some lean meats and some dairy and eggs back into my diet and have increased higher protein plant foods and am limiting carb-heavy ones. I feel better eating this way. It has made a huge difference for me. I'm certain this can also be achieved being strictly vegan which I may do in the future. I'm not talking about ridiculously high protein levels... just making sure to be less than 50% carbs and more than 20% protein on average.
    In the 107 days I've been doing this, I've lost those 10 pounds and 8 more.
    good luck! :)

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