low carb vegetarian struggle!

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beckiwf
beckiwf Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Currently looking for some thoughts on the below situation.

I'm currently training 5 days a week doing weights & cardio with a PT and have a goal to eat 115g max of carbs and keep the protein high at 100g. I also walk 12,000 steps minimum a day and do a bit of hiking at the weekends, so quite active despite having a desk day job.

I'm a vegetarian also (I've started introducing quorn which helps a little.)

I continuously find keeping my carb intake low a real struggle, but have been advised that 150g is way too much if i'm on a weight loss journey.

I do my workout 5am, finish at 6am i have my nutriblast smoothie everyday typically with pak choi, spinach, seeds, little fruit & protein powder.

I'm then hungry by 8am.

I do eat lots of nuts/protein bars to help with the protein intake as snacks to fill me up, but as these can be high in calories/fats/carbs sometimes I think struggle with low carb lunches and dinners that aren't just full of veg to satisfy me to fill in the left over calories

currently set to 1300

I'm not a huge fan of eating 'carrot sticks' or celery as snacks and because i'm low carb i can't eat many 'bananas' or fruit as this then really bumps up my sugar and carb although it's fruits (which aren't bad)

so i worry/know i eat far too many 'nutty snacks' on the fats side of things, rather than 'green's or nutritious foods.. However my diet isn't that bad, considering i used to be terrible!

(I also know incase anyone comments, veg is something i need to learn to love! which i'm slowly introducing them into my smoothies )

Is this really something i need to do to keep my weight loss up? it seems quite stressful which makes we want to make bad choices & lack enthusiasm

Perhaps low carb is just simply not right for me? and i need to work whats right for me?

Would i still get results if i stopped worrying about my carbs/calories/sugar and made sure each meal was as clean as i could be. Even if it's fruit/greek yogurt for snacks instead of nuts/protein bars, surely this would be better? and just watch portion size (which i'm quite small on anyway)

It's been quite a learning curve for the past 8 months, I've lost 35lb so far to date and now it's slowing down and getting tougher to get rid of the next 20lb

I may be a little frustrated, as i'm on a 12 week transformation class and nothings really moved weight wise apart from 5lb


Thanks

Becki



Replies

  • nickimassee
    nickimassee Posts: 17 Member
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    Here is my imput. I am currently on a "low carb" cut for a competition. But my best advice to you is to have carbs post workout and get the rest from nuts. I would personally increase your protein intake, I do this using whey powder but you could do this with adding some Greek yogurt to your diet. It is recommended that you have 1g of protein per 1lb of your weight. I would recommend increasing your protein intake and that will leave you full longer and also help you feel far less tired throughout the day because it refuels your body. As for having fruit in your diet, everything is okay in moderation. High levels of sugar aren't good for weight loss but if it helps you get through the day I would do it, we all get sick and tired of just veggies all day. I have a sweet tooth and the only way I get through the day is if I have a few pieces of fruit!
    I hope this helped you out, if you have anymore questions feel free to message me or add me as a friend!
    Thank you, Nicki
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    You do not need to go low carb to lose weight - all you need is a calorie deficit.

    Low carb and vegetarian do not generally go well together as lots of vegetarian protein sources contain carbs too - e.g. beans and pulses.

    As long as you hit your protein goal and get adequate fat intake, it is fine for the rest of your diet to come from carbs.

    If a plan is stressing you out and making you feel restricted then it is probably not the plan for you.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Lots of people have success with low carb plans, but it isn't required for weight loss. I am vegan, I've lost about 35 pounds and I average 60-65% carbohydrates each day. You don't even have to eat "clean" -- you just need a calorie deficit. I personally limit the pasta and bread (because I don't find them as filling as other foods, YMMV). There are days when I get a lot of fruit and I don't find that this has slowed down my weight loss.

    Any plan that you choose should be one that makes you feel energetic, happy, and satisfied. For a lot of us, this will include more carbohydrates. There's nothing wrong with them.
  • Katzedernacht
    Katzedernacht Posts: 266 Member
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    Well ,I'm now a vegan, I was a vegetarian for about 13 years... I don't think we can do the low carb too well,since like the person above me said, the legumes which are super rich in proteins do have carbs so... I think it's best to have a slight deficit and add more proteins, I'm trying to get 85-90 grams a day and it's been easy hehe, also what kind of workout do you do?

    I find carbs super good for heavy weight lifting ( heavy for me that is ) .
  • beckiwf
    beckiwf Posts: 9 Member
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    Hi Guys,

    Thanks for the advice, i think i'm going to stop worrying about the carb intake and try to stay on track with my calories, It's worked before to get my 35lb loss to date, it's not worth the stress as i can't keep to it, all food i'm eating isn't 'bad' i rarely eat bread/pasta so it's mainly good carbs anyway such as beans/pulses & fruit

    back to basics :)
  • LiftAndBalance
    LiftAndBalance Posts: 960 Member
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    Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to watch your carb or sugar intake, there's nothing wrong with either. There's also nothing bad (or dirty...) about fruit, bread or pasta. Losing weight doesn't require 'eating clean' (whatever the heck that even means—I've yet to come across a definition that actually makes sense). Calorie deficit for weight loss, macro ratios for health and adherence, getting sufficient vitamins, minerals etc. for health.

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