Vegetarian or low carb??

Neither vegetarian or low carb will result in weightloss, not bare they needed for weightloss.

Weightloss occurs when you are in a calorie deficit. While low carb CAN help with creating a calorie deficit, it is not required. Same with vegetarianism.

JanetYellen wrote: »

Try a plant based diet such as the Mediterranean diet.
I also like the Mayo Clinic Heart Healthy Diet (lots of recipes online).
The dash diet also has lots of recipes and follows the heart healthy diet.
I also google cholesterol lowering foods to find snacks to eat.
A library is a great place to find books on the subjects
Fiber is important as we get older. Don't forget to track your calcium.

Many doctors will tell older patients to limit saturated fats after a heart attack or stroke. Why not start a bit early?
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp
Get your cholesterol tested yearly free with insurance.

Where did the OP say anything about cholesterol? Also, not all insurance covers yearly blood work.

Hmmmmm....lost 2 lbs of what? Muscle??? That's what I found when I did it. Best to do low carb, moderate protein, high fat. Try 15c/20p/65f.

My honest opinion here;

If you have to make a post asking whether you should do keto or vegan, I think you may be placing too much emphasis on labels and diet styles, rather than simply on eating healthy.

I'm personally a vegan. I feel better on a mostly whole foods plant based diet, and I think dairy, meat, eggs etc. are less healthy than plant based foods, whether it be the saturated fat, animal protein or even just the lack of nutrients that you get when you eat plants. I also appreciate the environmental message, (as well as the ethical one, although I'll gladly be honest and say my move to veganism was diet-health related before it was activism driven)

With all of that being said, you should just focus on eating healthy, imo. If you want to go vegetarian to satisfy a lifestyle change, by all means go for it. If you want to eat low carb and lose weight quickly, (although, in my humble personal opinion, almost inevitably less healthy), you could focus more on lean meats, legumes, etc.

If you're not doing it for the animals, there's no reason you have to just identify with a vegetarian diet. Obviously focusing your diet around nutrient dense vegetables is great; you don't need the veg label to accomplish that.

Likewise, you don't have to eat potatoes and rice every day, but you also don't have to identify as a low carber, unless that's something you specifically want to do (and in that case, there's probably not much benefit in asking MFP forum which you should choose).

Just a little rant, though

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I've played around with both, back in the day, and neither did anything magical. I gained weight on the vegetarian experiment and with the low carb thing I lost weight initially and then gained it all back when I realized how utterly crappy of way it was to eat for any length of time (for me). I also experimented with primal eating-another dud as well. Sooo after I got all of that out of my system I just focused on eating at an appropriate calorie deficit, following portion sizes and keeping things simple. Shockingly I lost over 50lbs and greatly improved my health, go figure. Now in maintenance and still doing the calorie thing, still enjoying all the foods that I like to eat, still in pretty fantastic health

Nothing wrong with experimenting with different woes, but weight loss ultimately comes down to making sure you're eating the right amount of calories. And also, weight loss is for a very short period of time, it's maintenance that goes on and on and on....so make sure whatever you decide to do, you can do it for the next 20, 30, 40+ years. Weight loss means nothing if you can't keep it off long term.

I've "tried" veganism in the sense that I have been vegan for ten years. But it isn't a weight loss method and neither is vegetarianism. There are fat and slender vegans and vegetarians. It's possible to put on weight as a vegetarian or vegan. It's going to come down to calories consumed (just as it does for people who eat fewer carbohydrates).

OP,

Since Jan 1- I've been vegetarian - no meat/fish/seafood - only dairy products. I'm down from 230 to 209 lbs now.

I've tried everything -low carb (extremely hard for vegetarians lol) and then intermittent fasting. For me all of these worked but maybe they worked because one thing I didn't change was that I never came out of deficit.

That stayed consistent.

Tried the vegetarian thing, watched my cholesterol levels skyrocket. 6 months on low carb and my levels are down and I've lost 40lbs.

playdeadbunny97 wrote: »

I wouldn't do vegetarian or vegan at all because protein is important yes, but for me, I can't live off nuts and beans lol. I lose a pound every two day by just sticking to my diet of eating under 1200 calories per day plus exercise daily. And for my food, I have steel cut oatmeal for breakfast and for lunch, a four ounce organic chicken breast with 1 cup of broccoli, and for dinner either 4 oz salmon of chicken with a salad! I know it sounds boring, but you are more than welcome to snack on nuts, fruits, and vegetables throughout the day, and you can season your chicken however you like (never fry or use oil though. I also cut out all dairy and bread and drink only water. You should try it! It will definetly give results and introduce you into. Lifestylw that feels so natural and healthy! Your energy levels will also be at an all time high

You obviously haven't looked into the vegan diet properly, we don't live off of beans and nuts

We don't need NEAR as much protein as the diet industry is leading you (and buying) you to believe, you should look into taking a basic human kinetics class!

I eat a high carb vegan diet, I have a lot of energy and was a professional ballet dancer for several years on this diet never sustained an injury. I eat unlimited plant carbs, like potatoes, rice, oats, wheat, lentils etc. and haven't broken 108 pounds even on my best days of eating 300 plus carbs

I am not vegan by any means. But I definitely notice, the more I lean that way the more my whole body just seams to operate better! I also am a firm believer in eating plenty of carbs for breakfast, a little carbs for lunch and as close to no carbs/all protein for dinner. And yes, it is possible do to while eliminating animal products to! If you want any food ideas, feel free to send me a private message! Hope this helps! Good luck!

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