Veganism

I am vegan

Vegetarian, but in planning on cutting out dairy eventually. Don't eat eggs either.

Diamondgirl369 wrote: »

I have been vegan for a little over a month and am struggling with weight gain and how to eat in terms of carbs and or amounts to sustain workouts and so on. Is it high carbs in the morning, throughout the day or what? I was also told to eat large quantities of fruit and it seems like I can't eat so many calories to make sure I'm getting enough vitamins. I have osteoporosis and have had concerns with low potassium. Just wondering if anyone else has had to deal with these concerns. Any ideas or suggestions for me? Want to share your journey and challenges with me? Thanks

There isn't really a "right" way to do vegan (except for the obvious, of course), and even high carb low fat vegan diets can vary a lot.

I follow a HCLF vegan diet and I get the bulk of my calories from starchy foods like oats, beans, rice, and whole wheat, as well as trying to get in a decent amount of fruits and veggies. I'd guess I eat about 2-3 cups of fruit a day, and 1-2 cups cooked or 2-4 cups raw non-starchy veggies. I eat avocado and nuts if I want to, but I avoid the empty calories of added oils, including margarine, "mayo" and oily dressings.

If you have osteoporosis I'd highly recommend getting your calcium and vitamin D levels checked, and supplementing if necessary. I'd also keep an eye on your protein intake and be open to using plant based protein powders if your intake from tofu, beans, grains and veggies isn't meeting your minimum requirements (at maintenance it's rarely a problem, but when calories are restricted, sometimes more concentrated protein sources are needed. Look up seitan as well, if you don't have gluten issues)

If you are concerned about potassium, adding a banana or two and some potatoes will boost your intake.

Finally, if you want to hear from people who really know what they are talking about, Google "the vegan RD" and "Jeff Novick, RD" for all the evidence based nutrition and vegan weight management advice you could ever want.