Vegetarian LCHF?
jetsamflotsam
Posts: 170 Member
Soooo... I have a low key aversion to meat and eggs that comes and goes without rhyme or reason. Today I realized I cannot watch LCHF recipe videos on youtube cause it really amps up the aversion... SO much meat! SO much FAT! I've been vegetarian a number of times in my life due to this aversion, and although my MIND loves eating vegetarian the most, my BODY does not cope well at all with all the carbs, so I KNOW this is the best way for me to eat. Tonight while making taco meat for dinner the raw meat was really grossing me out and then I was just watching some youtube videos about LCHF and it's just SO MUCH MEAT AND FAT!! I don't know what to do about this aversion... any suggestions? I'm not always grossed out by meat, but when I am it can last years... The last time it happened I couldn't eat meat for about 3 years... Is there such a thing as vegetarian LCHF?
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Now that I think about it, I could eat pescetarian without issue... Hmmm...2
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Howzabout dairy?1
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Yeah, dairy is fine as long as it's organic. I'm allergic to whey so I have to be a bit careful and can't eat things like ricotta or whey protein powder.1
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There's a big support group for vegetarians and vegans using keto on Reddit, not sure about MFP. Look on the main /r/keto subreddit for the links!3
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jetsamflotsam wrote: »Soooo... I have a low key aversion to meat and eggs that comes and goes without rhyme or reason. Today I realized I cannot watch LCHF recipe videos on youtube cause it really amps up the aversion... SO much meat! SO much FAT! I've been vegetarian a number of times in my life due to this aversion, and although my MIND loves eating vegetarian the most, my BODY does not cope well at all with all the carbs, so I KNOW this is the best way for me to eat. Tonight while making taco meat for dinner the raw meat was really grossing me out and then I was just watching some youtube videos about LCHF and it's just SO MUCH MEAT AND FAT!! I don't know what to do about this aversion... any suggestions? I'm not always grossed out by meat, but when I am it can last years... The last time it happened I couldn't eat meat for about 3 years... Is there such a thing as vegetarian LCHF?
This could be me two years ago, before I found I was T2D and was forced to listen to my body or accept diabetes being "a degenerative irreversible disease". I tried vegetarian keto and couldn't make it work for me (I don't do well on large quantities of dairy).
What helped me was information: when I found how everything I believed I knew about how my body worked and how vegetarianism was good for the planet was basically a lie, it slowly changed my mind. Btw, there's absolutely no need to eat fat just for the sake of eating fat, I find some youtube videos take it too far. You need fat to stabilize your mood and control cravings but most good quality animal food is already "high fat", there's no need to add more fat unless you're always hungry.
About the health side of LCHF it's easy to get info, not so much about the environment side of things. There's an amazing book that really cured my cognitive dissonance between what I believed to be true and what I was eating on LCHF:
amazon.co.uk/Vegetarian-Myth-Lierre-Keith/dp/1604860804/
I still don't love meat and fat but I now find them more appealing than carbage. And I did reverse diabetes.
The food we like is largely a matter of habit and perception. I know you're in a difficult position right now but keep nourishing your body and giving more info to your mind and it'll get easier. Good luck!
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Aversions to animal products come in many forms, and carbage need not be the inevitable alternative, even for diabetics. Creativity matters, too.2
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Google ecoatkins. Or, conversely, vegetarian south beach diet. It seems to me that you could eat plenty of nuts and seeds, avocados, dairy, eggs, some fish, and tons of green vegetables, some lower carb legumes and be fine. You don't need to resort to carBAGE, but you probably can't do ketosis over the long term. Approaching it with net carbs in mind and you'd probably be fine.3
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When I am feeling that way, I eat a bunch of hummus. The carb count is higher than what I would normally eat, but it doesn't seem to effect my digestion or stall my weight loss.2
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jetsamflotsam wrote: »Now that I think about it, I could eat pescetarian without issue... Hmmm...
This was going to be my suggestion! I've been pescetarian for 14 years, and have done several rounds of LC dieting without issue. I still only eat seafood 2-3 times per week, not every day, because eating any animal product too much just makes me feel... guilty and weird and like, excessive. I think you should listen to your instincts about your aversion to meat. I originally became pescetarian due to being just plain grossed out by meat throughout my childhood and it wasn't until later after I had already stopped eating meat that I learned about all the terrible meat industry practices, which just cemented my decision. I think there is a deeper reason for these instincts.
I'd say don't force yourself to eat anything you don't like. There's no reason to.
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Thank you for all the kind words and understanding. Makes me feel a lot better... I'm kind of stuck eating meat for the next couple weeks because we've already done our grocery shopping and we can't afford to go again... but I'm going to try cutting out the red meat and chicken for a start and see how that feels in my body. I know my mind will be much happier! I'm fortunate I live by the pacific ocean so fresh wild fish and seafood is readily available here.4
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My nutritionist says he sees vegetarian marathon runners and folk who have bodies that almost shut down when they do not eat meat. He was personally surprised how much variation can occur between people who eat the same foods. Suspect gut biome is part of the story. His conclusion was Listen to your body and find what works for you.3
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SamandaIndia wrote: »My nutritionist says he sees vegetarian marathon runners and folk who have bodies that almost shut down when they do not eat meat. He was personally surprised how much variation can occur between people who eat the same foods. Suspect gut biome is part of the story. His conclusion was Listen to your body and find what works for you.
I'm a huge advocate for body awareness and intuitive eating. Because my family has so many allergies we have made it our practice to listen to our bodies and when something makes us feel unwell we stop eating it. I was able to eliminate bloating, gas, and stomach pain entirely by doing this. I feel good when I eat animal protein, and lethargic and low in energy when I don't, so I know I can't eliminate it entirely... but I have never tried eating just fish and dairy animal protein, so it's worth experimenting. I can always add the other meat in less frequently if necessary. It's very encouraging to hear it is do-able though.1 -
SamandaIndia wrote: »Suspect gut biome is part of the story. .
Have you ever ready about the blood type diets? I suspect our gut biome and genetics - including blood type - as well as epigenetics- the way our bodies have changed due to environmental factors like antibiotics and toxins and stress - all impact on what works for us.
I'm blood type A- and by chance knew that I do not do well with beef or most red meats, can do some chicken, and most fish are ok. Though I don't tolerate grains or legumes. .. So I don't challenge that.
.. Then of course there are psychological factors that run deep, and sometimes not so helpfully. I've met a few women over the years whose sensibilities and want for justice led them to care more about animals than they cared for themselves. For some of them, listening to their inner voice was not a kindness, cos sometimes our inner voices are based on earlier struggles rather than clarity.
And having the wisdom to calibrate the difference.. well I suppose that's one of the invitations of life's journey.1 -
I'm blood type O+ and here's what my first google about it says... "This blood type has a very well-developed ability to digest meals that contain both protein and fat. This is because two chemicals used by the digestive tract, an enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase, and a lipoprotein called ApoB48 are secreted into the digestive tract in much higher amounts by type O's. These digestive factors greatly enhance the ability of type O to not only metabolize the cholesterol in animal products more efficiently, but also greatly increase their ability to heal their digestive tract and better assimilate calcium. However, these very same strengths come at a cost: in Type O simple carbohydrates, especially from grains, are more easily converted into fats and triglycerides. Many grains also contain reactive proteins called lectins that can ramp up the type O immune system, resulting in unwanted inflammation and auto-immunity." (source: http://www.dadamo.com/txt/index.pl?1004)
Yup... that pretty much sums up what I know of my body...
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ha ha ha ha.. some things just aren't the way we want them to be1
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