Less carbs for vegetarian /vegan diet

whorinabrown
whorinabrown Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all !
I'm trying to cut out carbs I think I'm eating too much and I've been vegetarian for almost 2 years but I don't know what to do

Replies

  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited February 2017
    Iv lost 80 pounds in 9 months on a very high carb diet with pcos (not supposed to eat many carbs with pcos it can mess up our blood levels easily but works for me). Any reason your cutting out carbs? Their not the devil. Hard to be low carb as a vegetarian. Low carbs help some people maintain a calorie defecit, Whether directly they dont find carbs satisfying so eating less makes them eat less or just cutting out food options makes them eat less. Thats about all it can help with if you dont have a medical condition requiring low carb.

    edit: Carbs mak me feel satisfied and so i eat them. They are nutrients not bad and dont make you fat. Overeating makes you fat.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,030 Member
    Speaking as a long term (43 years) vegetarian, it is harder for us to cut carbs to an extremely low level without sacrificing nutrition. (In general, the more categories of healthy food one cuts out of one's eating, the more attention it takes to get good nutrition. It can still be done; it's just more effort.)

    The main approach would be to look at your diary daily, and see whether there are foods that have a higher level of carbs, but not enough nutrition, tastiness or satisfaction for you, for the amount of carbs they bring. Try to identify other foods you like that fill a similar role, are nutritious, and that you like, and eat those instead. Over time, your eating will gradually move in the desired direction.

    There's no question that to lose 60+ pounds, I did eat fewer carb-heavy foods. That wasn't motivated by a "must cut carbs" mindset, but by the kind of diary review mentioned above, looking not for optional carbs, but optional calories. The foods that weren't worth their calorie "cost" to me tended to be higher-carb foods.

    Some specific things I did were to eat fewer of what I now think of as "filler foods": Rice, wheat pasta, breads. Instead, I either eat what I would've put in the sandwich or on the pasta (maybe bulked up with extra veggies), or choose higher-protein alternatives, like quinoa or chickpea pasta (I find protein satiating). I still eat carb foods that are decent protein sources (like legumes) or that I personally love (like oatmeal).

    Even while losing around 2 pounds a week near the start of my weight loss, I was eating 150-200g carbs every day, and it didn't stop weight loss.

    I'd still ask: Why do you want, or believe you need, to cut your carbs? (Rhetorical question - you don't have to answer. :) ) It's unlikely to be necessary for weight loss - though some people do feel it makes them less crave-y - and it makes it harder for a vegetarian to get good nutrition. If you have strong reasons, then full speed ahead.
  • KettleTO
    KettleTO Posts: 144 Member
    I agree with previous posters. As a vegetarian, to get protein without carbs tricky. I focus on complex carbs (low GI). I eat a lot of beans and lentils. While I'm lacto-ovo, I don't like eggs and won't eat them if I can taste or smell them. Reading low-carb sites did stop me from being so leery of fat.

    the closest i get to low carb is tofu scramble.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Try the Low Carber Daily group. There are a few vegetarians and vegans, and even a few vegetarians who are doing keto levels of LCHF (below 50g carbs/day). http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Unless you have a medical reason to cut carbs, you shouldn't feel pressured to do it. Low carb is one way of eating that works for some people, but like any other lifestyle choice, it doesn't work for everyone. It's just that: one of many ways you can choose to eat.

    I have been a vegetarian for 12 years now. Over the past 2+ years, I've lost 92 pounds; I'm 8 pounds from my goal. So I know quite a lot about being vegetarian while trying to lose weight, and being vegetarian while not trying to lose weight. I have never been intentionally low carb. However, I do eat fewer starchy foods--potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, etc.--than I used to. That's because they are relatively high calorie and I don't find them to be filling, not because I'm intentionally trying to cut carbs.

    Many great vegetarian protein sources have carbs in them, and I've found that it's been far more important for me to focus on getting enough protein. I try to stay within my macros as set by MFP's defaults, rather than restricting carbs further. However, I honestly pay very little attention to carbs.
  • Vegankid192
    Vegankid192 Posts: 14 Member
    The only carbs you should cut out are refined carbs like white bread, white sugar ect. There is an Australian man that just completed a year of just eating potatoes(white and sweet potatoes) and lost a ton of weight and potatoes are 90% carbs. Hope this helps. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1jo7mHwQqZNdGS1JS7QpxQ

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