Being vegan and eating too much carbs and sugar

beastmode2718 · April 2018

Any body else run into this? I constantly have to watch my macros and was wondering how to eat less carbs on a vegan diet. Is it possible? So many people are on a low carb diet but I see a lot of high carb vegans that look amazing. So do carbs make you fat or do animal products?

kimny72 · April 2018

beastmode2718 wrote: »

Any body else run into this? I constantly have to watch my macros and was wondering how to eat less carbs on a vegan diet. Is it possible? So many people are on a low carb diet but I see a lot of high carb vegans that look amazing. So do carbs make you fat or do animal products?

Neither. Excess calories make you fat.

As long as you are hitting basic values of protein and fat for health (0.6-0.8g of protein per lb of goal body weight, 0.3g of fat per lb of goal body weight), and you feel good and you feel satiated, don't worry about carbs.

cwolfman13 · April 2018

beastmode2718 wrote: »

Any body else run into this? I constantly have to watch my macros and was wondering how to eat less carbs on a vegan diet. Is it possible? So many people are on a low carb diet but I see a lot of high carb vegans that look amazing. So do carbs make you fat or do animal products?

Neither carbs nor animal products make you fat...calories in excess of what your body needs are stored as fat.

Plants are typically carbs...so yeah...most vegans are going to have a higher carb diet.

WinoGelato · April 2018

beastmode2718 wrote: »

Any body else run into this? I constantly have to watch my macros and was wondering how to eat less carbs on a vegan diet. Is it possible? So many people are on a low carb diet but I see a lot of high carb vegans that look amazing. So do carbs make you fat or do animal products?

Too many calories make you fat, regardless of whether they come from carbs, fats, or proteins... animal products, fruits, vegetables, whole foods or Oreos.

If you don't have a medical reason to restrict carbs/sugars - and you are happy with your vegan lifestyle, I see no reason to be bothered by exceeding arbitrary carb and sugar goals that were set by MFP (If that's what you're referring to when you say eating too much of these). The macro and micro goals are customizable, many people don't even look at sugar and trade it out for something like Fiber that they find to be more relevant for their individual goals.

Calories are what matter for weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain. It all comes down to calories.

AnvilHead · April 2018

Low carb/keto and veganism are probably the two most diametrically opposed diets in existence. It's kind of like saying "I'm a pacifist and I do yoga, but I want to be a UFC fighter". I mean, it can be done - but why make things so difficult and painful by combining two things which are basically incompatible at their core?

As others have said, neither carbs nor animal products make you fat. Too many calories makes you fat. Good read here which explains a lot of things in a lot more detail: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-we-get-fat.html/

AmandaDanceMore · April 2018

Plants have a lot of carbs, but it isn’t the same as eating a loaf of bread or a box of cookies. Fruit has sugar, but it isn’t like eating a bag of Swedish fish (wooo! Accidentally vegan!!!). If you're losing weight an feel good, then why change? Adjust your macros a bit. Maybe a little less fat to make up for the carbs (this is kinda sorta what I’ve done).

huronl · April 2018

I have been vegan for 20+ years. I eat whatever I want as often as I want. My diet is very high in carbs: fruit & whole grains. I have never had an issue with weight, I would not mind putting a few pounds on but I don’t worry about it. I believe in listening to your body, eat Whole Foods in their natural state- organic if possible, and stop eating when you are full. move all day, wether that is traditional exercise or just being active.
I don’t count calories, carbs, etc. In summary, do what’s right for your body and do not get hung up on numbers. Good luck!

Katzedernacht · April 2018

Some people do go "low carb" vegan, although it's tricky as you can guess! And low carb for us is not like 30 grams or anything lol, I deem that impossible. I have my carb intake on around 180 grams a day, sometimes I eat less, sometimes a bit more, but what I always aim to is to hit my protein goal and fat goal, of course minding the total calorie intake.

Truth be told, you can fit in the food you like, just keep macros and calories in mind. I even sometimes have (vegan of course) ice cream :P

janejellyroll · April 2018

For vegans, I find it is often more useful to focus on getting sufficient protein and fat rather than just trying to restrict carbohydrates. Unless you have a medical condition that is helped by reducing carbohydrates, I think "too many carbohydrates" isn't an issue unless you find they're crowding out other things that you need.

So are you getting the protein and fat that you need?

Being vegan and eating too much carbs and sugar

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