Can vegetarianism and low carb marry and live happily ever after?

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julanig612
julanig612 Posts: 40 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok so to cut a whole long story short I decided this year to become vegetarian. Personal choice - I love animals and despite a desperate love of all meat I can't justify it to myself anymore.
I am also terribly insulin resistant and heard that low carb can help with that. I need to lose weight desperately for my health, I am not suggesting unhealthily or "too fast" but it is a priority. I have a job that requires a lot of me physically and I won't be able to carry on at the weight I am at.
Ps I tried losing weight counting calories and at first it worked great but my body is not responding the way it usually does. Gotta get my systems up and running again. I'm too young to feel the way I do.

Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Regarding the counting calories bit, your body will still count your intake of calories even if you’re low carb.
  • gigius72
    gigius72 Posts: 183 Member
    edited January 2021
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    julanig612 wrote: »
    Ok so to cut a whole long story short I decided this year to become vegetarian. Personal choice - I love animals and despite a desperate love of all meat I can't justify it to myself anymore.
    I am also terribly insulin resistant and heard that low carb can help with that. I need to lose weight desperately for my health, I am not suggesting unhealthily or "too fast" but it is a priority. I have a job that requires a lot of me physically and I won't be able to carry on at the weight I am at.
    Ps I tried losing weight counting calories and at first it worked great but my body is not responding the way it usually does. Gotta get my systems up and running again. I'm too young to feel the way I do.

    Insulins resistance is not caused by carbs, but by fat... Unless you have other underline health issues that might cause it. If you are interested in details go and look on YouTube videos from "mastering diabetes". He's a doctor (for sure nutritionist, but I think he's a doctor as well) with diabetes type 1 who's lived as vegan for decades. He eats easily up to 600 carbs a day.
    As per losing weight depends only on how you want to do it. There is lots of ways: low fat, low carbs, calorie counting you have to just pick the one which works for you.
    Since you are already insuline resistant I would give a try to a low fat way of eating. As a plus there is no calorie counting.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    There are people who do vegetarian and low carbohydrate. As far as the "happily ever after," I think it would depend on how you like to eat. For some people, it seems to be relatively easy while others miss certain foods too much (in that respect, it's not much different than non-vegetarians and low carbohydrate).

    The main difference, I think, is that you're eliminating some foods that tend to be favorites on a low carbohydrate diet, specifically meat. And the other wrinkle is that you're limiting some foods that may be staples for some vegetarians -- things like grains, fruits, legumes, and vegetables.

    You'll have to look at how low carbohydrate you want to go and what foods you'd like to consume frequently and begin planning from there.

    The low carbohydrate vegetarians I know of do tend to consume dairy and eggs as staple foods and use them to help meet their protein needs (of course, if concern for animals is a motivation for your dietary switch, using dairy and eggs as staple foods isn't necessarily going to be a great option). They're typically limiting grains, fruits, and legumes. Nuts and seeds are also often part of the diet - if weight loss is a goal, you'll just want to be mindful of the calories here. Starchy vegetables are usually limited, if not eliminated. Consumption of vegetables tends to vary. Very low carbohydrate vegetarians usually wind up consuming vegetables in more limited quantities. If your goal is relatively high on the low carbohydrate scale, you'll be able to eat more. Some people would see this range of foods and think "Okay, that looks easy!" If you're like me and that looks like a harder way to live, that's something to contemplate when you're deciding whether or not this could be a happily ever after for you.

    With your IR, is a referral to an RD an option? I know several non-meat eaters with special needs who have consulted with an RD and gotten some great tips for meeting their nutritional needs and managing their weight (if that's a need they have).

    Whatever you decide to do, best wishes!

  • julanig612
    julanig612 Posts: 40 Member
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    Thank you, you are hitting the nail on the head with so many of my concerns. I do think an RD would be able to give me the best situational advice. With any luck the low carb will only be for a time to reach my goals and then I can slowly transition back to normalcy while keeping an eye on my weight.
    Thank you for the comprehensive and helpful reply🤩
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I'm low carb herbivore.

    I eat a lot of salads and stir fry veggies (skip the rice or pasta), and also a lot of crock pot lentil or bean stews, as well as casseroles that I can cut into 6-8 portions and eat over. A few days (or freeze!).

    One of my fave meals is a veggie lasagna using thinly planked zucchini in place of the pasta and crumbled firm tofu with nutritional yeast in place of the cheese (I don't do eggs or dairy). My omnivore friends love it!

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