Vegan Low Carb for diabetes and cholesterol control

ooovanaooo
ooovanaooo Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
I love low carb vegan as it really works for me. I'm looking for others who want to try it for health benefits so we can encourage each other and share recipes and tips.

Personally I have prediabetes so a low carb diet was recommended however I found eating low carb was heavily based on animal products and wham my cholesterol increased within only six months. I didn't see the results I expected either and felt I was just chowing down on steak, salmon, cheese, butter and cream... I felt unhealthy.

So I dabbled in vegan food every now and then to see how this affected my cholesterol and wow it decreased as expected.. having already been avoiding the carbohydrates for my diabetes I found the golden number in all of this.

keep carbohydrate to around 50g per day
Vegan food only
keep it simple and only buy a packaged product if it is 10g or less carbohydrate per 100g of the food (read this on the nutrition label)

I find my diabetes is not evident on my tests every six months, bad cholesterol reduces dramatically, good cholesterol increases, my iron is at a great level for a woman my age, B12 vitamins are at a good level and best of all I lose the unhealthy fat around my tummy and trunk area rapidly.

Don't be too stressed.. just keep away from anything that is too high in carbohydrate.

Ps. I still have a little wine every night or have salmon or steak if I go out for dinner.

Motivate me and I'll return the favour, lose weight, feel healthy and see results quickly!

Replies

  • Plasicage
    Plasicage Posts: 355 Member
    I'm doing low vegan low carb, but not that low. I think the 50g falls more towards keto category. There was a Facebook group with resources on vegan keto, not active at all though. From my understanding it's all about greens and other low carb veggies, tofu/no bread meat alternatives, and some nuts or avocados as the main components to the meals.
  • ooovanaooo
    ooovanaooo Posts: 2 Member
    Heya' Plasicage thanks for your reply.... its great to hear from you. That's great that you're interested in Vegan low carb. I find I eat a much wider variety and colorful range of textures and natural foods.. It's amazing.. there is a really great website called Meat Free Keto. I'm never in ketosis which I check with Urinalysis weekly ... I need to just smell carbohydrate and I'm good to go. This is reflected in my Fasting BG results and my glucose tolerance results. I am also not so strict so if I aim for around 50g in My Fitness Pal I'm likely floating between 50 to 100g.

    Oh my.. I can't wait to share some of the awesome meals I make. Tonight I'm having green Thai curry with Konjac noodles but there are some great cracker recipes to have with grilled sweet capsicum and avocado and a little drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt. Then there's cheesy cauliflower bake with schnitzel, berry milkshakes, pizza, amazing salads, soups and sugar free dairy free chocolate. There is a huge variety of foods out there now.. there are even dairy free low carb icecreams, mayonnaise, cheese, chicken nuggets, low carb bread, burgers, sausages, bacon, Konjac noodles, I've even found real looking prawns and then there's diet soda if you're partial to a scotch and dry with lime!

    Thanks for commenting.. Can't wait to start chatting about all your vegan low carb discoveries!! I just find it so easy that I don't have to think too much about the numbers.. the rules are easy
    1. is it vegan?
    2. is it less than 10g carb per 100g on a package

    it only takes three days to see results if you fall off the wagon ... I love it xx
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
    I don't consider myself vegan at all but I do eat a lot of low carb plant based meals. I really just try to stay away from ultra processed foods, wheat, and sugar. When I was doing just regular keto many years ago it was easy to stick to 20g of carbs per day but being plant based I try to stick to less than 50g net carbs and it seems tenable.

    Lately I've cooking Organic high protein tofu from Trader Joe's and zucchini with avocado oil in our air fryer. I season with salt, pepper, and dried green chile flakes. That tofu is also really good on salads and has a decent texture.

    Explore Cuisine edamame and mung bean pasta is a treat with Rao's marinara every once in a while too.

    Trader Joe's has a palm heart pasta that was OK but it was kind of pricey. They have a lot of lower carb vegan options.


  • Pepper0ni
    Pepper0ni Posts: 12 Member
    This is all great info! I’m also trying to do low carb to help with diabetes management with 30-45g carbs per meal and 10-20g carbs per snack.

    What do you all like to snack on that’s plant based?
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 862 Member
    Pepper0ni wrote: »
    This is all great info! I’m also trying to do low carb to help with diabetes management with 30-45g carbs per meal and 10-20g carbs per snack.

    What do you all like to snack on that’s plant based?

    I personally don't do low-carb, but some of the snacks I eat that might fit your criteria are:

    Apples and peanut butter (roughly 20ish carbs for 1 tbsp and a 70g apple)
    Hummus and veggies (roughly 20ish carbs, for 6 tbsp hummus and 1/2 cup baby carrots)
    Fruit (berries of all kinds are carb-friendly, as are grapes and a lot of other more water-dense fruit)
    Roasted edamame (high protein, low-carb)
  • Xerogs
    Xerogs Posts: 328 Member
    Pepper0ni wrote: »
    This is all great info! I’m also trying to do low carb to help with diabetes management with 30-45g carbs per meal and 10-20g carbs per snack.

    What do you all like to snack on that’s plant based?

    I really don't snack that often but if I am hungry I usually grab a serving of some type of nut. Macadamias tend to be the most filling. I just have to be mindful not to over eat since they can be high calorie.

    Everyone is different when it comes to LCHF approach so you have to do what works for you. The Carb Addiction Doc on YouTube has some interesting videos on YouTube although he is mostly carnivore. I've had to adapt a lot of his information to fit with my WoE.
  • rockitwell86
    rockitwell86 Posts: 36 Member
    I'm doing low carb but not vegan. Would still love to share recipes & ideas!

    I'm not pre-diabetic yet, but I do have a family history of Type 2 diabetes, so definitely wanting to get that under control. My doctor was also concerned about my cholesterol & suggested doing lower carbs.

    I don't do a lot of red meat - mainly poultry or fish. Make sure there is a veggie in everything. Dairy I'm not doing lower fat with because of all the added sugars when they lower fat content, so I definitely understand those same concerns regarding possibly increasing my cholesterol - but we'll see how this goes.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,541 Member
    rockitwell86 wrote: »
    I'm doing low carb but not vegan. Would still love to share recipes & ideas!

    I'm not pre-diabetic yet, but I do have a family history of Type 2 diabetes, so definitely wanting to get that under control. My doctor was also concerned about my cholesterol & suggested doing lower carbs.

    I don't do a lot of red meat - mainly poultry or fish. Make sure there is a veggie in everything. Dairy I'm not doing lower fat with because of all the added sugars when they lower fat content, so I definitely understand those same concerns regarding possibly increasing my cholesterol - but we'll see how this goes.

    The bolded is kind of a myth, though commonly mentioned. If you read labels, some lowfat/nonfat products do have increased added sugars. Others do not.

    Something like nonfat Greek yogurt will have somewhat more inherent sugars (the ones the cow put there), but also somewhat more protein. That's from the simple fact that if the full-fat yogurt has 4% fat (say), and when you take out the fat, a container of size X will be filled up with the parts of the food that aren't fat, in order to have a full container. There's also going to tend to be more protein in the nonfat product, for the same reason, unless other aspects of the formula are differed.

    Certainly, the inherent (cow-provided) sugars in dairy are still a carbohydrate, and diabetics (or those eating low carb) may need to manage those carbs alongside other eating . . . but it's not true that all low/non-fat products have added sugars for palatability. It varies by product.

    My nonfat Greek yogurt, which I eat daily, has 7 grams of carbs and 18 grams of protein per 2/3 cup serving (100 calories); 4g of the carbs are sugars; there are zero added sugars. All that's in it (ingredient list) is milk and yogurt cultures. Similar for the lowfat cottage cheese, and two types of reduced-fat regular cheese, that are currently in my fridge: Pretty minimal carbs (around 3g/serving), zero added sugar in either the nutritional label or the ingredient list.

    Products like this can be useful for people who are trying to cut calories, if not going full keto or ultra-low carb, because the ratio of other (non-carb) nutrients to calories is very favorable. Fat is calorie dense. People pursuing keto eat more of it, usually, and some people find it sating. Other than that, reducing fat can help with cutting calories.
  • Gayle22864
    Gayle22864 Posts: 9 Member
    I am also trying to do low carb on a vegan diet. My dietician (not a vegan) wants me to keep it to 90 g per day. I have been finding it hard to do, so I was hoping others were trying the same thing. Can I get some friends who I can trade ideas with (and recipes). Friend me if you want to.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Gayle22864 wrote: »
    I am also trying to do low carb on a vegan diet. My dietician (not a vegan) wants me to keep it to 90 g per day. I have been finding it hard to do, so I was hoping others were trying the same thing. Can I get some friends who I can trade ideas with (and recipes). Friend me if you want to.

    Were you already eating vegan for ethical reasons? Are you now trying to be low carb for medical reasons?
  • Gayle22864
    Gayle22864 Posts: 9 Member
    @kshama2001 Yes, vegan for the ethics, low carb for medical. I think my dietician's suggestion is actually too low, but I still try to keep the carbs as low as I can.

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