Low carb and vegetarian ????

[miss_thenorth]

I need a little help from my low carb firends (Hi wifey!!) Hubby works with a Hindu--who is vegetarian due to religious beliefs. (Saying that to clarify that he is not going to chsange his belief system.) He eats eggs and dairy.

He has been in Canada for about 10 years and has embraced the North american diet. Translated to saying he is now fat. He knows I lost some weight going low carb and asked hubby if I could give hime some pointers. i can, but I followed the eat fat get thin based plan (10-15% carbs, 20-25% prot, 60-70% fat)--where animal fat is highlighted and emphasized, as is high protein from animal sources.

I have passed along Fitday to help him track his intake, and have mentioned to him that he needs to load up on healthy vegetables and fruits (minimally).But i am stumped ast the protein. I mean, I f I were to go low carb on a egg and dairy diet I would get sick of eggs so quickly, and beans lentils etc are carb-y. I understand there si alot of dietary fiber there too, but, .... is it possible? and then there is fats--the onl good ones are either coconut oil cold pressed olive oil, and for me, I do use sunflower oil (for mayonnaise)

IF, and I realize this is a big if, you were to go low carb on a vegetarian diet, what would you say would be the base amount of carbs you would tolerate each day. and acceptable fat sources?

I thank you

 

[freemotion]

You already hit the basics....lots of LGI veggies and lots of eggs, cheese, milk, cream. Limit carbs to good sources only such as beans and yams and such, and for weight loss, the average is 2-4 servings of carbs a day.

Most vegetarians are carb-atarians and don't realize that beans, lentils, corn, peas, potatoes, etc, are to be considered as good carb servings. Many live on these items along with soy. He needs to avoid soy, especially since he will eat eggs and dairy. No fat-free dairy, or low fat, either. Cook those eggs in butter, too. He can get more animal fat into his diet by focusing on butter.

 

[Wifezilla]

What she said!

One big concern for vegetarians is B12. Whole milk and milk products (yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc...) can take care of that. If a person isn't getting enough of those, there is a type of nutritional yeast that is fortified with b12. I think Redstar makes it. This might be more of an issue for vegans, but it is a good thing to keep in mind if you are a vegetarian that doesn't dig dairy.

 

[Beekissed]

My folks were vegan for over 15 years and they used olive oil liberally for their fats. They also used raw almonds and other nuts...not peanuts. They concentrated on raw fruits and veggies, garlic and vinegar, olive oils and nuts, added legumes and whole grains later and maintained a perfect weight for their frames. Not all carbs are bad and your body needs them....any diet that eliminates all of something essential to homeostasis, like fats, carbs, salt, sugar, etc. will eventually result in a deficiency problem. Simple sugars like the kind found in fruits and honey are good for the body...even for diabetics.

When it comes down to basics, "everthing in moderation" is always a good rule to follow.

 

[Wifezilla]

Not all carbs are bad and your body needs them

There is medically no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Some are worse than others, that is for sure. The few organs that require glucose in the body (kidney..part of the eye...etc...) can readily get it from the liver if your diet has enough protein.

any diet that eliminates all of something essential to homeostasis, like fats, carbs, salt, sugar, etc. will eventually result in a deficiency problem

There are essential fatty acids that you will die without. Salt is required or you will die. Protein is required. Sugar is not. Sugar wasn't even available to a majority of the planet until very, very recently.

Simple sugars like the kind found in fruits and honey are good for the body...even for diabetics.

I know quite a few doctors, including one that is a diabetic himself that would disagree with this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
http://diabetes-book.com/book/mylife.shtml

When it comes down to basics, "everthing in moderation" is always a good rule to follow.

Too bad it doesn't work for about 40% of the population. I "moderated" myself all the way up to 300 lbs at one point.

 

[Beekissed]

Opinions vary.

 

[Wifezilla]

They sure do. That is why it is always a good idea to study the studies the doctors, magazines and newspapers base their opinions on. "Good Calories Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes is a good place to start. Warning: It is written for grad students so might take a while to plow through. He does have a consumer based book called "Why we get fat and what to do about it". I think that is out in paperback right now.

But if you want the hard science and history, go with the first book. It is in a lot of libraries.

 

[CrimsonRose]

don't forget that bodies vary as well... what works for some may not work for others...

example... friend of mine went vegetarian... she felt great! something in the meats just made her feel sluggish and bloated? I tried a similar diet and got really sick... I need meat!!!

I also tried a high fat diet *only the good fats... and gained like 10lbs in one week... I still ate in moderation, till I felt full... and even though I felt good on the diet... I honestly couldn't continue it unless I wanted to end up a beached whale by the end of the year... LOL

I also tried to cut sugars and carbs... from my diet and after 3 weeks I just felt drained... I felt good... health wise but I had NO energy and wanted to sleep all the time... I lost weight but it wasn't worth the sluggish feeling I felt...

so best diet that works for me is more of the moderation diet like beekissed stated... Not saying it works for everyone... so even though docs might not say you need sugars my body tells me I do... and since I've been misdiagnosed many times over... I'll put my faith in what my body is telling me... Since doing this... I haven't been to a doctor in years... when I was younger I had monthly doctor visits to monitor my blood count... but that being said... you never know until you have tried it!

 

[Beekissed]

Yep. There is no one answer to all ills and when in doubt, it's often best just to partake in things in moderation. I remember back when fats were the enemy and there would always be one in the crowd that could produce all the wonderful scientific data against fats.

Then there was low sodium diets and they were all the fad and were supposed to maintain good cardio health....all the evidence pointed to this. Then came along the low carb fads and there was so much evidence that this was the cure for all the dietary woes. Then they decided it was too much soy in diets that was causing all the dietary problems....and then in danced evidence that whole wheat is bad for you and causes all kinds of dastardly intestinal difficulties.

Me? I've been a nurse for 18 years and have read all the doctor's journals on this or that new evidence of this or that proven fact of what is supposedly killing us this year. I've seen the results of people limiting all of this or that from their diets and how their health faired from that....and the pills they had to start taking as a result of their deficiencies. You might say I've seen the elephant when it comes to what the public deems nutritional wisdom as dictated by the latest research and it sure keeps folks busy and convinces them that they have the answer for it all.

In the end I've found that good wholesome foods with an emphasis on fresh fruits, veggies, simple sugars and fats in moderation, red, lean meat in moderation, no processed anything, good clean water to drink and plenty of regular exercise and rest, not to mention peace of mind and heart, produces more healthy people than anything else currently being written by so-called learned scholars.