New, Need Advice

[kkfashionista]

Hi everyone! I am a 24 y/o woman that was diagnosed with PCOS a year ago.

My battle with weight is nothing new -- I was overweight although not too big for most of my young adult life and then lost 70 lbs through exercise mostly with some diet thrown in there.

My highest weight came about when I started taking Lexapro - in 6 months I gained 35 lbs.

That pushed me up to 250 and I have bounced back and forth with that weight for the past two years. I have gotten down to 220, but I'm now back up to 230.

So anyhow, I know I have issues with carbs and sugars. I crave them constantly. I don't really over eat but I am addicted to sweets so I would forgo other foods for them.

I am interested in a low(er) carb diet, but am a vegetarian so I'm not sure if this is possible. Most low carb diets I see are heavy on meat.

Can anyone recommend a good plan for vegetarians wanting to low carb it?

[JuliaL]

I'm not an expert on vegetarianism, but I think it's difficult to do a low carb diet that is vegetarian. I know there are more informed people than I on this board, but may I ask if you are a vegetarian because of health reason? Moral reasons? Because if it's about health, I don't think it's unhealthy to eat meat, and you won't find too many low carb advocates who do.

If you have objections to meat because of other reasons, are you willing to eat dairy or eggs? You need protein in your diet (as I'm sure you know), and the only sources of complete protein are meat, dairy and eggs (Beans have protein, but not all of the amino acides. Quinoa has all of the amino acids, but it's hard to eat quinoa every day.)

Dr. Atkins said:

If you are a strict vegetarian you really can't do the Induction phase. The three later phases could be managed but food selections on a regimen that restricts carbohydrates and simultaneously excludes animal foods are limited. In general, I've found that a person who will not eat any animal foods will not do Atkins permanently. They find it too boring. But if you are willing to eat fish and chicken, plus eggs and cheese you can certainly do Atkins without eating red meat.

[kkfashionista]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

I'm not an expert on vegetarianism, but I think it's difficult to do a low carb diet that is vegetarian. I know there are more informed people than I on this board, but may I ask if you are a vegetarian because of health reason? Moral reasons? Because if it's about health, I don't think it's unhealthy to eat meat, and you won't find too many low carb advocates who do.

If you have objections to meat because of other reasons, are you willing to eat dairy or eggs? You need protein in your diet (as I'm sure you know), and the only sources of complete protein are meat, dairy and eggs (Beans have protein, but not all of the amino acides. Quinoa has all of the amino acids, but it's hard to eat quinoa every day.)

Dr. Atkins said:

Thank you for your reply! I do eat vegetarian for moral reasons, above health reasons. I was a vegetarian as a teen, and abandoned it later in life and came back to it about a year ago.

I have been consuming a small amount of fish out of desperation for lower carb options in food (I'm not comfortable with this though) and although I was vegan for awhile it was too difficult to continue so I do also eat eggs and dairy.

With my vegetarian diet, I have to say I am not great at it. I rely more heavily on carbs and dairy and don't eat enough *vegetables* in my meals. I cut out a food group, but didn't really add in enough other things to complete my nutritional needs.

[JuliaL]

It might benefit you to learn more about how carbs affect your appetite, your blood sugar and your overall health, and why protein is so important. Protein Power is a great book that explains it well.

I'm sure you can do low carb in a healthy way if you include enough eggs and dairy. You will have to put more effort into meal planning, though. It's not easy to go to a restaurant and get a meal that contains complete protein that's not meat, for example.

I would also do some research about soy. It's a controversial subject, but soy can cause a lot of problems, especially for women, since it's a phytoestrogen. Since you have PCOS you should probably learn more about how soy may influence your hormone balance. Soy is not all it's cracked up to be, and I know a lot of vegetarians rely on it for protein.

[kkfashionista]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

It might benefit you to learn more about how carbs affect your appetite, your blood sugar and your overall health, and why protein is so important. Protein Power is a great book that explains it well.

I'm sure you can do low carb in a healthy way if you include enough eggs and dairy. You will have to put more effort into meal planning, though. It's not easy to go to a restaurant and get a meal that contains complete protein that's not meat, for example.

I would also do some research about soy. It's a controversial subject, but soy can cause a lot of problems, especially for women, since it's a phytoestrogen. Since you have PCOS you should probably learn more about how soy may influence your hormone balance. Soy is not all it's cracked up to be, and I know a lot of vegetarians rely on it for protein.

I have read up on the soy issues as well so I try to avoid that also, which is when I began to rely more heavily on cheese/bread as a meal . I used to grab easily accessible soy options and now I don't do that anymore.

I have a bunch of vegetarian books on order so I suppose I could check through for the lower carb recipes.

Is there anything specific to look for in regards to how many carbs to eat per meal/day?

[JuliaL]

Originally Posted by kkfashionista

I have read up on the soy issues as well so I try to avoid that also, which is when I began to rely more heavily on cheese/bread as a meal . I used to grab easily accessible soy options and now I don't do that anymore.

I have a bunch of vegetarian books on order so I suppose I could check through for the lower carb recipes.

Is there anything specific to look for in regards to how many carbs to eat per meal/day?

That's something you'll have to experiment with. On Atkins you start with 20g of carbs per day, but as previously stated, it will be hard to do a vegetarian version of induction.

If I were you I would start by figuring out my current carb/protein/fat consumption and tweak it from there. Reduce the carbs, up the fat and protein. A good rule of thumb (not necessarily low carb per se) is to eat to your lean body mass. Figure out how many lbs. of lean mass you have (there are several body fat calculators online) and eat 1g of protein and 1g of carbs for each lb. of lean body mass, and .5g of fat for each pound. Again, that's not a low carb approach, but it's a balanced way to eat if you're not doing a strictly low carb diet.

Any carbs you eat should be from whole foods, such as oats, veggies, sweet potatoes, quinoa, etc. I'd stay away from fruit for a while until you have lost some weight. Fruit may cause your blood sugar to fluctuate and could cause cravings. Hope that helps.

[kkfashionista]

Originally Posted by JuliaL

That's something you'll have to experiment with. On Atkins you start with 20g of carbs per day, but as previously stated, it will be hard to do a vegetarian version of induction.

If I were you I would start by figuring out my current carb/protein/fat consumption and tweak it from there. Reduce the carbs, up the fat and protein. A good rule of thumb (not necessarily low carb per se) is to eat to your lean body mass. Figure out how many lbs. of lean mass you have (there are several body fat calculators online) and eat 1g of protein and 1g of carbs for each lb. of lean body mass, and .5g of fat for each pound. Again, that's not a low carb approach, but it's a balanced way to eat if you're not doing a strictly low carb diet.

Any carbs you eat should be from whole foods, such as oats, veggies, sweet potatoes, quinoa, etc. I'd stay away from fruit for a while until you have lost some weight. Fruit may cause your blood sugar to fluctuate and could cause cravings. Hope that helps.

Thank you so much, you have been extremely helpful to me!