Want to get a LC Vegetarian thread started...

[daisyHair]

If you are a vegetarian and doing LC lets talk!

I have had some success in the past doing Veggie LC but got bored with it.

Wonder if Wolfgang is still here?

Anyway I have been mostly veggie (2 months Raw actually) for the last three months and want to come back to LC but REALLY want to keep it veggie as much as I can.

So if you are having luck doing it the veggie way please give me some positive feedback!

Thanks gang.

[SmileySue]

DaisyHair!!

No input on a vegetarian LC lifestyle, but I wanted to say welcome back!! I was wondering where you'd run off too.

I do love my veggies, so I'm going to keep up with this thread.

[rachel_honey]

Hi DaisyHair!

I'm a vegetarian low carber too; I've been a vegetarian for almost 19 years now & first started LC dieting last year to get bikini ready for a holiday & it worked really well for me. I used Rose Elliot's "The Vegetarian Low Carb Diet: The Fast, No-hunger Weight Loss Diet for Vegetarians" with a bit of Atkins mixed in.

Unfortunately while on holiday I fell off the wagon...the all inclusive buffet got the better of me ...I probably would've been fine had I got back to it once I got home but I gave in to post-holiday blues & self-medicated with carbs-galore.

I would say it's definately a lot harder to do LC as a vegetarian; since most of the proteins we can eat also contain carbs but it's well worth it. I've tried every diet under the sun but for me low carbing is the only thing that really makes me lean.

I've been eating mainly LC for the past 6 months but have had ALOT of slip-ups & so haven't lost much weight. I'm not sure why but I just don't seem to have the willpower that I had last year. Anyway, I've decided to really get back in to it & am planning on starting induction again on monday.

Good luck getting back into low carbing.

[straightscoop]

I eat fish on occasion, but no meat/poultry, so I'm not sure if that qualifies me as vegetarian, but I'm glad to know there are other non-meat eating low-carbers out there.

I've found it too difficult to go vegan without gaining a lot of weight because most vegetarian choices in normal restaurants are not low-carb, and I like to travel a lot. So I would either wind up choosing a salad with no protein and feeling really hungry, or getting stuck with pasta or some other really starchy dish...so I eat wild salmon (high in Omega 3s) as a compromise when I'm eating out, and I eat eggs and dairy too to keep carbs down at breakfast. Luckily where I live (Chicago area) there are several vegetarian restaurants and two raw food restaurants too, so it's not so hard to find tasty food. There is one place just a mile from where I live that makes vegetarian gyros that are amazing! I just ditch the bread and eat the meat and sauce over a big salad.

I've done a lot of research about diets and I think this is a very healthy way to eat! I never did like animal fat (the gristle in burgers or steaks, and chicken skin always disgusted me as a child...as did blood in meat) so this seems like a natural fit for me. I eat a little fat in the form of avacados, butter, and olive oil but not a lot by any means.

[Mule_Freak]

Hey Daisy, I thought Tada was a LC Vegetarian, if you look up some of her post they may help you. I don't eat meat hardly at all, love though my egg whites and cheese.

[Looweewoo]

I was 35 year vegetarian when I started LC, and while I gave it up as unsustainable for me, I respect anyone who can do it.

I used a lot of Sprouts, a lot of Avocados, and I did include organic dairy while excluding all soy.

It doesn't actually take much non-meat animal based foods to complete your protein and B-Vitamins, but if you can't or won't eat eggs or dairy or invertebrates, you might supplement. IMO, all vegetarians should probably be taking supplements as a vegetable only diet is by nature a lower nutrient diet.

[straightscoop]

Originally Posted by Looweewoo

I was 35 year vegetarian when I started LC, and while I gave it up as unsustainable for me, I respect anyone who can do it.

I used a lot of Sprouts, a lot of Avocados, and I did include organic dairy while excluding all soy.

It doesn't actually take much non-meat animal based foods to complete your protein and B-Vitamins, but if you can't or won't eat eggs or dairy or invertebrates, you might supplement. IMO, all vegetarians should probably be taking supplements as a vegetable only diet is by nature a lower nutrient diet.

That's really interesting Loo....why were you a vegetarian, and was it hard to start eating meat again? I was a vegetarian for a few years after college but gained quite a bit eating lots of pasta, potatoes, rice. etc. I was running 2-3 miles a day and still not losing an ounce! So on a whim I decided to chuck it and try Atkins and lost 20lbs...but then I realized I really didn't like meat and wasn't looking forward to eating it AT ALL. I actually PREFER Boca burgers to real hamburgers, I just don't like the flavor of meat, fat, blood, etc. So I eventually decided to try vegetarian again for ethical reasons. At least I'm more enlightened now about why I was gaining as a vegetarian--it wasn't the lack of meat, it was all the carbs. I've been maintaining for several years now as a non-meat eating low-carber. I might consider eating humane-certified meat again someday (like if I were to get pregnant) but I'm not sure....

[Looweewoo]

Originally Posted by straightscoop

That's really interesting Loo....why were you a vegetarian, and was it hard to start eating meat again?

I became a vegetarian because I had been convinced that vegetarianism was the "Natural" diet of human beings. It was presented as healthier, easier to digest and more nutritious, all of which turned out to be mostly false.

I ate properly, with a wide variety of fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, natural sweeteners, and few processed foods at all. But either I was already damaged by age 13, or the diet damaged me. By the time I was 45 I was a very sick man, and it has only been 10 years of Carnivorism that has restored my health.

It's possible that I had depleted my vital fats and maybe some particular amino acids. I did have to stop using soy fairly early (age 21) since it was an obvious irritant to me. Without soy it's hard to get what you need from a full vegetarian diet.

And yes, it was hard to start eating meat again. I was not primarily an Ethical Vegetarian, but more a dietary one. Nonetheless, 35 years of hanging around people who called meat "murder" had its effect. I had to start with ground meats in sauces. Then some of the less obvious meats like sliced lunch meats. Gradually working up to my first steak after about a year.

Now I can eat almost anything I want.

To me, Ethical reasons are the only valid reasons for vegetarianism. I, of course, feel betrayed by the whole cause, since so much of the information was completely false from the start. But I try not to let that affect my view of true Ethical Vegetarians, those who acknowledge the health problems a vegetarian diet puts you at risk for, but stick to their beliefs anyway.

[sistertzu]

I am no longer a vegetarian. I love a vegetarian way of eating and I have many days without meat.

Sis

[daisyHair]

Hi!

I wanted to tell everyone thank you for your posts!

I am just getting back to this so I have more questions re: veggie LC.

Right now I am slammed with work and want to come back when I have more time to delve deeper.

I have an avo in the fridge and also grapefruit, I think a nice onion, avo, grapefruit, spinach salad sounds GOOD for dinner tonight.

I will be back on soon!
Cary~

[rose1]

We're LC vegetarians. We eat eggs and dairy, but no meat. Works well for us. There are so many definitions of vegetarian, it gets confusing.

[chiody]

Originally Posted by straightscoop

I eat fish on occasion, but no meat/poultry, so I'm not sure if that qualifies me as vegetarian, but I'm glad to know there are other non-meat eating low-carbers out there.

I've found it too difficult to go vegan without gaining a lot of weight because most vegetarian choices in normal restaurants are not low-carb, and I like to travel a lot. So I would either wind up choosing a salad with no protein and feeling really hungry, or getting stuck with pasta or some other really starchy dish...so I eat wild salmon (high in Omega 3s) as a compromise when I'm eating out, and I eat eggs and dairy too to keep carbs down at breakfast. Luckily where I live (Chicago area) there are several vegetarian restaurants and two raw food restaurants too, so it's not so hard to find tasty food. There is one place just a mile from where I live that makes vegetarian gyros that are amazing! I just ditch the bread and eat the meat and sauce over a big salad.

I've done a lot of research about diets and I think this is a very healthy way to eat! I never did like animal fat (the gristle in burgers or steaks, and chicken skin always disgusted me as a child...as did blood in meat) so this seems like a natural fit for me. I eat a little fat in the form of avacados, butter, and olive oil but not a lot by any means.

Please, that veggie gyros sounds interesting. I'm on the road a lot throughout the Chicago Metropolitan / Suburban areas....

Restaurant location/names please?

[texastigerlily]

I think it's interesting what Loo says. I've observed that vegetarians I know generally don't look very healthy (even the skinny ones). I know there are various reasons for being a vegetarian though. I knew a guy who was severely allergic to meat. If you can't eat meat (or won't) - can you at least eat eggs? I think part of being on a LC diet is also getting in enough protein and fat. That would be rather difficult I would think.

[straightscoop]

Originally Posted by chiody

Please, that veggie gyros sounds interesting. I'm on the road a lot throughout the Chicago Metropolitan / Suburban areas....

Restaurant location/names please?

It's not really that hard to eat veggie-low carb (although maybe not zero carb), and if you eat eggs and dairy it helps. But there are so many great vegetarian meat substitute products out, like Gardein, Quorn, Fieldroast, Boca burgers, meatless crumbles, Morningstar "chicken" and "beef" strips, seitan, Yves veggie and Litelife lunchmeat, pepperoni, soyrizo, etc. you can make almost any traditional meat-based recipe meat-free. I make my own gyros, Philly cheese steaks, mock chicken fajitas, chili, just about anything! And, there are a lot of great low-carb products like tortilla wraps, breads, chips, etc. that are also high in protein if you are past induction.

You can google these, vegetarian restaurants in the Chicago area include:
Karyn's - there is a Karyn's cooked restaurant and a Karyn's raw food restaurant both in the city
Green Zebra (upscale and very good, they serve fish too)
Cousin's Vitality (raw food)
Amitabul (on the far north side of the city, Buddist-type place but food is amazing!!!)
Chicago Diner (in a neighborhood just north of the downtown called Lakeview) They have a lot of meatless takes on old favorites like polish sausage, philly cheese steak, etc.
Blind Faith Cafe, this is in Evanston, IL a suburb north of Chicago near Northwestern University my personal favorite
Luvin' Hut (used to be called Alice and Friends, Asian-style, things like Kung Pao "chicken" Hunan "beef" "un-duck" you won't believe there's no meat in these dishes
Victory's banner (I think they are only open for breakfast/lunch, in a neighborhood called Roscoe Village in Chicago
Lakeside Cafe in Roger's Park in Chicago (athough I think they are closing, unfortunately)
Chowpatti (way northwest suburb called Arlington Heights but amazingly huge menu)
Kramer's health foods, small little health food store downtown in the loop/financial district, with a little cafe upstairs for lunch
Soul East vegetarian (south side of the city, not familiar with this place as it's in a sort of "dicey" neighborhood) it has southern-style comfort food like greens, bbq, etc.)
Kopi Kafe (far northside of the city in a neighborhood called Andersonville, very ecclectic decor, breakfast and lunch only)

Most regular restaurants in chicago also offer vegetarian choices, most offer some type of veggie burger and the Chicago Trib recently had a big spread on which restaurant made the best veggie burger in the city...people in Chicago are big foodies and won't eat if it doesn't taste good.

[Strawberry]

I am not a vegetarian, but I have trouble eating a lot of meat (like a grilled chicken breast or a big steak). Plus, meat is often expensive, and I'm on a budget (and being single, buying in bulk to get the price down per lb leaves me with tons of meat I dont use).

I would love to join in to share some recipes and ideas for eating out veggie style!

[Lurchy]

Vegetarian or Semi-Vegetarian Lowcarb