I'm totally screwed

[dune]

Well, I'm doing LC for a few weeks and I've got to the point where I can no longer ignore the fact that i have no food to choose from. We simply don't have any low carb products here thats not naturally low carb. And to make things even worse, I'm a vegetarian. I wish I could eat meat, but I look at it and see corpses chopped into pieces, not food.
And there is almost none of the vegetables from the allowed food list, only potatoes, carrots and sometimes cabbage. So i mostly drink protein powders and eat egg whites and curd. Unfortunately I can't have cheese because I love it too much. Every time i buy it I binge. Considering LC as a lifestyle... I'm kind of screwed. Also I can't get any potassium, my pharmacist told me they don't have any potassium supplements because you get daily amount from meat and veggies/fruits.
My parents are worried about me drinking protein powders, they have never heard of them cause there's no such thing in our country (I get them from one bodybuilding group and they order it from US). Mom thinks it's a nonedible poison stuffed with hormones and addictive drugs and I'm going to die from it. She even told me I shouldn't be allowed to care for my baby, because I'm a crazy drug addict. Dad thinks there are not such things as depression and eating disorders, there are just fat lazy people unwilling to move their asses and I am one of them.
I soo don't want to quit low carbing, it seems the only way to succesfully lose weight to me. But I doubt I will end up well eating such unvariated meals.

[chiody]

So what did you do to lose from 255 to your current weight? Was this attributed to the "few weeks" low carbing? And how much time DID it take to accomplish this?

[dune]

I lost 20+ lbs during pregnancy without any effort (I know people usually gain, but doc told me it is even better to lose since I still have a lot of fat), then a few pounds on "eat everything but small portions" diet and another 20 during last month of LC. It took a year in total, when I started LC I was about 220.

[chiody]

So if I'm understanding you, 20 lbs. is what you've lost in only a "few weeks." That in itself is amazing and proves how well your regimen is working. Now onto the issue Mom's protein theory and poison supposition. Frankly, low carbing even with no animal protein sources can be accomplished via powders soy products and other vegetable sources. I don't know how readily available it'll be in your neck of the woods, but in theory and concept, it can be done. Finally the poison warning is extreme to say the least. If there was any degree of truth to it, we would've heard reports by now wouldn't you say?

Congrats on heading in the right direction. Keep up the great effort, the results speak for itself!!!

[Lurchy]

I say, work with what you have. Is there a specific low carb plan that you want to follow? How low in carbs are you shooting for?

If pretty low, you need plenty of fat in your diet. Is real butter, olive oil, or coconut oil available to you?

What about eggs? Can you stomach those? You can make eggs a zillion different ways. What about high fat dairy products?

As for low carb veggies or fruits, make the best choices that you can based on what's available to you. Cabbage is fine and carrots aren't the worst choice that you can make.

If you really want to do low carb there you gotta see your glass half full rather than half empty... be positive about your plan and make the best choices that you can. Good luck on your journey!

BTW, dairy products and carrots are great sources of potassium. Eggs have some too.

[Jake]

It sounds like you need to lose your toxic mom and dad as much as you need to lose any weight.

[Su11]

You are doing well so far. There were some problems many many years ago from protein diet drinks, maybe this is what your mom is thinking of?

I think that eggs are a wonderful source of many excellent nutrients and if you can eat them at all that would help you. Egg based protein powders are great as are milk based ones. (I'm not sure if you are a lacto ovo vegetarian, but please consider it if your choices are limited.)

Your dad says what a lot of people think before they learn more about how the brain works and what helps and doesn't help. Sadly, he is probably trying to help. Just let it roll off and do your own thing. He'll learn eventually.

[Looweewoo]

It will be very hard without meat. But it is possible for most people.

Before we go there I have to ask if you have serious ethical objections to eating meat or if it is simply an emotional reaction. I was a long time vegetarian and learned to eat meat over my own squeamishness by starting with ground meat hidden in sauces or deli meats in slices. I had taught myself the propaganda about "making my stomach into a graveyard" for so long that I couldn't stand to even look at the ground meat at first and had to have someone else prepare it for me. But it was just an emotional reaction which changed over time. I had to start by changing my internal dialog to avoid words and phrases like "corpse" and "murder" and "charnal house". Animals and plants are "life" and we all exchange our life with each other.

But if your concern is ethical instead of emotional, then please realize that I respect your decision and encourage you, but have to tell you that it will be very hard.

Eating LC vegetarian in a healthy and effective way can be done in most modern cities, but I get the feeling that you are not in a cosmopolitan area. If you cannot get access to soy products that will give you variety, it will be almost impossible to do it safely, but perhaps safety is not your primary goal.

I also get the feeling that you are not in full control of your food purchasing. That will have to change if you are going to do LC Vegetarian. Carrots and potatoes are not good choices for you, but there are many unusual choices to be had in the leafy green vegetables, if you can get them where you are.

I keep coming back to that... Latvia is not a country I know the culture or economics of very well. How seriously restricted are your purchasing options? Are there farmer's markets with a wide variety of vegetables that you can use?

As for your parent's thinking, you cannot control that. All you can control is what you do, and only then with imperfect control. You will need to expend all your energy at first to retrain your body, you cannot spare any time to retrain their minds. Accept what they say, let it pass through you, then move on to what you need to do. Your results will do more than any discussion can ever do.

Try to post here often, even if you are not able to find LC options at first. There's a vegetarian sub-forum, although if you want to try to learn to eat meat, that is probably not a good place to start! But they will have knowledge of some things, foods you might be able to find and afford that will help you get some variety.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

[RhondaC]

Can any members of the bodybuilding group talk to your parents, and explain to them exactly what's in the protein powders? Or, since they are already ordering, are there other things they can order for you while they're at it? Such as protein bars, low carb supplements, pottasium, etc?

[tina1973]

Can you get other vegetables besides cabbage, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans? If you don't eat meat, it's very important that are eating your vegetables.

Even when you're not not doing low-carb. What do you eat on a daily basis?

[miboje]

Being completely unfamiliar with where you are, please forgive me if this is an ignorant question. Can you grow a garden where you are? Also, will the low carb perennials (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries) grow for you there? Being able to garden and put away food stuffs helps me tremendously. I only wish I had a greenhouse to continue to grow through the winter, but right now, I have spinach growing under glass.

[LJB]

I know that the Winter time can be tough place for you and some vegetables aren't available. Do you live near any major cities such as Riga? I know that the city is expanding and must include large market places.

[droppin]

People down what they don't understand. I wouldn't bring it up to your parents. Tell them it's not open for discussion. You are grown and do what you want and just agree to disagree.

[hummingbird11]

Google: Low Carb Vegetarian -- you'll be amazed at the vast amount of resources out there!

Such as this article re: a Vegan Low-Carber:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/veg...ganlowcarb.htm

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/veg...nlowcarb_2.htm

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/veg...nlowcarb_3.htm

Do a search at Amazon -- there are plenty of books on this very subject.

Do a search right here at LCF -- you are not alone

We are only limited by our imagination

First, educate yourself on your WOE; then you can educate others (i.e. your children AND your parents).

Best of Luck to you!

Originally Posted by dune

Well, I'm doing LC for a few weeks and I've got to the point where I can no longer ignore the fact that i have no food to choose from. We simply don't have any low carb products here thats not naturally low carb. And to make things even worse, I'm a vegetarian. I wish I could eat meat, but I look at it and see corpses chopped into pieces, not food.
And there is almost none of the vegetables from the allowed food list, only potatoes, carrots and sometimes cabbage. So i mostly drink protein powders and eat egg whites and curd. Unfortunately I can't have cheese because I love it too much. Every time i buy it I binge. Considering LC as a lifestyle... I'm kind of screwed. Also I can't get any potassium, my pharmacist told me they don't have any potassium supplements because you get daily amount from meat and veggies/fruits.
My parents are worried about me drinking protein powders, they have never heard of them cause there's no such thing in our country (I get them from one bodybuilding group and they order it from US). Mom thinks it's a nonedible poison stuffed with hormones and addictive drugs and I'm going to die from it. She even told me I shouldn't be allowed to care for my baby, because I'm a crazy drug addict. Dad thinks there are not such things as depression and eating disorders, there are just fat lazy people unwilling to move their asses and I am one of them.
I soo don't want to quit low carbing, it seems the only way to succesfully lose weight to me. But I doubt I will end up well eating such unvariated meals.

[9lives]

"I wish I could eat meat, but I look at it and see corpses chopped into pieces, not food."

I just wanted to add that I used to be a vegetarian, too.

I did not like the taste of meat and I also did not like to eat the furry little (or big) animals. I am still a big animal lover, but I like to eat them now, too.

It's hard to get all the nutrtion, fat and protein your body needs from a vegetarian diet, but that is debatable to most vegetarians.

All life on this planet is consumed by other life, and while I still don't like that thought and can't imagine why it was created/evolved to be this way, it's just a fact.

I'm not trying to change your way of eating, or saying you should not be a vegetarian, but I do believe (now) that eating meat is necessary for optimum health.

A good book to read if you get the chance is The Vegetarian Myth-written by a former vegan.

Teri

[emgee]

I just want to second what Jake said. Sorry. You get what you get with parents. Just be aware that those messages are tainted. Don't I wish this were just about laziness.
As for Potassium, I am in Canada where regulations are pretty tight and I can buy Potassium from the pharmacist without a prescription in 600 mg caps (Micro K). The 99 mg pills do not cut it for me. Potassium supplements have their risks so use wisely and get your potassium levels checked. Once, I was just asked briefly what they were for. I just said I was on a low carb diet. I first learned about these from a diet clinic here that had me taking 2 a day. This diet clinic was low fat low carb and my legs felt like lead going up stairs. They give it routinely but they do monitor you. We have mail order pharmacies here
I am not a fan of meat at all either but I'm going to do what I have to do.

[GetFitNYC]

Originally Posted by Jake

It sounds like you need to lose your toxic mom and dad as much as you need to lose any weight.

[Ilpirata]

do you eat EGGS~!?!?

[straightscoop]

You can get potassium in "lite" salt blends or salt-substitutes like Morton's. They are pure potassium chloride. Perhaps you can order online if you can't find it in stores where you live?

What about nuts? You can grind them into nut butter. Ground flax seed can be made into muffins, hot cereals, etc. Plain Greek-style is only about 6 carbs for a serving, I would think you could find some really good, fresh unsweetened yogurt. What about fish? It might be more appealing than bloody meat.

There are lots of low-carb meat substitutes too. You can make your own seitan out of wheat flour, there are recipes on the internet on how to do it. It's not that hard, and though a magic kneading and boiling process that removes all the starch, you end up with a "meaty" high protein loaf that's great sliced as a substitute for beef in any dish.

I also like tofu, tempeh, and quorn but maybe you can't find those items. Maybe you can order some items online? Since you are on the netrition forum, you should see if they ship to your area, or maybe a friend could get some products and send them to you.

I don't eat meat either, for ethical reasons. I eat organic/cage free eggs and dairy and wild-caught seafood on occasion though. Low carb without animal meat/fat is doable, just more challenging. And induction is probably not going to be possible if you are vegan. But you can still lose weight without doing induction.

[Minnas]

I'm not sure most here can quite grasp the food challenges faces by someone living in Latvia but hopefully some of these ideas can prove helpful for you. If you don't live in an urban area perhaps you can make a trip and try to source some of these items? I have a low carb friend who lives in the middle of nowhere so she makes a trip to the big city every few months and stocks up on all the stuff she needs. You may need to do some work to source things and then some planned shopping but hopefully you can work something out.

Seitan is wonderful and low carb if you can find it or make it for yourself. I love it!

Good luck!

[ny_shelly]

I don't have any advice b/c what everyone else said sounds really good. But your post title cracked me up. You sound like a real hoot. You have to hang in there and don't give up.

Parents are tough to battle. They have crazy old uninformed ideas. Maybe you have to hit them with printed material supporting your way of eating. They may stop bugging you then. It sounds like you are stuck living with them. That makes it worse, I guess.

BTW, are you Latvian Orthodox?

Just wondering...

[cjack1]

It sounds like you are pretty young, so I will give you some sage advice. You need to change your attitude from being a victim to taking responsibility for your decisions. It seems like you have found a number of excuses to give up on LC, i.e. choosing to be a vegetarian, can't eat cheese, your parents saying you are lazy and crazy, etc. I'm not familiar with your culture, but it seems that you need to put some respectful barriers between your parents and you and live your own life.

My primary proteins are meats, eggs, and cheeses. I'm not sure how you can do LC as a lifestyle if you don't eat meat or cheese. Maybe, you could alternate three weeks of your "less of everything" diet with one week of your version of LC, i.e. protein shakes, or you could alternate weeks or something like that. I'm not sure why you think you need a potassium supplement, but if you have a problem with that, it can be dangerous and should be monitored by a doctor.

Regardless of what choices you make in life, you will not be successful if you give negative people and unfortunate circumstances the power to derail you. Everyone has them in their lives.

[dune]

Haven't been here for a while and OMG how many new answers. Thanks everyone, that gives me strenght not to give up when i see that somebody actually cares

Originally Posted by Looweewoo

How seriously restricted are your purchasing options? Are there farmer's markets with a wide variety of vegetables that you can use?

In the summer there are lots of vegetables everywhere, but that's only 2 months. In the winter there are only the ones that can be stored for a long time without freezing/canning, and these happen to be high carb.

Originally Posted by RhondaC

Can any members of the bodybuilding group talk to your parents, and explain to them exactly what's in the protein powders? Or, since they are already ordering, are there other things they can order for you while they're at it? Such as protein bars, low carb supplements, pottasium, etc?

I am ordering myself, they aren't involved. But anyway I can't afford to order from other countries due to shipping price. And the only thing we have got is protein shakes, no supplements, nothing low-carb.

Originally Posted by tina1973

Can you get other vegetables besides cabbage, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans? If you don't eat meat, it's very important that are eating your vegetables.

Even when you're not not doing low-carb. What do you eat on a daily basis?

Broccoli and cauliflower yes, but no beans, only canned peas, but they are high in carbs anyway.

What do i eat when not low-carbing? Well, usually i start with a big creamy cake, then proceed on to fried potatoes with some salad or pizza and then i have a few chocolate bars to chew on all day long until the next binge.

Originally Posted by miboje

Being completely unfamiliar with where you are, please forgive me if this is an ignorant question. Can you grow a garden where you are? Also, will the low carb perennials (blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries) grow for you there? Being able to garden and put away food stuffs helps me tremendously. I only wish I had a greenhouse to continue to grow through the winter, but right now, I have spinach growing under glass.

I don't have to grow a garden, when it's the right season, i can buy everything i need, when it's not - nothing gonna grow in the garden either.

Originally Posted by LJR

Do you live near any major cities such as Riga? I know that the city is expanding and must include large market places.

I'm living in a smaller city far away. But the products are roughly the same everywhere, since all markets belong to the same big companies.

Originally Posted by Ilpirata

do you eat EGGS~!?!?

Yes, i do. Thank God i'm not vegan

Originally Posted by ny_shelly

Parents are tough to battle. They have crazy old uninformed ideas. Maybe you have to hit them with printed material supporting your way of eating. They may stop bugging you then. It sounds like you are stuck living with them. That makes it worse, I guess.

BTW, are you Latvian Orthodox?

Just wondering...

I'm actually living with my husband and baby son, but they are all equally ignorant. That's quite unpleasant, but i think i can cope with that, just wanted to whine a little

No, i'm not orthodox, and considering how religious this forum is, i better don't tell who i am

Originally Posted by cjack1

Regardless of what choices you make in life, you will not be successful if you give negative people and unfortunate circumstances the power to derail you. Everyone has them in their lives.

That's so true. When i'm in a good mood like now i don't seem to care, but sometimes they just get me.