Vegetarian low-carbing - calling all veggie low carbers for moral support!

[ghosteditor]

I'm going back on the veggie low carb bandwagon after putting back on 8-10lbs in the last few months, following an injury. I lost 30lb+ last year (post-natally) but could do with getting rid of this sneaky half stone.

I need some more recipe inspiration so please share!

Hi FrenchFries :)

Hi all

I'm interested in having another go at low carbing, but I must admit I'm a bit nervous as the first time I did it, it made me feel really rank. I was as dark as possible to go on ketosis sticks, was drinking litres of water each day but still dehydrated, and finally stopped after a fortnight because I felt so ill.

Now, I am starting to wonder if I did it too severely. If I remember correctly, I followed Atkins and ate very little veg indeed. I was on about 20g carbs I think, though it was a while ago.

I would have things like scrambled tofu for breakfast, halloumi and spinach for lunch, cauli cheese for tea.

I did enjoy it, but felt so rough I had to stop. What I really liked was the fact that, for the first time in my life, I didn't feel hungry all the time. I lost my appetite.

Any advice on where I went wrong would be appreciated. I did read Rose Elliot's book at the time too.

Kinky - Hi :)

You shouldn't be past the first square or two on the colour range. You definitely should not be 'dark'.

Some people don't feel anything at all, some have 'carb flu' for a few days and some unlucky ones have it for a couple of weeks. You might feel rough this time - but nothing like last time.

The original Atkins was BAD, awful and belongs well in the past.

'New' low carbing is nothing like that.

Rose Elliots book isn't great.

Have you seen the Bootcamp threads?

Have you read 'Escape the diet trap' by John Briffa?

Don't worry how many carbs you are eating - you don't need to count.

What you have listed to eat sounds fine - but you need to include more veg in general, more leafy greens etc. and eat plenty. You don't need to count calories. Eat butter, olive oil on salads.

I love Food Doctor seeds, almonds, olives, avocado, cheese, fried mushrooms, taifun basil tofu along with LOTS of salad and veg.

Really - there is absolutely no need to feel awful :) (except maybe a few days of carb flu, but not everyone gets that, I didn't).

Thanks Chipping. I was as dark as it was possible to go on the sticks - I was actually getting worried about my kidneys! I didn't read Briffa, but this is because I was under the impression it was another very 'eat meat' low carb book, but I can certainly get a copy if it's worth a look.

It's nice there's a vegetarian thread now. When I tried last time, I felt like I was out on my own.

It is definitely worth a read. You can get it from the library or really cheap on eBay (about £3 or £4). He is a meat eater though. It's not a diet book, it just explains why certain foods either are or aren't good for us.

Have you had any blood tests for anything else?

Have you tested with ketostix while eating whatever you are eating now?

Tell me what you have eaten the past few days & how you feel.

Do you want to lose weight?

Need to lose a lot of weight; I've been up and down on diets for about 20 years.

Never used ketostix since I tried Atkins about 3 years ago.

Most of my diet is carbs and I feel shocking. E.g. yesterday - jet lag late breakfast of cold pizza, noodle salad pot, chocolate cake (left over from birthday), couple of Thornton's caramel squares, heap of pasta and pesto which sends me on a downward spiral and I end up with double portions. I am total carb junkie. Have very little control around pasta, pizza and rice. Can just about control bread. Take or leave potatoes/chips.

Just been diagnosed with fibromyalgia so this doesn't help how I feel.

Also have shocking IBS which flares up around things like fruit/certain veg, so eating carbs has been a way to manage that as they don't affect it. However, they do leave me feeling crappy and very fat. I am tired all of the time and sick of feeling decades older than I am.

No blood tests, although recent screening for general things and urine dip stick yesterday didn't show anything. (That's when I was at hospital and got fibro DX.)

So much fat around middle I look like a toffee apple.

1 week weigh in and have lost 7lbs in 7 days. Can't believe it. Realise it is probably all water weight but have never lost that much even water weight in a week before.
Even my children have noticed as it has all come off my stomach. Lost 2 " off my waist.
Really happy.
I am on holiday from Monday so will not be able to weigh in next week. Going to be really careful but if I can just maintain I will be happy.

kinky - come and join us on the Bootcamp threads, LOADS of support, loads of ex-carb-addicts... I don't feel like a million pounds, I wont lie, BUT I do feel a MILLION times better than I did before I started low carbing.

Milly - BRILLIANT!! Well done :) A lot of it will be that you have emptied out your glycogen store, but it's still great because you have to do that first before you can start fat burning.

I've come over Chipping

Brilliant :) Are you going to start low carbing now or wait until Bootcamp starts? If you want to chat to everyone, the 'chat' thread we have between Bootcamps is still running...

Can I join? I have low carbed before and lost a bit, but not loads.

I have at least three stone to lose, maybe four. I can't believe I let myself get like this. Nothing fits. I feel fat (I am fat, so that explains that one). I went for blood tests today to check my iron levels and thyroid as I have been feeling really poorly. Gah!

I swim half a mile twice a week and walk lots. I'm aiming for a mile twice a week. I am veggie too, so this seems like a good place to start.....

I know how you feel DoItTooJulia. We can be beginners together.

Chipping I'm going to start on Monday to give myself a week before I go back to work and hope I kick any carb flu by then, although I'm praying it's not so severe this time. I would start now, but I'm at my parents mid-visit. They usually put up with my dietary experimentation given that I've been faffing about for two decades, but I normally bring stuff with me for meals. It's just easier to eat what's given until I get home on Monday morning, then I'll hit the shops and get in order.

Yay! Bought two huge cauliflowers today as I love cauliflower mash and cauliflower curry!

DoItTooJulia - you should join us on the Bootcamp threads as well :) I love cauli as well. Cauliflower (& other veg) cheese is a staple around here! Do you have a good curry recipe?

Kinky - that sounds like a good plan! It's much better to start when you are in control.

I might pop over to boot camp, thanks!

Yy to curry: fry onions garlic and ginger off slowly. Add cardamom, cumin seeds and dried chilli to taste. (I sometime dry fry these separately and grind them). Then fry off cauliflower and any other veg you are using. Add chopped tomatoes, canned or fresh, some water, then the dried spices like turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, ground cumin and coriander and anything else you like. Simmer. Add salt and squeezed lemon juice to taste.

The quantities are vague as different veg needs different water amounts, so courgettes less water than carrots for example.

Yum!

Sounds good!! If I PM you my address.... :)

Ha, I love a curry, but I am a brummie, so it's our staple dish! The hotter the better!

Any family meal ideas? I'm stuck.

We like a mixed grill...vege sos, plum tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs. Beans for the kids

Or veggie soup,

Or mashed cauliflower instead of spuds goes down well.

Roasted veg and veggie burgers, but not the crumb coated ones.

Stir fry with mark panted tofu, or the fried puffy tofu.

You still eat vege alternative products then? That's heartening as I've just done a food shop avoiding these and nearly passed out at the cost!! Thanks for ideas.

Try not to rely too heavily on them,but yes sometimes.

We eat a lot of salads with coleslaw or eggs or cheese, a lot of soup and a lot of stir fry, but for a treat I will do vege SOS or burgers. Not quorn, but only because it doesn't agree with me!

Frittata without potato is good. You can make it with spinach and ricotta,which is lush!

Hello, can I join you? Have been LC only for a couple of weeks, and only half heartedly! I developed a sugar habit whilst pregnant with DD (now 10 months) due to horrific morning sickness. Have about 7lb of pregnancy weight still to nix (even though I'm back to my old measurements -weird). Am going on holiday for two weeks on Saturday. Planning on being loosely LC, but will hit it with gusto when back (and going back to work after a year of mat leave. SOB!)

kinky - I do eat them sometimes too, but you have to read the packets, some are really high in carbs. I usually only buy the Quorn 'chicken' pieces (not the fillets, they're made differently and are higher) and the 'Cauldron' marinated tofu pieces - both of those are 1 or 1.5g per 100. However, I only eat a little of them at a time as I think they make me stall. I tried to up my protein for a month and basically this was the only way to do it, but my weight just stuck. So I've ended up going back down to less protein.

August Hi :) always lovely to have another veggie low carber! Have you seen the Bootcamp threads? They are for low carbing and are great, lots of people, lots of support and no one looks at you like you have two heads because you are veggie. There's a new one starting on the 9th of September, but you can join anytime and inbetween Bootcamps there's always a 'chat' thread running.

Can I join you too - I've put my name on the new bootcamp list. I'm almost completely veggie - just eat fish very occasionally with dh and the dcs who aren't veggie. I've lost 7-10 lbs on a low carb diet twice before but fallen off the wagon badly and ended up putting most back on. I'm only about 3lbs lighter than my heaviest a the moment which is quite frustrating. I do know that it will work if I can stick to it as it did before.

I think the problem is that I'm not very imaginative and don't have much time for cooking so find it very repetitive e.g. always eating greek yoghurt with nuts/seeds or cheese omelette for breakfast and something like cheesy cauliflower/spinach or a big salad with some sort of quorn/tofu for both lunch and dinner (salad not being so appealing when the weather gets colder). My normal diet is very carb based with a lot of pasta/noodles/rice/bread/potatoes etc.

I'm going to do some shopping today to stock up on some lovely low carb foods and try to reduce carbs gently over the next few days ready for next week :)