nicholaix's Journal, 09 Feb 15

On the Atkins website, there is a tab for vegetarian persons who want to use the Atkins plan. It's 100% free. You can do a low carb diet without consuming meat or dairy. 

Low carb is protein (any kind) low carb vegies, and any dairy (including Soy as protein and dairy.) Beans are high in protein and carbs, but also high in fiber. I also use almond milk, and almond flour. Just FYI 

Eat meats and veggies…a lot of them…skip the dairy except for eggs. 

i do not recommend eating low carb for a vegan diet, low carb is for those that are eating high fat animal/dairy protein diets, the reason why they are eating low carb high protein on atkins is because they are trying to cut calories somewhere in their diet to compensate for the animal fat in the atkins diet; atkins diet is for those eating animal proteins which contain a lot of fat calories, it is bad for your health to cut out or reduce/ carbs while on a vegan diet, for your energy especially; the best way for a vegan to lose weight is not to cut out carbs but to eat low carbs vegan foods that are high in protein its all about how to balance your protein, fats, carbs so that your still consuming calories way below your bmr. don't delete carbs just cut it back because they give you energy, prevent protein depletion from muscles etc. i would try to eat more vegan protein, cut back on starchy vegan foods, and eat a lot of the low calorie fruits and vegetables. 

carbs are not bad for you if eaten as complex carbs not simple sugars; carbs are being deleted/manipulated in the atkins diet as a way to reduce calories in this type of diet to lose weight and the highest calorie foods are carbs/sugars/and fats. but since we vegans are not eating animal products high in animal fats/ we do not have to cut carbs because vegan food is mostly low calorie/low fat. 

even on a vegan diet you have to count calories if you want to drop weight if you consuming below your bmr experiment if your still not losing weight drop the calories 10 or 20 percent increments until you notice that your losing the weight at the speed that you want to lose. 

vegan is no animal products whatsoever no eggs,milk,meat, dairyproduct, seafood anything that comes from an animal if you are not eating vegan and think you are vegan you are sobataging your diet plans because vegans are allowed to eat carbs in moderation whereas atkins are not allowed to eat carbs to compensate for their eating meat which contains a lot of bad fats/cholesterol as far as eating at kfc/fast food there is no way you can call yourself vegan and eat at KFC because everything contains animal products even the vegetables have margarine/butter. 

increase the protein to 25 percent of calories, drop fat to5-10 percent, and keep carbs at 65 percent of calories using the calorie count here and keep your calorie intake to 20 percent below bmr if not losing weight drop your daily calorie consumption 10-20 percent until you are happy with your weight loss rates but keep the carb protein fat ratios the same as mentioned above until you are happy with your weight always try to have a caloric deficit if you want to lose weight faster. 

John, good list. I gear many of my meals vegetarian and have done my research into getting enough protein. I see you have tried Adkins as well. Too much emphasis on animal proteins and high fat for me. Feel best keeping total fats averaging around 30% and mostly a plant based with some fish added once a week or so. I'll have spiky days on fat, say when I get deal on avocados. I'm not vegetarian or vegan but many days are meatless. I'm finding that I want meats less and less, I'm working on using up the meats in my freezer before they are too old. Honestly I do not like tvp very well, I've never found a way to cook with it that tastes good. I want my food to taste incredible. Surprising the Mexican grocery stores carry bags of it. Why do you say except for proteins you use processed? Use your complementary proteins with whole foods and you are golden.  

I've been vegetarian for 18 years, also not to prove anything ethics-wise but just because eating animals grosses me out. I like Quorn meat substitutes, but they do contain egg. So either that will be a way to slowly introduce that into your diet, or it will be tough to deal with. But I digest Quorn better than Morningstar or other soy-based ones. And I'm still a believer in a healthy balance of grains. 

What an education. 

i was on atkins in the beginning of my diet 4.5 months ago but found it to be very unhealthy feeling nauseated, dizzy, no energy but lost a lot of weight feeling irratable, jittery etc. i was eating mostly lean meat/protein chicken breast etc and thats it no carbs, nothing but found this diet unhealthy non sustainable, high in saturated fat even from eating lean meats etc decided that vegan was the best way to have a sustainable diet that induced good health and long term weight management. i found that i was not losing weight either on an atkins diet with normal carbs like fruits and grains this we are not designed to eat a lot of meat if you cannot eat normal carbs and lose weight the diet plan is wrong so found that atkins was wrong because it was unhealthy and unsustainable; and changed to vegan. i meant the vegetarian proteins are the only processed foods that i use tvp, vital wheat gluten, soy protein powder etc but i only use these in moderation my main diet is beans, grains, fruits and vegetables. 

also constipation from lack of fiber, irratiblity, and lack of energy was my main problem with atkins;  

i use tvp in spaghetti sauce it chews like meat has the same texture when i make a tomato-vegetable herb tomato sauce for pasta. 

I read "The End of Dieting" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and it changed my life. I dieted so much in my life that I could no longer loose weight. I want to keep what I loose off and be healthy and it is hard to believe that I would even consider to change my life like this... but I am ready to get my body healthy. I wish you well in whatever you find to do.... I can definitely relate to the frustrations.  

I find that calorie counting and a balanced diet with exercise works. 

Dr. Fuhrman is really good. I'm doing it now.. down a pound a day so far. 

John, I'm finding adzuki beans can be substituted for meat in many dishes, they are sold as small red beans they can be identified by the little white dot on the dark red bean. I have a bag of some sort of beef substitute I bought, my dogs love it for treats, not for me. I make my own veggie burgers.