I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 5 years, then got pregnant and found my usual sources of veggie protein were making me sick. My doctor also subjected me to monthly 3-hour blood glucose tests from my 1st trimester, thanks to unstable blood sugar and a high risk of gestational diabetes. I was ordered to eat more protein, and control carbs. I was vegetarian because I thought it healthy, not because of any animal rights concerns, so I just started eating meat and fish again.

That was three years ago, and I've been omnivorous ever since. Now that I am on Atkins, I am eating more meat and eggs than ever before but I'd like to know from active low carbing vegetarians how you manage it. I can't see it fitting in on Atkins; do you follow a different plan? What about protein, Lots of tofu, occasional nut butter? Do you eat eggs? How do you keep from getting hungry since the usual vegetarian fillers like rice and beans and other starches are so carb-laden? Although I may never go back to being vegetarian, it would be nice to enjoy low carb vegetarian meals on a regular basis. I just don't know how to plan such meals.

I had toyed in the past with trying McDougall or Ornish, (ultra low fat vegetarian diets, they are like the antithesis of Atkins for those of you who've never heard of them. McDougall is vegan; Ornish limited fatfree dairy ). However I found them harder to follow than Atkins. - I 'ate more' but didn't 'weigh less'. Is there any kind of happy medium in between these very disparate plans?

Hi there! I have been an LC vegetarian since June 2 - Funny enough I just posted a whole load of information on this on another board - rather than rethinking it, lol! I will post it here for you too.

It is totally possible! I have lost 23 lbs as a lowcarb vegetarian (+fish). I have been a vegetarian + fish for over 25 years . I started Atkins on June 2 - yes, you can do this but it is harder than for the carnivores

Some totally vegetarian meals I eat:

- stirfried tofu + spinach many days.
- greek salad with feta, olives, hardboiled egg - you could even throw some tofu or almonds in.
- Omelette with cheddar cheese or Swiss Jarlsberg Cheese
- Tofu Spinach or Broccoli Quiche
- Swiss Cheese and Spinach melt on lowcarb bread
- Portobello Mushie sandwich with cheese
- Eggplant parmesan
- Miso Soup with Tofu
- Lowcarb pasta and alfredo sauce or sauteed roasted vegetables and parmesan
-Spaghetti Squash with various sauces and cheeses
- lowcarb Tortillas with stirfried tofu and spices, cheddar, lettuce, etc etc (OWL for the tortillas)
-Various LC Pizza Kits are out there - I just bought some via netrition.com

You could also make nutloaf when you get onto OWL (ongoing weight loss if you are thinking of doing Atkins). I eat almonds or pecans many days as part of a meal.

Apparently some of the vegetarian ground round type products are also low in carbs (I could never do the fake meat tho - I don't know why! LOL!!).

I have discovered the lowcarb breads and many days have a spinach and swiss cheese melt for lunch

Also some people - once you are past induction, etc. do a non-Atkins yogourt addition. They believe that the active cultures actually olower the carb count. You can find info on them if you search on yogourt fast. So some people have added in yogourt to their daily menus too.

Really you can think up a lowcarb version of many of your favorite vegetarian recipes. Again, cheese and tofu are extremely low in carbs!

The veg dishes can be more carb-y than some folks eat here, but I find I am doing just great - 23 lbs and I've lost 7+ inches each on hips, waist, ribcage, thighs since beginning June 2.

I also belong to a vegetarian Lowcarb list called LCVeg. Folks list recipes, info on products, etc. It is really cool. There are folks there from all over the world. Check out their website - I think you can get onto the mailing list from there:

http://www.immuneweb.org/lowcarb/

Although the website talks about fish, the lcveg list is supposed to be strictly lacto-ovo vegetarian - although there are vegans there as well.

Another good site is here:

http://www.geocities.com/msweathe/veggie.html

One other Vegetarian LC lifestyle issue has to do with restaurants - and that is a big one since the only truly vegetarian things I have eaten out are:

Omelets
Salads
Stirfry with Tofu
Indian Food
Sandwiches ......

Actually yesterday I had a cup of Saag Paneer and a cup of curried cauliflower at a local Indian restaurant. Saag Paneer or Palak Paneer is a spicy spinach puree with cream and little cubes of hard white cheese.

I had bought a prepared package of palak paneer made by a company called tasty Bite and the Carb count was 5 for 1 cup of the stuff so that is what I used as a calculation.

I often order a large salad without salad dressing, and without the chicken or bacon or whatever. I sneak in my own little baggy of extras - and put in whatever I can't get in the salad as prepared by the restaurant. I pack myself hardboiled eggs, feta cheese or blue cheese, or stirfired tofu. I also pack an old spice bottle with my own homemade dressing. It has worked out great!! I pay full price, the rest of my family eats full meals, and the waiters have always been very gracious!

If you go somewhere like Friday's and will eat the cheese they put in - I know some don't - you can have the Cobb salad without chicken, bacon or dressing and all you have to bring is the dressing since it already has lots of cheese and eggs. It is really good!

Chinese and Thai restaurants invariably have tofu stirfry of some sort. be sure to bring your carb counter to avoid the high carb veggies - water chestnuts, carrots and I just found out - lotus root! (thanks Alahar) in favor of really lowcarb ones like mung bean sprouts and bamboo shoots.

Also know your sauces - oyster sauce and hoisin sauce are sweet and sugary (brown sauce) and many use cornstarch - but you can still do pretty well

I have also been known to travel with a baggy with 2 slices of lowcarb bread inside - in case I need to order a sandwich and switch out the bread - i have done this before with great success!

I hope this helps some

p.s. I was just disqualified to give blood the other day because my iron was low so I am stepping up the iron supplements!

Hi TaDa,
I have been searching for other vegetarians in this forum. Happy to find you! I am lacto vegetarian so my options are not as wide as yours, but I do O.K. using soy meat substitutes, tofu, cheese and nuts. Thank you for sharing all that information. Yes, Christena it is very possible.

Mary

Hiya Mary! I am new to this place! Nice to meet another veg in this meaty old woe

Vegetarians can - - Vegans may have a difficult time. My friend, who's a veg that eats eggs (no dairy) has lost 15 lbs in the last 2 months (she only has 10 lbs to go) by eating tofu, eggs, veggies and minimal fruit.