[*LoveBugMama*]

Hi!

I used to eat a vegetarian diet for the most part, but after finding out that I am diabetic (type 2) I started eating meat. Just beause almost everyone I talked to/read about told me that was what I needed to do.
But, I still think that eating little/no meat is the best diet, so I was wondering if there are any vegetarians here?

And my main question: What do you guys eat? (The vegetarians/vegans, that is. ) When thinking about cutting meat from my diet, I get a little stumped. Life was easier before, when I didn`t have to think about watching my intake of carbs.... So I would looove to see what you are eating every day, what kinds of food your diet consists of, some recipes, how much carbs, do you eat pasta/rice/potatoes etc...

TIA!

 

[foxl]

I have been a vegetarian for 38 years, and a diabetic for two. I do not eat starches such as beans, rice, pasta, etc.

I eat 2 eggs just about every day. I eat 2 or more oz of cheese per day in measured amounts. Probably a couple oz of nuts ... and almond milk. And a portion or two of "Fake meats," tofu, tempeh ... and green salads, slaw, and cooked green non-starch vegetables. And cauliflower to stand in for rice and for potatoes and pasta. And spaghetti squash or zucchini to stand in for pastas. You can make a shepherd's pie of vegetables and tofu or cheese, and / or fakeburger, and top it with cauliflower mash.

Sunflower seeds, soaked overnight, may substitute for beans in hummus, refrieds, or tabbouleh. Black soybeans can make a nice salad with tomatoes, onions, vinegar and oil, and spices. For me, if I cook them at all, they bomb my bg, though!

Cauliflower can make a mean pizza crust, so can flaxmeal, mixed with eggs, and cheese ...

I make baked goods and desserts from almond flour, coconut flour, and flax meal, cream cheese adds fat and texture to those. And CHOCOLATE -- I usually eat 1/2 to 1 oz of chocolate per day -- no sugar (or erythritol!) added. For sweetening baekd goods, I typically use a mix of splenda syrup and erythritol (only sugar alcohol that d oes not spike me).

Splenda syrups can flavor lots of things -- including whey shakes, and desserts, and added to mineral water for a soda. And I drink coffee ... and tea, with REAL CREAM!

Check the recipe section, I have a lot there!

 

[foxl]

To make things simpler for myself, I am pretty formulaic for the most part -- breakfast is usually coffee and a whey shake, I add splenda syrup (Torani, DaVinci) to the shake for variety.

Lunch is almost always 2 hardboiled eggs, sometimes a curry or hot sauce with them, one ounce of nuts (NOT peanuts! Too starchy!), an ounce of cheese, anything from string cheese to really good imported stuff, and a green salad or cabbage slaw.

Dinner, I get a bit more varied (and there I have the flexibility and ease of using rapid insulin once per day) typically I eat more carbs -- vegetable ones, not starches -- then.

Total carbs per day -- 30 - 45g.

The New Atkins book has some suggestions for vegetarian menus, too.

 

[foxl]

...and I almost forgot COCONUT OIL! Any number of posts here will explain why it is good -- I eat at least 1 TBS per day, usually mixed with chocolate.

 

[anuradha.m]

Hi, I am Indian vegetarian whole my life, eat eggs very rarely. I eat lot of pulses, legumes, diary products, cottge cheese, Tofu, mushrooms, lots of varied fruits and vegetables. Mostly anything vegetarian low cal and low fat is ok for me. I use artificial sweeteners to sweeten my tea, jucies, jellies and cakes . There are whole lot of recipes on the net and even diabetic forum.. all youhave to do is be innovative..best of luck...

 

[*LoveBugMama*]

Thank you both so much!

I will do a search in the recipesection tomorrow. (It`s pretty late here in Norway right now, so I`m too tired..)

 

[RyanG]

Hi,
I've been diabetic for at least 10 years now and have been in denial for most of them. My lab results a few months ago scared me into looking for a solution for how to eat and how to live my life so that I can reduce the medication I'm taking. My doctor was telling me that if I couldn't get under control I would have to go back on Jenuvia - $300 for 3 months on top of the other medications I am taking - or take insulin. Since I will be retiring in a couple of years that expense would be a hardship for me and my family as our drug plan at work ends at retirement. I had to figure out something else.
I started exercising after buying a BF Treadclimber which was great for a while. I thought there had to be something else I could do because after losing only 15 pounds I was plateauing already. So I looked into changing my diet. I went to the store looking for a calorie counter thinking about the calories consumed in food. I found Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book "Eat to Live" and the more I read the more it made sense to me. I've lost another 10 pounds since and I'm sure the more closely that I follow this way of eating the more weight will come off. I haven't had meat or eggs or any other kind of animal protein in two weeks.
BTW, my glucose levels have gone down dramatically since starting this and I have dropped one of my medications already.

 

[rockmode]

Hi, RyanG, I've read Dr. Fuhrman's book, too! I've started and stopped several times, but a few days ago, I decided to do it for real this time. All the veggies I can eat. Oh, my! I've added home grown sprouts to my diet, too. Love what Dr. Fuhrman does!

 

[foxl]

Rockmode, this is a very old thread.

I used to be a low fat vegetarian, but did not find it helpful. Now I am a low CARB vegetarian. I cannot bring myself to eat meat, but I do eat low-carb dairy and eggs.

I also made the decision last summer to permit my kids to eat meat, too. Now they get meat or eggs, twice per day, sometimes three. They have much better stamina for having done so.

I do not think low-fat veganism is healthful. You need omega-3's, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K2. You cannot absorb these fat-soluble substances efficiently, on a low fat diet.

 

[rockmode]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not particularly fond of dairy and sometimes it causes digestive problems. Milk is out. I don't like it much and it's not worth the suffering I endure later, so I drink almond milk, though I was drinking too many calories, so I'm cutting back. I am liking the veggie thing suddenly, and adding in both bean sprouts and alfalfa and many others covers the vitamins. Protein comes from dark green veggies, nuts, and beans. And I do one or two fruits a day. TVP and tofu can round out the protein thing. I'm too fat to be eating meat, and I don't love it anymore. Plus, I"m cutting back on salt, which I'm addicted to. If I add meat or any sugary stuff back in, I'm on the cravings/overeating path again, and I don't feel good when I eat that way. I feel better just eating veggies, beans, and nuts. I have enough fat on me to feed me for years!

 

[foxl]

Oh, I would never drink milk. I use cream, cheeses, and butter! I drink almond milk, too!

forget the calories, and count CARBS! and I eat a lot of vegetables, too.

Salt is beginning to be seen as not a problem -- and, insulin is now emerging as causing hypertension. I no longer eat fruits or beans. Do you know what happens to your blood sugar with them? Are you testing at all?

 

[rockmode]

Yes, I test. My sugars are always high. The only way to bring them down is to never eat anything except vegetables and sleep for a very long time. No eat, no rise in sugar.

 

[foxl]

I believe in eating. Your body continues to turn over some substances and you need to replenish them!

Have you considered insulin, at least till you can get things in line?

 

[rockmode]

I take insulin and Byetta. Metformin, and others

 

[foxl]

Okay. Then the insulin should get things under control.

 

[rockmode]

Unfortunately, the insulin has not been able to overcome my prior eating habits. I'm looking forward to getting better results, and my bs has improved a bit in the last few days. Thanks for talking. I have a few errands to run. Perhaps we can meet again. Have a great day!

 

[hastrom]

Vegan Diet

Everything I read about diabetes seemed to point to a high protein / low carb diet. Then yesterday somebody told me about using a vegan diet to control or reverse diabetes. I haven't decided yet if I believe it but I'm open to learning more.

I did a google search "vegan diet diabetes" and have been reading about it. But most of the links lead to pages that are two or more years old. I can't find anything recent. And I haven't found anything very substantial, mostly anecdotal. The best so far is at the diabetes.org website. Here is a quote from that article:

"A vegetarian diet is a healthy option, even if you have diabetes. Research supports that following this type of diet can help prevent and manage diabetes. In fact, research on vegan diets has found that carb and calorie restrictions were not necessary and still promoted weight loss and lowered participants' A1C."

Interesting. I want to read more about this.

 

[David Burke]

Everything I read about diabetes seemed to point to a high protein / low carb diet. Then yesterday somebody told me about using a vegan diet to control or reverse diabetes. I haven't decided yet if I believe it but I'm open to learning more.

I did a google search "vegan diet diabetes" and have been reading about it. But most of the links lead to pages that are two or more years old. I can't find anything recent. And I haven't found anything very substantial, mostly anecdotal. The best so far is at the diabetes.org website. Here is a quote from that article:

"A vegetarian diet is a healthy option, even if you have diabetes. Research supports that following this type of diet can help prevent and manage diabetes. In fact, research on vegan diets has found that carb and calorie restrictions were not necessary and still promoted weight loss and lowered participants' A1C."

Interesting. I want to read more about this.

While I don't follow a vegetarian/vegan WOE, there are others here who do and are successful with it. I'm sure they'll be on soon an can help more than I could.

Sent from my iPhone

 

[foxl]

I am (as stated 3 times above, in this thread, I think!) vegetarian.

Low carb, high sat fat, ovo-lacto vegetarian. And it is not as easy as being paleo or primal. I do not recommend it. Too many nutrients lacking unless you supplement and really, really educate yourself. And you get TOO HUNGRY.

 

[smorgan]

I am (as stated 3 times above, in this thread, I think!) vegetarian.

Low carb, high sat fat, ovo-lacto vegetarian. And it is not as easy as being paleo or primal. I do not recommend it. Too many nutrients lacking unless you supplement and really, really educate yourself. And you get TOO HUNGRY.

Hmm is it possible you are beginning to talk yourself out of it? It sounds difficult so if not for religious reasons, why bother? If it is for "environmental" reasons, I hope you've seen the complete de-bunking of that one where they itemize the immense destruction of the grain fields across the middle of the US. If not, let me know, I'll search it out for you.

I believe animals were put here for us to eat and that's why we did it for basically our entire existence. Yes, they may experience some pain when we kill them, but that's the "plan" IMO.