Vegetarian Low Carb Diet
A vegetarian low-carb diet is a diet that is low on carbohydrates, such as sugary foods, pasta, and bread. And includes more veg options for the people. And it is high in protein, very less fat and healthy vegetables.
The choice of your food option should depend on how healthy you are, how much you exercise, and how much weight you have to lose. What is your main goal, how much time it takes to achieve your goal.
Foods to eat in vegetarian low carb diet
- Meat: Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and others; grass-fed is best.
- Seafood: Salmon, trout, haddock, and many others; wild-caught fish is best.
- Poultry: Omega-3-enriched or pastured eggs are best.
- Vegetables: Spinach, broccoli, beans, carrots, and many others.
- Fruits: Apples, oranges, pears, papaya, strawberries.
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, etc.
- High-fat dairy: Cheese, butter, heavy cream, yogurt.
- Fats and oils: coconut oil butter, desi ghee, olive oil, and fish oil.
Foods to avoid in vegetarian low carb diet
Sugars: Soft drinks, fruit juices, candies, ice cream.
Cereals & Millets: Wheat, rice, barley, and rye, as well as bread, cereal, and pasta.
Trans or bad fats: Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.
Low-fat products: Dairy products, cereals, or crackers.
Highly processed or preserved foods
Starchy vegetables
Foods to eat in moderation
When your goal is not weight loss, you can add and eat a few more carbs.
- Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and some others.
- Grains: Brown rice, oats, quinoa, and many others.
- Pulses & Legumes: Lentils, black beans, pinto beans, etc. (if you can tolerate them).
Also, you can have the following in moderation, if you want:
- Dark chocolate: Choose organic brands with at least 70% of cocoa.
- Wine: You can choose dry wines with no added sugar or carbs
Healthy snacking
Small and frequent meals are always the best option for any diet and any goal. but if you get hungry between meals, here are some healthy, easy-to-prepare, low-carb snacks that are so easy to make and less time-consuming.
- Fruit salad
- Full-fat yogurt
- One or two hard-boiled eggs
- Baby carrots
- oats salad
- A handful of nuts/seeds
- boiled eggs without yolk
- A Sample Low-Carb Menu for One Week
Low carb vegetarian snacks
Snacking is something we all love and having small bites in between the main meals are completely fine if we go for healthy options. Vegetarians need not worry about choosing low-carb snacks because they have a ton of tasty options from which they can choose. Some of the ready to eat and absolutely tasty snacking options are ;
- Chia seed pudding
- Blackberry fruit yogurt
- Roasted peanuts
- Peanut butter cookies
- Flaxseeds ladoo
- Cheese chips
- Lettuce soup
- Cauliflower hummus
- Almond flour thepla
- Coconut flour cheela
Here are a few super easy vegetarian low carb snacks that you can easily try at home and add to your diet;
1. Coconut flour cheela
Ingredients :
- Coconut flour -3 tbsp
- Capsicum(finely chopped)- 1/4 cup
- Onion(finely chopped)-1/2 cup
- Green chilies(finely chopped) -1 tbsp
- Pink salt -to taste
- Curd -100ml
- Olive oil -1 tbsp
Method of preparation:
- In a bowl add coconut flour, pink salt, curd, and mix well into a smooth batter, add water if required.
- Now add chopped capsicum, onion, green chilies and mix well.
- Heat a pan, drizzle olive oil, and pour ladleful of cheela batter.
- Cover the lid and cook for 5 minutes till the edges are crispy.
- Flip the cheela and cook for till done.
- Remove from flame. Serve hot.
2. Blackberry fruit yogurt
Ingredients :
- Yogurt- 250ml
- Blackberry (diced)- 1/2 cup
- Erythritol -1tbsp
Method of preparation:
- Take the whole blackberries, remove the seed and keep them aside.
- In a blender, add yogurt, blackberry, and erythritol(as per sweetness), ice cubes, and blend into a smooth paste.
- Take a glass, pour the fruit yogurt into it and serve chilled.
3. Peanut butter cookies
Ingredients :
- Almond flour- 1 cup
- Peanut butter (unsweetened)-1/2 cup
- Almond milk (unsweetened)- 20ml
- Butter (unsalted) -1/3 cup
- Baking soda -1/2 tsp
- Pink salt- to taste
Method of preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees for 10minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients into a soft dough.
- Knead well so that the ingredients combine well with each other.
- Divide into equal balls and press gently to shape into cookies.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes and cool.
- Store in airtight containers.
Following is a sample menu for one week on a low-carb diet plan.
This diet plan provides less than 50 grams of total carbs per day. However, if you have a better metabolism you can eat slightly more carbs.
Monday
- Breakfast: A bowl of cornflakes
- Lunch: Low-fat yogurt with blueberries and 5-8 almonds.
- Dinner: Vegetable Daliya /oats
Tuesday
- Breakfast: veg Parantha
- Lunch: Dal & Brown Rice
- Dinner: Veg curry with mixed roti
Wednesday
- Breakfast: Veg balls fried in olive oil.
- Lunch: Brown rice with soybean curry
- Dinner: Grilled tofu with vegetables.
Thursday
- Breakfast: a sandwich with various vegetables, fried in butter or coconut oil.
- Lunch: Smoothie with coconut milk, berries, almonds, and protein powder.
- Dinner: Steak and veggies.
Friday
- Breakfast: suji uttapam with mint chutney
- Lunch: oats salad with some olive oil.
- Dinner: paneer chops with vegetables.
Saturday
- Breakfast: poha with 1 cup tea.
- Lunch: Grass-fed yogurt with berries, coconut flakes, and a handful of walnuts.
- Dinner: daal +roti with vegetables.
Sunday
- Breakfast: Besan chilla
- Lunch: Smoothie with coconut milk, a dash of heavy cream, chocolate-flavored protein powder, and berries.
- Dinner: grilled mushroom with boiled veg or oats
Do\’s and don\’t for low carb diets
Don’t Expect weight loss quickly
Nowadays low carb diets are popular as they result in rapid weight loss within the first few days of dieting. In a month you can expect 3-6 kgs weight loss.
However, as the weeks pass gradually the rate of weight loss comes down to a more reasonable level of 1-2 pounds per week.
When this happens, many individuals become discouraged.
But, don’t let this happen to you.
Initially, the sudden weight loss with low-carb diets is almost all water weight loss, not fat loss.
After the “break-in” period of the diet (losing stored glycogen and water weight), actual fat loss will take place, which if you’re doing things right is usually 1-2 kg per week.
Don’t do anything too much
whether it is exercise or any diet don\’t do anything too much. if we talk about adding exercise It can be tempting when dieting to try to accelerate your results
You see, when you are dieting on your ability to recover is impaired.
Exercising too much and often can lead to overtraining, injury, and muscle loss along with a weight loss plateau.
You do need to hard training but the focus of your training should be resistance training as that provides the stimulus your body needs to retain muscle in the midst of a calorie deficit.
If you are willing to start a low carb and still try to hit hard workouts multiple times per week, it may help to play around with nutrient timing.
Don’t get panic by seeing the Scale everyday
You are doing your diet perfectly but still, get panic by seeing the changes in scale., there will come a point when you either reach your weight loss goals and want to re-introduce carbs.
The day you will consume a lot of carbs you will realize that your scale weight the day after will be higher, up to five pounds or so.
This is general and not the result of fat gain.
Consumption of carbohydrates leads to the storage of water in your body in muscle and liver cells as glycogen. For every gram of glycogen that is stored, your body also stores 3.5 grams of water.
It is not surprising that when you bring carbs back into your nutrition plan that your body will retain more water.
Do Plan Carb carefully
Plan your carbs and their sources carefully because of carbs fuel performance, recovery, and muscle growth.
Your ability to maintain a high level of performance for considerable lengths of time during training is severely hampered if you do not consume carbohydrates.
Foods rich in carbs are also insanely delicious and filling. add high fiber fruits and veg.
There are numerous more reasons to strategically implement carbs into your diet.
The hunger hormone called leptin increases, which is why you feel hungry pretty much all the time when cutting.
Rest, carbohydrates also increase insulin levels, which have anti-catabolic properties, meaning they help prevent muscle breakdown.
Do Eat more Fruits & green veggies
you are going on a low-carb diet doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all manner of carbohydrate intake. You can keep low-carb fruits and vegetables in the diet.
These foods are rich in essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants which support health and wellness.
Fruits and veggies are serious due to their high fiber and water content but are low in total carbohydrates and calories.
You may be eliminating the white bread and pasta while on a low-carb diet, but there’s no reason to eliminate fruits and vegetables. There are many nutritious foods and you can prefer those.
Maintain your Electrolytes and consume more water
Adding plenty of water and fluids to your diet maintains your electrolyte balance. When you start a low-carb diet, you lose a lot of water weight in the initial stages of the diet.
Water loss leads to the loss of essential minerals (electrolytes), like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
Water and electrolyte loss both can lead to dehydration, fatigue, weakness, and brain fog.
That is the reason why many people report feeling very tired and lethargic the first few weeks on a low carb or ketogenic diet.
You must keep a close eye on your water and electrolyte intake.
To support your fluid and electrolyte intake add more fluids, veg juices, soups, and don\’t forget to drink 3 liters of water every day.
Stay tuned for more such keto weight loss journeys, health content, and recipes! Also, don\’t forget to follow us on Instagram for the daily dose of the Keto Lifestyle.
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