PART ONE: VEGETARIAN DIETS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

What you should be aware of before you (a vegetarian) Embarks on Keto

Hey fellow Vegetarian!! This shout-out is for you. If you are bold enough to have chosen first to become a Vegetarian (having to deal with the lack of offer and choices that you may encounter when eating out with friends, when traveling, and when shopping), and then to yield also the benefits of the keto diet, you surely must be a kind of person who is not put off by little obstacles or the misinformation laying around on the web. In any case, as bold as you can be, no one can go far without a guide. So it is essential before you start on your meal plan that you understand how exactly to reinterpret the ketogenic diet in the right way in order to apply it to a vegetarian lifestyle.

The vegetarian ketogenic diet

What is a ketogenic diet? As you may already know, it is a diet which reduces drastically your intake of carbohydrates down to a 6/10% of your total daily intake (pay attention that this 6-10% is referred to net carbs, therefore excluding fiber

The lack of carbs is compensated with fats, which must represent 70% of your diet. Once you get your macros right, your body will enter into a state called “ketosis,” meaning that your metabolism will switch from using carbs for energy to using fats for producing energy. This wonderful natural mechanism of your body exists since the Mesolithic age and was meant to save us during periods of portrayed food shortage. It is a mechanism that is therefore deeply wired into our nature and has been working for thousands of years.

Can you follow a vegetarian or vegan ketogenic diet? Absolutely yes. Once we understand what foods we can eat instead of meat or fish, and you understand the real principles according to which a keto diet works, you will find it perfectly manageable to start and maintain a vegetarian ketogenic diet. One myth to debunk on the ketogenic diet is that it must be a diet rich in animal protein. In a vegetarian ketogenic diet, undoubtedly whole grains and legumes should be excluded, because of their carb intake, but you can easily substitute them with seasoned cheeses (parmesan cheese, for example), eggs and, for the vegan variant, tofu, seitan, tempeh, and mopur, that is wheat muscle. Therefore, as you see it is not at all impossible to find non-animal food sources that are rich in protein and low in carbohydrates. Having said this, many erroneously think that a keto diet is high in protein: this is absolutely not true. A too high intake of protein can hinder your entering into ketosis and therefore be detrimental to your objectives.

I find that one of the biggest error that the majority of us vegetarian warriors make when starting a keto diet is that of exceeding way too much with dairy products, often because of a lack of knowledge about the existing alternatives. This actually occurs also with vegetarians who do not go keto: by excluding meat and fish from their diet, they actually fall into repeatedly eating the same things, exceeding with dairy and carbs. This is why there are so many overweight vegetarians!

Coconut oil is considered the best source of "ketogenic" fats. This is a point that I love to stress because the intake of easily metabolizable fats (including also MTC oil) stimulates some cellular components that are activated during fasting, and this creates a sort of “soft fast state” in your body. This will induce your cells (both in the short and long-term) to adapt more quickly to the use of fats as a preferred source of energy, obviously improving your state of ketosis and results.

Tips & tricks for starting out

There are a number of tricks that can help you when you are just starting out on your keto diet:

1. ​​ Cleaning out the refrigerator and kitchen cupboards : The best way to avoid falling into temptation is to avoid being tempted. During the first weeks on a keto diet, if you avoid seeing the carb foods you love every time you open the refrigerator or pantry, it can make things drastically easier for you.

1. ​​ Avoid going shopping without haven eaten first! A research by the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition reveals how going to the supermarket with an empty stomach drives customers to buy the food they do not really need. Even if they are vegetarians and are on a keto diet, from experience, I know that many people still manage to get their carts filled up with junk food. The advice is, therefore, to avoid fasting before shopping: this could end in you taking a few steps back. 

1. ​​ Be clear and leave nothing unsaid with friends and family : When you decide to go keto, it is useful to inform family members and friends with whom you frequently eat. Obviously, one should not expect their conversion to, or even approval of, this diet, but one can obtain understanding and help in overcoming moments of weakness. Even just avoiding being a victim of comments and jokes will make the journey easier.

1. ​​ Planning and experimentation : A good way to avoid errors in this diet is to plan in advance what you will cook. Creating a weekly list is fun and allows you to play with your imagination, as well as always have a reminder available for your diet. At this moment it is useful to experiment: search for new recipes, foods you never tried before, vegetables and fatty foods that you never knew existed! Curiosity and getting involved will beat any form of temptation. 

1. ​​ Large portions : One of the most frequent problems of those who have recently started a keto diet is linked to portions. This is because, accustomed to omnivorous cooking and foods with a greater carb solicitation of the palate (and a much lower caloric density!), we tend to underestimate quantities. In the first period, the best remedy is to weigh everything you eat because you will not be used to how much keto foods can satiate you. After the first few weeks, this will not be necessary anymore, and everything will become mechanic along the way. 

1. ​​ Support and motivation : it is not uncommon to feel dissatisfied at the beginning of any kind of diet. Not because the new foods are not sufficiently tasty, but because of the change in your daily habits and practice routine. When you ingest some foods for decades, it is normal to notice their absence and feel some desire. Therefore, as in any journey of life, having the possibility to relate to others who are sharing the same journey or have already passed on this path will drastically increase your probabilities of success. Therefore, look for online groups on the topic, mingle with the people you know who are on the same diet and keep in touch as much as possible: you will find solutions to every day small problems that can build up to a mountain if you do not solve them straight away.

I wish you success as you combat your way through the road to weight loss!!