How To Eat A Low-Carb Diet As A Vegetarian

As a vegetarian, most Americans often consume far too many carbohydrates in the form of pasta, bread and other refined grains. Diets, like the Atkins Diet, recognize Americans love for carbs and suggest that as long you can consume at least two varieties of plant protein each day, you can get a balance of essential amino acids that are needed in a healthy diet. However, eating lots of plant proteins or veggies can also lead to a second challenge since these foods are "packaged" with lots of carbs. Basically, your objective is to consume enough protein and healthy fats without simultaneously getting too many carbohydrates that it interferes with weight loss.

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The Atkins Diet has always encouraged the consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, adequate protein, and healthy fats. Dieters, including Sharon Osbourne, rave about how you can eat all your favorite foods, including unsweetened chocolate, berries, nuts, seeds and even your favorite creamy dressing on a salad for dinner!  From day one, the program encourages the consumption of vegetables and throughout the plan, the dieter can eat more vegetables on a daily basis than is recommended by USDA guidelines.

So, to adapt a low-carb diet, like Atkins, to your vegetarian needs, we recommend:

• Make sure to get sufficient proteins in eggs, cheese, soy, legumes, seitan and quinoa
• Start in Ongoing Weight Loss at 30 or 40 grams of Net Carbs and introduce nuts and seeds before berries
• Add extra olive, canola, walnut, flaxseed and other oils to salads and vegetables to make up for the smaller amount of fat in most of your protein sources, so as not to interfere with fat metabolism

The New Atkins Made Easy: A Faster, Simpler Way to Shed Weight and Feel Great—Starting Today! by Colette Heimowitz.