I’m 61, am fat and have asthma, despite a plant based diet for over 40 yrs. What the hell is that all about. I probably have one of the (arguably) healthiest diets in my area.
So, something is missing…..
Coincidences?
3 people (unrelated to each other), on the same day, mentioned Ketogenics to me (I’d never heard of it previously).
I also bought 3 boxes of coconut flour reduced to 50p each with no idea what the hell I was going to do with it.
So I guess the universe was sending me a message and off I went Googling the subject of vegan ketogenic.
“It can’t be done” say the naysayers. Errr, excuse me, red rag to a bull, of course, it can.
Something in my food intake needed to change so I’ve embarked on my vegan keto journey.
Starting with Vegan Ketogenics
Day 1 wasn’t really eating keto, but doing my shopping list and putting in orders based on the extensive research I’d been doing.
Time to start a new document, pulling in recipes, some already keto and ones I could adapt.
I read up about protein (there are a lot of myths about how much protein we need). I looked for sources that weren’t soya based. (Article from Dr. Joseph Mercola Physician and author)
Now, I’m not really one for weighing myself and taking measurements, it becomes too “oh my god, I’ve put a pound on” for me.
I go on how I feel and how my clothes fit so, I’ll work out my carbs and keep it to below 50 a day. A very much “no nonsense” approach and more practical than obsessive weighing and body function testing.
Fat bombs are your friend
Top priorities in my vegan keto diet
That being said, my top priority was mastering low carb pancakes. I know, it should have been carb counting but hell, shoot me.
A transition like this can be challenging so I need to make sure there is “comfort food”.
If you’re coming to this from a meat-based, or vegetarian diet, even more important.
After much fiddling, I devised a recipe that works, (you need a non-stick pan or griddle).
So that was challenge one successfully completed and I’m sure I’ll try variations of the vegan keto pancake recipe as I go along.
One of my daughters, a health professional and also eating keto mentioned the importance of giving your body 13hrs of rest from food. This means no snacking in the evening. 7 o’clock dinner, last meal, after that, water.
Day 1 Conclusion
Water is your best friend, hunger pangs, drink water, more hunger pangs, drink water. Take water to bed with you, drink when hunger wakes you up.
Oil is your second-best friend. A teaspoon in all your hot drinks (tip from daughter).
Vegan veg stock (I use Marigold), a cup with a teaspoon of oil, another way to stave off hunger pangs but not totally carb free, depending on the stock you use.
Fat Bombs recipe here!are great, so many variations on just a few ingredients. I made a fab caramel fudge,
Day 2
Breakfast is pancakes with a few blueberries. Black (good quality) coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil.
More research, more recipe hunting.
The only thing about recipe hunting is it makes you hungrier. All those scrummy photos. I would have killed for a chip butty (a UK thing, bread and chip sandwich) at 2PM
I busied myself, walked the dogs, cleaned, read a good book (not food-related).
Lunch was a low carb green smoothie and fat bomb.
Dinner was cauliflower hash browns with some lightly steamed low carb veg sprinkled with sunflower seeds. Very tasty! Recipe here
Around 30 net carbs for the day.
Very restless night, up and down to loo because of drinking so much water.
I CAN DO THIS
Day 3
I seem to be detoxing, to put in bluntly I have the shits.
Ok, that’s fine, to be expected with any change, just didn’t expect it to be quite so fast.
Breakfast was pancakes again, my seeds haven’t arrived for making porridge yet.
Lunch was a cup of stock with a spoon of avo oil, a bit of green salad and a fat bomb.
In the afternoon I felt better so tried my hand at seed crackers, very successful and only 1 carb a serving. I also made a vegan keto guacamole.
Am really starting to enjoy this now. So much fun making new recipes (I’ve always liked cooking).
I’m ignoring the hunger pangs.
My Shirataki noodles arrived so dinner was stir-fried green vegetables over the noodles fry followed by a fat bomb.
I make my fat bombs in a chocolate mold so very small portion, minimal carbs.
Oh, I forgot to say, use a smaller plate than you’re used to, 7 or 10-inch max. It’s psychological, but it works.
Evening time, I’m still ignoring the hunger pangs. This is the worst time for me, I always used to have a late evening snack.
I’m trying a trick of watching myself feeling hungry. What’s happening in my body? Does it actually need more food? This worked really well. I realised my body felt lighter and because I was kind of viewing it from the outside. In my mind, I removed myself from the hunger pangs, if that make sense, like meditation.
The rest of the week was more of the same. Experimenting with new recipes, researching, making sure I’m getting the nutrients I need.
Sunday, I’ve lost weight, (my trousers are loose) and I haven’t needed to take my asthma inhaler for 3 days. Something is working!
I still feel hungry in the evening but not nearly so bad as it was, Last 2 nights I haven’t been so restless waking up hungry.