non meat eaters?

[lindsay hohan]

Hey my names michelle and i just joined here. my boyfriend decided that he wants to try atkins and i figured ill do it along with him for some support. the only thing is that i dont eat meat. i do eat dairy, eggs, and shrimp though.

Has anyone else that doesnt eat meat attempt this diet? im concern about not getting enough protein in me (i usually rely on lots of beans and soy) while still trying to stay below 20 carbs a day. is it even worth it to attempt this diet?

thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[rweeks]

Re: non meat eaters?

This is a mostly fat diet. While in induction you should have 70% of your calories from fat/25% from protein/ and 5% from carbs. ( I think my numbers are right). THese ratios change a bit as you go on. I do not eat much meat. You may struggle a bit through induction, but since you like eggs you should be OK. Once you go up through OWL you can have tofu and nuts which have a lot of protein. I eat tofu all the time (especially tofu shirataki noodles). I get a majority of my fat from avocados and the olive oil that I cook my vegetables in. I usually have a few ounces of cheese a day as well. People think that Atkins is all about meat, but I seem to be doing alright. YOu should be fine. Welcome to a better way of life.

[Elizellen]

Re: non meat eaters?

AS rob said, if you can eat eggs, cheese and shrimp you should be able to eat on plan. though you might get a bit bored with just shrimp - do you eat other seafood? You could expand your choices with that if you can manage it.

Tofu can be counted as a part of your cheese allowance as Dr Atkins knew it as 'soy cheese' so allowed it on induction.

I would not stay too long on induction but move to OWL straight after your first 14 days so before too long you could include more cheese (on the dairy rung/level) and nuts/seeds on the 3rd OWL rung.

There is a post somewhere about doing Atkins as a vegetarian. If I can find it I will add a link to it later.

[mateluna]

Re: non meat eaters?

I do not eat red meat. I eat eggs for breakfast, chicken/shrimp/egg/tuna salad for lunch. I also like salmon burgers or baked salmon. I think you can od fine without eating meat. I do eat turkey bacon from time to time. The thing with this is the nitrates, it is hared ot find nitrate free turkey bacon.

[Elizellen]

Re: non meat eaters?

I found the thread

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-low-carb-dieting-faqs/6729-can-i-do-atkins-vegetarian.html

[lindsay hohan]

Re: non meat eaters?

thank you all so much for all your suggestions!

i actually just started eating shrimp about a week ago. im not a fan of fish because i dont like the fishy taste but maybe eventually ill start trying to eat some different seafood.


so tofu and soy cheese are ok for the first 14 days?

[Elizellen]

Re: non meat eaters?

Tofu is what Dr Atkins called 'soy cheese' so is allowed as part of your 3-4 ounces cheese allowance on induction.

BTW I have read that there are other products nowadays also called 'soy cheese' which might not be just made of tofu but have other ingredients added. So make sure you look at the list of ingredients to make sure they are all 'legal' for induction or whatever phase of Atkins you are at.

[not2late]

Re: non meat eaters?

If your boyfriend is approaching Atkins as an "all the meat you can eat" diet, then you and he should read the book to learn how to do Atkins the proper and safe way. There are too many lies and myths about Atkins, so it's better and safer to actually read the book and learn the right way to do it.