Going to try going vegan for a while - need some help

6,819 Views | 39 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by bigtruckguy3500
eric76
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AG
bigtruckguy3500 said:

eric76 said:

bigtruckguy3500 said:

MichaelJ said:



Vegan is pretty hard core - have you considered trying a whole30?


My diet is already pretty clean. With the exception of whole milk, occasional whole wheat bread, and rarely some pasta, and my whey protein, I really don't eat much processed stuff. But it's no where close to Whole30 strict.

fta09 said:

Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.


Yeah, just a little bit of an experiment. I figure just trying it for a month or two won't put me too far behind on improving my strength.
K2T2 said:

Animal-based foods are the only ones that contain cholesterol, that's why people ditch them when their cholesterol spikes. It's also no harder to gain muscle as a vegan than as an omni, esp if you just offload your protein deficit onto a supplement like OP already is doing as an omni. Super easy as long as you're eating and doing the work to actually build muscle.


Yeah, cholesterol is interesting. Research suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn't have a direct impact on plasma levels in the majority of people. But most of the vegans I know that also eat healthy and exercise have outstanding cholesterols. One, for example, has a total cholesterol in the 90's with an HDL in the 50's.

So, I'd like to see what happens in myself. Am I someone that's very responsive to dietary cholesterol or not? Those vegans I know, who are very athletic, including a former division I quarterback all swear by it, never intended to do it for as long as they did. Maybe I'll feel better, maybe I'll feel worse. We'll see. Just an experiment.
I had a blood test last week to see if I needed a different dosage of levothyroxine.

The blood test included the cholesterol. My HDL was something like 40 and my LDL was 79, but my triglycerides were 253.
Do you eat a lot of processed foods? Bread, pasta, chips, sugary stuff? Wondering why your triglycerides are that high.
I do tend to eat a a fair bit of processed foods like sausages. Also bread. And some pasta, but not on a regular basis. I eat some chips, but a bag of fritos or potato chips will generally last me about two or three months (I'm not at all careful with "Use by" dates).

I was drinking plenty of soft drinks. After the blood test, I finished what I had and haven't had any more since. This may be counterproductive since when I'm not drinking soft drinks, I probably don't get enough liquids. Even as a kid, I would drive a tractor without a cab for 12 hours in the hot summer sun and not drink any water except with my lunch. As long as I had a water jug on the tractor I was fine, but if I forgot the water jug or it fell over and leaked out all the water, I'd be in agony until I could go home to get some water either at lunchtime or at the end of the day.

I also eat some ice cream, but because of lactose intolerance, I limit the amount that I eat per day to what I can comfortably handle -- approximately one scoop.

Since I skipped lunch today, I'm thinking of having pancakes and fried ham for supper. Plenty of sugars in the maple syrup.
eric76
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AG
I guess I'm having a (late) vegan/vetarian lunch today.

Bean tostadas.

Corn tortillas crisped up in the oven (frying is better)
Fat-free refried beans on top.
Then taco sauce, chopped onions, chopped tomato, lettuce, and salt.

I ate these pretty often in the two years that I was semi-vegarian. I've never been able to tolerate cheese, so that's not even a temptation for me.

Bean burritos are really good, too.
bigtruckguy3500
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Just an update on my lipid numbers, in case y'all don't visit the H&F board.

https://texags.com/forums/48/topics/3192659

Total cholesterol 195 -> 154 (21% decrease)
HDL 61 -> 51 (16% decrease)
LDL 125 -> 92 (26% decrease)
Triglycerides 46 -> 54 (17% increase)
VLDL 9.20 -> 10.80 (17% increase)
austinag1997
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AG
Interesting thread. I lost 60 lbs on keto. Was going to do it again. Then started thining cardiovascular disease may kill me. Converted to a plant-based "vegan" diet. After being a meat eater, I had concerns.

After doing it for a month, it isn't bad. There are meat and cheese substitutes that are pretty good. In some recipes you wouldn't know the difference. Some of the Asian recipes are really good.

Anybody that says your sex drive diminishes on a vegan diet is mistaken.
Dr.Rumack
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I think you want your HDL higher, no?
bigtruckguy3500
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Dr.Rumack said:

I think you want your HDL higher, no?
Correct, high HDL is good. However the HDL:LDL ratio may be more important than absolute numbers. In this case my LDL decreased greater than my HDL, so the ratio improved.

Another thing you want low is triglycerides, and mine increased. However, given that they are already almost as low as they can get, the increase is likely trivial. If it jumped to 100 or 150 I might be more concerned.
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