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<blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1241796" data-attributes="member: 10201">She wants a low-carb, high-protein diet without meat, or possibly without animal products?&nbsp; That's pretty much not gonna happen, at least not without significant dietary supplements (slimfast shakes and the like).&nbsp; The plant world is high-carb, high-roughage, middling-protein, low-fat.If your motivation is health, moderation, not elimination, is the key word.&nbsp; In the case of meat, that should translate to no red meat, and not much chicken.&nbsp; Stick to oily fishes (those high in the Omega fatty acids--not cod/whitefish).&nbsp; Lowfat cheeses, skim milk, nonfat yogurt (make sure it has active cultures).&nbsp; Complex carbs are good, natural simple carbs are acceptable in reasonable quantities.&nbsp; Avoid concentrates, sport drinks, &quot;health&quot; shakes, and all such artificial foods if your primary goal is health--your body is better off with real food.As i understand it, Atkins-style diets work by putting your system into perpetual overdrive, so it burns what food it *does* get, rather than storing it as fat.&nbsp; I'm concerned about the long-term affects on the body.&nbsp; And since a general problem for those with high metabolisms or big frames when going vegetarian (especially vegan) is getting enough food to eat (because of the absence of high-calorie animal proteins and fats), i don't think the two strategies will mesh well, even if you can figure out reasonable vegetarion foods to satisfy the low-carb requirement.Anyway, while i personally believe that vegetarian is inherently healthier (so long as your aren't a &quot;grilled-cheese vegetarian&quot;--those who don't eat veggies/fruits, and then cut meat out of their diet), you don't need to be a vegetarian just to eat healthy.&nbsp; In fact, for most people, it may be harder to eat healthily as a vegetarian, just because, in our culture, we're so used to dietary habits that are dependent on the meat for crucial nutrients, and because so many people eat like crap in general so further unbalancing your diet is a very real risk when you cut the meat out.&nbsp; It's not as simple, in the typical diet, as eliminating meat--you're gonna need to increase several other things (and not just plant-based proteins).&nbsp; Though if more of us were vegetarians, it'd be a heck of a lot better for the environment.&nbsp; [Oh, speaking of which, if you're environmentally motivated, i'd definitely cut sea animals out of your diet--the oceans are horribly overfished, and rapidly depleting.]</blockquote>

[QUOTE="woodelf, post: 1241796, member: 10201"] She wants a low-carb, high-protein diet without meat, or possibly without animal products? That's pretty much not gonna happen, at least not without significant dietary supplements (slimfast shakes and the like). The plant world is high-carb, high-roughage, middling-protein, low-fat. If your motivation is health, moderation, not elimination, is the key word. In the case of meat, that should translate to no red meat, and not much chicken. Stick to oily fishes (those high in the Omega fatty acids--not cod/whitefish). Lowfat cheeses, skim milk, nonfat yogurt (make sure it has active cultures). Complex carbs are good, natural simple carbs are acceptable in reasonable quantities. Avoid concentrates, sport drinks, "health" shakes, and all such artificial foods if your primary goal is health--your body is better off with real food. As i understand it, Atkins-style diets work by putting your system into perpetual overdrive, so it burns what food it *does* get, rather than storing it as fat. I'm concerned about the long-term affects on the body. And since a general problem for those with high metabolisms or big frames when going vegetarian (especially vegan) is getting enough food to eat (because of the absence of high-calorie animal proteins and fats), i don't think the two strategies will mesh well, even if you can figure out reasonable vegetarion foods to satisfy the low-carb requirement. Anyway, while i personally believe that vegetarian is inherently healthier (so long as your aren't a "grilled-cheese vegetarian"--those who don't eat veggies/fruits, and then cut meat out of their diet), you don't need to be a vegetarian just to eat healthy. In fact, for most people, it may be harder to eat healthily as a vegetarian, just because, in our culture, we're so used to dietary habits that are dependent on the meat for crucial nutrients, and because so many people eat like crap in general so further unbalancing your diet is a very real risk when you cut the meat out. It's not as simple, in the typical diet, as eliminating meat--you're gonna need to increase several other things (and not just plant-based proteins). Though if more of us were vegetarians, it'd be a heck of a lot better for the environment. [Oh, speaking of which, if you're environmentally motivated, i'd definitely cut sea animals out of your diet--the oceans are horribly overfished, and rapidly depleting.] [/QUOTE]

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