Is it okay for a vegan to give up grains?

[Maxman]

Can I do away with carbs completely if I replace them with healthy fats? Or are carbs essential? Can I give up grains? 

My aim is to lose weight. I have lost 33 pounds till now. And that was just from a very simple diet I followed. Eating only twice in a 8 hour window. I am now stuck on a plateau. I am at 176 pounds right now. I need to lose 30 pounds more according to my BMI. What changes should I make in my diet? I was planning on giving up grains completely. But since I am a vegan, I am not sure if I should do that.

[Michael569]

if I may ask what is your height and your overall body composition? Are you more lean? More vascular? Or more short & a bit chubby? 

[Bogdan]

@Maxman In order to give a proper answer we would have to have few hour long discussion. From my experience, making sudden drastic changes like giving up a whole food group, like grains, or going keto is very hard to adhere to, and produces food cravings and disorders. i advise people to manipulate the LEAST amount of variables possible, that produce maximum results. For example, the first thing i would have you try is to simply walk more, and burn more calories. AND NOT reduce calories! (assuming that your diet is pretty clean, as a vegan - meaning that you're eating your grinded chia and flax seeds, other nuts & seeds, vegetables, tubers, greens, legumes, herbs&spices and fruit) Do that, adhere to this simple "technique" of simply moving your body more, and then see what other tiny variable you can manipulate to make the next step. 

Don't try to lose the weight yesterday  i spent almost 5 years trying to lose the weight fast. It got ridiculous!

[commie]

If you have to ask "Can I give up grains?" then the answer is "No!".

You don't need to give up grains to eat fewer carbs. Certainly do not try to quit carbs unless you know what you're doing!

Also, even looking only at macronutrients, the first thing you should know about grains is that they contain proteins (not quite the same ones legumes contain) so it's not like you could simply replace them with another calorie source even if quitting carbs was straightforward.

[mandyjw]

What specific grains are you currently eating regularly? 

[Maxman]

2 hours ago, Michael569 said:

if I may ask what is your height and your overall body composition? Are you more lean? More vascular? Or more short & a bit chubby? 

167 cm height. Chubby.

1 hour ago, mandyjw said:

What specific grains are you currently eating regularly? 

Sorghum (Jowar), White Rice (a bowl a day)

Edited July 15, 2020 by Maxman

[Michael569]

23 minutes ago, Maxman said:

167 cm height. Chubby.

Thanks

You could consider an alternative approach. Instead of dieting and cutting our sources of carbohydrates why don't you try regular eating but start exercising regularly with the aim to increase muscle mass. 

More skeletal muscle will help you burn fat because muscles are highly metabolically active and burn more energy even at rest, where fat tissue is highly pro-inflammatory and the fatter you have the easier it is to gain even more. As you gain muscle, you will be losing fat and even if your weight remained unchanged and your BMI would tell you "overweight" you will start tilting your body composition to healthy & athletic. 

Remember that BMI is a non-specific marker. It does not account for athleticism and muscle mass. It is a predictor of cardiometabolic risk for general population, people that are overweight and do not exercise. So you could gain muscle, lose fat, remain at, say 75 kilos (165pounds), but build a strong and resilient body with high metabolic activity. 

You could start by purchasing a set of adjustable dumbells (6-16 kg), a bench, a skipping rope and TRX and getting your hands dirty with some proper weights and some HIITs. Lots of youtube tutorials on how to start lifting at home in the pandemics. You don't need the gym for that. Athlean X, Scott Herman, Buff Dudes are good youtube channels that also have beginner videos. 

Alongside that, you may consider switching your carbs sources from high GL (rice, sorghum) to low GL (buckwheat, quinoa, sweet potato, oats, amaranth, wholegrain pasta, wholegrain bread) that are higher in fibre, protein and overall nutrition. You can also increase your intake of legumes. These foods produce more satiety, are healthier and it is impossible to gain weight from them because your body just cannot extract so much energy from them as it can from white rice. 

Otherwise, if you start cutting carbs, your body may start relying on protein for energy which means muscle atrophy and potential metabolic stagnation. You can also slip in depression because long fasting windows and starvation rapidly raise your adrenaline & cortisol levels.  Once you get out of that kind of starvation your body will save energy single calory and rapid weight gain would follow. A typical yoyo effect 

Anyways, sorry for the long post but hopefully some of it helps  

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by Michael569

[Sine]

I am a vegan and my diet is mostly based on fruits. I eat some vegetables and try to avoid grain as much as I can (I eat rice sometimes and gluten-free oatmeal but not often) I am very convinced that a grainfree vegan-diet that is mostly fruit based is the optimal diet for humans. I have seen it very strongly in my own body, for example I have so much more energy now than I used to and I don't have any cravings anymore because the sweet fruits are so satisfying and I can eat all I want. I do not work out but I do yoga and run almost everyday, also I live a furniture free/low furniture lifestyle which helps me to move around a lot and not sit still for long. 

On a ideal day I would eat

 

Morning: 

0,5 L of water with lemon juice 

Juice made from a whole green celery

(Then I use around an hour for exercise) 

0,5 L smoothie made from bananas, spinach, frozen wild blueberries (around 250g) and powder, like Atlantic dulce and spirulina - I also add a couple of dates, this is important for a good taste! and water of cause.  (This could also be swapped for Nicecream made from frozen bananas only, sometimes I also swap it for half a watermelon if I have one) 

 

Late morning: 

0,5L smoothie (I made 1L in my blender so here I just eat the other half) 

 

Noon

My biggest meal, this could be Indian Dahl, coconut curry, or just salal with 1kg of potatoes and dressing made from tahini. In these meals, I try to be grain-free, low fat, and use various vegetables ables. 

 

Evening

Just fruit or leftovers from noon. If I'm not hungry I just drink tea, if I'm very hungry and don't have more fruit or leftovers I eat gluten-free oatmeal with marble syrup and sometimes a bit of tahini. But the ideal here would be just fruits. 

 

In between the meals, if I feel hunger I snack on a banana, a pear, an apple, or some dates. I try never to go around hungry because I don't think it is good for the body. I believe fasting or mono-eating can be beneficial but only if your body is already very strong and you have had a long diet like this. And only for shorter durations. 

 

Not being scared of fruits has totally changed my life, it doesn't suck to eat healthier because fruits are so delicious and I'm not ashamed to eat a lot - and I have even lost weight and just keep gaining energy. 

I am a woman, 176cm tall and slim build, so of course, a larger person should maybe add larger portions, but I hope my meal schedule will inspire you <3 

Edited July 15, 2020 by Sine

[mandyjw]

1 hour ago, Maxman said:

167 cm height. Chubby.

Sorghum (Jowar), White Rice (a bowl a day)

Maybe just start with cutting out the white rice, or switch to wild rice. I can only have white rice infrequently or it makes me hungry quickly after and start to gain weight if I keep eating much of it.