My Vegan Keto Experiment - Part 2
I WENT VEGAN KETO FOR 3 WEEKS! - part 2,
my honest feelings about it
Hey guys, as promised, here is Part 2 of my Vegan Keto Experiment blog series. I wanted to make this blog post much less formal and scientific and more so delve into my personal experiences and opinions. Thank-you to everyone who watched my YouTube video I shared on my ‘What I Eat in a Day, Vegan Keto Experiment’, the feedback was all very positive and encouraging for more and regular posting on YouTube… (promise i’ll be sharing some more video content soon!)… And yes, lots of comments about grinding up my flax seeds in the blender instead of buying flax meal haha in hindsight it was a silly thing to say! ;) And also to those who have downloaded our Vegan Keto eBook we created and made some of the recipes from it and given me such nice feedback! For me, if someone is on a standard keto diet and purchases that eBook and changes one of their meat-y dishes for one of my plant based ones then I am stoked and my job is done! :)
Ok, so lets get stuck into Part 2! So obviously a vegan keto diet requires ALOT of preparation and planning. I had to spend lots of time calculating out the macronutrients in foods and working out what foods I can eat and in which quantities in order to go into ketosis. It surprised me how quickly the grams of carbohydrates in my meals could add up! Personally as a big lover of carbohydrates I have never counted and tried to restrict my carb intake so this was a really interesting project for me. On that note though, this is another downfall for this crazy strict diet... The time needed to plan out your meals! No wonder so many people give this a go and fail after a couple of weeks, or get bored because they feel stuck to eating the same meals and foods.
I decided 3 weeks was a good number for me to work at this for. I think it’s enough time for my body to adjust into it. With my busy schedule of travel I knew that this would be a really hard task so I had to time it in between travels so that I could prepare all of my meals and not starve... literally. I wanted to maintain my daily calorie intake but cutting back carbohydrates dramatically I knew it would be very difficult. Fats from avocados, nuts, seeds and oils were my saving grace for calorie consumption over the 3 weeks.
NOTE:
Initially I planned to do it for 2 weeks but decided to expand it to 3 weeks, bringing it right up to before I attended Splendour in the Grass back home in Australia (winter music festival).. I felt as though only 2 weeks may not have been enough to adjust into it and give it a fair review. Obviously a 6-12 week test would provide me with a much better understanding of how I feel about this diet longer term but that is a really huge commitment to a blog post.. and just far too long away from some of my favourite foods: potatoes, beans and fruit. ;) In hindsight I also would have loved to have taken some blood measurements before and after to share with you guys, but again, I don’t think 3 weeks would have given an accurate enough understanding, perhaps an idea for a future personal study ;)
Journal - Daily/Weekly Check-ins
I tried my best to maintain a diary as I progressed on the diet. Sometimes I wrote daily and in lots of detail, other times bi-weekly, depending on how I was feeling or any new updates/meals to document. Below is a very informal and raw documentation of the 3 weeks with some recipes you might like to try at home :)
Day 1.
Okay - the beginning of my keto trial! I am feeling really motivated and excited to give this a crack. I am such a health and nutrition nerd so I am always interested in trying new things and seeing how my body responds. For a long time I have really doubted this diet, and I wanted to write about it on my blog. However, I didn’t think it was fair to give any kind of opinion on something I had never tried. So anyway, goodbye carbs my dear friends and here I goooo….
As I always start my day with a smoothie I thought I would give a keto version a crack for my first keto meal! Fruit free of course. Here is the recipe:
Breakfast
1/4 avocado
1 scoop vegan protein
1 tbsp coconut cream
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp cacao powder
2 tsp L-glutamine (pure amino acid)
1 kale leaf
Water and ice
Verdict: Well… It tasted like drinking a very bland savoury cold soup. Let me repeat that. Very bland! I used a protein mix with very little stevia so I think going forward its going to need a sweeter protein or touch of stevia, because a smoothie without fruit is not much fun! I also think the addition of the kale and cacao made this smoothie pretty bitter. NOT A FAN! I am also coming into this after eating not such a ‘wholesome’ diet. The past 2 weeks we’ve had a wedding in Bali so LOTS of cocktails (sugar loaded of course), eating out and trying new cafes and restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, so of course some treats, lots of sugar and salt. So the first few days are going to take some adjusting as my taste buds are de-sensitised to strong flavours.
Nutrition: 290 Cal, 1.8g sugar, net carbs 9.2g, protein 26g, fat 19g (12.6% cal net carbs)
Lunch: tofu scramble & veg
100g firm tofu
1.5 tbsp olive oil
Spices: turmeric, paprika, salt, pepper, chilli flakes
1 tsp coconut aminos
1/4 avocado
2 cup kale
10 cherry tomatoes
1 flat mushroom
1/2 tbsp Kim-chee
1 tbsp hemp seeds
Verdict: For lunch I made a tofu scramble, similar to the recipe I created for Nuilife found here. With some sautéed tomatoes, mushroom and kale. It actually tasted really really amazing, and I feel really satisfied! The only major difference here to what I would usually eat is no bread, onion, garlic and pumpkin.
Nutrition: 416 cal, 15g of carbs, 30g fat and 24g protein (7.2% of cal from carbs).
Tofu Scramble
with sautéed veg
Dinner: I made a salad - random, no recipe followed.
2 cups lettuce
8 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp hemp seeds
100g tofu (pan fried in olive oil)
125g Konjac noodles (this will be my saving grace as I love noodles and rice)
1/4 avocado
1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp coconut cider vinegar (dressing)
2 tsp liquid coconut aminos (over tofu)
Verdict: I checked the nutrition/carbs for this and found out the liquid aminos were adding a bit of carbs from the sugar in it. (Its about 50% sugar by the way, and the 2 tsps in lunch and dinner were adding about 10g of carbs, which is quite a lot..). To be honest, I don’t really feel satisfied after this meal. Perhaps I needed a bit more fat (some more avocado perhaps.)
Nutrition: 353 calories, 26 g fat, 6.2g net carbs, 18g fat
Snack: coconut milk latte
This was just a latte made on coconut milk from a cafe. Hard to determine the carbs in this drink as I cannot be sure what the nutrition content of the milk was, or the quantity. I chose coconut milk as its typically higher fat.
Day 2
Breakfast: Tofu Scramble and Avocado
Today I went out for breakfast so had to be creative with my order. I also have NO idea how much carbs would be in this meal. For example there could be lots of garlic, onion, and sugar in the tofu scramble... I think If you were someone who was very strict about their keto diet, I imagine eating out causes a lot of stress and anxiety - unnecessarily, hence I’m starting to see why people find this difficult to follow whilst enjoying balance in your life. Perhaps cyclic keto - giving yourself days off to eat what you like every 1-2 weeks would resolve some of this.
I had a tofu scramble with a whole avocado covered in sesame seeds (Although tempting, I passed the hash brown over to Alex). It was super satisfying because of all of the avocado and seeds. I’m unsure of the nutrition info however I assume the protein and fat content would be really high.
Location: The LC Miami (Flora by Greenhouse) - check it out if you’re on the Gold Coast!
Tofu Scamble & Guac
at The LC in Miami
Lunch: Salad
2 cup Lettuce
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes
100g tofu
1 cup konjac noodles
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper.
For lunch I made this salad at home. I wasn’t particularly starving because of the breakfast was super satisfying! This was similar to the meal the night before. Super simple and healthy.
Dinner: Coconut Milk Soup
3 tbsp Coconut Cream
2 tsp Coconut Oil
100g Tofu
5 Cherry Tomatoes
3 Button Mushrooms
1/3 packet of Konjac Noodles
Turmeric, Chilli
1 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
Verdict: This soup was super tasty but I was feeling a little hungry a couple of hours later so made myself a little coconut milk tea with turmeric, cacao and cinnamon.
Nutrition: 320 Cal, 22g fat, 9.1g net carb, 14g protein (11% of calories from carbs)
Overall: probably mostly feeling a little hungry between meals. However I am transitioning from eating out every meal to cooking all my own meals so the portion sizes are smaller (well more so what I should be eating) so my stomach is probably also adjusting.
Day 3:
Breakfast
I woke up feeling quite hungry as I had dinner early.
Smoothie:
1 scoop vegan protein powder
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp oconut cream
1 tsp cacao
water, ice
Verdict: This protein contains more stevia so it tasted a lot better. Maybe I am beginning to adjust to a lower sweetness also. Still, this smoothie has nothing on a fruity smoothie!!
Nutrition: 331 cal, 23g fat, 7.7g net carbs, 26g protein (9.3% cal from carbs)
Lunch: For lunch I made another salad.
1.5 cup Lettuce & Kale/Cabbage
3 Cherry Tomatoes
100g Grilled Tofu
1/4 cup Zucchini
1 Mushroom
15g Red Onion
1/4 Avocado
2 tsp Hemp Seeds
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Olive Oil
1/2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Verdict: This was super satisfying, but I was pretty hungry a few hours later and had to cook dinner early. Again, maybe I am still adjusting to smaller portions of food. Weighing/measuring and recording everything is really time consuming and I feel like all I am thinking about is food!
Nutrition: 365cal, 28g fat, 7.8g net carbs, 15g protein (8.5% cal from carbs)
Dinner: For dinner I made a creamy kelp noodle dish/curry, again just me throwing together some low carb ingredients.
Sauce:
150g Tofu
3 tbsp Coconut Cream
1 tbsp Olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lime
salt, chilli
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 servings of Kelp Noodles
7 Cherry Tomatoes
2 cup Baby Spinach
5 gram (1 packet) Crunchy Dried/Salted Nori Sheets
Verdict: This was one of my favourite dishes I have had yet. The protein came from the tofu in the sauce and extra fat from the oil and coconut cream. I would describe this as kind of a asian noodle soup/curry. Imagining this with rice noodles tho… drool!
Nutrition: 345 cal, 25g fat, 9.9g net carbs, 13g protein (11.5% cal from carbs)
Snack: turmeric latte of turmeric latte mix, coconut cream, macadamia milk (unsweetened). I thought about measuring out this but also couldn’t be bothered as its late ;)
Day 5
Breakfast: I had my ‘keto smoothie’, same as before but with some extra protein and coconut milk to make it more filling.
Lunch: I snacked on Macadamia Nuts and Seaweed Snacks, both very low carb snacks. Seaweed having no net carbs and macadamias only having 2.2g net carbs and 320 calories per 1/3 cup serve. Also due to macadamias high fat content they made me really full.
Dinner: Konjac Spaghetti Bolognese
1 Packet Konjac Noodles
1/2 Tomato
7 Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 Portabella Mushroom
1/2 cup Cauliflower
1/4 Avocado
1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
25g Daiya Vegan Cheese
1 Serving Savoury Veggie Mince (by veggie delights)
Verdict: this dish was totally delicious! I guess the only downside would be that I’ve used a processed mince because lentils would be too high in carbs (they’re my favourite ingredient in a vegan bolognese). I am also missing my garlic toast I would usually make with my spaghetti. Konjac is a great low carb alternative to pasta, however it might be lacking some of the micro nutrients of its counterpart (wholegrain pasta) and its basically 100% indigestible carbohydrate hence some people might find it hard to digest.
Nutrition: 460 cal, 28g fat, 13g net carbs, 20g protein (11.3% cal from carbs)
Keto Spaghetti Bolognese
with Konjac Noodles
Day 6
Today I don’t have much time to cook and prepare new meals so I have eaten what I ate yesterday, plus I had a vegan poke bowl for lunch at a Poke Shop on the Gold Coast. I opted for no rice and added extra avocado. Obviously the nutritional content of this is next to impossible to calculate. I still feel pretty motivated about it, and I have read about ‘keto flu’ but I am yet to feel this. One positive in this is that it does stop me snacking on packaged/convenience foods.
Poke Bowl
without rice @ Poke Poke in Mermaid Beach
Day 10:
It has been a few days now, travelling back home to Bali. Since I last updated this journal, Alex has joined me on my Vegan Keto Quest as he felt like it would help me if he wasn’t eating all my favourite foods in front of me.
Alex is struggling a lot with the sugar deprivation, (probably a good thing since he quite easily polishes off a block of chocolate in a night). However, we are also both feeling a lack of energy and weakness. I have been reading more online about the keto flu. While your body is adjusting through this transition from carbs to ketones you will feel ‘foggy’ however I have been at this for almost 2 weeks now and still not feeling 100%. I am also not feeling 100% satisfied after meals, like its just missing something (carbs derrrrr). We also have been feeling a lack of ability in the gym. Usually I workout for about 1 - 1.5 hrs and feel amazing but this last few days I just haven’t felt great… Hopefully this passes soon.
So what kind of things have I been eating since I last updated:
Well my favourite breakfast has been an overnight Bircher, ‘Veto Bircher’ I’m going to share the recipe for this in a YouTube video and my Vegan Keto eBook as I actually find it really yummy (update: you can find this recipe on a previous blog post, the Vegan Keto eBook AND on my YT video). The ingredients are: hemp seeds, chia seeds, shredded coconut flakes, vanilla, raspberries (just a few), and coconut milk, with some variations.
We made some Keto Pancakes for breakfast, in the mix was coconut flour, chia seeds, coconut milk, protein powder, vanilla, and stevia and topped them with peanut butter, raspberry coulis (defrosted raspberries with a little bit of water) and hemp seeds. I wouldn’t say these were great, they struggled to hold themselves together (symbolic of how we are feeling ;) ) but they were a nice change from our bland fruitless smoothie.
For lunch I have actually been enjoying making a salad of: lettuce, cherry tomatoes (just a few), red onion, avocado (lots of it!!), crispy seaweed snacks, pan fried tofu (with a good amount of olive oil) and hemp seeds. Dressing: olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper. We would typically eat out a bit for lunch however its just too hard on a keto diet.
We went out for our first meal in bali the other night. Which is crazy because eating out in Bali is a huge part of our lifestyle here. We went to a local fav called Fish Bone Local (they’re the best spot in Bali for sustainably caught seafood) so Alex had fish and I had the ‘beer battered nori tofu’. They couldn’t do it without the beer batter so I literally had to pick all of the batter off of my tofu. We also had a side green herb salad and stir fried vegetables (broccoli, snow peas, and baby corn), with a side of guacamole. Baby corn is likely too high in carbs but at this point I felt I had deserved it. Can you believe where my life is currently at… talking about how I’ve earn’t that corn ;)
I did manage to make a little low carb ‘chocolate haystack’ one evening to increase my calorie intake. The ingredients were: coconut flakes, chia seeds, hemp seeds, protein powder, peanut butter, coconut oil, stevia, and cacao powder. This was super yummy, but it feels like I’m tricking my body into thinking a big sugary treat is coming in!
Other meals we’ve had for dinner include:
Veggie bake - layers of eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms, covered in a tofu, cauliflower, nutritional yeast and olive oil sauce)
Raw Sushi - nori sheets, cauliflower rice, grilled tofu (covered in coconut flour), fried eggplant and zucchini strips, avocado, lettuce, and lots of sesame seeds. (You can find the recipe in our Vegan Keto eBook)
San choy Bau - cabbage cups, filled with fried tofu & eggplant, plus lots of mashed avocado and olive oil.
Keto Yellow Curry - sugar free curry paste, coconut milk/cream, tofu, low carb veggies (recipe in our Vegan Keto eBook)
Snacks - macadamia nuts, protein shakes (with coconut cream/milk), nori sheets, and peanut butter.
I do still feel like I am eating plenty of veg, it’s probably the majority of my food intake, however, at the same time the volumes of veg are decreased and I’m eating a lot of tofu - actually getting sick of the sight of it! It’s really the only low carb source of protein (tempeh too but smaller quantities).
In terms of macros I have been having approx: 30 grams of carbs, 58 grams of protein and 90 grams of fat, or roughly 1200-1500 calories which is approx 8-10% of calories from carbs.
I’ll sign off now with one last thought.... All I can think about is how much I would love to make my smokey jackfruit bean mix with baked potato chips and creamy pumpkin sauce! But we will continue on this journey for blog writing sake ;)
Day 14
Okay, so it’s now day 14 and at last my energy levels are up again. I finally feel motivated in the gym to get a good workout in. Alex, on the other hand, is still feeling very lethargic and weak. He is on about day 6 now so I am guessing his glycogen stores are depleted and his body is adjusting to a lower blood sugar in the switch over to ketones for energy. I was doing some more research on these keto websites last night about this lack of energy Alex was feeling. They call it the Keto-Flu, that is a common early sign that your body is going into ketosis, but still adjusting. I find all of this really interesting to experience first hand, since I loved learning about it on theory in my bio-chemistry classes. He has particularly found it difficult to lift the normal weight in the gym but I have assured him it passes. I did also tell him he doesn’t have to do it with me but I think he’s enjoying the challenge together.
Something scary did happen to me this morning after breakfast and doing some work. I got up from laying on the couch and mid-convo almost fainted, like it was real close. My knees went weak, everything went white and I fell, catching myself of the couch. It was pretty scary. Obviously my bloody sugar levels were low, plus I stood up from the laying position quite quickly so my blood pressure would have dropped rapidly, but this definitely is not a regular thing for me. Taking it easy when getting up from now on.
Compared to my first week of blog writing, you can see that I haven’t been documenting every single meal like I was. Basically it is very time consuming just to measure all the ingredients, let alone write them all up and calculate the nutrients, plus we have been eating many of the same meals and writing them into recipes for an ebook we are working on (Vegan Keto eBook thats on our site now).
For dinner last night we made a salad that was probably the most delicious vegan keto meal yet! A salad of lettuce, kale (lightly sautéed in olive oil), red onion, cherry tomatoes, sundried tomatoes (in olive oil), dill, avocado, pan fried tempeh (just a small serving of around ~50g), pepitas, olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic.
I was a little off my calorie/fat quota for the day so I had a sugar free coconut milk hot chocolate (sweetened with stevia) and spoonful of natural peanut butter, because well, peanut butter is life, and its keto, so hell yeah!
Day 15
We have lunch plans today with friends who are visiting Bali so planning a meal out is a bit stressful because you cannot control what is in your meal. This is what I would say is a huge issue with this strict diet. We eat out to experience delicious foods with family and friends. It’s good for our wellbeing to be able to enjoy food with other humans. So having to be really cautious and picky with eating out certainly causes extra work and stress (on top of a vegan diet). I had already checked the menu and planned out my meal of tofu scramble (hopefully they don’t add sugar), avocado, mushrooms, vegan pesto, and coconut feta.
I have also been trying to search for keto urine test strips to measure my ketone levels but cannot find them ANYWHERE here in Bali!! Blood Ketone testing is of course the most accurate test as so many things can effect your urine levels (such as hydration status!) but I wanted to just have a look. I will try to find some when I fly back to Australia.
Day 16
I am feeling so much better, and actually feel like really good. I believe this means I am passed the keto flu and into ketosis. I have been taking the advice from a lot of my instagram followers who sent me tips, adding coconut oil to my coffee, extra seeds in my meals (mostly hemp) and lowering the protein and carb intake slightly more. This mornings work out was really good, I felt strong and fit again, and I haven’t felt hungry or craved sugary foods. I normally fast (from food) until 11-12pm, after my workout, and this has been doable now, (previously I was feeling really weak), I am skipping lunch today, just to see if the hunger comes like it usually would after my smoothie or if I feel satisfied until dinner time.
…So I made it to dinner time without much hunger, I think this indicates that my body is in ketosis. A few positives on this diet so far include: my skin is really clear and bright, however its hard to determine whether this is just a coincidence, hormone levels (e.g. my cycle), or also to do with no added sugars. My energy levels are also up, but of course the feeling of extra energy may just be the contrast to the week or so of low energy.
Day 18
Since I last updated its been much of the same. I have been cycling through meals that I have made before to save time.
For breakfast everyday I have been making my ‘Veto-Coco-Bircher’ which I am obsessed with! I’m going to share this recipe in a seperate post because I really enjoy it and its full of healthy fats/omega-3s, and I don’t have to weigh this anymore because I’ve already calculated it all out to have about 5g of net carbs, which leaves another 15-20g for the rest of the day. (update: you can find this in my Vegan Keto eBook as well as my blog post AND YouTube vlog! I seriously love this recipe so its easily accessible to you guys!!)
For lunch I have been totally obsessed with my green buddha bowl! (just made that name up for it!). Basically it’s a big bowl of low carb greens, tofu that’s been baked in sesame seeds, avocado and olive oil dressing. It is my favourite meal right now so I have been making it almost every day.
For dessert on our last few nights of a keto diet we made ‘keto fat bombs’ which were basically raw chocolates filled with peanut butter and raspberries. I will also share the recipe to this in a seperate post because apart from them being keto, they were delicious. We found having one of these before bed really helped us to reach our fat target. (update: I’ve added these to a seperate blog post, the Keto eBook AND YouTube vlog!!! woo!!)
Day 19:
Well it’s currently my second last day of the challenge! Guyysss I have made it almost 3 weeks!! I’m actually super proud of myself because, well, I don’t know how well you know me but I am kinda obsessed with carbs. We are flying back to Australia tonight AND I just filmed my ‘What I Eat in Day: Vegan Keto Challenge’. I put in this video my favvvv recipes that I spoke about in yesterdays journal update because, well, keto or not keto, you gotta try them out! (links at the end of the blog as well as some other useful links). I made some choc bombs and an extra Veto Bircher to take to the airport as its an overnight flight as its always good to pack food so I don’t feel hungry on the flight. This is my first vlog, it was pretty fun to make! A lot of work but I hope you all find it useful!
Day 20:
We arrived back in Australia today, and I was going to end the Keto Challenge today, but I figured since I am having a weekend of indulging that I’ll keep going for this morning (that means I fall short of 3 weeks by 1 day). So for my grand keto finale I had a keto-friendly vegan breakfast at a place on the Gold Coast called The Milkman’s Daughter - I made a plate of tofu scramble, smashed avocado, mushrooms and vegan feta. The meal was really rich and delicious and a great way to end the keto challenge. Oh and I also picked up some keto urine strips this morning and was able to test my ketones throughout the day before breaking the ketosis. (Images below). I ended the Keto Challenge with a big banana smoothie. SOO yum!! I can’t tell you how good it was to have a smoothie with bananas in it. I also may have treated myself to some vegan chocolates. Although, the weirdest thing happened… Well while on the keto challenge I mentioned how good my skin was, but after this afternoon back on carbs, admittedly ALOT of carbs, and my skin (face, chest and shoulders) broke out in a heap of tiny pimples (like little white heads that I could scratch off). I cannot explain what this means, and it cleared up after a couple of days but it was a really interesting observation to a switch in diet. There is every possibility its unrelated however it seems to be a reaction. If anyone has had any similar experiences I would love to know!
Summary of what I think:
Okay so now for some closing thoughts…
Initially going into this challenge I thought that a Keto Diet would be very unhealthy, low in fibre, and extremely restrictive/challenging. Having given it a go I now have slightly different views of the Keto Vegan Diet.
I still believe its extremely restrictive and challenging, especially at the beginning when you are still trying to work out the quantities of foods you can eat to reach ketosis. It is time consuming!! The social impacts of not being able to eat out, or if you do being very strict with the foods you can eat make it not very achievable long term and honestly just not very enjoyable (unless you can find some delicious keto-friendly meals out!). I was ALWAYS thinking about foods and macronutrients. Like literally it was always on my mind so I think that for a lot of people this is an unhealthy obsession with food and it could become quite dangerous. I know what a lot of you are wanting to know..
DID I LOOSE WEIGHT?
Short answer yes, long answer… Initially I lost about 1.5 kg, which would be attributable with water weight. My weight can jump between 1-2kgs but I think overall I may have lost about 2kg’s, which I think was mostly water weight, not actual fat. This might have been why I was feeling really lightheaded in the first week. This isn’t really why I did the diet as I don't have much weight to loose.
On the other hand, I believe that this diet improved my skin complexion/condition, I felt glowy and any breakouts cleared up and my skin felt really really soft. I don’t believe this is purely just because of a keto diet but more so an increase in healthy fats in my diet (including higher fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A and E), the low sugar intake may also attribute to this.
The appetite suppression was another positive from this experience as I wasn’t craving sweet foods after meals and I wasn’t reaching out for snacks between meals. I was feeling really satisfied after a meal once I achieved ketosis.
I feel like my digestion was good during this time, I mean I usually have pretty good digestion though… Although I didn't feel bloated, whereas usually some foods or food combinations can trigger bloating and discomfort for me.
Summary of PRO’s & CON’s (only in my opinion)
So as you can see, I now have a mixed opinion on it. I wouldn’t say its a sustainable and easy diet to follow. It has just as many con’s and pro’s. So really, for me the only realistic way I would do this is cyclic every couple of months as there is perceived to be some long term health benefits in your body kicking into ketosis. Do whatever suits you and your lifestyle. There is NO one diet that suits everybody. We are complex and we are all DIFFERENT! So just find something that works for you, something you can sustain, and something you enjoy.
My take home message to myself is to eat less sugar, eat more healthy fats, and well, enjoy all macronutrients!
Hope you have found this interesting. If you have any feedback or any experiences with this diet, I would LOVE to hear from you. Leave a COMMENT below so we can chat. Love Elsa,
xx
Resources I have created for you guys:
- Part 1 Blog Post
Part 1
my vegan-keto experiment
My Vegan Keto e-Book
complete recipes, many from this blog post
My Vegan Keto Experiment - What I Eat in a Day VlogResources:
I have been watching some interesting YouTube videos from YouTubers who have done a vegan keto diet. Its been really motivating and inspiring.
Links to those are here:
3 Weeks on the Vegan Keto Diet - Apples and Amandas
Vegan/Keto What I Eat in a Day - Ruth May
Recipes and Instagram:
lots of vegan keto recipes, especially treats
Vegetarian recipes, so lots of cheesy ones but good for ideas