Is Eating Vegan Keto Possible?

The answer is yes! The keto diet is proven to help people lose weight and keep it off because it is a sustainable lifestyle. Doing keto does not mean that you only eat meat and eggs to achieve your high-fat, low-carb goals.

Keto is easy to become a lifestyle because you can still go out to eat on keto by making a few tweaks and you can adapt the diet to fit whatever eating restrictions you have. You just need to be a little creative because there can be some potential hurdles to overcome, and it revolves around how to find the right foods to eat.

Many New Vitality Centers clients like to have “plant-based days” which is extremely healthy, however they do not follow a 100 percent vegan diet. Eliminating red meat has been helpful for many people on keto because they resort to fish and chicken.

People who follow a traditional keto diet lifestyle still eat too much red meat and do not switch up their proteins. With a plant-based approach, there is less risk of that. If you follow a vegan keto diet appropriately, you should be able to lose weight and create a new lifestyle.

A vegan diet focuses on plant-based foods. To get into ketosis, where your body starts to burn fat instead of carbs, you need to hit the right macros: 60 percent of your calories from fats, 15 – 30 percent from protein, and 5 – 10 percent from carbs.

You will need to consider how to get enough calories, fat, protein, and fiber without consuming more carbohydrates. Remember, it can be tricky to incorporate beans (they do have protein) but they also have carbs. It is easy to cover your basis with fat and still get adequate fiber – protein is the bigger struggle. You can lean heavily into nuts and seeds, which are great sources of healthy fats have fiber and protein. Scale back a little on vegan protein like tempeh, which is higher in carbs.

You will want to consume these types of foods:

• Avocados
• Seeds
• Nuts
• Nut butters
• Olives
• Non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, peppers)
• Tofu
• Vegan “dairy” products (coconut yogurt, cashew, cheese)

You will want to consume these in moderation:

• Grains ((rice, pasta)
• Starchy vegetables (potatoes, peas)
• Beans (chickpeas, pinto beans, black beans)
• Fruits (berries)

You will want to avoid these foods:

• Animal products (meat, honey, whey protein)
• Dairy (milk, eggs)

Much will depend on your personal preferences and tastes but try out this sample menu for some guidance:

Day 1

Breakfast: A smoothie with coconut milk, greens, a handful of berries, nut butter, and hemp

Lunch: Vegan soup with MCT oil and hemp hearts

Dinner: A salad with avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, olive oil dressing, and sunflower seeds.

Snack: A golf ball handful of almonds

Day 2

Breakfast: Sautéed greens and tofu scramble with vegan cheese

Lunch: A green salad with avocado, peppers, and broccoli, with a side of nuts. (You can even sauté’ the peppers, etc. as an added taste and texture)

Dinner: A cauliflower pizza with vegan cheese and greens on top

Snack: Coconut fat bombs

It is possible to do keto if you feel confident in your ability to be okay with the parameters. It is still recommended that you bring in a professional to help figure out how to make this work in the healthiest way possible. Keep in mind that you as most people will need to add a supplement to the mix.