So, I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian, especially if I can get my boyfriend on board too. The thing that worries me is me having diabetes.
Are you vegetarian? How does it affect your blood sugar management? What kind of foods do you eat that are filling but aren’t high in carbs? Any info about being vegetarian and having diabetes is greatly appreciated.
Hi, Christina! I was a vegetarian when I got diagnosed with type 1 in 2007 and wanted to stay one. But I didn’t know if that would be possible and told myself that my health came first and if I had to start eating meat or fish or poultry I would. Long story short I found I could remain a vegetarian but it took major changes in my diet. As a vegetarian I realized I ate a lot of pasta and rice and that was just too many carbs and too hard to control my blood sugar so I needed to change that. I no longer eat rice at all, no longer eat cereal for breakfast and eat pasta only occasionally when I go out and that is the only thing vegetarian on the menu.
What I found is that to eat vegetarian and eat moderate/low carb (100 a day or less) I had to get very creative, and do a lot of cooking. If you have very little money, very little time and hate to cook it would be really hard. This is just my opinion. I’m also a foodie and like only natural unprocessed foods. I don’t care much for “substitute” foods such as “fake meat” and I don’t care for things like “cauliflower potatoes”, etc. So what do I eat? Breakfast is easy - eggs in all its many forms. I do eat 1/2 cup of refried black beans with my eggs and on the weekend will have vegetarian eggs benedict or potatoes with an omelette which is a bit higher carb. For lunch I eat fruit salad, crackers and cheese with a small serving of fruit, or nut butter with banana or strawberries. Dinner is where all the cooking comes in. For example last night I had a stuffed pepper dish, before that I had a roast mediterranean vegies with pecorino and toasted pine nuts. I use Greens cookbooks and other cookbooks I can send you the names of if you want. But I can only use certain recipes from all these books because others are too high carb. I list the carb counts on the recipes I like so I have them for next time. The only quick and simple dinners I have for when I’m busy or have nothing special to prepare are either a vegie burger on a orowheat double fiber muffin with a salad (about 43 carbs) or a vegie stir fry with tofu and or peanuts for my protein (20 carbs). I don’t eat sugar at all and the double fiber muffins are my only breads.
I should say that I’m significantly older than you (62) and have less of an appetite as I get older. Many of the things I find filling might not be satisfying to you. Short answer? It’s not easy to be a vegetarian and manage your blood sugar. If you are really committed though it’s not impossible.
Hi,
I’m not strictly vegetarian but many days I don’t eat any meat or fish although I do regularly eat milk products and eggs. If you choose the ovo-lacto-vegetarian route there is no shortage of things to eat. Whole grain bread, quinoa, nuts, peanut butter, all kinds of green vegetables, apples, tofu, olives, fat fee Greek yogurt and 70% dark chocolate all play a big role in my diet. I don’t low carb - my average daily intake is around 160 net carbs (after backing out fiber) - but my control is good. Once you learn to manage a medium carb diet you may find that you have the most trouble with low carb meals.
Maurie
The only downfall (diabetically) to becoming vegetarian, is the smaller variety of carb-free food you could enjoy. Im a pescetarian (also known as Pesco-vegetarian), which means that the only meat I eat is seafood meat, mainly because I love seafood.
It doesnt affect your diabetes really at all, unless you get super hungry and decide to put aside all the carbless vegetables and drinks aside and start eating carb-rich food nonstop. Ive been a pescetarian for about 3 years now, and counting 
My doc told me its pretty alright even if I choose to become a full vegetarian. Theres really no problem, just less carbless food to choose from, (but its healhealthierway).
Let us know how you proceed
Vegetables are not carbless. The measurement I use is 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables = 5 grams carbs, 1C raw vegetables = 5 grams carbs. These carbs are more meaningful the lower carb you eat, of course.
Hi Christina, I’ve been vegetarian my entire life along with my family, so I don’t know any differently! I’m very health conscious and try not to eat anything unhealthy. I do eat eggs and dairy products. I eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, bread, rice and pasta. I’ve noticed that when I eat high fat or protein foods I have much better control, less fluctuations in BG. I’m trying to cut down on my carbs at each meal to <40g. For protein sources I eat beans, nuts, peanut butter, tofu, eggs, yogurt, cheese etc. My endo says I’m in good control a1c 6.5% but I don’t agree since I’ve been lacking energy. Therefore I’m thinking of starting on protein shakes but I haven’t found a good low sugar one!
I was vegetarian for around 30 years before being diagnosed T1. I found it extremely difficult to maintain good control eating as I did before because I had to eat high carb to get enough protein from vegetable sources. I had constant hunger from insufficient protein & high carb. If you become vegetarian, take B12 supplements.
Preeti,
You can make your own protein shakes. Since you eat dairy, whey isolate protein powder (not hydrolyzed form) is the highest in protein. You can buy unflavored, unsweetened powder that’s very low carb, I use protein shakes when I don’t have time to cook using whey protein, almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder & a little stevia. Very filling. I have a wonderful source for fresh eggs from happy free range chickens, so I also toss in a raw egg yolk.
Does anyone eat tofu? Does it taste as bad as it sounds?
Tofu? Yummy. Especially from PF Changs. Tofu takes on the flavor of the food you cook it in.
Experiment!!
marty
I don’t because soy should be avoided if you have thyroid problems. Many diabetics do, especially women. Tofu is pretty bland. Lots of research shows that eating a soy heavy diet isn’t particularly healthy. Fermented soy products like tamari & miso are good, but not texturized soy protein, tofu & all the soy vegetarian faux foods.
Thanks Gerri, I will have to try that!
So easy. This is the whey I use because it’s from grass fed, hormone-free cows http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWU477/ItemDetail. Dissolves easily & tastes great. Not all whey is the same. Hemp powder is also good. Has a nutty flavor, but it’s not as high in protein.
I think that might be a mileage issue. I grew up in Asia and soyabean products are part of the traditional diet. It was only when I came to the US that I encountered the use of soy in strange and unnatural guises. No offence to vegans, but it’s because of all of these faux foods that many omnivores think soy is freaky. It isn’t. I don’t have thyroid problems so it’s perfectly healthy eaten in moderation, and particularly delicious cooked with strongly flavoured pig bits or seafood.
Turns out that Westerners now consume much more soy now than Asians. It’s a cheap crop & makes its way into many prepared foods. As a result, soy allergies are becoming common.
Yup. Strange and unnatural guises, as I said.
My mum used to make her own soy milk. Soy beans and water. You can’t get more ‘unprocessed’ as food goes.
You sure can’t get less processed than that:)
Yep, I’m not big on all those strange and unnatural guises, Lila. I never understood the concept of soy products that tout tasting like meat. If I liked the taste of meat, I’d eat meat! I do understand that there are some people who don’t dislike the taste of meat, but don’t eat it for philosophical basis. For me the two go together.
Gerri, I don’t think I eat enough soy to have problems with it, but just curious, since you mention soy allergies being common in people with thyroid issues, what are the symptoms of these allergies? Thanks.
Well generally everything has carbs. But Cucumbers, cabbage, and the like are pretty low in carb, that you’d need tons of them to reach 15 grams for example. I was exaggerating there when id say “carbless”
I’m looking forward to trying this! once you mix all the ingredients you stated earlier how many carbs does it come out to be? Do you bolus for it? And does it keep your BG stable afterwards for hours? I’m trying to incorporate more protein in my diet to decrease the BG fluctuations I’m experiencing and also to gain more energy especially after working out. Thanks