Vegan-Carnivore House

[yakers]

I feel the belongs in health as it is driven my my need to control carbs to control blood sugar. If the mods feel need to move it to another forum go right ahead. What is the forum for 'marital counseling'?


We have an interesting house. For those who feel there is ‘one best way to eat’ for everybody they should visit us. My wife is a hard vegan, even avoids honey and countless other items, could be a Jain. Currently would fit the plant based profile of Pritikin, Tanner, Kriss Carr and other plant based (IMHO) crazies She also doesn’t eat gluten and nightshades (potato, tomato, eggplant, chilies/capsicum of all kinds). I watch my carbs. My wife is not overweight but struggles to lose the last 5/10 lbs to get in the shape she wants. She eats very little, very disciplined and cannot hit her target weight. Sugar/carb wise she can eat anything. She has no blood sugar issues, can eat a carby meal with a big slice of (non gluten, of course) cake or pie and her blood sugar will go from 80 to 105 peak and @ 2 hr down to 85. I have trouble keeping my weight up period. I eat lots of food but keep carbs around 100 a day, I do not intend to do keto. I usually have 1,600 to 2,000 cal a day per My Fitness Pal and because of the low carbs do not put on weight. My Dr was concerned and I met with a nutritionist who advised upping carbs by one slice of wheat bread. Sure enough, weight went up so did blood sugar. No thank you. So there we are she has these tiny plates of plants, struggles with her weight and can eat any amount of carbs; I have a plate piled up with food, carb free deserts and I have to remember to eat or I will lose weight but I have the blood sugar issues.
We pretty much cook for ourselves, very little crossover. There are some vegetarian dishes she makes that taste great and are OK as long as I eat small amounts of them; I would have BG issues if I ate enough of them for my nutritional needs.
Anyone else with a vegetarian-carniviour house? How do you handle it?

 

[Helen]

Yes, I am vegan and my spouse eats meat at most meals. We share vegetable dishes but also cook some things separately. I started out vegetarian in 1976, and we got together in 1988 so we have always eaten this way. Dining out is a bigger issue than eating at home. I'm guessing you guys don't eat out much, yakers.

 

[Bir48die]

I would think this would be so difficult from a cooking standpoint. I do like veggie meals at times but to have two separate meal plans would drive me nuts.

That being said when we come home from this current trip I think we’ll both move to a modified veggie diet. Still desire protein from meat but more more green

 

[flintnational]

I can't provide any input on the the vegan - carnivore issue, but from a weight standpoint, my DW and I have similar issues. I am at the top of my weight range and watch carbs closely. DW is thin and at the bottom of her weight range. She eats what I eat, whole food low carb, but adds extra whole food carbs, beans, extra fruit and sweet potatoes. This seems to keep her weight up. You might want to try those foods and see how they impact you. I have to avoid them or I will gain weight.

 

[ER Eddie]

When I hear the word "carnivore," I think carnivore diet (only eat meat, fish, and other animal products) and of the carnivore vs. vegan debates that rage on twitter and Youtube. You couldn't find two more polarized ways of eating.

It sounds like when you say "carnivore," though, you just mean that you include meat in your diet. Which is a good idea, imo, since lots of vegans run into health issues long-term because they don't.

 

[Dtail]

I think it would be an issue for us from the home cooking perspective. We already are not crazy about cooking, so 2 separate types of cooking wouldn't cut it.

 

[Aerides]

So there we are she has these tiny plates of plants, struggles with her weight and can eat any amount of carbs; I have a plate piled up with food, carb free deserts and I have to remember to eat or I will lose weight but I have the blood sugar issues.
We pretty much cook for ourselves, very little crossover. .....How do you handle it?

It sounds like you already have your answer. But I guess the question is: does your current setup, each of you making different dishes, cause problems in your marriage?

Since you both know there's little overlap, and can just be supportive of each other and your differences and make your own meals?

 

[RunningBum]

I started a somewhat similar thread a couple years ago and got helpful responses.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/couples-who-eat-differently-88289.html

Yes, I am vegan and my spouse eats meat at most meals. We share vegetable dishes but also cook some things separately. I started out vegetarian in 1976, and we got together in 1988 so we have always eaten this way. Dining out is a bigger issue than eating at home. I'm guessing you guys don't eat out much, yakers.

Why is eating out such an issue for you? Restaurant selection? Seems like most restaurants have both vegan and non-vegan choices and you can let their kitchen deal with any hassle of making totally different meals for you. Unless your spouse wants to go to burger joints or steak houses that might have few if any vegan options, or you want to go to a vegan only place. Or maybe one of you is a pretty picky eater, like me.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Fortunately we eat the same. If he wanted to eat different he would have to fend for himself and is too lazy to do that.

 

[yakers]

Yes, I am vegan and my spouse eats meat at most meals. We share vegetable dishes but also cook some things separately. I started out vegetarian in 1976, and we got together in 1988 so we have always eaten this way. Dining out is a bigger issue than eating at home. I'm guessing you guys don't eat out much, yakers.

We eat out fairly often, that is the easy part if we find a restaurant that has something each of us wants and no bacon smell in her kitchen.

 

[yakers]

Fortunately we eat the same. If he wanted to eat different he would have to fend for himself and is too lazy to do that.

Yep, pretty much have to feed myself, not all that hard. And I monitor my food with My Fitness Pal. I do make the coffee or tea as needed. I do bake a bit so I make the things I want and make glutten free things for her.

 

[Elbata]

To OP, it's kind of you to be tolerant of your vegan wife. I'm vegan too and it took a while for my wife to adjust to my way of eating. Mind you, she doesn't at all eat the way I do, she's just become OK that I eat this way.

Wife is easy, most of her food is what I'd call normal food, or food that most people eat.

Curious though why you'd call vegans crazy (though I know some are), do you think it's proven that a plant based low fat diet can literally reverse heart disease?

 

[yakers]

Curious though why you'd call vegans crazy (though I know some are), do you think it's proven that a plant based low fat diet can literally reverse heart disease?
]

And low carb high fat can save a lot of people from blood sugar issues, proven. I do not believe there is one way for everyone to follow. Some people can lose a little weight or up their exercise maybe change their diet a little and it works for them. My mother was prediabetic from 80 to 90 and all she had to do was avoid sugar and sugary deserts and she was fine. My wife has outstanding blood sugar, she can eat anything and her blood profile is excellent, I have tested it with my meter. She likes Kris Carr and Tanner which are very Pritican. That would literally kill me or at least require insulin. An Atkins like approach works for me. I see on another post that Donheff followed and rejected Gary Taubes approach. I have read several books opposed to him (Campbell from Cornell U) but am not persuaded, I eat what my meter allows me to keep my blood sugar down and that means controlling carbs. Surprise fact, carbohydrates are not a critical nutrient, they can be made by the body. If you never ate one (and ate enough protein and fat) you would not die, period, full stop. I'm not making this up:

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...e352d8221e925790590c57352e3d05d3&action=click

I think Taubes is worth reflecting on:
https://blog.virtahealth.com/gary-taubes-quality-calories/

The only two things I firmly believe is that there is not one way for everyone to follow, you have to find what works for you and the only thing that doesn’t work for anyone is to eat high fat AND high carbs AKA SAD standard American diet. Well, maybe that would work for someone but I wouldn’t recommend it.

 

[braumeister]

there is not one way for everyone to follow, you have to find what works for you

Very true, and a wise approach. The problem is that many are not willing to experiment on themselves to find the path that works and then follow it. So they turn to "experts" who give them some simple rules and then believe they are doing what's right. And then they often become disappointed when it doesn't work, so they go right back to their former mindless approach.

This is cribbed from someone else, but I think it's worth keeping in mind:

Food is made of fat, protein and carbohydrate. That’s it.

Food also contains water, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, but only fat, carbohydrate and protein provide calories. And when a diet is constructed of these things – especially one that toes the line as far as portion control is concerned – trade offs have to be made. If you keep the calories the same, and you decrease one of the three components, you’re going to have to increase one of the others.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Lately at home we eat mostly plant based meals like in the The Blue Zones diet or How Not to Die book (nutritionfacts.org) with some but not much meat, fish or dairy (usually 2 ounces a day or less). I make some dishes at each meal with extra calories for DH like avocado toast since he requires more calories than I do. When he goes out to eat sometimes he will order a burger and fries. But at home I like to cook, collect recipe books and have been experimenting with a variety of vegan recipes, most of which he really likes, so that is what we both eat.

The doctor who wrote the How Not to Die book had a grandmother who had been given weeks to live in her sixties with heart failure. She was one of the first Pritikin patients and ended up living to 96. He has a non-profit site called nutritionfacts.org which has videos on all the latest nutrition research, which has helped convince us to really clean up our diets.