I have gotten a lot of good feedback (both in comments and email) from people that are anticipating my upcoming post(s) about nutrition. Thank you for this. This feedback has helped to keep me motivated to do the work (and it’s much more work than I anticipated!).
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have committed to getting the first (and most comprehensive/important) of these posts up by Sunday, 4/8/12, possibly earlier.
I’ve been learning so much these last few weeks. I’ve also been losing weight following a low(ish)-carb vegan diet. I wasn’t even sure that a low(ish)-carb vegan diet was possible four weeks ago, but now I know that it is possible. Not only have I been losing weight, but I have also been getting all of my vitamins and minerals every day, something that I was not doing before. I feel better than I have in a long time. These two things are not coincidental. They are very related.
I realize that my personal experience is merely anecdotal evidence. But I thought I’d put it out there just to let you all know that 1) I’m still working on it and 2) I’m excited about what this information/analysis might be able to do for people following a vegan diet.
til next time
– – thanks for reading – –
SV
Speciesist Vegan 
Thanks for sharing! I have also found that dropping all sugar and going lowish carb drops the weight fast and I feel more clear headed. I am so slammed with work and life, I spend big bucks on Vega, Epic Sprouted Protein, avocados, piles of dark organic greens, kale sprouts, garlic sprouts, onions, garlic, and nuts. I also eat a tablespoon or two of coconut fat a few days a week. These things have helped me think more clearly and have more energy. I pay very close attention to make sure that I get a broad range of amino acids every day. I want high levels of lysine from beans and the sulfur containing amino acids from grains, but I do it in a powder to lower the carbs. Oatmeal in the morning is also something that doesn’t have a negative effect on my weight. I also consume a lot of Ceylon cinnamon to raise my metabolism. I take Chlorella, taurine, DHA from micro algae oil, b12, d3 drops, K2, and a multi vitamin too. These things have improved my health and my skin. I look a lot younger now than I did before. This has been very helpful: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/vegetarian-protein/
Wow, thanks for all the info. I’ve been really busy myself, which is why I still haven’t gotten around to writing the post about nutrition that I planned.
But I’m still doing a lowish carb vegan diet, and it’s still working for me. I’m continuing to put on muscle and making gains on pretty much all major lifts (deadlift, squat, bench, hang clean, press, row), and my weight is holding steady or dropping slightly from week to week, which means I’m losing some fat.
I’ve been incorporating more carbs more often (especially on weekends), but I’m still making a conscious effort to fill up on nuts, seeds, legumes, vegetables, greens, leaves, fats etc. instead of high-carb foods like grains and tubers (although I do eat sweet potatoes fairly often). When I do eat “carby” carbs, I try to go for slow-digesting ones, but I still end up eating white rice and white bread more often than I’d like to simply because that’s what you usually get when you eat out. I just eat a lot of less of it than I would have before. And sugar is an almost-never substance in my diet these days (as well as all other sweeteners except stevia-based). I also started supplementing 500 mg of cinnamon (in vegan capsules) 2-3 times a day with meals and I think that has actually been helping too. Who knew cinnamon can actually improve your body’s ability to burn its fat stores?
Thanks for the comment.
Kale sprouts, not garlic sprouts…
Obviously I need some kind of brain gas relief as it’s broccoli sprouts that I meant to write.
I’m so glad I found your blog… I was starting to think I was the only vegan who had come to the conclusions you do. Keep it up!
Like the above poster, I was beginning to think I was pretty weird for wanting to be a vegan and yet not agreeing with most of them on some key points. I thought maybe I was broken. :p
Just wondering why no activity here for so long?