Buoyed by a successful five days following the BSD principles, I am today embarking on the 800kcal/eight week programme. I have 70lbs to lose thanks to a lifelong serious carb addiction. (Am in my early 40s.)

Here’s the thing though: I don’t eat meat nor eggs or dairy. I do eat fish and shellfish but try to do this occasionally and mindfully rather than every day. But in the last five days I have found myself relying on fish more and more to mitigate the hunger pangs, to the extent that I’m sometimes having it three times a day! I don’t want to do this and would ideally prefer to remain 90/95% vegan as I was before. (Just without the accompanying mountains of pasta and potatoes!) In my head though, veggies just do not fill me up.

I look at the veggie recipes and so many contain eggs. I know that some veggies (such as mushrooms and broccoli) contain good amounts of protein, as does tofu, but does anyone have advice they would like to share please? Am i destined for a lifetime of lentil soup and tofu frittata?! Are there any vegans out there on this programme? How are you coping? I’m concerned that I’m going to be really hungry all the time, or get bored fast, and that this will lead to failure! Thank you so much.

As an aside, I also have fibromyalgia, an autoimmune condition, PCOS and endometriosis: all of which have contributed to my weight issue. My hormones are up the creek and my mobility sometimes too. If anyone with these conditions has had any positive outcomes using the BSD, or advice, I’d love to hear from you too – thank you.

Not a vegan but just to say, I would continue with the pulses for protein but in as many inventive ways as you can.

Just for example:

Lentil lasagne with aubergine rather than pasta
Pulse (whichever you like) “shepherds pie” with cauli mash
Curries – did a fab green lentil and cauli daal myself yesterday. Loads of potential combos there
Chilli – lentils and red kidney beans

I also did a wonderful fried red snapper on a base of green lentils from a slightly modified James Martin recipe the other day (sadly no red wine to hand so the lentils were just cooked in stock, but nonetheless really really good)

So I would just look at all the possible recipes and think pulses. Not too many as they are very carby, but they are also very filling. The recipe above, for example, said 70g of dried lentils per person with the fish and I did 25g and all agreed that was the right balance.

Hope all that helps! 🙂

I am not strictly veggie/vegan but eat a lot that way by natural choice. I think this way of eating really does lend itself well to this vegetable fest.
I also use a teaspoon of Whole Earth PB when I am getting very hungry or past a time when I usually have lunch and forgotten the time. This or the three almonds and glug of water takes off the pangs for me.
It is amazing how little tiny bit of home made pesto can taste up courgette too. Plus adding handfuls of either spinach leaves or kale and experimenting with a few spices can be made into a bowl of food.

Thank you so much. Love the lasagne idea in particular and will try it! I guess my my challenge will be learning to eat pulses in smaller amounts than I am used to (to comply with the daily 800 kcal) but seeing as this is all a journey of learning it will be good to revise my idea of a ‘portion’ in this regard too! Thanks again.

And thank you too Plumptious. I had forgotten about (dairy-free) pesto – I used to make a delicious one too! I was thinking about getting a spiraliser to make courgetti so you have just given me the incentive. Thank you!

Look at posts by Orchid – she is vegetarian (I don’t think Vegan) and posts less these days as she has successfully reached her target, but she did used to reply quite a lot on veggie related threads.
Use the search box (top right hand corner) to find a previous post from her, click on the hyperlink on her name, and then “replies created”
Of course, the search box will also help you track down earlier threads on veggie/vegan topics. There are also threads on PCOS.

I do eat meat and fish, but find that on days when I don’t, I generally consume more carbs (lentils & beans etc) so you might not achieve the 30-50g that many posters aim for, but BSD still totally achievable.

One other thing? AVOCADO!!!!

Hi. Been doing a bit of reading on here regarding BSD for vegans.
Are the following acceptable?
Coyo Coconut yogurt
Tofu?

I’m eating nuts and seeds

Struggling with knowing what to eat to fill me up.

Thank you

Literally anything is acceptable except for the ‘white stuff’ if you break the diet down to it’s essentials. Potatoes, white bread, pasta and other white flour products, rice and sugar are essentially the only forbidden items. Many people if going for the 800 calories option also restrict starchy below ground vegetables and grains, and it is always wise to avoid processed food in the main and make dishes from scratch so you know exactly what is in them, but several of us have never used the book plan and just make it up as we go along with plenty of success. I am not vegan but have used both tofu and coyo while on 800 fast diet as I like a lot of variety in my proteins.

That’s fabulous. Thank you Mixnmatch.

I’m gradually piecing it together.

I’m eating:

Breakfast
Berry protein smoothie for breakfast (1tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, 4 walnuts, vegan protein powder, coconut milk, 1 cup frozen berries).

Lunch
Pulses done any way (chickpea curry, kidney bean chili, hummus, lentil stew, falafel etc.)
with a big salad including either olives or nuts

Snack
Handful of nuts
An apple with peanut butter
Crudites with hummus

Dinner
Tofu, tempeh or seitan steak
Non-starchy Vegetables such as cabbage, kale, bok choy, mushrooms, asparagus, beansprouts, spinach, artichokes, broccoli, leeks, squash, courgettes, swiss chard. My favourite is a tray of mediterranean roast vegetables.
A sprinkle of nutritional yeast on top

PLUS: I take a B12 supplement daily and also a vegan multivitamin/mineral.

My coriander chutney. Great with veg.

100g of solid creamed coconut. One bunch coriander. Juice one lemon. Two garlic cloves. One fresh chilli if you like them- whizz in blender. Add some water to get a consistent you like. Keeps on fridge for a week. Tablespoon of a bear version is around 60 Ocala

Sugarfreevegan – what protein powder are you using?
I wanted to add hemp but it seems higher carbs