Vegan Before 6

[spotty_dog]

So, I heard about this diet a while back. Apparently there's this semi-famous cookbook author who realized he needed some lifestyle changes to get healthier. But he's a food writer, he loves food! He wasn't going to go for some diet that wouldn't let him eat the good stuff. So he came up with the schtick that he eats vegan until dinnertime, then he relaxes his standards so he he can still eat gourmet meals and stuff. His experience was that for him, it didn't result in gorging on cheese and hunks of meat in the evening, but instead he found himself naturally choosing more moderate portions. It's gotten a bit popular in some circles, I think.

Well, I am not a fad diet person, at ALL, but recently I've been thinking a lot about how healthy I felt on a nearly-vegetarian diet in my 20s. My blood pressure isn't great and my family history with heart disease is ominous; I know I need less animal fat and less salt. The only real reason I haven't been successful going pescetarian again in the past decade is because it makes family dinners awkward if I'm trying to avoid whole food groups. And anyway, I love to cook! So...why not VB6?

Today was my first day with both kids at school and I had already resolved to get a nice brisk walk in. Well, I got to lunch time and realized that in the hustle and bustle I'd only eaten some applesauce all day...I'm halfway there for VB6! So I had black beans and tortilla chips for lunch, and a homegrown tomato drizzled with top-shelf basalmic. MMmmm. We'll see how this goes. I might have to cheat and have the occasional egg for breakfast, but honestly eggs have been feeling too filling lately anyway.

Anyone else interested? What kinds of food rules are working for y'all, other than simply counting calories?

[MsSassyBaskets]

Cool! I'm personally totally against additional restrictions since I already have to eat gluten free, but I've noticed that I'm almost completely a weekday vegetarian, especially when DH lives away from home. We eat meat on 1-2 weekend nights, and I stay pretty much veggie (but good lord, not vegan, I love dairy so much) during the week, usually with the exception of a roll of takeout sushi here and there. When DH is home, we eat a little more chicken during the week, but still keep the red meat for weekend nights only. When we do have red meat, we usually just pair it with veggies and skip anything else heavy. It's a pretty middle of the road approach that works well for us.

[spotty_dog]

I do like dairy, but I have a problem with telling myself, "I need protein. Cheese, cheese is protein!" and then eating a pile of cheddar for a snack. I also have issues with excessive ranch dressing some days, and milk doesn't always agree with me. So it feels like dairy free during the day is a decent restriction for me. I might cheat with a little feta if I have a salad, and of course after 6pm the artisan cheese and crackers is totally open for business! And cream sauces. I've been making cream sauces lately and...wow. Where have you been all my life?

Middle of the road is the name of the game! Here's hoping this little artificial "rule" helps me find it.

[MsSassyBaskets]

I do like dairy, but I have a problem with telling myself, "I need protein. Cheese, cheese is protein!" and then eating a pile of cheddar for a snack. I also have issues with excessive ranch dressing some days, and milk doesn't always agree with me. So it feels like dairy free during the day is a decent restriction for me. I might cheat with a little feta if I have a salad, and of course after 6pm the artisan cheese and crackers is totally open for business! And cream sauces. I've been making cream sauces lately and...wow. Where have you been all my life?

Middle of the road is the name of the game! Here's hoping this little artificial "rule" helps me find it.

Makes sense! I do rely on Greek yogurt for some protein almost every day, and did that even more during 1st trimester when I couldn't stand being in the same room as meat. I would do well to balance out my protein sources too.

[Thirteen]

I feel similarly, due to gluten free restrictions.
You can pry the dairy from my cold, dead hand.


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[Sheherezade]

Ha! I'm dairy free. Dairy is the devil. I struggle with trying to also be less gluten crazed. I don't think I could completely eliminate it. Without the dairy, it's pretty easy to be vegan before 6 for me. I usually am. I do find that I personally do better with more lean protein and less simple carbs so I'm doubt I could do dairy, gluten AND meat. It would be like eating nothing but veggies all the time.

[spotty_dog]

It would be like eating nothing but veggies all the time.

Well, yeah, veggies...and whole grains, and nuts, and legumes...I'm thinking granola or muesli with soy or rice milk for breakfasts (or just fruit), salads and bean dishes (Lentil dal? Lentil soup? Black beans and rice?) and quinoa or brown rice pilafs for lunches, Kind bars and fruit and mixed nuts and raw veggies for snacks. I'm not seeing anything I'd miss that wasn't making me feel kinda icky anyway. And I'm totally planning to cheat. It's just that making it a cheat makes it more fun, and easier to go lightly.

We'll see how it goes! So far I've snacked on plums, trail mix, and carrot sticks this afternoon...

[Sheherezade]

Vegan Before 6

No I wasn't taking about your plan. That sounds great. I was musing about my own inability to make new food rules because my next move would cut out both gluten and then meat...and that would be too limiting since Im already dairy free.

As it is, Kind bars are a staple for me - as is Quinoa and steamed veggies for lunch. Vegan before 6 is totally doable here.

[wiva]

I like this idea! We have been really cutting back on our meat. At home I almost exclusively cook vegetarian, but I don't worry about it so much when I'm out. The dilemma I would have is that I really like having egg for breakfast because it keeps me more full to have that protein. At work I don't always know when I'll get lunch, and I'm a hangry kind of person...

[spotty_dog]

No I wasn't taking about your plan. That sounds great. I was musing about my own inability to make new food rules because my next move would cut out both gluten and then meat...and that would be too limiting since Im already dairy free.

As it is, Kind bars are a staple for me - as is Quinoa and steamed veggies for lunch. Vegan before 6 is totally doable here.

Ah, gotcha. Well, gluten-free vegan is totally a thing.

Looking into it, Bittman is apparently pretty restrictive about his before-6 rules in the book he wrote. I think I'll go with his suggestion to avoid processed food and white flour/sugar/rice during the day as well. I made it to six today, no problem! And I think I've decided to have a chicken breast with leftover creamy dijon sauce (the kids are having make-your-own pizzas but it doesn't appeal to me) for dinner. So far so good...

[spotty_dog]

Alison, have you been able to stick with it? Now that I'm back from my two week odyssey of travel (and italian food and lobster rolls and hoagies and bagels and booze and oh my!) I need to lock down and get into better shape.

It's working crazy well, to be honest. I've done a full seven days now, and just picked up the actual VB6 book at the library. So far I feel great and this really seems healthy, balanced, and sustainable. Portion sizes are mostly taking care of themselves, I have plenty of energy, and I'm down a pound on the scale -- my body fat calculation claims I'm actually down over 5 pounds of fat, and while I dunno about that, I do feel just generally like my body composition might be going in the right direction.

[MAPPLEBUM]

I've been meaning to check in here. I used to call myself 'house vegan' when I was in grad school. Meaning I ate vegan at home and whatever I wanted when I went out. Eventually stopped when I realized I was going out just for cheese.

I'll totally try this. While it does sound more sustainable than what I had going I do have to say it was AWESOME only having healthy foods in the house. Way less temptation when it's not within arms reach.

[spotty_dog]

I've been meaning to check in here. I used to call myself 'house vegan' when I was in grad school. Meaning I ate vegan at home and whatever I wanted when I went out. Eventually stopped when I realized I was going out just for cheese.

I'll totally try this. While it does sound more sustainable than what I had going I do have to say it was AWESOME only having healthy foods in the house. Way less temptation when it's not within arms reach.

Yeah, there's some willpower involved, at least at first. But anybody can fast for a day, right? "Fasting" on fresh fruit and veggies and whole grains and beans and nuts, and then "breaking" the fast after just ~9 awake hours, is easier still.

[spotty_dog]

Well, as an update, I committed to eating this way through September. The verdict after three-ish weeks is that I am definitely eating more fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans. I don't feel hangry, weak, deprived, foggy, or disordered. The scale is down nearly 4 pounds from September 9 when I started this thread. So, I think I'll stick with this for a while, see how it goes.

[ides]

Great!