If you’re one of millions of people who want to lose weight and are concerned about low carb diets, you’re not alone in your thinking. Many popular low carb diets call for eating unhealthy amounts of cholesterol and fats. You can still reduce your carb intake and enjoy the benefits of quicker weight loss with a healthy low carb vegetarian diet plan instead.

Although getting into the habit of following a well balanced and nutritious low carb vegetarian diet may take a bit of doing, it will be worth it. As time passes, you will experience an improved physical condition, and you will not only feel much better, you’ll also look better.

Becoming a vegetarian may take some getting used to. Don’t attempt to go “cold turkey”! Try reducing the amount of meat you eat while improving the quality. Eat only lean meat and have it only one time daily. After a while, cut that down to one time a week. Still later, reduce it to once a month. Each time you reduce the amount of meat you are eating, increase the amount of other protein sources. Eventually, you will choose these sources over meat. At that point you can consider yourself to be a vegetarian.

In considering low carb vegetarian diets, you will want to choose whether you want to be a vegetarian or a vegan. The difference is that vegans do not use any animal products at all. This means no dairy products and no eggs. A low carb vegan diet might be very difficult to get used to. However, if you have your heart set on it, you may find it easier to start out with a vegetarian diet that does not allow meat but does include animal products such as cheese, yogurt, eggs, milk, etc. Then you could taper off these products over time to achieve a true low carb vegan diet.

Of course, the usual vegetarian diet is heavily dependent on high carb foods such as rice, pasta, bread, etc. So you can see that it may take some doing to create a low carb vegetarian diet. You will need to become quite adept at making substitutions! Nuts are a good ingredient for low carb vegetarian dishes; however, learning to use them in cooking takes some time and study. Beans are also an excellent source of protein. As we all know though, an abundance of beans in the diet can cause some gastric distress!

Soybean ranks among the ideal foods to consume while following a low carb vegetarian diet plan. It has a lot of protein but is low when it comes calories and carbs, and it helps one to maintain strong muscle mass. Try a little at time at first, prepared in ways, so that you can figure out which soy protein dishes you enjoy the most.

Of course, there are other vegetarian protein sources aside from soy. For example, eggs are a very good source of protein. Keep in mind that moderation is important when incorporating eggs into your diet. They are high in protein, but they are also high in cholesterol. For a truly healthy protein source, try tofu. If you have never tried it before, now is an excellent time. Just as you are adjusting your diet and learning about creating a new, healthy low carb vegetarian diet, you will find tofu to be an excellent and interesting addition. Learning to cook with tofu is a bit tricky at first, but take heart! There are lots of great cookbooks for you to explore. Before you know it, you will be a tofu connoisseur.