Eating vegetables feels "pointless", does anyone actually bother

[Optimized Life]

With exceptions to potatoes, eating vegetables just feels pointless because I don't get very full from them, they don't build muscle and I don't notice any energy enhancement from them. 

I'm not suggesting they actually are pointless or that they don't improve energy, but I just don't notice it, and they're also inconvenient & messy to cook, it's simpler to just eat meat or tinned beans or buy from the taco stand every day (who do actually serve vegetables)

So yes I do actually eat vegetables accidentally however intentionally cooking & consistently eating vegetables as the main portion of your diet I can't resonate with it yet.  

I wonder how much worse my life is because I don't bother eating much vegetables? But maybe it just makes no difference. 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Optimized Life

[AJBrew]

Vegetables are very important when it comes to reducing inflammation and oxidative stress in the body; as well as receiving certain nutrients and mineral requirements.

Essentially vegetables are crucial when it comes down to fighting off diseases and cancers in the long run.

Of course not all vegetables are the same so its worth doing a little research. For example kale has far more benefits than lettuce ect.

I try to blend a cup of kale with a meal powder, blueberry's, and walnuts every day.

Edited January 27, 2023 by AJBrew

[Mormegil]

4 hours ago, Optimized Life said:

I wonder how much worse my life is because I don't bother eating much vegetables? But maybe it just makes no difference. 

Veggies are absolutely essential for a healthy diet. You talk about macro nutrition here: protein, fat and carbs. Veggies as far as I know are important because of micro nutritions they provide and prevent diseases later on. A healthy diet is not just about how much protein, fat and carbs we eat

 

[Leo Gura]

There are many tastey veggies. Meals without them just don't taste as good.

I've been eating carnivore for a long time now due to SIBO and it gets so boring without veggies.

You can also juice them and drink them. Juice a bag of baby carrots and beets. Good stuff!

Edited January 27, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Karmadhi]

5 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

There are many tastey veggies. Meals without them just don't taste as good.

I've been eating carnivore for a long time now due to SIBO and it gets so boring without veggies.

You can also juice them and drink them. Juice a bag of baby carrots and beets. Good stuff!

How is your health situation going? I remember you made 2 videos about it on your blog and then said carnivore is helping a lot. 

Also would you reccomend it for others? A lot of people say it increases clarity of mind.

[Michael569]

Because you don't understand the role nutrition plays in human biology beyond energy and protein muscle synthesis. That's okay, most people don't unless they've spent years studying this stuff. It is not the most intuitive thing, and I agree with you, authorities have done poor role in communicating this. 

it all depends on your goals:

• If your focus is muscle & energy right now and you don't care about health preservation,, you don't need them.
• If your focus is longevity, peak health and delaying chronic disease and being around long enough, you ABSOLUTELY need them. 

Each time you eat any vegetable, it's like you take in a cocktail of thousands of phytochemicals wrapped in oligosaccharides with all sorts of possible effects on a variety of systems, receptors and secondary messenger molecules. . We could go into mechanisms but that wouldn't interest anybody so let's just say if you care about avoiding 3 most common cancers men below 50 get in UK, you NEED TO eat vegetables on daily basis.

The trick is to find an easy way to include them, so you actually crave more rather than less. Raw veggies as a side salad is IMO boring and tastes like paper. My personal preference is batch cooking - mostly Indian, Chinese and Mexican style of cooking, this is where veggies & spices actually make up the majority of the taste & texture.

Get a nice cookbook and with some creativity, you can turn veggies into your favourite foods. Once you've had your first curry pumpkin coconut soup with garlic, onions and carrots you'll realise how much have you been missing out on with meat & carb diet. 

[Javfly33]

7 hours ago, Optimized Life said:

 

16 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Because you don't understand the role nutrition plays in human biology beyond energy and protein muscle synthesis. That's okay, most people don't unless they've spent years studying this stuff. It is not the most intuitive thing, and I agree with you, authorities have done poor role in communicating this. 

it all depends on your goals:

• If your focus is muscle & energy right now and you don't care about health preservation,, you don't need them.
• If your focus is longevity, peak health and delaying chronic disease and being around long enough, you ABSOLUTELY need them. 

Each time you eat any vegetable, it's like you take in a cocktail of thousands of phytochemicals wrapped in oligosaccharides with all sorts of possible effects on a variety of systems, receptors and secondary messenger molecules. . We could go into mechanisms but that wouldn't interest anybody so let's just say if you care about avoiding 3 most common cancers men below 50 get in UK, you NEED TO eat vegetables on daily basis.

The trick is to find an easy way to include them, so you actually crave more rather than less. Raw veggies as a side salad is IMO boring and tastes like paper. My personal preference is batch cooking - mostly Indian, Chinese and Mexican style of cooking, this is where veggies & spices actually make up the majority of the taste & texture.

Get a nice cookbook and with some creativity, you can turn veggies into your favourite foods. Once you've had your first curry pumpkin coconut soup with garlic, onions and carrots you'll realise how much have you been missing out on with meat & carb diet. 

Spot on. 

[Leo Gura]

4 hours ago, Karmadhi said:

How is your health situation going? I remember you made 2 videos about it on your blog and then said carnivore is helping a lot. 

Still struggling.

Without carnivore I would be dead by now. But it's hard to do strict carnivore for years.

I wouldn't do it unless I was forced to.

Quote

Also would you reccomend it for others? A lot of people say it increases clarity of mind.

Mental performance is great, but cholestorol goes to shit. I would not recommend unless you have a special condition.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Something Funny]

42 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

but cholestorol goes to shit.

Is there anything you can do to compensate for it?

[Leo Gura]

3 hours ago, Something Funny said:

Is there anything you can do to compensate for it?

Like what??

[Something Funny]

@Leo Gura idk, I was just asking.

If I understand correctly it's red meat that is high in cholesterol. So maybe having a month of break here and there where you only eat bird meat can help.

But that's just me throwing ideas out there.

[Asayake]

15 minutes ago, Something Funny said:

@Leo Gura idk, I was just asking.

If I understand correctly it's red meat that is high in cholesterol. So maybe having a month of break here and there where you only eat bird meat can help.

But that's just me throwing ideas out there.

Any animal product high in fat is also high in cholestorol pretty much so the only way to avoid cholestorol on carnivore is to calorie restrict as far as I am aware and that's only possible temporarily and will worsen fatigue. On carnivore you need to eat a lot of fatty foods for it to work. Eating only lean meats like white fish etc is not going to be sustainable.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Asayake

[Something Funny]

37 minutes ago, Asayake said:

Any animal product high in fat is also high in cholestorol pretty much so the only way to avoid cholestorol on carnivore is to calorie restrict as far as I am aware and that's only possible temporarily and will worsen fatigue. On carnivore you need to eat a lot of fatty foods for it to work. Eating only lean meats like white fish etc is not going to be sustainable.

I see, I didn't know that. 

What about combining eating lean meat with plant fats?

For example oil or flaxseed oil?

@Leo Gura do plant oils also affect you negatively?

[Leo Gura]

56 minutes ago, Something Funny said:

@Leo Gura

If I understand correctly it's red meat that is high in cholesterol. So maybe having a month of break here and there where you only eat bird meat can help.

I didn't eat red meat. Only chicken. It still raises cholesterol massively.

6 minutes ago, Something Funny said:

What about combining eating lean meat with plant fats?

For example oil or flaxseed oil?

@Leo Gura do plant oils also affect you negatively?

YOU could do that.

But I don't consume oil. It causes me problems.

Edited January 27, 2023 by Leo Gura

[Something Funny]

@Leo Gura wow, I see 

Then I don't know... Is high cholesterol mainly bad for your cardiovascular system or are there other thins that it affects?

Can a lot of physical activity help?

What about intermittent fasting?

Sorry if this sounds dumb, like I said, I am just throwing ideas around.

[Leo Gura]

Carnivore diet will greatly increase all your cholesterol numbers for the worse. That's what my tests have clearly shown.

[caspex]

Vegetables can taste better than meat depending on how you cook it and how you feel. I find myself wanting to eat a light vegetable dish for dinner the day I eat a heavy meat filled lunch. Look into other cuisines and don't be afraid to try new recipes even if they look non-enticing. I am Indian and I cook from the Indian Cuisine every day. For Indian Cuisine, truth is that as complicated as it might look in a cook book it really doesn't take that long unless you are making something specially over the top. You should try curries. Even meat curries have tomatoes, onions, coriander and what not in them. And don't bother with making naans to eat with the curries, go for rotis, once you get the hang of it(will take a couple days), you'll be making 4 rotis in 15 minutes ready to be eaten with the curry.

Also if you're gonna do all this then there is no need to bother with Salads. I eat vegetables everyday and I have never once made a salad, because it's plain and boring even as a side dish.

Have some red carrots lying around as well for a quick snack. Make sure they are a little thin. You can eat them as a snack every few days when you get bored. At first you might not like them because you're not used to them, but they are sweet and taste real nice.

If you worry about calories then you gotta pick and choose what oils you use for your curries, and don't order Indian food from restaurants. Sure it tastes good but it's gonna be overflowing with calories.

[Michael569]

@Leo Gura i suggest getting your ApoB tested throughout the diet. This is an atherogenic particle and one worth knowing.

Private tests should be cheap. 

Great video on the topic for anyone interested in learning about blood lipids 

https://youtu.be/W1geXgNEG_0

[Mormegil]

20 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Without carnivore I would be dead by now.

Man, that's horrible! Had no idea its this bad. I hope it will get better eventually..

Edited January 28, 2023 by Mormegil

[Javfly33]

17 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Carnivore diet will greatly increase all your cholesterol numbers for the worse. That's what my tests have clearly shown.

I think there are some plants like Moringa and others I don't remember now that reduce cholesterol and such. Since some of them are sold in extracts maybe your stomach could take them with no problem because it's 1gr of plant powder at most. (Its not like eating a salad.)