I'm trying to lose weight the health way, vegan diet?

November 21, 2008 laurasangiao.com edit
  • I've been a vegan for almost 2 years now but I haven't exactly been healthy (I've been a compulsive over-eater since I was 5 years old) and i finally got it under control and went from 260 pounds to a lowest weight of 166, then i gained like 30 back during a school year because of the stress of all-AP classes.

    anyways, i want to be a healthier person. I have this book called Becoming Vegan that has a detailed account of the nutrients that people need and how to fulfill those needs with healthy vegan foods (instead of french fries and soy mac 'n cheese). This is the plan:

    1,600 calories a day or less
    50 grams of fat or less (i'll be aiming for less, like 50 will be the absolute maximum)
    88 g. of protein (calculated based on my weight)
    5-6 small meals a day
    high-fiber foods
    drinking at least 64 oz. of water a day
    getting at least 6-9 hours of sleep a night (i did that over the summer and i felt so much more energized!)

    here's the types of foods i'd be eating:

    Grains: (6-11 servings)
    whole wheat bread, bagels, muffins, cereals (kashi rocks)
    brown rice (mmm)
    grits (the type you just add water to and microwave instead of like a bunch of butter and grease, eww)
    whole-wheat pasta

    Vegetables: (3+ servings)
    salad, corn, potatoes, etc.

    Fruit: (2+ servings)
    bananas, oranges, apples, watermelons, grapes, strawberries, etc.

    Beans and Bean Alternatives: (2-3 servings)
    beans, tofu, rice cakes, nuts (what are some good kinds that aren't too fatty?)

    Fortified Soymilk and Alternatives: (6-8 servings)
    fortified Silk, broccoli, almonds

    Other essentials (Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, Vitamin D): (1-2 servings)
    flax oil, olive oil, enriched soy/rice dream

    does this sound good? i'm trying to lose about 88 more pounds in a year or under in a healthy way. i exercise about 2 hours every day (working a different body part on different days. a good bulk of that time is cardiovascular exercise by the way) so is 1,600 calories enough or too much?

    thanks :)


  • Are you still at school? If you are, 1600 calories a day is not nearly enough, even when you're aiming to lose weight.

    Lying in bed all day, doing nothing, uses up 1200 calories a day; 400 calories on top of that is not enough to get you through the day. In addition, on a low-calorie diet like that your body will be shedding lean muscle not fat - bodies don't know about diets, they just know about famine, and that's how they protect themselves - by lowering your metabolism and storing fat. The end result of that is that when you regain the weight - and you will - you will be flabbier than before, almost certainly heavier, and you will find it harder to lose weight in the future.

    A healthy young person who exercises regularly should lose weight well on 2000 calories a day.


  • You should try 1400 calories per day. Only have 1 serving of cereals in the morning with a piece of fruit, and for lunch 2 slices of bread for example, and dinner 1/2 cup of
    Take 20 almonds for a mid morning snack in your handbag.Enjoy.


  • um, way too much fat.
    The maximum recommended is about 30-35g and even then, that's too much if you want to lose weight. aim for around 20g and cut down the calorie intake more


  • Your calorie intake depends on your metabolism. It may or may not be too much for you.. there is a way to figure out exactly how many calories your body needs just for organ and normal function, not accounting for any movement or exersise. I wish i could remember what it is, but look it up. There are websites that have calculators for this number. And its not BMI. It might just be some sort of metabolic rate thing. I cant remember exactly. But I do know that you dont need to exersise 2 hours a day! lol You can over exersise. And if you do that, it can have a negative effect. In reality only 25-30 min of cardio a day is needed and if you want to do resistance training, do more reps with lighter weights to tone the muscles instead of bulking up. Also look up interval training. Then you will be doing things like a 5 min warm up jog then run fast as you can for a minute then go back to normal pace for 3 or 4 min, then again as fast as you can for a minute then back to pace, and do it all again then cool down for 5 min. It confuses the muscles and metabolism and makes you loose weight alittle faster than normal jogging or running. Depending on your weight you could probably get away with 1000 calories a day, and take vitamins! I still take flinstones vitamins lol. They do the job! And also ive read studies on veganism and it is safer and easier to just be a vegitarian. Vegan is a bit extreme and really is not needed to be healthy. If you have any more questions just ask me. I started my journey to get in shape a year ago, and ive learned alot, and lost weight and got in shape! So i do have experience. I may not be a nutritionist but I have done a ton of reasearch and I have very good and fast results without any supliments or diet pills etc. lol


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