Vegan low fat diet, only eating 4000kjs a day...and not shifting any weight! WHHHYYYY
angiecassimatis
Posts: 91
Heya all! Need a bit if guidance or just a push in the right direction.
I am about 30kilos overweight. I want to really jump start my weight loss journey and am calorie counting like crazy.
I am also vegan by choice before this diet, all my foods are plant based and nutrient rich.
For some reason being on this VLCD I've put myself on, I've maybe only about 2 kilos in 3 weeks??
Am I not right in believing I should be losing more if I'm only consuming 3500-4000 kiks a day?
I hate working out, so I don't do much, maybe only 3 times a week cardio. I loathe it!! Lol
Anyway. I'm new to this and hope someone could help me??? What am I doing wrong? I eat loads of plant based nutrient rich foods, I eat no processed sugars or rich animal products and I drink up to 2 litres of water a day.
Help!!????
I am about 30kilos overweight. I want to really jump start my weight loss journey and am calorie counting like crazy.
I am also vegan by choice before this diet, all my foods are plant based and nutrient rich.
For some reason being on this VLCD I've put myself on, I've maybe only about 2 kilos in 3 weeks??
Am I not right in believing I should be losing more if I'm only consuming 3500-4000 kiks a day?
I hate working out, so I don't do much, maybe only 3 times a week cardio. I loathe it!! Lol
Anyway. I'm new to this and hope someone could help me??? What am I doing wrong? I eat loads of plant based nutrient rich foods, I eat no processed sugars or rich animal products and I drink up to 2 litres of water a day.
Help!!????
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Replies
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How tall are you, and what do you weigh currently? It's impossible to judge if you are eating an appropriate amount of calories without that info.
For example, if you are 5'5" and 200 lbs., Scooby's would recommend 1,520 cals./day to lose 1/lb. a week (not accounting for exercise, which would earn you more calories).
Also, as stated many times on this site, you don't need to exercise to lose weight, it just helps. You just need to consume less calories than you burn (BMR). So, I would not blame a lack of cardio on not losing weight.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
Thank to so much for the reply!
I'm 5'3 and am not sure about my weight in pounds. I think 200 sounds right.
Thank you again so much for your time!
Look I think I'm consuming much less than I'm burning. I have a very sedentary job but try to be active in the evenings and afternoons but it's difficult. Which is why I think perhaps cardio would be so important for me?0 -
Are you really only eating about 835-955 calories daily? You'll lose weight. And energy. And muscle. And your hair will fall out. It's a horrible idea.0
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Thinking you're consuming less than you burn is way different from actually knowing you do. Can you open your diary?Are you really only eating about 835-955 calories daily? You'll lose weight. And energy. And muscle. And your hair will fall out. It's a horrible idea.
Oh, I was wondering what the conversion was. That is seriously unhealthy, OP.0 -
OP how much do you weigh in kgs?0
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Yup! I consume probably about 850-900 on an average day. Some days more, maybe 1020?
I have had low days where I didn't mean to but I consumed maybe only 850??
My weight in kgs is about 118 currently.
I'll try to open my diary now...I'm not sure how to do it. Lemme try!-2 -
How long have you been eating that way? It's an excellent way to completely trash your health if you stick with it long enough.0
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Weighing 118kgs you can eat way more than 1000 calories and still lose weight0
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How long have you been eating that way? It's an excellent way to completely trash your health if you stick with it long enough.
Probably a month?? I don't mean to trash it. I was just doing what I thought was right. I'm not tired or exhausted, I'm not dizzy, I'm never sick.
I don't see the problem.
I didn't mean to come across like an idiot. Sorry 0 -
Thinking you're consuming less than you burn is way different from actually knowing you do. Can you open your diary?Are you really only eating about 835-955 calories daily? You'll lose weight. And energy. And muscle. And your hair will fall out. It's a horrible idea.
Oh, I was wondering what the conversion was. That is seriously unhealthy, OP.
I just opened my diary. Go have a look. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong.
Like I said before, I feel full, I have lots of energy, I don't feel dizzy or sick.0 -
You're not coming across as an idiot -- nutrition isn't something that people get taught. We usually think that the fastest way to lose weight is to eat as few calories as possible, but that's not true. Your body needs a certain number of calories every day just to maintain your base functions, like breathing and digestion. When you eat fewer calories than you take in, your body has to pull from your fat (yay, good, that's what we want!), but it also pulls from your bones, muscles and organs. You want to create a reasonable deficit to make sure you don't harm yourself. People who do what you're doing for long enough end up with osteoporosis and heart problems. I'm not exaggerating or trying to be harsh -- what you're doing is dangerous if you keep it up.
But...the good news is that you're probably not eating that few calories because your logging is a little off. There are a bunch of tips and tricks to navigating the MFP database and it takes a little while to get used to them.
You're not weighing your food, right? One day you have a whole avocado for 275 calories and another you have a half an avocado for 50 calories. Neither of those entries are correct, because not all avocados are the same size.
Not all bananas have the same number of calories -- you could be getting a lot more calories than you think because you're not weighing them.
Are you really eating fried rice from Eurest, or is that the first veggie fried rice entry you found? It's probably not accurate.
If you plug in all your information accurately and tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many calories does it give you? You should eat that many. Learn how to log as accurately as possible -- that means weighing your food and choosing accurate entries. You tried this crazy VLCD for a month and it didn't work. Try the MFP way for a month and see where it gets you.
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The other thing to consider is that losing weight takes time. You're going to be doing this for awhile, and as you get lighter, you have to consume fewer calories to keep the same rate of loss. If you start at 900(ish), you'll hit your first plateau and have nowhere to cut. You can't live on grass and sunshine.0
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You're not coming across as an idiot -- nutrition isn't something that people get taught. We usually think that the fastest way to lose weight is to eat as few calories as possible, but that's not true. Your body needs a certain number of calories every day just to maintain your base functions, like breathing and digestion. When you eat fewer calories than you take in, your body has to pull from your fat (yay, good, that's what we want!), but it also pulls from your bones, muscles and organs. You want to create a reasonable deficit to make sure you don't harm yourself. People who do what you're doing for long enough end up with osteoporosis and heart problems. I'm not exaggerating or trying to be harsh -- what you're doing is dangerous if you keep it up.
But...the good news is that you're probably not eating that few calories because your logging is a little off. There are a bunch of tips and tricks to navigating the MFP database and it takes a little while to get used to them.
You're not weighing your food, right? One day you have a whole avocado for 275 calories and another you have a half an avocado for 50 calories. Neither of those entries are correct, because not all avocados are the same size.
Not all bananas have the same number of calories -- you could be getting a lot more calories than you think because you're not weighing them.
Are you really eating fried rice from Eurest, or is that the first veggie fried rice entry you found? It's probably not accurate.
If you plug in all your information accurately and tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many calories does it give you? You should eat that many. Learn how to log as accurately as possible -- that means weighing your food and choosing accurate entries. You tried this crazy VLCD for a month and it didn't work. Try the MFP way for a month and see where it gets you.
its a little difficult for me being in Australia, a lot of the places i eat arent in the database. I really actually do try so hard to be accurate with it. Especially with the portions i really do try. I shall have to take another angle!! Thank you again.
I probably have incorrectly selected a couple of entries here and there but in perspective i thought it was eating pretty well??
the fried rice was just an estimate, i brought nothing to work to eat that day and it was the only thing i could eat that was open after all the regular cafes closed in my area! lol
I have taken to scanning a lot of my products with the barcode function too.
Eating a lot of fruit and veggies can be sooooo haarrrrrdddd to select the right one!! 0 -
Go to this site to figure your BMI and BMR numbers http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php
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The other thing to consider is that losing weight takes time. You're going to be doing this for awhile, and as you get lighter, you have to consume fewer calories to keep the same rate of loss. If you start at 900(ish), you'll hit your first plateau and have nowhere to cut. You can't live on grass and sunshine.
i thought about that to be honest and i got a little scared thinking...if im doing this now what happens when that time comes?!!!!! It scared me, i felt lost and unsure what the hell id do because i really am trying.
More than anything im eating for health, losing weight is a very verrrrrrrry close second.
Im just trying to fill my body with good food.0 -
In this case, the fact that you're underestimating is a very good thing! In all seriousness, eat that way long enough and you can cause some nasty health problems.angiecassimatis wrote: »You're not coming across as an idiot -- nutrition isn't something that people get taught. We usually think that the fastest way to lose weight is to eat as few calories as possible, but that's not true. Your body needs a certain number of calories every day just to maintain your base functions, like breathing and digestion. When you eat fewer calories than you take in, your body has to pull from your fat (yay, good, that's what we want!), but it also pulls from your bones, muscles and organs. You want to create a reasonable deficit to make sure you don't harm yourself. People who do what you're doing for long enough end up with osteoporosis and heart problems. I'm not exaggerating or trying to be harsh -- what you're doing is dangerous if you keep it up.
But...the good news is that you're probably not eating that few calories because your logging is a little off. There are a bunch of tips and tricks to navigating the MFP database and it takes a little while to get used to them.
You're not weighing your food, right? One day you have a whole avocado for 275 calories and another you have a half an avocado for 50 calories. Neither of those entries are correct, because not all avocados are the same size.
Not all bananas have the same number of calories -- you could be getting a lot more calories than you think because you're not weighing them.
Are you really eating fried rice from Eurest, or is that the first veggie fried rice entry you found? It's probably not accurate.
If you plug in all your information accurately and tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many calories does it give you? You should eat that many. Learn how to log as accurately as possible -- that means weighing your food and choosing accurate entries. You tried this crazy VLCD for a month and it didn't work. Try the MFP way for a month and see where it gets you.
its a little difficult for me being in Australia, a lot of the places i eat arent in the database. I really actually do try so hard to be accurate with it. Especially with the portions i really do try. I shall have to take another angle!! Thank you again.
I probably have incorrectly selected a couple of entries here and there but in perspective i thought it was eating pretty well??
the fried rice was just an estimate, i brought nothing to work to eat that day and it was the only thing i could eat that was open after all the regular cafes closed in my area! lol
I have taken to scanning a lot of my products with the barcode function too.
Eating a lot of fruit and veggies can be sooooo haarrrrrdddd to select the right one!!
FWIW, I'm 5'4", 125 pounds and the lowest I'll go when I'm trying to lose is 1500 (and I lose just fine at that intake).
Were you tracking your weight before you started trying to lose? Nobody has a static weight -- you have a weight range. Most people fluctuate across a few pounds normally, and it depends on a ton of factors (salt, stress, TOM, sleep, etc.). If you weren't tracking your weight before, you wouldn't necessarily know your fluctuation range. I'd bet the fact that your'e up a little is within your normal range and you just never saw it before.
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Hey! Good luck with your weight loss. It is hard! I am a vegetarian and have cut out most high carb foods (bread, pasta, rice) and am making sure that we make our meals at home as much as possible. We (my partner and I) eat low fat cheese, yoghurt, lots of green leafy vegetables, eggs, berries.... and I've been losing about a Kg a week. I am also managing to go for a walk every day because I work on a computer all day in an office, so I don't move around much. I'm not an expert, but keeping an accurate food diary REALLY helps me, and writing down my weekly goals (like 'go for walk every day'). It really keeps me accountable. My advice to you, would be cut down carbs and increase all the good veges. Don't eat below 1200 a day. Also don't let yourself be in a position where you don't have any food options. Get up a bit earlier and make yourself a good lunch with healthy snacks. It does take effort but it's worth it!! You'll have more energy!!0
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Why are you eating so little???? This is NOT recommended.
At 260 lbs, 5'3", and Lightly Active, I have you at having a BMR of roughly 1900. Your TDEE, 2700ish. Cut 20% and you get 2100 cals per day not including exercise calories.
Up the calories, OP!0 -
In this case, the fact that you're underestimating is a very good thing! In all seriousness, eat that way long enough and you can cause some nasty health problems.angiecassimatis wrote: »You're not coming across as an idiot -- nutrition isn't something that people get taught. We usually think that the fastest way to lose weight is to eat as few calories as possible, but that's not true. Your body needs a certain number of calories every day just to maintain your base functions, like breathing and digestion. When you eat fewer calories than you take in, your body has to pull from your fat (yay, good, that's what we want!), but it also pulls from your bones, muscles and organs. You want to create a reasonable deficit to make sure you don't harm yourself. People who do what you're doing for long enough end up with osteoporosis and heart problems. I'm not exaggerating or trying to be harsh -- what you're doing is dangerous if you keep it up.
But...the good news is that you're probably not eating that few calories because your logging is a little off. There are a bunch of tips and tricks to navigating the MFP database and it takes a little while to get used to them.
You're not weighing your food, right? One day you have a whole avocado for 275 calories and another you have a half an avocado for 50 calories. Neither of those entries are correct, because not all avocados are the same size.
Not all bananas have the same number of calories -- you could be getting a lot more calories than you think because you're not weighing them.
Are you really eating fried rice from Eurest, or is that the first veggie fried rice entry you found? It's probably not accurate.
If you plug in all your information accurately and tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many calories does it give you? You should eat that many. Learn how to log as accurately as possible -- that means weighing your food and choosing accurate entries. You tried this crazy VLCD for a month and it didn't work. Try the MFP way for a month and see where it gets you.
its a little difficult for me being in Australia, a lot of the places i eat arent in the database. I really actually do try so hard to be accurate with it. Especially with the portions i really do try. I shall have to take another angle!! Thank you again.
I probably have incorrectly selected a couple of entries here and there but in perspective i thought it was eating pretty well??
the fried rice was just an estimate, i brought nothing to work to eat that day and it was the only thing i could eat that was open after all the regular cafes closed in my area! lol
I have taken to scanning a lot of my products with the barcode function too.
Eating a lot of fruit and veggies can be sooooo haarrrrrdddd to select the right one!!
FWIW, I'm 5'4", 125 pounds and the lowest I'll go when I'm trying to lose is 1500 (and I lose just fine at that intake).
Were you tracking your weight before you started trying to lose? Nobody has a static weight -- you have a weight range. Most people fluctuate across a few pounds normally, and it depends on a ton of factors (salt, stress, TOM, sleep, etc.). If you weren't tracking your weight before, you wouldn't necessarily know your fluctuation range. I'd bet the fact that your'e up a little is within your normal range and you just never saw it before.
i have nooooooooooooooooo idea.
I just know the last 3 years ive slowly gained about 15-20 VERY unwanted kilos.
I used to eat whatever i wanted and i looked and felt great!!! That was when i worked in the hotel indsustry and i was running around for 8 hours like a maniac.
Boom. I get a desk job, i didnt change what i was eating and turned into a whale. Wahhhhh. in all honesty, i blame myself for not recognising that would happen.
i just want this weight OFF! thats all i know and i want to feel better. Being short, i worry about my joints and my heart health.
My recent blood work actually shows, according to my doc, im in excellent health, my bloody sugar levels, my thyroid function, my cholesterol levels, my iron blah blah blah are all in a really health range!!
i want it to stay that way and just have my outside represent how good i feel on the inside, people are often shocked when i tell them what i weigh, i just carry it well and im never sick or tired or anything.
I appreciate all your advice...i mean it
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It takes some time eating at such a low number to start feeling the effects. Just because you aren't now doesn't mean it won't happen.
Your fat and protein macros are also extremely low. Obviously, being vegan, you need to work harder to meet those, but those can also begin to cause problems if you don't meet them.0 -
are you using food scales to make sure things are accurate?
Also use one entry and stick with it as there as so many if you pick one you will be consistent with it and sometimes there are 1000 entries for the same food all with different calories.
I know what you mean about moving to office job, Same thing happened to me 0 -
protein is difficult for vegans yes...im still learning.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Someone recommended pea protein? Any takers??0 -
My dad is vegan, Lots of lentils, seitan and beans. Make sure your getting fiber
Also pea protein is good but its not a complete protein, i still use it every now and then but
Are you vegan for health reasons or animal welfare?
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Eat more to weight less. You are not eating enough at all. There is what you could call the goldilocks zone where you eat (lots more than now) and your body has enough coming in to burn more off. There are long term side effects of VLCD that might not hit you now but will later on. You simply can't sustain it long term and lose weight. Come back up to the 1400 to 1500 range at least and exercise the weight away rather than starve it away.0
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You also can't get all your nutritional needs in that small amount of calories0
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My dad is vegan, Lots of lentils, seitan and beans. Make sure your getting fiber
Also pea protein is good but its not a complete protein, i still use it every now and then but
Are you vegan for health reasons or animal welfare?
thank you!! I keep forgetting to be aware of it, i know its important!!
Im vegan for both reasons. I dont believe consuming animals and animal products is healthy. But...lets not start that discussion!0 -
myfatass78 wrote: »Eat more to weight less. You are not eating enough at all. There is what you could call the goldilocks zone where you eat (lots more than now) and your body has enough coming in to burn more off. There are long term side effects of VLCD that might not hit you now but will later on. You simply can't sustain it long term and lose weight. Come back up to the 1400 to 1500 range at least and exercise the weight away rather than starve it away.
hmm good point!!!! i didnt think of it like that0 -
myfatass78 wrote: »You also can't get all your nutritional needs in that small amount of calories
youre right....its hard though because i feel so good??!!!! I get 7 hours sleep, i drink water, im happy, i dont feel tired or dizzy and i dont get sick.
I just thought i was listening to my body 0 -
Yes, that is because you have some fuel left in the tank but that won't last forever. If you keep going the way you are, you hair and nails might start to fall out, your periods might stop randomly, you might start to feel like throwing up all the time, your bones will become brittle (later on in life) from lack of calcium. There are millions of impacts that VCLD can have on you. It is a gimmick to get people to buy their weight loss products with full knowledge that they will be back again in a year or two to start again.0
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Also, if you hate exercising at the gym, there is always walking0
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