Diet and Nutrition advice for gluten free vegetarian

ajv2014

Hi everyone,

I'm having difficulties making a diet plan to go with my fitness plan, and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips. I really dislike counting calories, so I try to avoid that if possible.

I'm struggling because I want to lose a bit of fat, but not so much muscle. I'm a 21-year old male, 5'11'', about 155 lbs, with a pretty fast BMR. My body fat is about 11%, and I'm trying to get it just a little lower.

I have a hard time determining whether I eat too much or too little, since I take medication that interferes with my appetite and I often don't notice I'm hungry until I get low blood sugar. I'm also a (flexible) vegetarian with celiac disease, so there are a lot of foods I can't eat. I have gone back to eating some fish recently, for protein and omega-3s, but no other meats.

I'm fairly active; I do 15-30 minutes of elliptical machine everyday, and 15-30 minutes of pretty vigorous swimming 4 or 5 times a week. I also do weight training 3 times a week for an hour, and take dance class once a week. I am usually on my feet for my job.

My diet for the past few weeks has been:

Breakfast: 1/2 cup raw oats with 1 tbsp. peanut butter, chopped banana, hemp seeds, and a splash of low-fat soymilk
Snack: 1/4 cup walnuts or almonds, and apple slices
Lunch: Green salad with textured vegetable protein (made from soy), 1 cup cooked quinoa with lentils or black beans
Snack: Carrot sticks or snap peas, edamame
Pre-Workout (weights): Celery with peanut butter and raisins
Post-Workout: 100 calorie soy protein shake
Dinner: Green salad with vegetable protein, brown rice or quinoa, small piece of salmon or halibut
Evening Snack/Dessert: Chopped fruit with cinnamon

I don't eat a lot of dairy or eggs, but I would incorporate them for more protein if needed.

I felt great on this diet for a while, but I eventually felt weak and dizzy while exercising and had difficulty focusing, so I caved into cravings for unhealthy foods, making me think that it wasn't sustainable for my body. I unfortunately don't have access to a nutritionist at the moment. It's hard for me to make meal plans with my diet restrictions, and I don't want to be eating too much or too little for my level of activity. I'm not looking to lose a lot of weight, just a couple pounds, and I want to make sure that I don't lose too much muscle in the process. I suppose counting calories might be my only way, but it's so ridiculously painstaking, especially for natural foods without nutrition labels. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks a lot!

Fitty_Cent

Why don't you count the number of calories in the food you listed, and see how many that was? Then you will know if you're in the ballpark or not.

I'm no expert but it doesn't look like you're eating enough fat, which is important for satiety.

Also, make sure you're getting enough B12. I had a kombucha drink today which had some in it, surprisingly.

ajv2014

Thanks! I'll start taking a multivitamin just in case.