Vegetarian Diet- Your caloric intake?
Options
Replies
-
I lost about 45 pounds with calories in/calories out. About a month ago I switched to a raw(ish) vegetarian(ish) diet mostly doing a BIG smoothie for breakfast and lunch then eat healthy (organic, etc) meats or the like for dinner.
Since I've started with this I've been eating 1800 to 2000 calories/day (my goal has always been 1500) and have lost another 10 pounds while eating WAY more calories than before.
A few things factor in here however. When I changed my diet, I started to feel naturally more energized so I've been more active and find myself craving things like coffee and processed foods way less.
In the end for me, a calorie is not a calorie.
If switching your diet gives you more energy and you're burning more calories as a result, it just reinforces that a calorie is a calorie for the purposes of weight loss.
Obviously your diet can influence your energy level -- nobody has denied that. But "a calorie is a calorie" includes the principle that if you burn more through activity, you can eat more and still lose weight.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
It was meant as a joke, lighten up. I'm aware of the severe effects of botulism. And obviously I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor would I actually roll on the floor laughing while someone was suffering from it, or anything else.
I did however believe it was from raw green beans, though you're right in the canning aspect. I should've looked it up, rather than believe what I had heard.
1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
I believe Clostridium botulinum is an anaerobic bacterium - grows in the absence of oxygen. Hence, it's a risk in under-heated non-acidic canned foods. I'm assuming canned foods automatically count as cooked, to a raw vegan, but I'm too lazy to check that assumption.
People who are being strict about raw veganism draw the line at heating above 104 to 120 degrees F. I've never canned so I don't know if the canning process would heat foods more than that.
Low-acid foods are pressure-cooker-canned (in home canning), and acidic ones in a boiling water bath . . . so yes, above 120F.
0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
It was meant as a joke, lighten up. I'm aware of the severe effects of botulism. And obviously I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor would I actually roll on the floor laughing while someone was suffering from it, or anything else.
I did however believe it was from raw green beans, though you're right in the canning aspect. I should've looked it up, rather than believe what I had heard.
Well I'm grateful this was incorrect info, as i love munching on raw green beans!
0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
It was meant as a joke, lighten up. I'm aware of the severe effects of botulism. And obviously I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor would I actually roll on the floor laughing while someone was suffering from it, or anything else.
I did however believe it was from raw green beans, though you're right in the canning aspect. I should've looked it up, rather than believe what I had heard.
Well I'm grateful this was incorrect info, as i love munching on raw green beans!
Lol no kidding!
0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
It was meant as a joke, lighten up. I'm aware of the severe effects of botulism. And obviously I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor would I actually roll on the floor laughing while someone was suffering from it, or anything else.
I did however believe it was from raw green beans, though you're right in the canning aspect. I should've looked it up, rather than believe what I had heard.
I get that you meant it as a joke, I just didn't understand what is supposed to be funny about it. You're free to make jokes, you can't insist that others find them amusing. I don't think a demand that someone "lighten up" is appropriate here. How about you joke about what you'd like, including botulism, and I'll respond how I like?0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »dustedwithsugar wrote: »Oh and about raw vegans- most of they say is bollocks. Especially what banana girl is saying. Idea of eating 3000-4000 calories for average woman and losing weight is ridiculous, doesn't matter if they're mostly coming from raw fruits and veggies. If you do research online you'll find many, many people who gained a lot of weight that way. Do your research here, follow calories assigned to you by mfp and weight will start dropping off in no time
I still wonder if raw vegans eat *raw* green beans rofl - botulism and all
I'm not sure why the thought of anyone suffering from botulism, which can cause paralysis and even death, makes you ROFL, but I believe that botulism is associated with home-canned green beans, not raw ones. I could be wrong though.
It was meant as a joke, lighten up. I'm aware of the severe effects of botulism. And obviously I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor would I actually roll on the floor laughing while someone was suffering from it, or anything else.
I did however believe it was from raw green beans, though you're right in the canning aspect. I should've looked it up, rather than believe what I had heard.
I get that you meant it as a joke, I just didn't understand what is supposed to be funny about it. You're free to make jokes, you can't insist that others find them amusing. I don't think a demand that someone "lighten up" is appropriate here. How about you joke about what you'd like, including botulism, and I'll respond how I like?
Touché on the last sentence. Though I didn't insist anyone find them funny nor did I "demand" you lighten up. The latter was a suggestion. Anyhow, thank you for your reply. I really didn't mean to upset you or anyone else for that matter.0 -
I've been a vegetarian for 3 years, mostly vegan for 2, and eat mostly whole foods with some allowed treats (mostly dessert....) here and there. I lost about 100 pounds counting calories on MFP and have kept it off for a year eating this way. Went from couch potato to half marathon and now training for triathlon. My blood pressure dropped, blood sugar is (healthfully) low, and my cholesterol around 160 when it once was in the 200s. No nutritional deficiencies or other issues like that. I went vegetarian/mostly vegan for ethical reasons, but it has also been a good choice for my health and I feel like I have been more successful eating this way than in the past (I'm mid 40s and have been obese since my teens with multiple failed dieting attempts, until now).
That being said, dropping animal products isn't a magical thing that allows me to defy physics and have perfect health. I also have to eat a nutritious and balanced diet and get good sleep and practice good stress management and train hard (and wisely) to maintain my energy levels and health. I also have to watch my caloric intake strictly... when I eat too much food, even vegan food, I will gain weight again. For me "too much food" is anything over my TDEE as predicted by Fitbit. I have a couple of years of food intake and activity data and it is amazingly accurate for me. So... I take that to mean that my metabolism is probably pretty typical for a woman of my age/weight/height and I am conforming quite nicely to Fitbit's calculations. No magic vegan pill. Although.... after my dramatic weight loss one might predict that my metabolism would slow to a crawl (I'm thinking of the research coming out on the Biggest Loser people), so maybe veganism is allowing me to defy physics by merely being "normal" in my metabolism and I just don't know it... Though I doubt it.
Probably I just started with a slightly above average metabolism, lost the weight slowly, while being incredibly active, and was spared some of the more dramatic effects of adaptive thermogenesis.
I think that where being a vegan has helped me (and is probably why vegans have lower BMI on average) is that it takes a lot of really calorie dense options off the table and encourages me in the direction of lower calorie foods like fruits/veggies. A well planned vegan diet can be very nutritious and filling and so I don't walk around feeling hungry all the time and I actually eat as much or more (volume-wise, not calorie-wise) than I did when I was obese. I have also done Atkins (the meaty version, not eco-atkins) in the past and had some temporary success, mainly for similar reasons... it steered me toward foods that were very filling so I naturally stayed within caloric limits without having to starve. I just didn't want to do low carb in the long run because I prefer a more "carby" diet due to taste preferences and I had ethical reasons to give up meat/dairy/eggs instead.
1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 402 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions