Vegetarian having hard time getting to calorie goal

doxielover2013

Eat some Chicken!!!, Your body will thank you.

Not helpful. I quit eating meat because it made me feel awful! I feel much better now that I am a vegetarian.

RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle

Do you feel like you're getting closer to your goals though? Why not just relax a bit and be grateful that you are, if you are.

Iknowsaur

Your idea of your diet seems to be very different from the reality of your diary. You eat close to 2,000 every day, not 1,200. You eat a lot of processed carbs and packaged foods, and very little protein. You eat eggs and cheese every day, so saying you're basically vegan is just silly. Anyway, vegan doesn't not necessarily equal healthy, nor does it necessarily equal weight loss. The only thing that matters is a deficit. The tea you drink a few times a day is a waste of money. And you seem to be overestimating your exercise calories. MFP is very generous with burn amounts, and you seem to be eating back most of your exercise calories. I would eat back maybe 20%.

Eat more protein. Make better use of your calories.

Don't ask a question if you don't want honest answers.

My burn is off of my heart rate monitor not MFP's amounts I am starting to lose weight again so I am in a deficit. I am eating in the evening to bump up my cals to that point but that is raising my sodium intake. My QUESTION was about sodium intake and how to reduce it. I have one egg a day and I am trying to cut out the cheese I didn't say I was there yet. Through out the day I eat all veggies with the exception of breakfast which is a thin bagel and one egg, sometimes with cheese in order to up the cals. Dinner this week had 3 meals with cheese, lunch I added the buns to the chickpea burgers to up cals or I have leftovers from dinner. I said I was trying to transition to vegan...I obviously have not made it yet. I am looking for helpful suggestions not to be slammed because you hate these types of posts! I am on a journey just like you and am trying to find my way the best I can. Sometimes that requires asking questions that people that have been here awhile have seen already or they have already figured it out. If you don't like this type of post then ignore it, don't slam the person looking for help.

I'm really not trying to slam you. I don't think you understand how often these posts come up, and eating another couple hundred calories is no more difficult than a spoonful of peanut butter (plus it has protein!)
People are going to critique your diary /: Don't take it personally. I have friends that give me crap when I have a bad day, but I like it because it helps me want to do better. If you're going vegan for moral reasons that's great! But don't do it for "health" reasons, because there isn't a lot of benefit to eating a lot of carbs and scrounging for protein (not all vegans do this, of course, but it happens quite a bit.) Clean eating can be done well without veganism.

JustinAnimal

So weird... last time I checked, butter, cheese, yogurt, fish / eggs (depending on the type of veggie you are), oil, candy, bread / bagels, meatless meat products, alcohol, peanut butter, nuts, and any combination of the aforementioned foods, can be extremely high calorie. Not sure if I'm buying it.

Also, based on what others have said, it sounds like you're over calories most of the time. No one wants to offend you, but you probably need to stop making posts like this. They come off as melodramatic and, after looking at your diary, contradictory. If someone were rude, not like myself, they might call you a liar about not being able to reach your calorie goal. Luckily, no rude posters on MFP.

doxielover2013

It is too early in my journey to know if I am or not getting closer to my weight goal. I have lost 5 lbs, but haven't lost inches. One of my goals is to increase my endurance and strength. On that one I am definitely improving! I can feel the muscles in my arms and legs getting stronger and I can do my workouts with a lot less breaks to catch my breath!:bigsmile: I try to keep that success in the forefront of my mind when I get down about the cloths not getting any looser, but it is hard sometimes so I end up stressing over my food intake.

DirrtyH

Protein shakes.

doxielover2013

I'm really not trying to slam you. I don't think you understand how often these posts come up, and eating another couple hundred calories is no more difficult than a spoonful of peanut butter (plus it has protein!)
People are going to critique your diary /: Don't take it personally. I have friends that give me crap when I have a bad day, but I like it because it helps me want to do better. If you're going vegan for moral reasons that's great! But don't do it for "health" reasons, because there isn't a lot of benefit to eating a lot of carbs and scrounging for protein (not all vegans do this, of course, but it happens quite a bit.) Clean eating can be done well without veganism.

Thank you for that. I am trying to go vegan because I feel better when I am eating purely veggies, beans, and grains. I have only been vegetarian since 2011. Went veggie because I contracted Lyme and after my treatment I wanted to detox. I did a juice fast for 2 weeks and had never felt better. When the detox was over I went back to eating meat and felt awful. So I switched to lacto/ovo vegetarian and felt better again. However, dairy tends to make my allergies flare up a lot so I want to cut cheese out. I already have cut out milk. I am truly trying to learn how to eat the best way for my body. I know that right now I am eating crap, but it is to get my cals up so I am not under 1200 but closer to my 1560 plus the exercise cals burned.

bcattoes

It is too early in my journey to know if I am or not getting closer to my weight goal. I have lost 5 lbs, but haven't lost inches. One of my goals is to increase my endurance and strength. On that one I am definitely improving! I can feel the muscles in my arms and legs getting stronger and I can do my workouts with a lot less breaks to catch my breath!:bigsmile: I try to keep that success in the forefront of my mind when I get down about the cloths not getting any looser, but it is hard sometimes so I end up stressing over my food intake.

It's completely natural in the beginning to tweak your diet. Your diet doesn't look bad, but the two things that stuck out most to me were too much sodium and too little protein. You need to eat enough protein when losing weight to make sure you lose more fat than muscle. It's easy to overeat carbs and be low on protein with a vegan diet.

Check out Seapoint Farms dry roasted edamame. It's a delicious snack and just a 30g serving (1/4 cup) has 130 calories and 14g protein.

I would also suggest that you check out some of the vegetarian or vegan MFP groups. You'll likely find good tips there, without all the sarcasm.

Good luck to you.

leggup

Raw, unsalted nuts are the best way to add fast calories. Just 1/4 cup (28.5 grams) of shelled walnuts is 200 calories. Storing nuts for a long time is super easy. Also, they're great for reducing how much pasta you use in dishes. Huge pile of cooked (formerly frozen) veggies, little pasta, light sauce, nuts. Boom- healthy dinner.

Rainboots80

I am vegetarian on low carb diet. I eat quite a bit of sodium though. Add a couple tablespoons unsalted butter a day and you should be good to go.

AbsolutelyAnnie

Hang in there sweetie. Thank you for your willingness to be transparent and vulnerable. This is a journey and some along the way will be more helpful than others. Sometimes humor doesn't always feel very funny, but in my experience honesty is never unkind.

I have NOT taken the time to look at your food diary, but I suspect that the folks that have looked have made sound suggestions about how to add some good calories without a lot of effort. I am a huge fan of a spoonful of peanut butter. :-) Always try to get enough protein and do what you can to limit carbs that don't have much fiber.

I wonder if there might be some good vegan/vegetarian websites that have helpful information for folks trying to lose weight. Between a Veg site and MFP you might be able to attack the issue from both directions.

Best of luck to you.

lemonsnowdrop

Eating meat shouldn't make you feel awful and juice "detoxing" shouldn't make you feel great. You can't eat a hamburger from McDonald's and say all meat is horrible. You should find a way to eat smart, healthy foods, whether vegetarian or not.

Also, I may be wrong, but I thought vegans don't use any animal products? This means no eggs, cheese or milk.

doxielover2013

So weird... last time I checked, butter, cheese, yogurt, fish / eggs (depending on the type of veggie you are), oil, candy, bread / bagels, meatless meat products, alcohol, peanut butter, nuts, and any combination of the aforementioned foods, can be extremely high calorie. Not sure if I'm buying it.

Also, based on what others have said, it sounds like you're over calories most of the time. No one wants to offend you, but you probably need to stop making posts like this. They come off as melodramatic and, after looking at your diary, contradictory. If someone were rude, not like myself, they might call you a liar about not being able to reach your calorie goal. Luckily, no rude posters on MFP.

I do not eat butter, candy, fish or alcohol. I try to limit the fake meats and breads (though I'm not always successful at that), peanut butter I try to avoid due to sodium, and I limit nuts because of their high fat content. I stated that I am usually under 1200 net cals by evening and then end up eating bread, pie, cheese...something high in cals to get me up in cals so I will be a few hundred net cals under my goal. Yesterday after excercise my goal was 1896 by 7pm I was still under 1200 so I ate some cheese, one serving of chips, and a skinny bagel with honey... just to get to 1796 still 100 cals under. I would have prefered to be closer to the 1560 area but I panicked because I was so far under. 1200 by 7 pm. All of the extra put me 568 mg over on sodium which is why I came onto the forums. I am looking for a low sodium high calorie option. I am trying to learn not be "melodramatic or contradictory".

yarwell

you're avoiding nuts because they are high fat, and then falling short of calories. Just eat some nuts - sorted. Fat is not a problem in any way and you get 9 calories per gram of fat.

doxielover2013

Eating meat shouldn't make you feel awful and juice "detoxing" shouldn't make you feel great. You can't eat a hamburger from McDonald's and say all meat is horrible. You should find a way to eat smart, healthy foods, whether vegetarian or not.

Also, I may be wrong, but I thought vegans don't use any animal products? This means no eggs, cheese or milk.

I am trying to transition to vegan (not there yet). I do not eat at McDonald's, even when I ate meat! They are just gross! I have always cooked our meals. Whether meat or meatless. Eating out is only done on the weekends and once a week when I go grocery shopping and errand running because it takes half a day to get all my running done. Other that I fix everything that I eat. Regardless of your opinion that was my experience and why I went vegetarian.

laurie04427

Brown rice and oatmeal (the real stuff not the diet ones) both have a fair amount of calories (I have to limit them or I go over my calorie quota). And like others said, unsalted nuts.

doxielover2013

It is too early in my journey to know if I am or not getting closer to my weight goal. I have lost 5 lbs, but haven't lost inches. One of my goals is to increase my endurance and strength. On that one I am definitely improving! I can feel the muscles in my arms and legs getting stronger and I can do my workouts with a lot less breaks to catch my breath!:bigsmile: I try to keep that success in the forefront of my mind when I get down about the cloths not getting any looser, but it is hard sometimes so I end up stressing over my food intake.

It's completely natural in the beginning to tweak your diet. Your diet doesn't look bad, but the two things that stuck out most to me were too much sodium and too little protein. You need to eat enough protein when losing weight to make sure you lose more fat than muscle. It's easy to overeat carbs and be low on protein with a vegan diet.

Check out Seapoint Farms dry roasted edamame. It's a delicious snack and just a 30g serving (1/4 cup) has 130 calories and 14g protein.

I would also suggest that you check out some of the vegetarian or vegan MFP groups. You'll likely find good tips there, without all the sarcasm.

Good luck to you.

Thank you, I will look for those!

doxielover2013

Hang in there sweetie. Thank you for your willingness to be transparent and vulnerable. This is a journey and some along the way will be more helpful than others. Sometimes humor doesn't always feel very funny, but in my experience honesty is never unkind.

I have NOT taken the time to look at your food diary, but I suspect that the folks that have looked have made sound suggestions about how to add some good calories without a lot of effort. I am a huge fan of a spoonful of peanut butter. :-) Always try to get enough protein and do what you can to limit carbs that don't have much fiber.

I wonder if there might be some good vegan/vegetarian websites that have helpful information for folks trying to lose weight. Between a Veg site and MFP you might be able to attack the issue from both directions.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you

doxielover2013

Raw, unsalted nuts are the best way to add fast calories. Just 1/4 cup (28.5 grams) of shelled walnuts is 200 calories. Storing nuts for a long time is super easy. Also, they're great for reducing how much pasta you use in dishes. Huge pile of cooked (formerly frozen) veggies, little pasta, light sauce, nuts. Boom- healthy dinner.

I will def start adding nuts to my diet. I was afraid to eat too many because of their fat content but I know I don't eat a lot of fat so I just have to jump over that hurdle in my brain!

doxielover2013

Brown rice and oatmeal (the real stuff not the diet ones) both have a fair amount of calories (I have to limit them or I go over my calorie quota). And like others said, unsalted nuts.

I will try that for my breakfast and see how it goes. I really don't like eating eggs everyday. I am going to add more nuts in, just have to make my brain accept that they are ok and not fatty! Thanks.