New and confused. Any help with diet appreciated.

snlperdue93

I have been hit with a huge dietary issue over the last two weeks as I developed an allergy to meat protein. My doctor has since told me (yesterday) that I am not allowed to eat any meat at all for 4-6 weeks until my symptoms go away. After that she will begin to work with me on certain meats that I can try, but I am now allergic to beef, chicken, turkey, pork and lamb and the doc says I may just not be able to tolerate meat.

So, I guess the reason I am rambling is that I have had trouble over the last month trying to just hit 1200 calories and now I am having meat taken away as well.

My BMR is 1526
My TDEE is 2366

So if I am understanding this right in order to lose weight I need to take 15% off the TDEE is that correct? If so that means I need to eat 2011 calories per day?

I have seen some posts where people are taking off 20 or 25%...why is that?

I just want to make sure that before I up my calories I am upping them to the right number. I think I would lose all motivation if I started packing weight back on.

Also, can anyone give good tips on what foods I can eat to hit my calorie mark since I am no longer allowed to eat meat? I have almonds and pistachio's but I have been avoiding carbs like pasta and bread. Should I be adding these back in...like in a PB & J?

I should also add that I think my body has just decided that it hates food. LOL.

I was already allergic to tomatoes, shell fish, mushrooms, peanuts, avocados, strawberries (if too many), and lactose intolerant.

So, I can eat eggs, but only 2 or 3 a week, no more than 1/2 a glass of milk per day and that is only if I don't eat eggs or cheese, tomatoes only if cooked and in very small quantities, no shell fish, no mushrooms, peanuts I can tolerate in small quantities (like peanut butter) but have to have the benedryl handy and of course, have to watch the dairy intake. Now I get hit with no meat....grrr

Thanks in advance for the help. I am so tired of going up and down with my weight that I want to get it right. I don't mind if it takes a few weeks to see a difference because I am working out and getting toned, but I am tired of seeing nothing moving on the scale.

31prvrbs

Yes, you should be trying to NET 2011

I think some people are using 20% or more simply because they want the weight off faster, or don't want to eat *much* more, lol. At least that's my assumption. But more than 20% is possible overkill, especially for this group, which is about eating "more."

(the exception is for the extremely obese, who studies have shown can reduce a bit more drastically if needed for emergency health purposes)

I feel your pain, on the allergies. I've had to omit many things from my diet over the years, and figure out ways to adapt my training to it. Most recently, I was completely gluten free just a few months ago.

I would begin to try to incorporate some carbs back in your diet, as whole grain carbs, especially, are rich in protein, as well as cals, so they can help you to get that up. Take it slow though, since you've been restricting them, and expect the bloat that will come as your body gets readjusted. Start w/more easily digested grains and then ease back into wheat. Try pastas made of quinoa (high in protein), rice (easily digested), corn, Kamut and Spelt (which are Wheat's easier-to-digest cousins). Same with breads.

Can you eat fish, like tuna, tilapia, or salmon, etc. ? Salmon is pretty calorie dense as it has good omega fats, so it could help. Fish is an excellent source of protein.

I would definitely add more beans to your menu. Beans are full of fiber and protein. Beans and rice or couscous have many possibilities. You can use websites like allrecipes.com and do an ingredient search based on what you can and can't have.

There are also soy versions of most meats nowadays, so I'd check out your local grocery store for products like Morningstar Farms (we love their veggie sausage patties, "chickenless" nuggets, and "ribs" etc, yummy). They are pretty high in protein, and free of meat (though you will need to check the ingredients for other allergens)
http://www.morningstarfarms.com/msfhome.html

Protein shakes could help as well, there are many lactose free versions, and you can add almond butter and a banana to those to help get the numbers up. I also like making fruit smoothies with almond milk and adding a fruit flavored fish oil to for some essential fats (which will help with the cals, as well as your skin, hair, nails, etc)


Hope that helps some

Kiki

snlperdue93

Yes, you should be trying to NET 2011

I think some people are using 20% or more simply because they want the weight off faster, or don't want to eat *much* more, lol. At least that's my assumption. But more than 20% is possible overkill, especially for this group, which is about eating "more."

(the exception is for the extremely obese, who studies have shown can reduce a bit more drastically if needed for emergency health purposes)

I feel your pain, on the allergies. I've had to omit many things from my diet over the years, and figure out ways to adapt my training to it. Most recently, I was completely gluten free just a few months ago.

I would begin to try to incorporate some carbs back in your diet, as whole grain carbs, especially, are rich in protein, as well as cals, so they can help you to get that up. Take it slow though, since you've been restricting them, and expect the bloat that will come as your body gets readjusted. Start w/more easily digested grains and then ease back into wheat. Try pastas made of quinoa (high in protein), rice (easily digested), corn, Kamut and Spelt (which are Wheat's easier-to-digest cousins). Same with breads.

Can you eat fish, like tuna, tilapia, or salmon, etc. ? Salmon is pretty calorie dense as it has good omega fats, so it could help. Fish is an excellent source of protein.

I would definitely add more beans to your menu. Beans are full of fiber and protein. Beans and rice or couscous have many possibilities. You can use websites like allrecipes.com and do an ingredient search based on what you can and can't have.

There are also soy versions of most meats nowadays, so I'd check out your local grocery store for products like Morningstar Farms (we love their veggie sausage patties, "chickenless" nuggets, and "ribs" etc, yummy). They are pretty high in protein, and free of meat (though you will need to check the ingredients for other allergens)
http://www.morningstarfarms.com/msfhome.html

Protein shakes could help as well, there are many lactose free versions, and you can add almond butter and a banana to those to help get the numbers up. I also like making fruit smoothies with almond milk and adding a fruit flavored fish oil to for some essential fats (which will help with the cals, as well as your skin, hair, nails, etc)


Hope that helps some

Kiki

Wow, ok thanks! That really does help. I am not sure how I am going to hit that yet, but I am sure I will get there. My goal for today was just to hit my BMR of 1520+ but I am severely lacking at only 983 so far. Of course, my daughter had softball practice tonight and we just got home so I am going to go whip up a couple of PB & J for my dinner and just try to do better tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips!