Please take a look at my food diary!

makemewannadie

Just as some extra info- i'm trying to lose 20 odd lbs (and get fit rather than get thin!) I've been using this site for nearly a week now and found i've been eating fairly well (what I think is anyway!) barring a few bad snacks every couple of days.
I'm also vegan, hence the lack of animal products!
Opinions/criticisms/advice would be appreciated.

makemewannadie

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/makemewannadie

ChristyRunStarr

What exactly are you asking?

From looking quickly and without knowing what you want to know, it looks like you're not eating enough so if you want to see if you're eating ok to lose weight, you might have some issues

47Jacqueline

You're not eating enough. Especially when you're a vegan. You need to get enough protein, fiber, vitamins and at least 1200 calories or you will starve to death. If you are really just looking to be healthy, then eat more.

jfan175

If you want to get fit rather than thin, you should up your protein. You daily limit is set pretty low, and you're not meeting that. The rest of your diet looks fairly healthy. How much do you weigh now, and what kind of exercise are you doing?

nataliexxxx

Your diary is healthy you need more protein though to be more fit try protein bars if you don't eat meat and try to eat more calories

yarwell

Fats and proteins both too low, you're eating an excess of sugar and starch.

daffodilsoup

Definitely not enough calories or protein to reach your fitness goals - you gotta feed the machine, girl.

Good vegan sources of protein are tofu, tempeh, seitan, lentils, beans and vegan protein bars - I love the Clif Builder bars! Don't be afraid to eat your daily calorie allotment, you need it!

coliema

You need to eat more.

DietandVlogsense

I agree with many here.

1. You're not eating enough and you run the risk of unhealthy weightloss that could do serious long term damage.

2. Looking at your profile image, which admittedly is just one photo, but where do you think you need to loose 20lbs???? My personal opinion is that you appear to be rather slim and I can not imagine where you would loose 20lbs from.

Sorry if this offends, but I felt it should be said.

makemewannadie

Autumnstarry- just to see if anyone has any suggestions about how to improve (:
Thank you all for the help so far, I feel like i'm eating so much though! Up until about a month ago I was eating small amounts of junk food (like frozen potato waffles) and now i've switched it for larger volumes of healthier food I get full really quickly.

Any suggestions about what to eat lentils/beans with? I can't stand rice but am trying to learn how to love it (and learn to love lentils haha), I used to buy tofu/seitan but my budget can't stretch that far (I also have to feed an omnivore boyfriend who loves pizza!)

I'm also actually being really lazy at the moment (usually just a 3+ mile walk a day), when I start back at uni in just over a month I will get back into badminton 3 times a week, as well as cheer practice twice a week (3 hours each time). I weight 160 (I used to weigh 120, I don't want to get all the way back there again, but I just want to find a happy medium).

Thanks again guys, this is really helpful.

amy1612

Fats and proteins both too low, you're eating an excess of sugar and starch.

This^... Aaaaand youre not eating nearly enough. What exercise are you doing to get fit? You cant get fit simply through eating a miniscule amount of calories.

DietandVlogsense

Ah, OK, more info. I guess you're OK on the weightloss requirements front then and you are certainly extremely active. I would have thought 120-125 from your profile pic.

I would think you should be aiming form at least 1400 calories a day, NET of exercise. That's a number in the air there, but certainly anything below 1200 net is not going to be a good thing.

makemewannadie

Dietandvlogsense- thanks for the comment (: My photo is deceiving haha, i'm very tall and most of my weight is like around my hips/thighs, I wear a UK 8/10 on top and then UK 14 for skirts/jeans.

sharoncasey60

Calorie intake is way too low. Your body is (will) go on starvation mode. What you are eating looks varied and healthy....lots of veggies. I think you need to eat more and I agree with the others.

DietandVlogsense

Dietandvlogsense- thanks for the comment (: My photo is deceiving haha, i'm very tall and most of my weight is like around my hips/thighs, I wear a UK 8/10 on top and then UK 14 for skirts/jeans.

Ah, so classic pear then.

I can sympathise; my wife had a similar shape, though through a lot of work she got the bottom half to size 10 in the end. Running was her key to success.

cersela

I eat vegan too if you want to take a look at my log for ideas (but have not been eating enough calories lately so ignore the calorie count, I'm trying to increase that, along with my protein intake) My advice would be to drink much more water, and eat more. I like mixing lentils into steamed veggies or using them in place of pasta. Also, if you can't afford tofu you can make your own out of dried soybeans (you can actually make tofu or milk out of any bean/nut there are a lot of how tos on youtube). Or you can get some dried textured vegetable protein, once you add 1 parts water to dry TVP it makes the equivalent of tofu and I bought it in bulk at about $1 or so a pound.

daffodilsoup

Autumnstarry- just to see if anyone has any suggestions about how to improve (:
Thank you all for the help so far, I feel like i'm eating so much though! Up until about a month ago I was eating small amounts of junk food (like frozen potato waffles) and now i've switched it for larger volumes of healthier food I get full really quickly.

Any suggestions about what to eat lentils/beans with? I can't stand rice but am trying to learn how to love it (and learn to love lentils haha), I used to buy tofu/seitan but my budget can't stretch that far (I also have to feed an omnivore boyfriend who loves pizza!)

I'm also actually being really lazy at the moment (usually just a 3+ mile walk a day), when I start back at uni in just over a month I will get back into badminton 3 times a week, as well as cheer practice twice a week (3 hours each time). I weight 160 (I used to weigh 120, I don't want to get all the way back there again, but I just want to find a happy medium).

Thanks again guys, this is really helpful.

Beans and lentils are delicious in tortillas, or in burger buns as sloppy joe filling! You could also dice potatoes and do like a hash type thing with them.

Also, let your boyfriend try the meatless dishes - doesn't really make sense for you to skimp on healthy protein sources for yourself while he buys meat/pizza.

makemewannadie

Yeah, being a 'pear shape' sucks haha.

I had NO idea you could make your own tofu, that's awesome. I'll definitely look into that (:

MSeel1984

Autumnstarry- just to see if anyone has any suggestions about how to improve (:
Thank you all for the help so far, I feel like i'm eating so much though! Up until about a month ago I was eating small amounts of junk food (like frozen potato waffles) and now i've switched it for larger volumes of healthier food I get full really quickly.

Any suggestions about what to eat lentils/beans with? I can't stand rice but am trying to learn how to love it (and learn to love lentils haha), I used to buy tofu/seitan but my budget can't stretch that far (I also have to feed an omnivore boyfriend who loves pizza!)

I'm also actually being really lazy at the moment (usually just a 3+ mile walk a day), when I start back at uni in just over a month I will get back into badminton 3 times a week, as well as cheer practice twice a week (3 hours each time). I weight 160 (I used to weigh 120, I don't want to get all the way back there again, but I just want to find a happy medium).

Thanks again guys, this is really helpful.

Lentils-you can make soup with them...mix them with cooked quinoa (for a vegan friendly protein option)
Beans-rice, quinoa, couscous, wild rice, potatoes

You can also get protein through nuts and nut butters...tofu smoothies, maybe? Just looks like not enough protein or calories overall.

makemewannadie

Beans and lentils are delicious in tortillas, or in burger buns as sloppy joe filling! You could also dice potatoes and do like a hash type thing with them.

Also, let your boyfriend try the meatless dishes - doesn't really make sense for you to skimp on healthy protein sources for yourself while he buys meat/pizza.

Yeah, i'd like him to try more of vegan food... he's just very stubborn, I made what I thought was an amazing vegan dinner a while back, and the first thing he did was shove cheese and pepperoni on it c: If he ate what I eat a couple of times a week we'd save spending money on premade things for him and be able to afford more stuff for the both of us.

cersela

Yeah, being a 'pear shape' sucks haha.

I had NO idea you could make your own tofu, that's awesome. I'll definitely look into that (:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2UN4KCXIsk Is a good one, she uses a tofu press but you can just use a plastic container with something as a weight.

makemewannadie

Lentils-you can make soup with them...mix them with cooked quinoa (for a vegan friendly protein option)
Beans-rice, quinoa, couscous, wild rice, potatoes

You can also get protein through nuts and nut butters...tofu smoothies, maybe? Just looks like not enough protein or calories overall.

I'd love to try out some nut butters actually, I used to eat peanut butter quite a lot (with celery or cucumber) but then developed a massive peanut allergy ):

And cersela- thank you for the link. Thank you all so much actually, i've got so many more ideas already.

Jxnsmma

I'd totally add some trail mix in there for the calories as well as a little more of all macros. Just a handful or two a day. or I love making a wrap with a banana, almond butter and a whole grain wrap! yummers!

iLoveMyPitbull1225

you are always under your calorie goal! This is why you arent seeing results. Eat your full 1200, like others have said, in nutrient rich foods full of protien like nuts and seeds.

Laurie1267

Fats and proteins both too low, you're eating an excess of sugar and starch.

This ^^ and you're not drinking water ~ why?

somanyrhoades

You are seriously lacking in protein! If you are trying to get fit it is imperative that you consume enough protein! Without it you cannot build muscle, you will not heal well from injury etc. The most obvious sources are meat and dairy, which you don't eat and that's perfectly fine. Being a vegan is perfectly healthy if you are doing it right, but you are not paying attention to getting all your nutrients, mainly protein. As a vegan beans are your very best friend. High in fiber and protein! They are inexpensive and can be prepared so many different ways! you should be eating at least a serving a day. Also incorporate nuts into your diet. They are another non-animal food that will help you to meet your protein requirements. They are high in fat, but it's the good kind of fat. still that's what you should be snacking on. Other suggestions are tofu and peanut butter. Also beans can be made into all kinds of delicious things... soups, plain, you can even make burgers out of them! google "vegan bean recipes" I am sure you find a ton of stuff. Also, beans are easy to season. Alone they don't have a ton of flavor, so add the spices of your choice. Personally I like adding cumin and cayenne pepper (along with veggies) and letting them simmer in the crock pot all day!

makemewannadie

This ^^ and you're not drinking water ~ why?

I actually do drink a lot of water, I forget to track it almost every day, oops haha
And somanyrhoades- thanks for the tips! I will definitely look into adding more beans/nuts into my diet (and thank you to whoever recommended trail mix!) I like black beans and pinto beans, i'm going to try and learn to love lentils (my parents cooked them a lot when I was younger and I hated them, haha) but they're not as bad as I remember, I went to a vegan cafe a few months ago and they had lentil burgers! I need to start cooking more as I usually have veggies on their own/salads and if I cook it's always just pasta/potato based. I think I might start a recipe book!
Thanks again everyone, you're all so nice and helpful. ^^

Also do you think the exercise I plan on starting up again (I posted on the first page) come september is good in terms of getting fit? (Excuse my laziness over the summer, haha). Is there anything else you'd recommend doing exercise/sport wise?

makemewannadie

you are always under your calorie goal! This is why you arent seeing results. Eat your full 1200, like others have said, in nutrient rich foods full of protien like nuts and seeds.

I will definitely try to reach my calorie goal every day... it's just surprisingly hard when you're not hungry/are genuinely full I think i'll be using my snacks to bump the total up!