VEGAN METABOLISM RESET - Can it be done???

72MonteCarla

Hi. I am attempting to do a metabolism reset - eating at TDEE for 8-12 weeks. My issue is that I am living a low fat/sodium plant-based, whole foods life and am having a very difficult time reaching TDEE. I am trying to keep a balanced menu, so I want to avoid just adding high fat calories such as avocados and nuts.

I have blogged about my plant-based & metabolism reset experiences thus far here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/72MonteCarla

Any advice on how to get to 2250 calories worth of healthy foods is appreciated!

WBB55

Are you cool with things like beans, potatoes, honey, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

mmddwechanged

I have spent hours in the kitchen making soups, stews, sauces with raw cashews or nutritional yeast. I have made large tofu scrambles and individually portioned them. I make Seitan on weekends. I eat peanut butter almost every day. I make lentil sprouts for sandwiches and salads. Egg plant is yummy (doesn't really address your question though.) Eat dark greens like broccoli and kale every day. I sprinkle a 1 1/2 tbs of nutritional yeast on almost everything. It is such a lot of work and I have been eating animal products lately just to meet my macros conveniently:)

72MonteCarla

Are you cool with things like beans, potatoes, honey, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

I don't do honey or fruit juices, but the rest is definitely on the table.

Contrarian

Are you cool with things like beans, potatoes, honey, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

Honey isn't vegan.

kelsully

Our bodies need fats. I understand not looking to eat unhealthy fats but nuts and avocados are good fats..your body needs these fats for so many things.

research vegan diets with real fats that are good and healthy. You might be surprised how much the additional fat might help you.

WBB55

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

Contrarian

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

There you go!

NerdyJenn

I'm a semi-vegan (due to proximity more than anything) and my husband is full vegan who is also limiting some other foods due to a few health issues that suddenly came up this year. He finds it *very* difficult to hit his calories each day and we eat SO MUCH FOOD!

There's a reason why Hank the triceratops on Dinosaur Train is always eating - plants give a whole lot of bulk with so little calories

I'll be watching this thread for any ideas to pass on to him.

savithny

Why no oils? Olive oil, sesmae oil, other nut and seed oils are plant-based and have been consumed by humans for millenia.

Many vitamins are fat-soluble and you need to eat them *with* fat to actual absorb them so your body can use them.

If you added some olive oil or ccocnut oil you'd probably be able to reach TDEE much more easily, and you might find other benefits.

72MonteCarla

Our bodies need fats. I understand not looking to eat unhealthy fats but nuts and avocados are good fats..your body needs these fats for so many things.

research vegan diets with real fats that are good and healthy. You might be surprised how much the additional fat might help you.

I eat pletny of healty fats and am very familiar with the benefits of healty, plant-based fats. During my metabolism reset, I want to continue to eat a balanced menu - including nuts and avocados - like I am now. But I am trying to boost to 2250 calories/day from 1200. I don't want the extra 1050 calories to come only from high-fat foods like nuts & avocados, though it would be easy to do so because they are delicious and are among the most calorie-dense plant based foods.

72MonteCarla

I'll be watching this thread for any ideas to pass on to him.

Hopefully this generates some ideas!

CrazyTrackLady

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

How is honey not vegan? It is not a by-product of animals. It is formed by the collection of pollen and the magic that bees do when they take that pollen and turn it into honeycomb/honey. It is fed to insects, and btw, most of what vegans DO eat comes from, guess what? The pollination of plants and flowers by....wait for it.....BEES.

In fact, 1/3 of the world's food supply comes from food borne by cross pollination. Bees are critical to the world's food supply and without them, it would be catastrophic for us.

So if you can't eat honey, then shouldn't that also include not eating fruits and nuts that come from the pollination process of bees?

I don't understand the logic here.

NerdyJenn

Our bodies need fats. I understand not looking to eat unhealthy fats but nuts and avocados are good fats..your body needs these fats for so many things.

research vegan diets with real fats that are good and healthy. You might be surprised how much the additional fat might help you.

I eat pletny of healty fats and am very familiar with the benefits of healty, plant-based fats. During my metabolism reset, I want to continue to eat a balanced menu - including nuts and avocados - like I am now. But I am trying to boost to 2250 calories/day from 1200. I don't want the extra 1050 calories to come only from high-fat foods like nuts & avocados, though it would be easy to do so because they are delicious and are among the most calorie-dense plant based foods.

We seem to be very similar. We do have healthy fats, but we don't want to add on more just for the sake of calories. And when adding them into other meals balanced with veg and fruit -- it is still tough to then just eat as much food as necessary to get the total calories.

72MonteCarla

Why no oils? Olive oil, sesmae oil, other nut and seed oils are plant-based and have been consumed by humans for millenia.

Many vitamins are fat-soluble and you need to eat them *with* fat to actual absorb them so your body can use them.

If you added some olive oil or ccocnut oil you'd probably be able to reach TDEE much more easily, and you might find other benefits.

I only consume plant-based, WHOLE foods. I get all the beneficial plant-based oil I need by eating the whole food, including avocados, nuts, seeds and coconut.

psuLemon

Our bodies need fats. I understand not looking to eat unhealthy fats but nuts and avocados are good fats..your body needs these fats for so many things.

research vegan diets with real fats that are good and healthy. You might be surprised how much the additional fat might help you.

I eat pletny of healty fats and am very familiar with the benefits of healty, plant-based fats. During my metabolism reset, I want to continue to eat a balanced menu - including nuts and avocados - like I am now. But I am trying to boost to 2250 calories/day from 1200. I don't want the extra 1050 calories to come only from high-fat foods like nuts & avocados, though it would be easy to do so because they are delicious and are among the most calorie-dense plant based foods.

The big question is why not allow them to come fats. I know when i go through bulk phases i eat spoonfuls of peanut butter. There really is no reason not to eat plenty of fats.

72MonteCarla

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

How is honey not vegan? It is not a by-product of animals. It is formed by the collection of pollen and the magic that bees do when they take that pollen and turn it into honeycomb/honey. It is fed to insects, and btw, most of what vegans DO eat comes from, guess what? The pollination of plants and flowers by....wait for it.....BEES.

In fact, 1/3 of the world's food supply comes from food borne by cross pollination. Bees are critical to the world's food supply and without them, it would be catastrophic for us.

So if you can't eat honey, then shouldn't that also include not eating fruits and nuts that come from the pollination process of bees?

I don't understand the logic here.

I only skip the honey because I don't use any concentrated sweeteners. I get all of my sugar from eating whole fruits. The honey debate is a topc for another thread.

kelsully

Our bodies need fats. I understand not looking to eat unhealthy fats but nuts and avocados are good fats..your body needs these fats for so many things.

research vegan diets with real fats that are good and healthy. You might be surprised how much the additional fat might help you.

I eat pletny of healty fats and am very familiar with the benefits of healty, plant-based fats. During my metabolism reset, I want to continue to eat a balanced menu - including nuts and avocados - like I am now. But I am trying to boost to 2250 calories/day from 1200. I don't want the extra 1050 calories to come only from high-fat foods like nuts & avocados, though it would be easy to do so because they are delicious and are among the most calorie-dense plant based foods.

Gorcha...it seemed at first that you would not add fats into your reset. Um I think some grains would help then...quinoa etc

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Potatoes and other starchy vegetables, high sugar fruits like grapes (TONS of calories there), pineapple, lychee, etc. and lots of grains like quinoa and oats should help.

mwooderson

Banana smoothies can add calories

CrazyTrackLady

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

How is honey not vegan? It is not a by-product of animals. It is formed by the collection of pollen and the magic that bees do when they take that pollen and turn it into honeycomb/honey. It is fed to insects, and btw, most of what vegans DO eat comes from, guess what? The pollination of plants and flowers by....wait for it.....BEES.

In fact, 1/3 of the world's food supply comes from food borne by cross pollination. Bees are critical to the world's food supply and without them, it would be catastrophic for us.

So if you can't eat honey, then shouldn't that also include not eating fruits and nuts that come from the pollination process of bees?

I don't understand the logic here.

I only skip the honey because I don't use any concentrated sweeteners. I get all of my sugar from eating whole fruits. The honey debate is a topc for another thread.

Actually, it became a topic when someone said honey isn't vegan, and I just want to know why honey isn't vegan, yet all the foods bees help to produce through pollination are acceptable. It sounds like a bit of a hypocrisy going on here.

I'm not trying to stir the pot, I REALLY want to know how honey can be classified as "not vegan". Because 1) bees are not "animals" and 2) bees are not being exploited, they are merely doing what bees do -- which is harvest pollen, their food source, to make honey, our food source.

Someone told me that bees are being exploited by humans via having them trucked into orchards and the like and forcing them to pollinate, blah blah blah. While I can see humans doing this, I hardly think this qualifies as "exploitation" by the food industry. I believe it's a win-win situation for all parties involved -- bees get access to pollen they might not have discovered on their own, and humans get the fruits of their labors (pun intended).

72MonteCarla

Honey isn't vegan.

Crap, you're right. How about beans, potatoes, fruit juices, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and whole grain rice?

How is honey not vegan? It is not a by-product of animals. It is formed by the collection of pollen and the magic that bees do when they take that pollen and turn it into honeycomb/honey. It is fed to insects, and btw, most of what vegans DO eat comes from, guess what? The pollination of plants and flowers by....wait for it.....BEES.

In fact, 1/3 of the world's food supply comes from food borne by cross pollination. Bees are critical to the world's food supply and without them, it would be catastrophic for us.

So if you can't eat honey, then shouldn't that also include not eating fruits and nuts that come from the pollination process of bees?

I don't understand the logic here.

I only skip the honey because I don't use any concentrated sweeteners. I get all of my sugar from eating whole fruits. The honey debate is a topc for another thread.

Actually, it became a topic when someone said honey isn't vegan, and I just want to know why honey isn't vegan, yet all the foods bees help to produce through pollination are acceptable. It sounds like a bit of a hypocrisy going on here.

I'm not trying to stir the pot, I REALLY want to know how honey can be classified as "not vegan". Because 1) bees are not "animals" and 2) bees are not being exploited, they are merely doing what bees do -- which is harvest pollen, their food source, to make honey, our food source.

Someone told me that bees are being exploited by humans via having them trucked into orchards and the like and forcing them to pollinate, blah blah blah. While I can see humans doing this, I hardly think this qualifies as "exploitation" by the food industry. I believe it's a win-win situation for all parties involved -- bees get access to pollen they might not have discovered on their own, and humans get the fruits of their labors (pun intended).

Ultimately I don't care. I posted this thread to get information from people about doing a metabolism reset while eating plant-based, whole foods. If you want to know about honey, please start another thread. By hijacking this one it makes it more difficult for myself and others to extract information pertinent to the topic: "VEGAN METABOLISM RESET - Can it be done???" Thanks!

julialou1979

I think the answer is already contained in the responses - the way to reaching the higher calorie total with a vegan whole foods diet is through your calorie dense foods. Reality is you have lots of low calorie foods, and then some that are super high in fats and calories and they are all good for you, and it will be the balance of these things that help you reach your caloric total whatever that may be. And Jenn, you can attest to the fact that I used to be a whole foods vegan who gained a LOT of weight by having too many of the nuts and avocados and oils (as I was slightly out of balance with it) so it is totally possible to hit 2200 cal. And you can either balnce your meals by adding the high calorie throughout the day, or throw it all in at night and whip up an avocado pudding (oh yum). To add calories through the day I would do sprouted nuts and seeds at breakfast with berries (300 cal), add nuts to 2 snacks a day (400 cal), have an avocado pudding for dessert (400 c), a cup of quinoa (225c) with dinner, 2 tbsp worth of coconut oil added throughout meals (250 c), and um, there's 1600 calories. This is why I'm not vegan anymore. I ate a lot.

judydelo1

Hi. I am attempting to do a metabolism reset - eating at TDEE for 8-12 weeks. My issue is that I am living a low fat/sodium plant-based, whole foods life and am having a very difficult time reaching TDEE. I am trying to keep a balanced menu, so I want to avoid just adding high fat calories such as avocados and nuts.

I have blogged about my plant-based & metabolism reset experiences thus far here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/72MonteCarla

Any advice on how to get to 2250 calories worth of healthy foods is appreciated!

I've been eating vegan since August 2012. I've been eating organic, whole foods for the past 30 years. (BTW Sea salt and himalayan salt in moderation is good for you because of the minerals and iodine. RAW honey is loaded with nutrients. Spices and herbs are also nutritious if fresh or fresh dried vs old and stale. Olive oil is very nutritious, not sure why you're so concerned about it not being whole. Flour isn't whole either by your definition it's part of the grain ground, but it isn't the whole plant ground. Olive oil is squeezed from the olive same concept, no?)

I think you just need to increase volume. For instance, yesterday I ate a huge salad for dinner and it came to over 900 calories! My diary is open if you want to take a look. Tonight's salad was also very high calories. I enjoyed every bite!

My husband is a big gardener. We save a lot of money by growing a lot of our own food. Check out my blog entry too if you have a minute.

savithny

I've been eating vegan since August 2012. I've been eating organic, whole foods for the past 30 years. (BTW Sea salt and himalayan salt in moderation is good for you because of the minerals and iodine. RAW honey is loaded with nutrients. Spices and herbs are also nutritious if fresh or fresh dried vs old and stale. Olive oil is very nutritious, not sure why you're so concerned about it not being whole. Flour isn't whole either by your definition it's part of the grain ground, but it isn't the whole plant ground. Olive oil is squeezed from the olive same concept, no?)

This. You eat almond milk, which isn't a whole food, and corn tortillas and shredded wheat and kashi nuggets and wasa ryekrisps, all of which are about as whole as olive oil. Olive oil is plain, simple, and can be bought in versions that are very minimally processed.

72MonteCarla

I've been eating vegan since August 2012. I've been eating organic, whole foods for the past 30 years. (BTW Sea salt and himalayan salt in moderation is good for you because of the minerals and iodine. RAW honey is loaded with nutrients. Spices and herbs are also nutritious if fresh or fresh dried vs old and stale. Olive oil is very nutritious, not sure why you're so concerned about it not being whole. Flour isn't whole either by your definition it's part of the grain ground, but it isn't the whole plant ground. Olive oil is squeezed from the olive same concept, no?)

This. You eat almond milk, which isn't a whole food, and corn tortillas and shredded wheat and kashi nuggets and wasa ryekrisps, all of which are about as whole as olive oil. Olive oil is plain, simple, and can be bought in versions that are very minimally processed.

I don't eat any oil. Period. With the exception of almond milk, the other foods you mention are made from whole grains.

72MonteCarla

Many thanks to everyone who offered genuinely constuctive advice. I appreciate it!

KarenJanine

I'm not sure if it's been said already but oatmeal (use steel cut oats if you want them less processed), made with non-dairy milk of your choice is a good way to get some cals in. Add nuts and/or seeds to boost protein. Throw in some banana to get even more cals in.

72MonteCarla

I'm not sure if it's been said already but oatmeal (use steel cut oats if you want them less processed), made with non-dairy milk of your choice is a good way to get some cals in. Add nuts and/or seeds to boost protein. Throw in some banana to get even more cals in.

Thank you! I appreciate your suggestion.