Trying to lose weight, vegan, and feeling weak

I just became a vegan about 2 months ago for ethical reasons. I have also been trying to lose weight by controlling my diet and exercising. The first 2-3 weeks, I was eating less than 1200 calories a day and exercising 3 hrs 6 days a week in the evenings and not losing any weight. My starting weight was approximately 132 lbs at 5'4" and my goal weight is 115 lbs. Eventually I cut back a bit on the exercise and started attending body pump, body attack, body step classes 1 hr each day. I feel that I definitely gained more definition in my body and my clothes fit better (from a size 7 down to 5 or 4) but my weight wouldn't budge. It hasn't been until the last few days that I finally saw the scale move (total of maybe 6-7 weeks) and I'm now down to 128. But I feel so weak. I know it's probably because I'm not eating enough protein being vegan. At first I felt myself getting stronger at body pump classes, but instead of feeling stronger each time I go now it feels so hard! And I'm lifting the same weight I've been lifting for 2 weeks. I've also been eating more, I think averaging around 1500 calories a day now but I still feel so weak and tired. I don't really count calories but I just estimate based on what I eat. Does anyone have suggestions what I could eat that may help me feel stronger?

Here is a sample daily menu:
Breakfast: 1 slice of multigrain bread from Whole Foods (approximately 120 calories) with either vegan butter or almond butter, half a banana, and a glass of soy milk
Lunch: Salad (lettuce, spinach, olives, cucumber, chick peas, peas, 2-3 slices of beets, croutons) without any dressing (sometimes 1-2 tablespoons of salsa sauce as dressing)
Then I go to gym for 1 hr (either body pump, body step, body attack, or run on treadmill)
Dinner: 1 glass of soymilk, 1-2 slices of bread toasted with almond butter or vegan butter, sometimes I'll add half a piece of vegan breakfast sausage (Tofurky brand) about 35 calories, some kind of fruit such as 4-5 strawberries or a pear or something else.
And I drink lots and lots of tea
Sometimes I'll also take a laxative to help move bowels along but I don't do this often, maybe only once a week.

You need to be aware a vegan diet will not help you with losing weight or being healthy. It's a diet that is only based on ethics (not nutrition!).

If you're having issues, then you should strongly consider switching to a vegetarian diet until you get your weight and eating under control. You can always go back to being vegan later when you're not trying to lose weight.

..... Also, soy protein is horrible, especially for women. ....

Did anyone actually read this? So much wrong here.

The first 2-3 weeks, I was eating less than 1200 calories a day and exercising 3 hrs 6 days a week in the evenings and not losing any weight. My starting weight was approximately 132 lbs at 5'4" and my goal weight is 115 lbs.

1200 calories per day is far too little for almost every single person, let alone someone who is exercising 10% of their waking hours... AND is already at a healthy weight for her height.

Yup. Someone needs a steak.

I just became a vegan about 2 months ago for ethical reasons. I have also been trying to lose weight by controlling my diet and exercising. The first 2-3 weeks, I was eating less than 1200 calories a day and exercising 3 hrs 6 days a week in the evenings and not losing any weight. My starting weight was approximately 132 lbs at 5'4" and my goal weight is 115 lbs. Eventually I cut back a bit on the exercise and started attending body pump, body attack, body step classes 1 hr each day. I feel that I definitely gained more definition in my body and my clothes fit better (from a size 7 down to 5 or 4) but my weight wouldn't budge. It hasn't been until the last few days that I finally saw the scale move (total of maybe 6-7 weeks) and I'm now down to 128. But I feel so weak. I know it's probably because I'm not eating enough protein being vegan. At first I felt myself getting stronger at body pump classes, but instead of feeling stronger each time I go now it feels so hard! And I'm lifting the same weight I've been lifting for 2 weeks. I've also been eating more, I think averaging around 1500 calories a day now but I still feel so weak and tired. I don't really count calories but I just estimate based on what I eat. Does anyone have suggestions what I could eat that may help me feel stronger?

Here is a sample daily menu:
Breakfast: 1 slice of multigrain bread from Whole Foods (approximately 120 calories) with either vegan butter or almond butter, half a banana, and a glass of soy milk
Lunch: Salad (lettuce, spinach, olives, cucumber, chick peas, peas, 2-3 slices of beets, croutons) without any dressing (sometimes 1-2 tablespoons of salsa sauce as dressing)
Then I go to gym for 1 hr (either body pump, body step, body attack, or run on treadmill)
Dinner: 1 glass of soymilk, 1-2 slices of bread toasted with almond butter or vegan butter, sometimes I'll add half a piece of vegan breakfast sausage (Tofurky brand) about 35 calories, some kind of fruit such as 4-5 strawberries or a pear or something else.
And I drink lots and lots of tea
Sometimes I'll also take a laxative to help move bowels along but I don't do this often, maybe only once a week.

Is this a troll post? I mean, honestly? You are living off soy milk, bread and nut butter and you don't understand why you are feeling weak?

You need to do some serious studying about diet before you land yourself in the hospital. There is more to a vegan diet than bread and soy milk. Not only are you restricting calories WAY too low, but your diet lacks any true nutrition.

You just need to do research. In fact it is meat and dairy that causes most health problems in our western world.

Here is one experts's (yes, an actual expert) opinion:

Andrew Weil M.D. Says:

Weil earned an MD, but instead of choosing a specialty and following the usual path into residency training he dropped out, experimented enthusiastically with a variety of psychedelic drugs, and lived on an Indian reservation to learn from a shaman. Then he re-invented himself as America’s guru of integrative medicine, established a commercial and educational empire, wrote books, and appeared on the cover of Time.

According to Relman, Weil accepts science, but only to a degree. He has openly promoted “stoned thinking,” alleging that thoughts experienced while under the influence of psychedelic drugs or in altered states of consciousness are as valid as, or more valid than, scientific evidence.

Check out the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine at www.pcrm.org. They gather together all the research and information regarding a plant-based diet and why it is the most healthy option. You can subscribe to breaking research bulletins, weekly recipes, regular newsletters, etc.

If you are eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and legumes (as, ideally, you would on a vegan diet) you certainly would have no need for laxatives.

The PCRM recommends B12 fortified cereals or supplements. If you are eating a healthy, well-balanced diet - including a rainbow of vegetables and fruits each day - you should have everything else covered.

The PCRM may be able to answer your questions about feeling weak and tired and how you can adjust your food balance and intake so that the number of portions are adequate. Try their "contact us".

Good luck!

http://activistcash.com/organizations/23-physicians-committee-for-responsible-medicine/

“The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. PCRM is a fanatical animal rights group that seeks to remove eggs, milk, meat, and seafood from the American diet, and to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research. Despite its operational and financial ties to other animal activist groups and its close relationship with violent zealots, PCRM has successfully duped the media and much of the general public into believing that its pronouncements about the superiority of vegetarian-only diets represent the opinion of the medical community.

“Less than 5 percent of PCRM’s members are physicians,”

Check out the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine at www.pcrm.org. They gather together all the research and information regarding a plant-based diet and why it is the most healthy option. You can subscribe to breaking research bulletins, weekly recipes, regular newsletters, etc.

If you are eating plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and legumes (as, ideally, you would on a vegan diet) you certainly would have no need for laxatives.

The PCRM recommends B12 fortified cereals or supplements. If you are eating a healthy, well-balanced diet - including a rainbow of vegetables and fruits each day - you should have everything else covered.

The PCRM may be able to answer your questions about feeling weak and tired and how you can adjust your food balance and intake so that the number of portions are adequate. Try their "contact us".

Good luck!

http://activistcash.com/organizations/23-physicians-committee-for-responsible-medicine/

“The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. PCRM is a fanatical animal rights group that seeks to remove eggs, milk, meat, and seafood from the American diet, and to eliminate the use of animals in scientific research. Despite its operational and financial ties to other animal activist groups and its close relationship with violent zealots, PCRM has successfully duped the media and much of the general public into believing that its pronouncements about the superiority of vegetarian-only diets represent the opinion of the medical community.

“Less than 5 percent of PCRM’s members are physicians,”

Yes, it is quite true that the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is not only motivated by health concerns but is also concerned about the treatment of animals. This does not mean that what they have to say about the health benefits of a plant-based diet are false. It may be that less than 5 percent of PCRM's members are physicians but that is because membership is open to everyone who supports them.

Do you seriously still accept whatever the FDA and USDA has been spouting for decades? Notice how many times the "Food Pyramid" has changed? :happy:

<<<" instead of choosing a specialty and following the usual path into residency training he dropped out,..">>>>>

This is what bothers most people with a "herd" mentality.... OOOO...He went against "the established order" ! OOOO he did DRUGS....:yawn:

Like most herd-thinkers , you seem afraid (hidden under self-justified disdain, of course) of anything that goes against what someone in authority told you.

Read Weil's, Colin Cambell's, John Mac Dougall's stuff, and be your own judge.