Eating 1500 calories a day, exercising and still not losing

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I am going to try adding more calories as we speak. It really does seem completely counter intuitive, but I hate to control what I eat, work out and not see the result on the scale.

    Not sure how i am to get more fat and protein in as I am a vegan - any ideas TavistockToad?

    I'm a meat eater, so not really...! beans are high protein, and some veg, like broccoli has a fairly high protein count. i think you can get vegan protein powder as well. nuts are great for good fats.
  • emmietoby
    emmietoby Posts: 171 Member
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    are you still losing? hate to ask you but do you have an ed?? love to chat with ya!!
  • sonnismom
    sonnismom Posts: 1
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    I am no fitness expert but I have been told by trainers that you need to eat more calories when exercising...
    Your body may be going into "starvation mode"... holding onto fat....
    Just a suggestion.... try a few more calories.... maybe carbs before you work out!
    Lik I said... not an expert here.... just a friendly tip!
    Wishing you much success!!!
  • 2kidsandatrip
    2kidsandatrip Posts: 98 Member
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    I agree with other commenters that stated that you need to consume more calories, but even more I believe that you really need to change what you are eating. If you are eating the same thing everyday your body is just used to it, nothing is going to change if you are not willing to change your meals. For a while I wasn't losing any weight, I was consuming a lower amount of calories and exercising, but I was not losing anything. It wasn't until I started changing what I was eating that I finally saw results. It really isn't just about how many calories you consume, but it is about what kinds of food you are consuming aswell. I hope you find good advice here to help with your journey.
  • Dionire
    Dionire Posts: 8
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    May be that you're getting to a point where you're making some muscle while burning fat. muscle is a lot more dense than fat and weighs 2 times as much. It's something to consider. I wouldn't be eating less than 1500 if you're over 6 foot and male to try and lose weight. I can't see what your eating pattern is like, but i'm doing 5-6 smaller meals a day spaced out and that seems to work better for me, maybe try that also??
  • mimieon
    mimieon Posts: 182 Member
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    I'm not a vegan, but:

    Some good ways for a vegan to get some protein seem beans,lentils,peas (legumes basically), and nuts. Perhaps you can also go the protein-powder smoothie route with some hemp - powder or pea-powder.

    Some good ways to get healthy fats: avocado, nuts (nut butters).
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    Thanks everyone for responding. I am on it and will get there...
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    If you don't weigh your food with a scale, get one and start doing it. You may be eating more than you think. You should be losing on 1500 since that's not nearly enough for a man of your size. I'm a 5'6" woman and at 112lbs I lost eating 1500 calories.

    ETA: you don't sound overweight to me btw. I would suggest building up some muscle because that will change your body more visibly and most likely give you the results you are hoping to see :flowerforyou:

    ^This. Do you use a food scale?
  • Scrogglez
    Scrogglez Posts: 26 Member
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    Your carbs are insanely high for someone trying to lose weight. Try to not eat **** all the time. Eat lean meat more and don't add **** to it.

    Keep it up but lower your carbs a bit. you are trying to lose weight, not gain.
  • bokchoybaby
    bokchoybaby Posts: 62 Member
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    You say your diet is necessarily restricted because you're a vegan but it seems overly so to me. I didn't go back to the start of your diary but I have to ask whether or not you've ever tracked your diet for micros as well as macros. Just eyeballing your food makes me a little concerned that you're going to end up deficient in nutrients. You're eating a lot of the same thing over and over again. Your protein is low. Your fats aren't varied. You don't eat a lot of vegetables and really not that much fruit. These things won't necessarily contribute to weight gain, though. They're just a few observations from someone who has been vegan for nearly 15 years. As per weight gain, I only recently got a food scale. I've used measuring cups for years. I always erred on the side of caution when measuring things. I never packed food in. I was shocked by how far off some calculations were, especially on carb-y things like rice, oats, cereals, etc.

    As far as protein goes it is super easy as a vegan. I don't think I could ever pack away 200+ grams of protein like some people manage unless I started eating tofu blocks like I was practicing for a competitive eating competition. However, I regularly eat 100 grams without much effort or planning at this point. I can get to 125 grams with some help from protein powders -- loads of decent vegan ones on the market at a variety of price points, organic and not, isolates or raw. I've been attempting to get into the 160s, which I'll admit is a bit more challenging for me since it's a new way of approaching my intake. But legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan, nutritional yeast, nuts, seeds and nut/seed butters are all tasty places to turn to bump up your protein. So are things like soy milks and some non dairy yogurts. And then, of course, you get all of your auxiliary protein from your carbohydrates and certain vegetables.

    Have you checked out the Happy Herbivores group on here? It's not as fast-moving as the main pages but I believe a number of people over there have open food diaries and it might give you ideas to see the kind of things others are eating to get your protein intake up a bit.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    eat walnuts or almonds for extra fats and some protein without many carbs.
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    No I dont use a food scale - I try to go by serving sizes. So I equate a cup of oatmeal dry to being 4 servings wet of carbs. 1 cup of cooked rice as being 2 servings of carbs and 2 slices of bread 2 servings of carbs.

    I not sure I want to measure things although I sure want to learn the lesson of what a proper portion or serving should be for me no matter what food scenario I might find myself in.

    Is measuring food with a food scale that critical? How convenient is that?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    No I dont use a food scale - I try to go by serving sizes. So I equate a cup of oatmeal dry to being 4 servings wet of carbs. 1 cup of cooked rice as being 2 servings of carbs and 2 slices of bread 2 servings of carbs.

    I not sure I want to measure things although I sure want to learn the lesson of what a proper portion or serving should be for me no matter what food scenario I might find myself in.

    Is measuring food with a food scale that critical? How convenient is that?

    do you eyeball a 'cup' or do you have a measuring cup?
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Ok I am a vegan. I weigh now 197 pounds - I thought I my diet was healthy and balanced but I will consider your suggestions thanks

    First overweight vegan I've encountered :-)

    Go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_custom set your protein to 35%, fats to 30% and carbs to 35%. That's a lot more balanced then the 15 / 30 / 55 you are on now.

    There's no need to eat more, that's not evidence based.
    Eating more may be beneficial to energy levels though, to allow for longer workouts and increased NEAT through the day. 1500 does seem a rather small amount for a 6 foot guy :P
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    I have been eating less than 1500 calories a day and exercising but I still dont appear to be losing.

    Feel free to check my diary. I pretty much eat oatmeal and fruit maybe some toast with it for breakfast and then in the late afternoon or evening eat a cooked meal usually consisting of rice, vegetables and pulse.

    I usually do 10 to 20 minutes of intensive interval type training in the park or go for 3 mile walk at a good pace. I do daily press ups too.

    I started to lose in the first week but now after 3 weeks I seem to have gone up in weight by 5 pounds.

    I tried tracking carbs by grams by find that hard to do and so now I track total calories.

    Surely I should be losing eating less than 1500 calories as a man and I am just over 6 foot tall.

    What am I doing wrong? Why am I gaining weight?

    Out of interest, why are you eating exactly the same thing, day in, day out?
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    will check it out - I normally eat a lot of raw - I have not been employed since March now and have had to drastically change things in many areas. I hope to get back to more raw in the future - I usually subscribe to 80-10-10 type eating when things were better. Can I see your diary?
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    I usually use a cup - although I will admit I have been trying compress as much as I can into that poor old cup!
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    I am quite poor at the moment so the meals are pretty basic- I eat a variety of pulse I just say chick peas cos its all similar and I looked that meal up and just copy it over. I always have salad or vegetables!
  • piggler65
    piggler65 Posts: 54 Member
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    You say my carbs are insanely high ! what is the correct amount of carbs I should be taking in your opinion?

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