I feel extremely hungry?

Oh! You can also make your own seitan if you're into that. It's really fun and easy, but messy. I have a TDF recipe that mimics Ruby Tuesday's white chicken chili and it's totally vegan. Love it. LMK if you're interested.

Add some protein to your morning smoothie and have a protein shake in the afternoon. I buy vegan protein (made from rice or peas) even though i'm not vegan, and have a shake in the afternoon mixed with water. That will help increase your protein intake, which from your diary is way too long and help you feel full between meals. I also buy raw cacao powder and add a teaspoon of that to make it more chocolately to stop me having afternoon cravings.

OP, what was your motivation for trying to go vegan if I may ask?

Hope you find the support you need in the vegan group!

I'm very big on documentaries and I had watched Food Inc. and Earthlings, and then I started checking out the PETA videos and then I read Food Revolution (which introduced me to the environmental side of it) and that got me hooked pretty much. I care a lot about the environment and I've always been an animal lover. There are a few things I do make exceptions for and that is farmers market eggs, and if someone else bought it and cooked it just for me. I am more upset about the way the animals are treated more than the fact of eating them. If I found a farmer that did a straight bullet to the head on the cow, I would probably eat it.

So watching a documentary about a one sided extreme what made you decide?

I'm not knocking a vegan lifestyle. I have a friend who is vegan and she has a bangin body! However, she became very educated about the lifestyle before deciding it was going to be one she was sticking to. You say you have tried all the fad diets, but unless you are 100% comitted and can get nutrition from this lifestyle then you are fad dieting. This is a lifestyle and not an easy one at that. Until you can get past the hunger and the lack of nutrition in your diet, you should perhaps learn from other vegans and slowly ease into this.

I should also add, that you should probably look at both sides of an argument before making a choice that could mean changing your habits and lifestyle.

If you had read what I wrote above you would know that I was vegan for over a year before, I am just now going back to it. When I was vegan before I was also pregnant in that time and a nutritionist was on staff to help me. I have been around the block on this, I have just never counted calories on it. I know the lifestyle, I never stopped following the actual lifestyle, it's the food that I'm having issues with. When I was vegan before I didn't have to count how many tomatoes went into my salad or make sure that I didn't eat too many lentils. It is a little harder for me this go around. I have looked at both sides, and I've made my choice. I told her the reason I went vegan. That doesn't mean that it is the only reading up or knowledge I have acquired since making that change.

During your time with the nutritionist and your independent reading you didn't find a list of high protein vegan food? Spinach, white button mushrooms, seitan, etc?

no because when I was doing it before I was relying on protein sources like soy milk, tofu, vegan cheese, etc etc. basically just vegan supplement type foods and this time around I'm trying to do whole foods while also counting calories. It's not as easy as you'd think.

I didn't say it was easy....I said that you need to make sure you have a very clear understanding of what this entails. It sounds like you are taking on too much too quickly. Even for someone who isn't vegan has a tough time with counting calories. It's a very long process. However, you are trying to go all vegan, eat whole foods, stay within a budget, and get all of the protein you need to not be hungry. Why can't you take the protein sources you were relying on while pregnant and just scale them back to fit within your calorie range?

Screw it, I'm doing it your guys way. I ate BK French fries. It's easier and I will worry about my intense fear of disease later.

But our recommendation was protein.. not carbs... And french fries don't cause disease, lol

I think this quote is appropriate for this thread:

"Unfortunately, research-based refutation of fear mongering tends to be ineffective as those who are most prone to succumbing to such in the first place are also the least likely to apply critical thinking." - Wonderpug from bb.com via Sidesteel

Screw it, I'm doing it your guys way. I ate BK French fries. It's easier and I will worry about my intense fear of disease later.

What diseases are caused by french fries?

And if you're breast feeding, you are WAY undereating.

OP, what was your motivation for trying to go vegan if I may ask?

Hope you find the support you need in the vegan group!

I'm very big on documentaries and I had watched Food Inc. and Earthlings, and then I started checking out the PETA videos and then I read Food Revolution (which introduced me to the environmental side of it) and that got me hooked pretty much. I care a lot about the environment and I've always been an animal lover. There are a few things I do make exceptions for and that is farmers market eggs, and if someone else bought it and cooked it just for me. I am more upset about the way the animals are treated more than the fact of eating them. If I found a farmer that did a straight bullet to the head on the cow, I would probably eat it.

I wanted to return to this because after reading all of these posts, what I got was even though you have 'done this before' you haven't really ever [bold] done this before [bold]. Meaning, that even though you've done Vegan, you've never done it counting cals or done it eating only whole foods. Which brought me back to the Vegan thing where you said that the reason you felt bad was not the actual eating of meat, but their treatment. My suggestion to you? Research meat options in your area. I wanted to buy farm raised and humanely butchered animals so I literally did a search for farms in my area that sell beef and chicken. Now I buy from them. They are local, you can go and see where the animals are and talk to the owners. And you can feel good about supporting local business and humanely killed animals that have actually lived a good life. Just like you get your eggs. I'm not saying you shouldn't do Vegan or maybe 'more' vegan (mostly vegan with only some meat). I just want you to know that there ARE options. Checking out a local Farmer's Market would be a good start as well as internet research (that is how I found mine). Then doing lots and lots of research on protein options and fat options and why especially when doing Vegan you don't want to cut out good fats or load up on sugar. Not that sugar is bad, it just isn't filling like fat and protein which is why you are starving after a 400 calorie shake. Doing that will help you to get closer to your whole foods goal and make the whole calorie counting thing MUCH easier. Good luck to you OP. I know it's a lot to figure out, but you'll get there! Don't get too frustrated over time or with people because many of us just want to help and are still figuring things out, too. Others have been at it even longer and know what they are talking about. Just be kind to yourself and give it time.

Screw it, I'm doing it your guys way. I ate BK French fries. It's easier and I will worry about my intense fear of disease later.

Is that what is fueling all this? How old is your baby? You may have already answered this, but are you still breastfeeding? That can cause some pretty intense hunger. You are probably overdoing some things (like the bananas) because you either aren't eating enough or are not getting enough protein, or both. How did the vegan group work out?

Yes I am very scared of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, arthritis, etc etc. I can't help it, It's just how I've always been. I don't want to be a statistic and I don't want to have to go under the knife for bypasses and angioplasties. I am not breastfeeding. She is turning one on Christmas eve though Breastfeeding sadly didn't work out for me, which I am still bummed out about. The Vegan group hasn't answered yet.

Exercise and weight loss alone will improve the chances of avoiding heart disease, high blood pressure and weight training and adequate protein can reduce the chances of osteoporosis. But you have to take into consideration that some of this is genetic and it can be difficult to be genetics. For example, I have higher LDL's, even though I workout and fairly low body fat. But my parents both have high LDL's. And it seems no matter what we eat or do, cancer can occur, especially if it's prevalent in your family. So yes, you can try to be healthier by eating how and lean foods, the fact is, you need certain macronutrients to be healthy. Protein has 12 essential amino acids and it takes some education to ensure you get them all. And if you want to improve satiety, then protein and fats are key. So please educate yourself, set a moderate deficit, eat plenty of protein and fats, and exercise. This will help you. And don't stress over a billion of possibilities that could occur in 40-50 years.

I know I worry way too much in general. It stresses me to no end when I hear these studies that contradict themselves. I wish I could be someone who just shrugs it all off but I find myself spending a ton of time in libraries and on the internet trying to find which one is the correct answer so I don't pick the wrong study to follow. That isn't just about eating, its about everything. Exercise, vitamins, this whole low-fat high-fat thing has me in a fixation right now. I just keep finding evidence for both sides.... it's hard for me to just let it go though. Its not as easy as just saying that I don't care and moving on.

It's normal to be concerned about these things, but not to the extent of obsessing over it and not eating enough when you are still very young and have a new baby. This should be a happy time! May I suggest that you try talking to someone about this obsession? It sounds to me like you could use some professional help. I mean this in the most sincere way. :flowerforyou:

You need way more protein in your diet. Carbs aren't the devil or anything, but they don't necessarily keep you full and satisfied like protein does.

I don't know what to eat for protein honestly. I don't like to eat soy so much and just 1 tablespoon of black beans is like 40 calories. I know nuts are high in it too and I'm really wanting to stay low-fat. I know there is Quinoa but I'm a penny pincher, I might just suck it up and buy it. Know of anything else that isn't meat, dairy, or eggs?

There are a few things that I enjoy. As suggested before, you could have a protein shake. This is an obvious good choice, but I find it a bit pricey for myself. Something I recently made was crunchy chickpeas. I soaked them overnight and removed the skin, then I baked it in some spices and olive oil. Very delicious. Most legumes are high in protein and low in calories. So try some baked beans with chilli, peppers and onions on some toast or a baked potato. Or have a lentil curry. My favourite thing to do is to use cook lentils and then add some flour and egg to help make them into lentil balls. Them you lightly fry in in very shallow oil. Pat excess oil off (if any) with a paper towel. You can use these lentil balls in anything from pasta to a stew, etc. If you want to flavour the lentil balls, play around with extra ingredients and spices. Extra word of advice, leave the lentil balls in the fridge for at least an hour before you shallow fry them. They are a great replacement for meatballs / mince dishes. If you are vegan, you can use an egg replacement or try mashed banana. Mashed banana is a great egg replacement and can be used in many sweet or savoury dishes. - mashed banana = 1 egg. If you find working with uncooked legumes as time consuming, you can find them in cans (and they will be half cooked / cooked), or prepare a bigger portion and freeze them. I hope that helps.

Hi, I hope you are feeling better about things.

It sounds like you may have some form of OCD. Did this start recently? After my sister had her first child, she got intense OCD, some of her fears were similar to yours so that is what got me thinking. She did see someone about it and talking with them helped her realize that her fears were irrational and he helped her with some coping stratagies. They also said she probably always had OCD but that mild postpartum depression made it more intense. She the had it for up to a year, year and a half after each child she had, but now she knew what to look for. Just a suggestion. Maybe you should talk to someone about these fears and obsessions.

get sugar free jello and make lots of it. you get to eat to your hearts content then

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vegan-gelatin/
http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/how-to-make-vegan-jello

Lots of recipes for vegan jello too.

Eat more food then, esp. Fat and protein, you seem to be short on those most days and they help make you feel full for longer than carbs. Not to mention they are essential and carbs are not, and you are not even getting close to the min in both fat or protein.

No need to go low fat either, just stay away from trans-fats, fat is very essential from heathly skin, hair, nails, to digestive system, and absorption of micro nutrients.