Advice for my diet?!

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vikie
vikie Posts: 36
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,
I am trying to get back into this, and my aim is to loose weight and tone up/build some strength.
I am vegetarian and don't ever have a clue what to eat to get the right mixture of protein carbs fat etc;
A typical day for me consists of:
- porridge for breakfast
- mid morning snack - i am at uni and will generally go for a sugar fix so will grab a bag of crisps and a tea/diet pepsi
- lunch - some form of veggie soup and a roll or egg mayo sandwhich
- dinner - something with lots of vegetables - tonight i had skinless baked sweet potato, with mushrooms, salad and cucumber, yesterday i had brocolli, peas, salad and a slice of spinach bake - that sort of thing generally?
- and then a yoghurt.

I dont seem to be loosing weight, in fact if anything the opposite?
any advice - my friend suggested some low fat low carb protein shakes to help post gym but not bulk me up?

thank you

Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    are you counting calories? you can get fat on veggies you know

    you wont bulk up on muscle without serious effort, so dont worry about that, but protein shakes are a good way to ensure adequate protein intake (which many vegetarians struggle with)
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    Hi, yes I am calorie counting, at about 1200-1500 a day normally?
  • fittestpal
    fittestpal Posts: 94 Member
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    Only thing is people that make protein powder get energy to make it by eating meat so basically your supporting meat eating
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,068 Member
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    Hi, yes I am calorie counting, at about 1200-1500 a day normally?
    whats your height, weight, age?

    how long have you been cutting back for and are you exercising?
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Your protein goal is ABSURDLY low...
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    Only thing is people that make protein powder get energy to make it by eating meat so basically your supporting meat eating

    - or maybe they are all veggies - although i appreciate your witty and supportive response .. thanks :) - and just for the record I am not veggie for ethical reasons so I don't particularly care if the person making the protein powder is chewing on a cow while they do it!
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    Your protein goal is ABSURDLY low...

    My protein goal? I didn't even know I had set one?!?
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    Hi, yes I am calorie counting, at about 1200-1500 a day normally?
    whats your height, weight, age?

    how long have you been cutting back for and are you exercising?

    My height is 5ft4, weight about 9 stone 2, age 25, and about 4-5 months?
  • fittestpal
    fittestpal Posts: 94 Member
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    I'm just picking but I don't see how you guys do it! You need to eat about 1g protein per lb body weight. And most of it should come from whole food to keep you full longer.
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    I'm just picking but I don't see how you guys do it! You need to eat about 1g protein per lb body weight. And most of it should come from whole food to keep you full longer.

    So I would need over 120g of protein a day!?
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    I'm just picking but I don't see how you guys do it! You need to eat about 1g protein per lb body weight. And most of it should come from whole food to keep you full longer.

    So I would need over 120g of protein a day!?

    0.82g of protein per lb of body weight is a better figure. Nobody needs 1g per lb of body weight.

    http://bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    Oh and your current protein goal is 37g a day...
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
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    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Options
    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.
  • fittestpal
    fittestpal Posts: 94 Member
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    What I do is figure out my maintenance calories, drop below that about 400 to start, do 1g per lb body weight protein, 30% fat, and fill the rest of the calories with carbs. It works for me but everyone is different
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
    Options
    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.

    Okay thank you very much for your advice :) , I am doing lots of weight and resistance work as well as cardio and hoping to tone/build muscle, so looks like i will be needing protein of some kind?
    will adding protein shakes to my diet make it so I have to eat a lot less then I am to maintain my calorie deficit - as I really don't like to be hungry haha
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.

    Okay thank you very much for your advice :) , I am doing lots of weight and resistance work as well as cardio and hoping to tone/build muscle, so looks like i will be needing protein of some kind?
    will adding protein shakes to my diet make it so I have to eat a lot less then I am to maintain my calorie deficit - as I really don't like to be hungry haha

    Check dry roasted edamame - it's very high in protein. There are also vegan protein powders, if you don't want whey. But you could up your protein quite a bit by just adding more eggs, tofu and beans to your meals. Or snacking on greek yogurt.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Options
    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.

    Okay thank you very much for your advice :) , I am doing lots of weight and resistance work as well as cardio and hoping to tone/build muscle, so looks like i will be needing protein of some kind?
    will adding protein shakes to my diet make it so I have to eat a lot less then I am to maintain my calorie deficit - as I really don't like to be hungry haha

    If you buy Whey isolate protein powder, 25g of protein is about 110 calories, so even adding one scoop of powder would increase your protein intake by 25g a day for only 110 calories
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
    Options
    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.

    Okay thank you very much for your advice :) , I am doing lots of weight and resistance work as well as cardio and hoping to tone/build muscle, so looks like i will be needing protein of some kind?
    will adding protein shakes to my diet make it so I have to eat a lot less then I am to maintain my calorie deficit - as I really don't like to be hungry haha

    Check dry roasted edamame - it's very high in protein. There are also vegan protein powders, if you don't want whey. But you could up your protein quite a bit by just adding more eggs, tofu and beans to your meals. Or snacking on greek yogurt.

    Thank you that's great, I can easily change my yog to Greek Yoghurt and add more eggs and tofu :)
    thanks
  • AliceSwarthout
    AliceSwarthout Posts: 808 Member
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    so I don't particularly care if the person making the protein powder is chewing on a cow while they do it!
    This is excellent :laugh:
  • vikie
    vikie Posts: 36
    Options
    I think I average between 20g-50g of protein a day :/ - this is my concern being vegetarian I don't know the best way to up this?
    I also don't know whether being deficient will be affecting my weight loss/toning? or having any other real negative effects? As I have been eating this diet for the past 3-4 years? Is it worth drinking protein shakes, will it not make weight loss even harder?
    thanks

    All you need for weight loss is a calorie deficit, but protein is required for muscle synthesis, so if you lose weight, don't lift weights, and don't consume adequate protein, a great deal of your weight loss will be from muscle loss and although you will be losing fat as well, it may appear that you're not making the progress you'd like to your body since you're losing both at the same time.

    Okay thank you very much for your advice :) , I am doing lots of weight and resistance work as well as cardio and hoping to tone/build muscle, so looks like i will be needing protein of some kind?
    will adding protein shakes to my diet make it so I have to eat a lot less then I am to maintain my calorie deficit - as I really don't like to be hungry haha

    If you buy Whey isolate protein powder, 25g of protein is about 110 calories, so even adding one scoop of powder would increase your protein intake by 25g a day for only 110 calories

    thank you i will have a look into it :)

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