Help a vegan with diet & exercise?

jhboise · October 2014

Hello all,

I follow a vegan diet, and wondered whether there were any folks here with nutritional experience who could advise on how best to do so for weight loss? I'm 58, 5'0" and 121, which is about 15 lbs heavier than I'm used to being (thanks, menopause!). I've been recommended a 1200 calorie-per-day diet. It's hard to reach that number without a fair amount of carbs (pasta, rice) and fat (mostly olive oil).

I attend a fitness "boot camp" for strength and metabolism changes three times a week, and there isn't any way to accurately log that on MFP; I also do Pilates twice a week, which can be logged. How do I account for my workouts? I have been logging 20 minutes of Calisthenics (vigorous) and 10 minutes of Aerobics (high impact) which is the closest I can get to the 30-minute continuous workout in the Boot Camp, but I'm not sure this is the best way to go about it.

I joined MFP last week to help me be accountable for what I eat, and that seems to be going well. But I've been on virtually the identical program for 3 weeks without a change in my weight. What's advisable? I'd like to see the scale move a bit!

Thanks,
Janet

yarwell · October 2014

So who recommended the 1200 calories ? MFP has that as a minimum.

Your diary is closed so can't comment on the foods, your approach to logging doesn't sound bad but how many calories of exercise does it result in ?

_HeartsOnFire_ · October 2014

jhboise · October 2014

Hello Yarwell, The recommendation is from MFP. I set my diary on "public" so you can see it now. Logging my exercise as above results in 210 calories burned in 30 minutes.

jhboise · October 2014

Hello, Hearts on Fire, I've read many of those links, and that's why I'm asking about carbs and fats. I suppose I could add soy proteins like seitan and tempeh in greater quantities -- I'm hoping someone else who is vegan will comment on what worked for her (or him).

jhboise · October 2014

Also I'm wondering whether being a post-menopausal woman has an effect on weight loss (I suspect it does) and whether anyone here has the experience to give advice about that aspect.

yarwell · October 2014

Hopefully a vegan will be along to help in due course, your high carb low protein diet probably is not the ultimate for weight loss.

If you aren't losing weight you must ultimately be eating more than you need to, unless something is getting in the way like insulin resistance, thyroid problems, etc.

In general higher protein 25 - 35% gives better results in trials, and post-menopausal women often do well on reduced carbs but you are lower in BMI than many at that age.

RedheadQuine · October 2014

I'd recommend getting Happy Herbivore's Light & Lean book. It's really interesting, has recipes as well as weight loss advice for a plant based diet.

Help a vegan with diet & exercise?

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