Is this Healthy?

Zaytex wrote: »

peleroja wrote: »

Zaytex wrote: »

peleroja wrote: »

Zaytex wrote: »

peleroja wrote: »

How did you arrive at those calorie counts? Are you guessing? I'm betting that if you're not preparing your own food using a food scale to measure all your solids and measuring cups/spoons for your liquids that you are underestimating your intake. If you're taking a portion of cafeteria food, for example, you have no way to know what the calorie content actually is (you might think you have 100g of potatoes when you eyeball it, but it might be more like 175g, they might have been made with a ton of butter or oil, etc etc.)

On all the food I eat, it shows the calorie am

So absolutely everything you eat is single-serving, out of a packet?

Yeah. Unless It's fresh fruit.

Well, you will lose weight if you are in fact eating that little. However, it's not ideal for health, as you'll be lacking a lot of essential micronutrients, and with an almost total lack of protein you'll likely also feel quite hungry and find it difficult to continue. If you're a vegetarian, there are still a ton of protein-rich options that can help keep you feeling full and give your body energy. At your age, unless you're very short and fairly thin already, you don't need to drop your calories so low to lose weight and it's very likely that it will be extremely difficult to maintain long-term (I'm a 118-pound woman and I have trouble eating that little for more than a month or two...and it's going to be a lot tougher for the average teenage boy.)

My resolve is strong. However, I would say that today's selection of food choices wasn't the best in my 'diary'

It doesn't matter how strong your "resolve" is, if your body becomes chronically malnourished.

Understand that at 1200 calories a day, it is very difficult to provide an adult body the macro and micronutrients it requires for proper function. People who are already small, very sedentary, or older (or a combo of those things) might find it appropriate, but not a teenage boy who's likely burning well over 2500 calories a day. A healthy 1200 calorie diet requires a lot of planning and there is hardly any room for things like ice cream or white starchy foods. It is lean protein and vegetables with adequate and appropriate fat, day in and day out. A diet of wholly ravioli, potatoes, and crisps isn' going to cut it if you want to have a healthy body at the end of this. And regardless, if your deficit is as big as I suspect it is, your body is still going to lose lean mass along with fat, which is going to mean that you won't look as fit or be as strong as you would like once you are at your goal weight.

The goal of weight loss is to lose as much fat and as little muscle as possible, and rapid weight loss isn't very conducive to that.

SherryTeach wrote: »

For a vegetarian, the OP doesn't eat very many vegetables.

I used to be like that. I was really more of a carbetarian.

OP, if you don't like veggies, try easing in with the milder or sweeter ones like carrots, celery, cucumber, winter squash, etc. No need to eat broccoli and Brussels sprouts on day one.

It was hard for me at first, but now I eat a decent number of servings of produce most days. Not kale though. Never kale.

No... it's mostly carbs and sugar. Where is your protein? Veggies? Fruit?

I am a vegetarian, and a chunky one at that... However, I just started this, and have cut down on my quantities. So far today, I had my breakfast of 1 lite multi-grain english muffin, and 2 eggs with salt/pepper/paprika, and green onions. For lunch I had another english muffin with a slice of avocado, 2 tofurkey slices, a tomato slice, a half a slice of cheese, and some broccoli sprouts. I had a banana as a snack, and a dinner of a tofurkey kielbasa, a tbsp of kraut with onion on a wholegrain bun. I haven't decided what my next snack will be, but it's all within my 1220 calorie goal (over protein, oops).

BTW, if you have to ask "is this healthy?", you already know that the answer is "no".

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Zaytex wrote:

When I think about protein, I have eaten some in the past.
Like Asparagus, and lentil meals. Would they be fine?

Lentils have protein. Asparagus, not so much.
If you're going to do the vegetarian thing, at least learn something about nutrition, so you don't harm yourself.

Your profile claims you're 18.
You say you're in college. Use the resources available to you.
Go to the health center and ask if there's someone who can help you learn about nutrition. (Heck, go to your
family doctor & ask for pointers to information... though they're often not very well trained in the area, maybe
they could refer you to a dietitian for some education.)
Go to the library and ask a librarian to show you the section with books about nutrition (or use the card catalog).
See if there are educational / degree programs on campus which include nutrition (things like dietitian, nursing,
food science), and see if you can meet with one of those instructors to at least get a list of beginner books so
you can learn the basics.

Protein:
animal flesh (which you say you won't eat) is the most efficient source
beans & bean products (tofu, TVP --> veggie burger)
lentils
dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs)
some grains (quinoa is particularly high)
nuts & seeds (chia is very high)
peanuts

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+foods+other+than+meat+have+protein


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I want opinions on it. My worst nightmare is that I won't lose weight and that it is all for nothing.

Not a reasonable concern.
It's more likely you will be malnourished, which is a much more serious problem.
If you're really an 18yo male, of average height, and you're really only eating 1100 cal/day, and
you're really doing as much cardio as you say you're doing, you will lose weight.
Guarantee it.
You won't be healthy.
Guarantee that too.

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today, my meals were:
Ice Cream- 151
Crisps- 85
Flapjack- 136
Potatoes- 100
Ravioli - 668
Total = 1140 calories

So carbs + fat, carbs + fat, carbs, carbs, carbs + (whatever is in the ravioli filling).
First, no, this is not healthy, because you don't get all the nutrients you need.
Second, no, this is not healthy, because you're not getting nearly the calories you need.
(Yes, that's slightly redundant, because carbs are a nutrient.)
Third, if you made better choices, you could eat more calories and be satiated, have all the
nutrition you need, while still losing weight safely.

Doesn't your school cafeteria, or food court, or even a nearby store, have fruit available?
Pretty much anything is better nutrition-wise than ice cream, potato chips, pancakes, and potatos.
Heck, even a frozen bean burrito would be an improvement!

Spend a couple hours on the weekend, or an evening, and pre-make a bunch of stuff so you
can grab things from the fridge easily.

Hard-boiled egg (pre-cook a dozen to have in the fridge). Keep a bowl of fruit on your kitchen
table. Cook a batch of rice, portion it out, and you have the basis for a bunch of meals. Chop
veggies, portion them out. Mix a batch of hummus. Get a bag of almonds or walnuts or
sunflower seeds or whatever nut/seed you like. Have a peanut butter sandwich (quick to make
in the morning). Lay out a production line to make a bunch of rice, bean, & cheese burritos, wrap
them in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and store them in the fridge or freezer in a sealed
bag or container. OK to have cold, or find a microwave to warm them up.

Keep small containers handy to throw things into, maybe the night before as you're cleaning up
the kitchen after dinner, so you can grab them from the fridge on your way out the door in the
morning. It's much easier to stay up 5 minutes longer at night than it is to get up 5 minutes
earlier in the morning.

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I'm looking to lose 3 stone 1-5 pounds by December. Would I be able to do this?

3 stone = 42 lb
So in total you're talking about 48 lb, in about 6 months (24 weeks).
If you're starting out extremely overweight (say, more than 100 lb over the top end of a healthy
BMI range), yes, that's possible & you could even do it while staying healthy. I have.
If that's all you need to lose to be within a healthy BMI range, no, you're not going to be able to
do it, or if you do you're going to lose what little muscle you have and be malnourished. At first
you could lose 2 lb/week, but that's not going to last long. It's more reasonable to aim for 1 lb,
and pretty soon that will drop to 0.5 lb.


Read this:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants


Then this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-08-setting-goals-667045

Especially pay attention to this calculator:
https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html
It will tell you not only your BMI at any weight (to be healthy, it should be between 18 & 24.9),
but how many calories & how many servings of the food groups you need to eat to maintain
that weight.


And here's a lot more info you'll probably find helpful:
https://www.google.com/#q=beginning+nutrition+teenager


BTW, if you want to maintain what little muscle you have, start doing weight training, even if
it's only body weight exercises (check google & youtube). It's easier to keep what you have
than to rebuild it after you've lost it.

Zaytex wrote: »

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

No, that is not healthy. You need protein and vegetables.

Your currently diet is extraordinarily high in carbs.

How about a salad?

I do eat peas and carrots and such. I had a Salad yesterday, but not often. They're the only thing I hate eating in a diet.

Aim for 10 fruits and vegetables a day. That is entirely possible to achieve, even for those of us who are not vegetarians.

@Zaytex Just came in after being out for a while. @MKEgal just handed you all the tools you need on a silver platter. She's great. Definitely take a little time and get your plan straightened out, and get some balance to what you're eating. Being a vegetarian is not a barrier to eating well and getting all the nutrients you need, but you do have to put a little extra planning to it.

ManiacalLaugh wrote: »

Technically you will lose weight on this calorie count, but it's awfully unbalanced (nutritionally speaking).

You Brits and your flapjacks.... So jealous. ;_; I'm still waiting for them to catch on here (and NO oatbars DO NOT COUNT.)

Hmmm. Had to look this up, as I always thought a flapjack was just a pancake. Yet another way for Americans and Brits to miscommunicate while ostensibly speaking the same language (pudding, biscuit, chips, pants, rubber....) (sorry, it does seem like the more risque examples stick in the memory)

Eat some veggies and fruit before you get scurvy.

Kidding, but seriously listen to these fine people. They know what they are talking about.