Calories

[John]

1,000 Calories? So each meal you eat only has about 333 Calories?
The average Calorie intake in Somalia is 1,500. You're starving! Forget the junk food, you need to buy a cookbook and learn some recipes. Seriously.

[Mystic]

Me - I don't count - and I think in kilojoules - probably around 6-7500kj :confused: ???? Since 1000cal is only 4200 kj, that is waaaaaaaaay too low. What do your meals consist of?

[Aurora]

I wish that were my problem! :o

And me! :o

[RockyRaccoon]

Too many, way too many, so my ever expanding waistline keeps telling me :(

[cedarblue]

no idea how many i eat, i dont count - its not an issue for me

[bananafish]

Me - I don't count - and I think in kilojoules - probably around 6-7500kj :confused: ???? Since 1000cal is only 4200 kj, that is waaaaaaaaay too low. What do your meals consist of?

Well, it really depends on the day I guess. I used to eat way too many calories--so I am trying to lose weight, but I read online that if a person eats 1,000 calories or less, their body will go into starvation mode and store as much of those calories as possible... so even though they're not eating much, they won't lose any weight. And it's totally unhealthy, so I don't want to do that.

But sometimes I just forget to eat, or put it off--which is weird because I used to be a food addict. I guess my stomach shrunk a lot since I started eating less, and I don't crave food like I used to.

I'm not sure what my meals usually consist of... most of the time, I try to get in one good meal with a complete protein. But I can get lazy about that.

Yesterday I ate a plum and a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, and then I was in classes all day and had no chance to eat anything. Then I went to Starbucks with a friend, and had some green tea. I ended up not having a chance to eat anything until about 6:30, when I had some spaghetti. I meant to get something else to eat too, but I ended up reading something interesting on the computer 'till about 4 in the morning. Then my stomach was grownling, so I had some grapejuice and half a pita bread before I went to sleep.

I'm trying to eat healthier today though... right now I'm eating 2 pieces of Ezekiel Bread with raisins and peanut butter.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good, nutritious meal that I could make real fast?

Thanx! :)

[feline01]

This thread (http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2542) is all about fast and easy vegan recipes. While I need to consume less calories, you definitely need to up yours. If you keep eating the way you have been, you probably won't function that well and will be very exhausted.

[bananafish]

Thanks a bunch for the thread.

[rawrunwaypirate]

I think calories do matter.. but it depends what you eat.. i mean 2000 calories on pastries would be a different story to 2000 calories on fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, things that us as vegans eat.. But i think what you said your eaeting sounds great!! I find i lose more if i eat more fibre foods like the beans, in moderation.. and more plant based foods...But im a raw person so i beleve int he whole eating living raw enzyme vitmain enriched foods...

[Tigerlily]

Couting calories sucks. Count points instead, with Weight Watchers. If you're serious about losing weight, I recommend Weight Watchers. Vegan friendly too, except for the meal ideas they give you but you don't need to follow those. I never did, even as an omni.

I lost 40lbs on Weight Watchers.

[coconut]

I don't count calories. I'm not all that bothered about my health to be honest. I eat lots of fruit, vegetables and whole-grains etc. but I'm still addicted to junk :p I have a raging sweet-tooth so I bake loads of cakes and sometimes buy sweets from the co-op, who are good enough to print 'suitable for vegans' on some of their products. I probably consume too much oil as well. I absolutely love olive oil - I have it with bread and fry with it all the time. I'm pretty sure I'm more healthy than most omnis out there but there's still room for improvement I think. Maybe I'd be more conscious of the calories in food if I was overweight but since going vegan I've slimmed down amazingly.

[sophia]

I've also noticed that i've lost weight since becoming vegan. Dairy is full of allergens, I think it's so gross drinking milk. I've never liked it. Makes me feel sick when people drink it. It also bugs me that people think that you only get calcuim in milk. There is more easily accessable calcium in dark green veg and figs.
I don't count calories, and i think that some times people cut out the good oils in nuts seeds and avacados. They actually help you loose weight. I'm finally glad to be mostly over my eating disorder, but am still underweight. Still have the problem of feeling fat, but I've fought against it and am feeling great!! :o

[snivelingchild]

I've counted calories before, but that was when I ate meat sandwiches on white bread with miracle whip. I found that I was so frustrated counting them, that I gave myself a "treat" far too often. Now, I don't count calories at all, but I watch what foods I eat. Foods with a very low caloric density, I allow myself PLENTY on my diet, like apples, lettuce, carrots, peaches, oranges, berries, broccoli, etc. Those that have a medium caloric density, I eat no more than one serving a day (this is foods where one serving has more than 250 calories, but not more than 500). Keep in mind I eat one of these types of food (or none) a day, not one of EACH a day. This is stuff like pasta or something. Then, I have one or two tablespoons of a high caloric-density healthy fat a day, like on a salad. I don't really keep this in mind, like a schedule or something. I just include certain foods in my diet, and the lower the caloric density, the more frequently I eat them.

[marika5]

anything below 1200 is not recommended as brain damage could occur, amongst other health reasons.


Do you have a credible reference for this? Okinawan females average 1096 kcal/day and they do not suffer from brain damage, and have glowing markers of health, such as bone mineral density, antioxidant status, extremely low rates of cancers, CHD, dementia, very high rates of centenarianism, etc.. Ref: [Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr (2001) 10(2): 165*171]

[sugarmouse]

if you work out how many calories you do eat,then work out how to cut them and stick to it, you will lose weight.its impossible not to.but it can casue obsession and is a hassle!
if you eat well and dotn eat high fat foods(fat contains the most calories, gram for gram, than any other nutrient apart from maybe alcohol)then you should be ok.its just abou making healthy choices then the amount of calories you eat shoud be natural.its nearly impossibel to say how many calories a person should have..it depends on height/weight/build/proportion of fat to muscle/metabolic rate/activeness/blah/blah/blah...lol
gud luck!

[Caitlin]

I would focus more on fat cals and foods with just allot of calories. Eating spaced and not too much at one time and drinking water instead of soda is what I would do b/c eating extra calories is stored into extra fat on your body.

And if you do eat something with allot of calories that you just gotta have, burn 'em off! :p

[twinkle]

I'm counting calories at the moment. Not to the point of weighing things if it doesn't say how much things weigh on the packet, but I'm making educated guesses and keeping a tally in my head. I find it's the only thing that makes me stick to a diet.

this (http://www.weightlossforgood.co.uk/calorie_intake_calculator.htm) seems to be quite a helpful little tool, even though the site itself has a load of rot about low carb diets on it. What's nice about it is that it takes into account that the more you weigh the more you burn up (I guess by having to cart the extra weight around). Kind of explains plateaus in diets, I think.

[Artichoke47]

I recommended Weight Watchers points-counting for a long while, but I rescind my recommendation. At under 150 pounds, they had me on 23 points per day, which equaled to about 1,200 calories. I got dizzy and my body was starving itself. Yeah, I lost weight, but I should have eaten at least 1,400 or 1,500 calories.

I even counted for a while, up to about 35 points, while maintaining my weight, but I'd rather eat whatever I want and enjoy the food w/o worrying about points. :) And yes, my weight has maintained, but I also exercise every single day.

[FestiveF]

I definitely do count calories- still a bit excessively since my most recent bout with EDNOS. It becomes a bad habit...and I am trying to quit. I keep track of all food and exercise on fitday. I usually eat about 1000-1200 calories- not what I should be eating but much better than I used to (which was about 700 or 800 a day). I am also very active (work out and run 6 days a week). I have found though- as I have upped the calories- I have naturally toned up and even dropped a little weight now that my body isn't completely starving. I now have SO much more energy and feel better in general. I think that there is no specific "formula" for weight loss/maintainence of weight. every person is different and you have to figure out what works for you. If you find your energy is low and you feel weak- try eating more...you may notice a BIG difference!

[Wishin986]

Counting calories is addictive - I would advise against it - but then again I've had eating disorders since the 7th or 8th grade so for me the numbers just become mesmorizing and it all turns into a big game to see how low you can go which only led to periods of 80 hour fasts and then 200-400 cal/day when I did eat. I also started on weight watchers in middle school and once again with the points it became a game also to see how low you could get. But then again that probably more had to do with the fact that I had a lot of outside stressors that were causing me to turn to anorexia and eating disorders as a coping mechanism in order to deal, which is obviously a bad way to go. Bottom line is if you are prone to any type of eating disorders or have any outside stressors that you feel could possibly lead you to search for control elsewhere then don't count calories because they can lead to addictive, obsessive, and compulsive behaviors and it tends to consume a lot of time in that case. If you do, do not go below 1200 cal/day or about 500 cal less/day than you normally would and with that you will lose a safe pound/ week because it takes 3500 cal. to gain or lose a pound.

My advice would be to portion control, cut out snacking, and just eat healthy and being vegan and all it is very easy to do that. Also make sure to eat at least three meals a day to ensure and keep an active metabolism and work out, at least 45-60 mins of cardio about 5-6 days/week. Green Tea is also a great way to subtly keep your metabolism active and raise it a little so if you are normally a coffee drinker try switching to Green Tea. :p

[bicyclesista]

I have to ask Why, you want to loose weight? If it's for medical/health reasons.. ie you have recieved sound medical advice then, you should be at a healthy weight provided you eat healthy foods to satisfy your hunger. Being a vegan... you shouldn't have any trouble eating all the healthy foods you need, and less of the crap you don't.

For most people,1000 calories (4180 kilojoules) is not enough food to prevent your body from eating it's own muscles and internal organs to survive.... by not eating enough, and being underweight you can risk liver damage, osteoperosis, hair loss, lowered immune function, and death.

The health effects of being very underweight are just as bad as being very overweight; but, usually your body will tell you what's healthier for you... If you feel strong and energetic, and are eating to satisfy you're hunger, then you're doing pretty well, regardless of your weight.

The "western ideal" crazily skinny woman tottering on ridiculous stilletto heels is a corporate construction, designed to train sista's into buying stuff they don't need... Just as the government funded nutrition education is designed by the meat industry to fool us into buying stuff we don't need......

[Mystic]

My advice would be to portion control, cut out snacking, and just eat healthy and being vegan and all it is very easy to do that. Also make sure to eat at least three meals a day to ensure and keep an active metabolism and work out, at least 45-60 mins of cardio about 5-6 days/week. Green Tea is also a great way to subtly keep your metabolism active and raise it a little so if you are normally a coffee drinker try switching to Green Tea. :p

WELL SAID ;)


The health effects of being very underweight are just as bad as being very overweight; but, usually your body will tell you what's healthier for you... If you feel strong and energetic, and are eating to satisfy you're hunger, then you're doing pretty well, regardless of your weight.

The "western ideal" crazily skinny woman tottering on ridiculous stilletto heels is a corporate construction, designed to train sista's into buying stuff they don't need...

Again well said :D

[foxytina_69]

Do you have a credible reference for this? Okinawan females average 1096 kcal/day and they do not suffer from brain damage, and have glowing markers of health, such as bone mineral density, antioxidant status, extremely low rates of cancers, CHD, dementia, very high rates of centenarianism, etc.. Ref: [Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr (2001) 10(2): 165*171]

i have no credible references for this, im sorry. i got this from a while ago, i was reading something about health and it said that eating less than 1200 calories caused brain damage, only simply because your body goes into 'survival' mode and starts feeding off of your organs and muscle (or so i read) and that is of course once u have no fat left for your body to feed off of. also it deprives many other organs and is generally unhealthy (or so i read but dont have links/references to although i may find them) but if that is untrue than thats great news because i rarely get up to a 1000 calories a day let alone 1200.

:)

[scruffyhead]

I dont count calories,i started eating loads of fruit and veg and i cut out any junk in my diet, and the wieght just dropped off! now its at a constant, it is hard at first because your body is used to having more food intake in its system, and when you cut this down your body is going through a withdrawl period, i remember when i felt like eating! say at night, i just drank a lot of water. After a short while my body ajusted accordingly. another thing i found was not to eat after 6pm, which gives your body time to digest your food before bed. Well it worked for me :)

[Wishin986]

have no credible references for this, im sorry. i got this from a while ago, i was reading something about health and it said that eating less than 1200 calories caused brain damage, only simply because your body goes into 'survival' mode and starts feeding off of your organs and muscle (or so i read) and that is of course once u have no fat left for your body to feed off of. also it deprives many other organs and is generally unhealthy (or so i read but dont have links/references to although i may find them) but if that is untrue than thats great news because i rarely get up to a 1000 calories a day let alone 1200.

As far as I know, you do not become brain damaged from eating less than 1200 calories a day. Yes your body does start to feed off of muscles and tissues when you are in starvation mode but only after its burned and gone through carbs, fats, and proteins (in that order). Then it will start eating away at your muscle and tissues. While this is true, however, I have also read many research studies on eating extremely low calorie diets and eating disorders and I have yet to find a study that comes even close to that conclusion. Most of the time people are able to bounce back and lead healthy lives and while your metabolism reduces by 10% under 1200 and by 50% when you eat under 900 cal/day (I believe thats the statistics although it's been a while since I've read that study) your metabolism can stabilize again. The only long term damage I've been able to find is possibly from the amenhorrea that comes from eating too little and if that goes on for years, for example three years (and I do emphasize years as it takes a long time), it is possible that it will cause infertility. Also it is possible to however, in extreme cases of anorexia, have a heart attack. Brain damage, however, is a completely new idea to me and while sometimes people might seem a little off I think it has more to do with the fact that you just don't have the energy to use your brain and think and focus because your body is using all your calories keeping you alive than brain damage. :confused: