nutritional advise for weight loss

siobh123

Hi.

I am looking for some national advise for weight loss perhaps a good book suggestion. I have been going to the gym on for about 9 months. I have lost ov er 21pounds by watching my diet and going to the gym twice a week. However I have noticed over the last month I have been doing my usual routine and have lost little to no weight. I feel that my diet could be to blame. I don't have very much food in an average day and I find that come gym time I have no energy. I am also a vegetarian.I want to be able to eat more , have more energy and loose fat.w oh led like to get my metabolism working to its full potential. I need to learn to eat smart and how my body works and come up with a plan that suits me. Any suggestions welcome.

Alf Veedersane

Post up a typical day's eating over the past month and then what has changed over the past month

siobh123

Breakfast: smoothie- almonds, broccoli,sweet potato, carrot, kiwi, cherry tomato, and half pint water

Pint water

Apple and decaf coffee at 11

Lunch: tomato soup and 2 slices of white bread - no butter

Pint water

Evening snack - supper 2 slices if brown bread and butter and a decaf coffee.

That's my average day. At the wkends I will have potatoes and veg or a roast dinner for lunch. The only thing that's changed really is the wkend lunches. I feel like I should be able to eat more. I just think I'm eating the wrong foods.

Precious flower

siobh123 wrote: »

Breakfast: smoothie- almonds, broccoli,sweet potato, carrot, kiwi, cherry tomato, and half pint water

Pint water

Apple and decaf coffee at 11

Lunch: tomato soup and 2 slices of white bread - no butter

Pint water

Evening snack - supper 2 slices if brown bread and butter and a decaf coffee.

That's my average day. At the wkends I will have potatoes and veg or a roast dinner for lunch. The only thing that's changed really is the wkend lunches. I feel like I should be able to eat more. I just think I'm eating the wrong foods.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far!:) I'm no expert but I think you're significantly under eating. You should be eating more nourishing and filling foods. You are consuming a good deal of bread daily which would have a significant amount of calories as well as sodium. Two slices of wholemeal bread would have around 300 calories. I only know wholemeal as we don't have white bread in the house any more but I imagine that would be more.

The second thing that jumped out at me was the fact that there seems to be very little protein in your diet. You should be eating more nourishing and filling foods. Protein will keep you fuller for longer.

Also, is the soup home-made or not (again this affects the calorie content as well as the nutritional value)? I think the breakfast is okay. It is a good way to get in the vegetables. Your water intake looks fine. Are you a vegetarian? I didn't see much in the way of vegetarian protein sources. If not, consider maybe replacing the lunch with an omelette or hard boiled eggs? Even you could replace eggs for the lunch and then put the smoothie for lunch time. But you need some protein in your diet.

How about making your evening snack some Greek yoghurt that's high in protein (like fage or liberte)? Also I see absolutely no mention of dinner. You should be having a decent breakfast, lunch (especially if you are on the go a lot) and dinner. You could probably cancel out the snack in the evening if you were getting three good square meals a day.

You shouldn't be afraid of calories, but you need to track what you eat so that you can ensure you are at a calorie deficit (if you are aiming to lose weight) but at the same time that you are eating filling healthy foods.

Celly Smunt

Dont be afraid of meat, a lean cut of meat has very low calories for the size of the portion you're eating. You could probably replace the portion of white bread with a piece of steak and a salad for near enough the same amount of calories.

siobh123

That is good solid advise. I did suspect that I was under eating. Yes I am a vegetarian and you are right I don't have any protein in my diet. The soup is not homemade it is Aldi's cream of tomato. Can you recommend any good book to teach me about nutrition about what my body needs. I definitely have to find a substitute for bread. I use it to fill me up because I don't eat meat, I have to come up with a better solution!

siobh123

Thank you got your post celly. Any good filling substitute for meat that is low in calories??

Celly Smunt

siobh123 wrote: »

Thank you got your post celly. Any good filling substitute for meat that is low in calories??

Tofu is fairly low in calories and high in protein so that might be an option. Also fish is imo the best food anybody could eat,so if that is in line with you being a veggie then defo hit the fish.

A nice piece of fish and a sweet potato with side salad.Thats my dinner sorted for tonight.

Precious flower

siobh123 wrote: »

That is good solid advise. I did suspect that I was under eating. Yes I am a vegetarian and you are right I don't have any protein in my diet. The soup is not homemade it is Aldi's cream of tomato. Can you recommend any good book to teach me about nutrition about what my body needs. I definitely have to find a substitute for bread. I use it to fill me up because I don't eat meat, I have to come up with a better solution!

Well if you are vegetarian then you need to be more focused on getting good sources of protein because that will keep you full and satisfied for longer. Well soup from a packet can be high in sodium among other things and generally have more calories than a home made version. Now I understand if you may not have the time to make home made soup but then you really need to pay attention to the nutrition label on the back to get the best of a bad bunch. If you have time make your own! You can make a big batch in a short space of time and freeze them in bags so you can take them out and use them for lunch. Best of all you have the flexibility to put all kinds of good things in them, to mix and match and to know it is good and healthy!


I'm going to be honest with you don't waste your money on books. You have the internet at your fingertips. Type in "High protein vegetarian sources/recipes" and you'll get a whole list of good protein sources in seconds. Even Buzzfeed has some http://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewbarby/13-surprisingly-high-protein-meat-free-recipes-mo64#.htJWJ4v8Q
This one looks good too! http://vegetarian.about.com/od/healthnutrition/tp/high-protein-recipes.htm

And there's loads more websites that can provide that information. If you are trying to maintain a vegetarian lifestyle than you need to make sure you are getting enough protein, iron (especially for a woman) and B12. Again a quick Google search will sort this out for you. If you are leaving out eggs/fish/dairy products that your calcium intake needs to be watched as well to make sure you are consuming enough (though you said you have butter so I presume aren't leaving dairy products out).

No need to go out and buy books to tell you. Cottage cheese is a good source of both protein and calcium. Cheese in general is, but you need to make sure you are not over consuming cheeses like cheddar as they contain a high amount of fat.

bogmailer

If you want to read a good book on this subject then get "Why we get fat and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes. You can buy from Amazon or download to a Kindle.

I guarantee yu this will change how you think about food & weight issues.

The book is science based and referenced not a quack based quick fix diet plan.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Magenta

siobh123 wrote: »

I am also a vegetarian

Celly Smunt wrote: »

meat, a lean cut of meat

Celly Smunt wrote: »

a piece of steak and a salad

Celly Smunt wrote: »

if that is in line with you being a veggie then defo hit the fish.

A nice piece of fish and a sweet potato with side salad.

I'll just explain for you now that vegetarians do not eat meat.....