Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Wow, glad I came across this thread; I too would like to lose some body fat - over the top of my lower abs and around my thighs/hamstrings/butt. After reading through some of these threads though I'm worried my diet isn't sufficient;

I weigh 108 lbs. (female @ 5 ft. 1 inch.). If I multiply that by 12 as stated in one of the threads, then I only need and/or should be consuming 1,296 calories a day. Right now I'm consuming between 1900-2100. I have a very high metabolism and I'm eating throughout the day to make sure I get enough calories for energy and enough to supply the nutirents my body needs. I'm afraid if I cut down to 1300 I'd be hungry all the time and not giving my body the energy it needs. That's my first concern.

My second is in regards to flour, potatoes, and pasta. As also mentioned these are foods that should be avoided. However, I love soy milk and it has sugar (so does rice milk, almond milk, etc.) and I love pasta. Whole wheat pasta doesn't interest me as I can't stand the texture. Mind you i don't eat pasta but maybe once a week but none the less i found some spinach & herb stuffed vegan ravioli that I love. Potatoes I usually only eat sweet potatoes. Are those bad too for someone who wants to lose weight? It's practically impossible to avoid sugar 100% especially since fruits naturally have sugar and like I mentioned, soy milk has sugar as do many other things like sauces, dressings, etc. It's one thing to minimize sugar intake but none at all?????

I just started a cardio regiment that i will do every day and am starting lifting. I want to make sure my diet compliments my work-out routine so if someone could elaborate on my concerns/questions above I'd really appreciate it. Suggestions, advice, all welcome.

Thanks!!!

I'm happy to have stumbled upon this thread, I too am trying to loose body fat, a lot of it. I am currently at 252, 5'9" and according to the BMI I should be 168 to be in the normal range.

I realize that the BMI does not make a lot of sense so I am realistically shooting for around 180lbs and I will figure it out from there if I should loose more.

When I started loosing I was at 274, back in August and recently it has been very slow going, I have been hovering around 250. But I am going to keep going at it. I am keeping track of my progress and writing about my experiences being vegan at http://www.AHealthyVegan.com feel free to check it out.

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Peace,
Tom Scholfield
AHealthyVegan.com
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