Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

UGH I've even been upping my fat intake lately because I thought that was the cause of it, but my hair is still falling out.

its getting pretty ridiculous.

I lift weights just about daily, sometimes do belly dancing, yoga on sundays, walk at least 2 miles and if not more just running errands, besides all that,
I live a pretty sedentary lifestyle.

I am not really STARVING, but moreso I could definitely eat. there's sometimes even a weird tickle in my throat, does anyone else experience this? almost right after eating or 30 min after.

I am almost always in the kitchen preparing foods, for myself and husband. [which i dont mind! it's fun]


thanks everyone!


has my metabolism been revved up or what?

here's my intake for today:




yes that's my weekly icecream treat on the bottom ;]
I again dont know my weight, but this is basing it off of 113 lbs, 5'5', 27 female, light activity.

p.s. I know being an athlete can cause menstruation to stop, and mine has. I havent gotten it since February? so CLEARLY my fat is too low?

Are you getting enough of all your vitamins? Hair loss can easily be caused by a vitamin deficiency. D, B's, Iodine, Zinc, etc. can all contribute to hair loss...

I take a womans multi vitamin as well as a B12 vitamin [on top of the red star].
i've been lacking Omega 3 MAJORLY in my diet [probably was previously getting none], until this week I've been adding it.

it's hard to tell what it is, ive heard TOO much soy can contribute? hmph. I cant wait to figure out what the hell is causing it though.

Hair loss can be a symptom of omega-3 deficiency but it's usually noticed first with fatigue and poor memory. Still, aim for a 1:4 ratio for omega-3:omega-6. I do this by adding ground flaxseed to my smoothies in the morning!

1:4 meaning? How much flaxseed do you use? Thanks so much for your input on all my entries btw

Oh and yes, I have pretty bad memory and concentration too (ADHD sure doesnt help though)

Hey there! (thanks for the email, I really appreciate it!). Do you usually eat around 1830 calories? It could be because you are eating too few calories (I know this from experience) in combination with exercising to the point of burning out (if you are working out everyday with little to no rest). You should NOT loose your period. Check out a calorie calculator to see how many cals you should be eating to maintain your weight. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I would suggest going to get blood work done to see if you are deficient somewhere.

Also, I've never experienced a tickle after eating. Is it after you eat all the time or only when you eat something in particular? could be an allergy.

Yes. So in your diet you want to shoot for a 1:4 ratio of o-3 to o-6 fats. All unsaturated fats are composed of different ratios of 'the omega's', and the human body seems to be designed to get a 1:4 ratio ideally of o-3 and o-6, so you want to ingest some fats that have a good amount of o-6, and also some fats that provide a good amount of o-3. Flaxseed, for example, has 4 o-3's for every 1 o-6, so adding flaxseed to the diet will help your body get the o-3's it needs to 'keep the balance' in your body. Personally I try to get 2 tbsp of flaxseed (ground) into my diet every day, but each person has to find their own balance!

I assume the flaxseed oil is best? Over avocado.
But I've heard the seeds themselves are best over the oil
( also earth balance almond butter I use has omega 3 In it)

If you need to use oil, then use flaxseed oil for non-cooking oil, and olive oil for most other things. Flaxseed oil doesn't hold up well to high temperatures so you don't want to cook it much. Personally I am not a fan of added oils in the diet, so I would try to get as much of your fat as possible from whole food sources such as flaxseed, avocados, olives, nuts, and seeds....

Mineral deficiencies and weight loss can cause hair loss. Have a read of this...

http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/hairloss

Prob worth having some blood work done if you are really concerned.

If you only weigh 113 pounds and are 5"5... your BMI is very low (especially for someone lifting weights) so you're body fat percentage could be too low for you to menstruate... You prob need to eat more calories and gain a bit more body fat!

Have you lost weight/body fat in the past 12months?

I feel like my hair has been falling out a lot as well. I've been supplementing with zinc, calcium, magnesium, vit. d, vit. c as well as a multi. for the last 6-months or so. I also eat lots of flax seeds and chia seeds and have been for over a year now so I feel like I've been getting enough omegas in my diet. I do not take extra iron but after reading the veganhealth.org link maybe it could be an iron deficiency.

I've had my thyroid, vit. d, and iron levels checked and they were fine though.

Anyway, you could also be losing lots of hair if you recently gave birth. At about 5-months postpartum many women lose a lot of hair.

And it's normal to lose 100 hair a day and up to 250 on the days you wash your hair. I think I notice losing my hair more now because my hair is really long.

It could also just be genetic.

Let us know if you figure it out!

nothing in particular really.
the thing is, this forum everyone has extremely low fat intakes, which I cannot really live by. maybe to "cut", but I am not looking for intense cutting or competitions.
another thing is, if I set "myplate" to 114 lbs, moderate activity [waiting tables, on feet for majority of the day] I recommends the fat intake to be 67, even THAT to me though sounds too high. 60 sounds perfect.
& you're right, 1845 calories probably isn't enough intake right now.
I'll try and up it without freaking or worrying too much about that number looking too high.

thanks for your input

definitely have not been pregnant or given birth, ever. [yet hehe]

also, glad I am reintroducing lentils [sprouted myself!] into my diet! funny how something inside me a couple of weeks ago told me to EAT LENTILS!
my body knows best

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27533 ... getarians/