Hello my 1st post and need advice/HELP

I have been vegetarian (not vegan) for last 6 years. Both me and my wife decided to become vegetarian the day we got married (6years ago).

Anyway I am 32 and in Europe. Glad I found this forum and hopefully will get lot of advice on some of the questions I have. I will give info on myself and you guys could take a look and give me some advice.

Age-32

Height- 171cms

Weight 65kg

Body fat- 15.8%

One year ago my body fat % was 11% . I stopped going to the gym for 1 year and my body fat has gone upto 15.8%. I have started gym again as I want to be 10-11% again but for rest of my life

Currently I go gym 5 days a week at 10 in the morning and use the step machine for 45 minutes at above average intensity.

On 3 of these 5 days I do weights before hitting the step machine. How long do you think it will take me to bring my fat % back down to 10-11%?

3months...6months???

Can someone tell me how many calories I should be eating daily for my age/height/weight?

My diet mainly consists of-

Milk, Tofu, Black Beans, Cabbage and it's relatives, Green Beans, tons of Spinach, Soya products, Broccoli, cheese, Salad, peas, chick peas.

Edit- Forgot fruits- Oranges, grapes, pear and banana mainly.

My weakness is eating Cashew nuts I take mutlivitamin (water solluable) tablet every day.

Any pointers? Do you think I am on the right track and just need to be patient and keep doing what I am doing?

Welcome!

Welcome !

Hi!

I think you need more leafy greens and fruit in your diet. You didn't mention one fruit!

Nothing wrong with cashews, just eat raw ones if you want some benefit out of them.

And cut back on them a bit if you feel you overdo it

I don't think it will take you too long to get back into shape, especially if you've been in shape in the past. The body has great muscle memory.

My advice -- go vegan. Make a truly "clean" start

Welcome

Thanks for the replies.

_raVen_

Yeah I forgot fruits. Oranges, grapes, pear and banana mainly.

SO vegan would mean no milk, cheese and eggs? Right? I hardly eat any cheese plus I hate eggs. So the only thing I would have to give up would be milk which I am not a big fan of but drink to get calcium.

Raven made the point perfectly!

Welcome !

The hard part is not actually the milk and eggs themselves but the fact that they mix them in everything.

I have heard that in studies nuts have never been proven to cause weight gain. If I were you I would cut out the dairy. Are you eating any wheat? If so it might help to cut back. Also make sure you are getting some protein/ fat with every meal (nuts are a good source of both) to help to keep you full.

Here is some info on nuts.

http://www.saponi.com/fitness/content/diet/art/goingnuts.shtm

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=387

Nice links mate. We try NOT to eat any bread. I think now that I have started going back to gym things should start getting better. Actually I am still under my ideal body fat% 17-25%...but we all know that 15.8% is not perfect

The thing is that every 2 weeks or so I attack a 200gm plain white cashew packet and eat it in 10 minutes like a junky! Something about cashews really makes me weak! I remeber as a kid my mum used to try to hide cashews from me inside a rice barallel.

If I don't at dairy stuff how will I get Calcium? Btw I love tofu and soya products that I can cook but absouletely cannot drink soya milk. I can't stand the smell or something about it. For me it's TORTURE! I would really like to drink it but it's not gonna happen

I have never been fat and still I am not fat but at 32 I feel that I want to get fit/ cut otherwise I will go downhill and evenually get FAT! I am really paranoid about getting fat!

Hey Mutated,

Welcome to the team!

Great to have you here on our forum.

Check out the articles in the Nutrition section and you will learn a lot about the foods to eat for the results you are looking for. Check out the training sections to learn about the training programs that will help you achieve the results you are looking for.

I think you training program sounds pretty good. That cardio on the stair-stepper I think it was, is good. I use that to get ready for bodybuilding competitions (to shed bodyfat) so it does help.

I don't mean to sound negative, but perhaps your downfall might be the cheese and dairy products. If you cut down on those or cut them out (even better) you will most likely lower your bf %, I would think.

I've also never been fat, although I've tried in the past But I've always thought about being fit as a lifelong goal too. I think you are doing a lot of things right, just remember results take time...how long??? It is different for each person, but usually some sort of results will show up in 3 months and in 6 months and you can accomplish quite a bit in a year.

Explore the main website and the forum and you will pick up tips all along the way, I promise.

All the best!

-Robert

Hi and welcome Mutated

Hi & welcome Mutated,

You write that you are concerned about your calcium intake. Like me, you have probably been told since you were a kid, that you need to drink your milk to get calcium. With time, this mantra has been integrated into our minds to the extend where we are no longer aware of the fact that other calcium sources exist. I present to you here a table from the textbook "Nutrition - Second Edition" by P. Insel, R.E. Turner, D. Ross, American Dietic Association, ISBN 0-7637-0765-1.

Foods that provide the Calcium Equivalent of 1 cup (8 fl oz) of Milk:

Almonds, dry roasted 6 oz

beans, pinto 6 1/3 C

beans, red 7 C

beans, white 2 1/2 C

broccoli 2 1/2 C

Brussels sprouts 4 C

cabbage, chinese 1 C

cabbage, green 3 C

calcium-fortified juices 5 fl oz

cauliflower 4 C

kale 1 3/4 C

kohlrabi 3 1/2 C

mustard greens 1 1/3 C

radish 4 1/2 C

rutabaga 2 1/4 C

sesame seeds, no hulls 12 oz

soy milk, unfortified 30 C

spinach 7 3/4 C

tofu, calcium set 1/2 C

turnip greens 1 C

watercress 3 1/2 C

And remember that calcium is absorbed very easily from supplements.

Happy eating

Regards,

Niels

mutated wrote:

SO vegan would mean no milk, cheese and eggs? Right? I hardly eat any cheese plus I hate eggs. So the only thing I would have to give up would be milk which I am not a big fan of but drink to get calcium.

First of all welcome to the forum! Just replace milk with fortified soya milk, I use the sweetened one which taste good.

Thanks for the list exciton!

Thanks for all the replies I am digesting everything you guys have said.

I will come back with more questions soon.

Welcome mutated!

Congrats to you & your wife for deciding on the veg way of life! It truely is healthier, spiritually & physically & environmentally. Embrace it & make it yours in the way that fits for you.