Nutrition Plans for a mom and her son

[VeganGirl5]

Hi. I am an almost 44 year old mother of 3 children,ages 6,13, and 16. I have been mostly vegan (with the occasional lapse of ice cream and fettucine) for about 9 years. I have been a runner for 14 years and used to eating as much as I wanted. But, when I hit 40, all of a sudden I couldn't keep the weight off like before. My brother-in-law suggested I shake up my workout routine with P90-X for 3 months to see if that might jump start my weight loss. My 13 year old son wanted to do it with me as he had watched the dvd's and wanted to convert his chub into muscle. We are having fun with the workouts, but the higher protein nutrition part is giving me trouble. My son is just starting to hit his growth spurt. I want to make sure that he is getting all the nutrition he needs to grow, while he thinks he needs to lose a few pounds. I would like to find a plan for him to follow that will meet his needs. I, on the other hand, am trying to lose 15 lbs. and build lean muscle. I would like to find a plan that will help me achieve that goal; especially, losing belly fat. I would appreciate any guidance. (My son keeps to a mainly vegan diet also.)

[Vegan Joe]

http://www.treehugger.com/gorilla-waving-080805.jpg

[beforewisdom]

The book "Becoming Vegan" is written by RDs and covers special nutrition needs throughout the life cycle.

[robert]

Welcome to our group!

 

Explore around the forum and have fun! Lots of cool people are here.

 

All the best and welcome aboard!

[Kenxvx]

Welcome! From my experience, and the experience of my friends who are all endurance athletes your best bet is to drop that dairy. It's doing much more harm than good. I had bad knees, so bad that at 18 years old my doctor told me that I would have arthritis in both of them by 30. Running for me became a real pain and I stopped for a long time. However after I took the final plunge and dropped the dairy, the swelling in my knees disappeared and I began recovering faster than ever after workouts. Recovery is key, and animal based proteins are incredibly acid forming (when broken down in the body they become ammonia and uric acid, which is also bad for your bone density later in life) and can hinder recovery time. Your best bet is to replace them with high protein and calcium rich whole foods with lots of chlorophyll. Good luck!!

[xxJRHxx]

Welcome! Losing body fat is about calories in to calories out as well as a good weight /cardio program. Here is something that I would suggest to help boost your goal.

 

The body is a super computer and the number of calories taken in is very important. The body will store fat if calories are too high and believe it or not, if calories are too low! The key is to be right in the middle. The way I do it is I simply eat when I get the urge and I don't place my body on a eating schedule. Your body will survive with or without you so it's important to let it do what it will does naturally. The lack of calories in a vegan diet can cause many of us to store fat because the body believes there is a shortage of nutrients, so it goes into alarm mode if calories stay low for long periods of time (This is mild, muscle depletion is another thing that could make it impossible to lose fat. It takes muscles to burn fat as you are probaly aware.) So, eat when you have the urge and ensure you are working out moderately.

 

Working the key muscle groups:

Squats (Leg muscles are very calorie demanding and will pull from your storage depot)

Back Rows (Back muscles are another group of muscles that will demand calories)

Chest (Another large group of muscles that will keep pulling from your depot)

 

The pounds should start melting away like that gooey yummy ice cream you occasionally cheat with LOL.

[Rob PMFF]

I really like that picture of the gorrilas.

 

And welcome to you!

[LocalBrada]

Welcome!