Poor Vegetarian BB Diet? I want to gain muscle not lose fat!

[notguilty]

I've been eating a vegan diet for a bit more than a couple of weeks, and it's really so much more expensive than I imagined! I haven't even been sticking to my calories/protein requirements, just eating regularly throughout the day, but I need to be eating even more, which will cost more money. I'm in college and barely make any money through my part-time job, so I really don't have more money to invest in my daily diet.

 

I make a batch of lentil/veggie soup and tofu/veggie stir fry every few days, and eat that for most meals, with some meals being fruit with oats and soy milk, or peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I eat bag salads with the soup and stir fry usually.

 

I only have around 200 dollars to spend on food every month, not including supplements, which I've not started yet. I must be doing something wrong, eating oats and rice should be cheap.

[BlueRose]

Per month, approximate expenses for me:

 

Two shipments of Boston Organic veggies with some bananas per month: ~$60

 

Trips to Whole Foods for my cats and for my bananas, pineapple, almond milk, veggie burgers, Daiya cheese, and occasionally chickpeas, black beans, salsa, and broccoli: ~100-150

 

I buy Vega Whole Meal Optimizer when it's on sale for about $60--and I get the large size. That's included in the WF estimation.

 

Go to Farmer's Markets, buy non-perishables when they're in sale and in bulk. The above prices include enough food for myself and TWO cats per month.

[notguilty]

Our local farmer's market is only open during the summer for some reason. I usually get most fruits, veggies, and common foods from Wal-Mart since it's the cheapest although not organic, and then go to Earth Fare (like Whole Foods) for bulk oats, nuts, rice, etc. How am I spending so much money? I dropped almost 100 dollars while shopping last time, and that was only a week's worth of food, with some things that last a bit longer.

[BlueRose]

Our local farmer's market is only open during the summer for some reason. I usually get most fruits, veggies, and common foods from Wal-Mart since it's the cheapest although not organic, and then go to Earth Fare (like Whole Foods) for bulk oats, nuts, rice, etc. How am I spending so much money? I dropped almost 100 dollars while shopping last time, and that was only a week's worth of food, with some things that last a bit longer.

 

What exactly are you buying, and how much of it? Also, what are you using it for? There are ways to extend the life of veggies by cooking them in multiple meals, having leftovers...heck my veggie casserole I make once and lasts me about 2-3 weeks.

[notguilty]

It varies from time to time. I'm going to revamp a meal plan and count out the protein/calories before my next grocery trip. I make enough soup or stir fry to last about 3 days. I would make more, preferably a week's worth, but I don't have a pan/pot large enough.

[lobsteriffic]

What helps me is to keep a note book with EVERY food item you buy and how much it cost. Do this for a couple of weeks. Then maybe post it up here and we can help you.

 

It's kind of hard to help when we don't know what you are spending all of that money on.

[SimonVegAussie]

to gain weight you need roughly 16-18 kcal/lb of bodyweight. but keep in mind that it's just that - an estimate.

 

Oh man I wish...

I weigh 135-140 and according to that would need to eat 2500 calories, but I can easily mow down 4000+ and not gain a pound.

 

Sigh, I once went on a diet for about 5 weeks where I ate 40g carbs each meal max and nothing else apart from veggies. No protein powders etc. I think I was getting 1400cal's a day and I lost weight at a glacial pace. I went a bit nuts like the guy in that movie the Machinist. It was basically 3% bodyfat or death whichever occurred first. I feel much better now that I am eating about 1800cals a day and weigh 76kg.

 

Before is on the left.... on the right is after a month of my "machinist" diet.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii129/POLARBEAR666/Fitness/BeforeAfter2.jpg