I must be doing something wrong :(

[VanjaDance]

I have been vegetarian for 7 years and turned vegan 8 months ago.

I started noticing a huge increase in my belly... Which is very bothersome. I am otherwise very fit and muscular.

I wish someone could help me with what I should do differently because I am at a complete loss. I gained about 10 lbs... And it's definitively not muscle.

For breakfast I eat steel cut oats with strawberries and blueberries; lunch is quinoa or lentils with sautéed veggies- same for dinner. Snacks are almonds, apples, etc. I have drastically reduced fruits high in sugar. I eat one avocado/day. Usually I eat approximately 5-6 times per day.

I exercise 6 days/week of weight lifting and about 2 days/ week of jogging. I also dance about an hr/week.

I use raw protein shake, amino acids, glutamine, dim, vitamin c and magnesium, two spoons of coconut oil/day

I also drink about half a gallon of water per day

What should I do to get my six pack back ?!

Help please!

[muchidna]

Count your calories for a few days, see just how much you are taking in

[VanjaDance]

I've been entering the food I eat in a food tracker and it seems that I'm around 2,000 calories per day. Sometimes it's a bit less and sometimes more

[stcalico]

Far too much fat in your diet imo. Nuts, avocados and coconut oil every day - yikes.

 

A a few nuts a day, and an avacodo once a week will more than suffice. Skip the coconut oil - it has calories and not much else to provide you with.

[Think_machine]

Remember that the fastest way to get fatter is to take in calories that you will not be able to work off before your body begins to store them. This can happen with fat, but it mostly happens with SUGAR. Sugar that is not used almost immediately gets stored as fat. So let's say you are eating a large meal, and you have a couple servings of fruit with it. Well, unless your body needs that energy immediately (like you are going to work out RIGHT NOW) then you essentially just gave yourself instant fat pounds. This can happen with fats too, but sugar is the main culprit. You should cut such simple carbohydrates to a minimum. No soda, no sweet juices, only regular fruits. I eat a couple oranges after an grueling workout, and that isn't going to make my belly grow. But if I do it on a full stomach on a rest day, this will cause me problems with fatness. And my body loves to store belly fat too.

[EdensDemise]

i dont think that calories are the problem, you should count the fat, i am like this too because i am such a lover of nuts almonds and dried fruits in general, i am used to eat at least 100gr per day or sometimes even 200gr because i couldnt control myself. but now i think 30gr is more than ok, and yes i have muscles but i stil have a cover of fat in the belly so the only thing is dont use oil and take dried fruits just a bit everyday, and pay attention to dips and stuff like that unless you dont have to make a good training or running after it.

[VanjaDance]

I actually eat a very 'deprived' diet lol. Meaning I don't include a lot of frills in what I eat. For my salads I only use vinegar and a couple of drops of oil... I don't drink soft drinks or sugared fruit juices at all... Nothing fried... And I don't eat too manny sweets - I eat chocolate once per week.

I used to eat 60-70% fruits and the rest was veggies.

Now, it's the other way around.

About 90% of the good I eat is unprocessed.

This is becoming quite a conundrum for me... A very frustrating one....

Thank you all for your pearls of wisdom