djkristinab Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 of course i love animals, am concerned about the environment, and approve enthusiasitcally of veganism for ethical reasons. however. in my mid twenties, i went on a medication that caused me to gain thirty pounds. i switched meds, and continued what had always been a vigorous workout schedule. i still didn't lose the weight despite working with a personal trainer and sticking to a relatively consistent 1700 calorie a day diet. now, i've been vegan for two months. i still work out 3 to 5 times per week an dinclude HIIT cardio, yoga, and weight training in my regimen. when i started veganism on Jan 2, i was 5'7, and weighted 174 lbs. yesterday i weighed 170 on the exact same scale. i dunno i feel like i should be losing weight at at least a lb a week. i see all these before and after pictures and i wonder how long it took to see a difference? i eat 1600-2000 calories a day, all vegan (duh), no refined sugars, no preservatives, no artificial sweeteners, no hydrogenated oils...i dunno it seems like i should be dropping weight faster, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beforewisdom Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Due to various circumstances I ended up being an over weight vegan,working out at the gym 3 - 4 times a week and not losing no matter what I did. Last year I lost 48 lbs pounds. I didn't exercise that much more and my meals were mostly unchanged. Have you ever followed a budget and became shocked at where your money was going? Writing it down made you aware that you were spending more when you could have sworn you were. It is the same way with eating. If you want to lose weight keep a food diary and count your calories every day. You will be amazed to learn that you are really eating more than you thought you were. There are better systems for doing this sort of thing. I recommend the Hacker's Diet. It is free and it is what I used last year: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/www/hackdiet.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjohanx Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 2000 cals sounds a lot if you are on a diet since that's the normal amount of calories recomended. but sure you move around a lot.i don't really know if you are a dude or a dudette but if you are a girl i would say don't pay too much attention to the scale. girls hormones go like crazy and during the periods girls "bloat up" (the body stores much more water) which makes the scale go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkristinab Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 yep, i keep a food diary. on most days i eat around 1700 cals per day...once in awhile on the weekend it will get closer to 2000. but remember, i'm a chick with 25% bodyfat and i clocked in at 172 lbs only two months ago. sometimes these foods add up to 2000 calories, but i'm not a junk food vegan for sure. no chips, fries, bread, refined sugar, etc for me. i just feel like i should be losing faster. typical day might be: breakfast: fruit1 serving walnuts snack: vegetable samosa lunch:vegan wrap with edamame, whole wheat tortilla, salsa, black beansfruit snack:lara bar dinner:veggie burger patty1/2 sliced avocadosliced tomatovegenaise dessert:smoothie made from lite tofu, dates, unsweetened cocoaORvegan cookie made from applesauce and whole wheat flour instead of margarine/vegetable shortening and white flour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsorlando Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I was pretty much in the same place you are in about a year ago. I was a one year vegan, 160ish, and was eating pretty good, not excellent, but no white flour, sugar, etc. Anyway I finally started losing when I bumped up my workouts to 6 days a week, and watched my diet a bit more. I also added more cardio. And if you're weight training remember that you're gaining muscle. So if you lose weight the scale may not move for a while, that was the tough one for me. But finally it did start to move, and I'm down to 135 pounds and I'm 5 foot 6 inches. Sometimes you can tell your bodies changing more by how your clothes fit anyway. Just don't get discouraged a vegan diet is so much healthier and better tasting than other diets. Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkristinab Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 no no, i'm not thinking of giving up veganism just because i'm not losing weight as quickly as i'd hoped. i am benefitting from it in other ways for sure. and yes, i have gained a lot of muscle tone that is finally starting to peek through. and i know the scale doesn't mean everything but it's hard not to feel demoralized when i eat nothing but plants and whole foods and the scale is hovering close to 170! but true, i haven't been doing as much cardio as i'd like cause it's the week before finals (i'm a grad student still working on my coursework.) i'll add more cardio when this is over and see what happens..- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I'm roughly 120lbs lighter than I was when I first turned vegan and I've always been in control of my weight...the key to doing this is having time. You "NEED" low intensity training to lose weight. Nothing beat is. You can run for 20 minutes with a HR of 170 or you can run for an hour with a HR of 140...the running for an hour will beat you up less...you'll burn more calories and you'll be able to do it again at the same intensity the next day. Maybe even do the same intensity for a longer period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oselifer Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Also i would recommend you to stop eating late..6pm is a good time to have your last meal...And take most of the calories in your breakfast..I think this will help a lot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beforewisdom Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 (edited) No matter what popular diet book authors say or what their followers who desparatley want to believe, weight control always comes down to energy in versus energy out. If you want to lose weight and you are not then you are taking in too much energy ( calories ) for your needs. You can either increase your energy expenditure, lower your energy intake or ideally, do both. A 250 calorie deficit ( http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-200-calories-look-like.htm ) a day will let you lose 1/2 pound a week, 2 pounds a month or about 25 lbs over a year. This amount ( or double ) is quite painless to do and can be done with consistent record keeping of what you eat. No matter what you do, when you lose weight you will lose some muscle. To help insure you arrive at your goal weight looking tight, toned and with a minimum ( if any ) loose skin/flab lose no more than 1 pound a week AND exercise. Losing at no more than this rate will also increase your chances of keeping it off. Edited March 13, 2008 by beforewisdom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 No offense to your current personal trainer (without speaking to them in person I don't know their reasoning for why they put you on the program they did). But in most cases of weight loss, I have found the biggest issue is in diet, diet, diet! Looking at your sample day I would have you on less calories and less fat, as well as higher protein. 1700 calories is too high for a female who is 5'7" IMO. I haven't seen you training schedule as far as weights go, but that may need tweaking as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieprincess Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I gave you some fat loss tips on my journal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkristinab Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 four to five pounds lost in two months is 20+ lbs a year...i guess i shouldn't be so impatient! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I have roughly a 1500-3500 calorie deficit every day depending on my training. This is an every day thing for me. I've basically been the same weight for almost two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcina Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 2000 cals sounds a lot if you are on a diet since that's the normal amount of calories recomended. but sure you move around a lot.i don't really know if you are a dude or a dudette but if you are a girl i would say don't pay too much attention to the scale. girls hormones go like crazy and during the periods girls "bloat up" (the body stores much more water) which makes the scale go up. Looool I'm sorry but this made me laugh. But yeah, it's true. I probably retain like a pound of water but only for a day or so. Stay away from salty foods and do lots of stretching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjohanx Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 a pound isn't that much. i have female friends who say that they can put on 4lbs when they have their periods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I can put on 4lbs when I drink a smoothie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggieprincess Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 a pound isn't that much. i have female friends who say that they can put on 4lbs when they have their periods. yup. 2 to 4 lbs is about normal. My clients still won't listen to me when I tell them this though... they still want me to give them more bicep curls ... I tell them to lay off the soy sauce and get their butt out the door to do some more cardio and hide the scale til the evil cycle passes. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcina Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 a pound isn't that much. i have female friends who say that they can put on 4lbs when they have their periods. Ya but I'm mini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I can put on 4lbs when I drink a smoothie of course vp has a 4 gallon smoothie cup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I've had two very large smoothies today...and I'll have another by the end of the day...at least 10lbs in total. Of course that means lots of bathroom trips too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djkristinab Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 i mean, i usually am at around 1600-1750 but i figured i'd fess up to the 2000 calorie balances that i reach once in awhile in the weekends. salt is probably key for me. you know what's weird is that a couple days after i posted this, i felt brave enough to try on a pair of jeans that haven't fit me in a couple years--since before i gained weight on that evil medicine--and they fit! a little snug, ok, but i haven't been able to put so much as one leg in them for a while now. i think you guys are all onto something re: salt, not eating late, being patient, and reducing my fat intake. oh and my bf has been inspired and told me last week he was transitioning into being vegan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Great news dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beforewisdom Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 iyou know what's weird is that a couple days after i posted this, i felt brave enough to try on a pair of jeans that haven't fit me in a couple years--since before i gained weight on that evil medicine--and they fit! a little snug, ok, but i haven't been able to put so much as one leg in them for a while now. I lost 48 pounds over the course of last year. I had similar experiences with old clothing in back of my closet. That is one of the best feelings ever. It should have its own name, something "farfigfitting" or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcina Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I lost some weight too and can fit into my old jeans. I'm so happeee!! Course all my big pants don't fit anymore.. Like my cargo jeans. At least I got a belt collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 My old clothes double as blankets now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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