Posts by aiming

I haven't been vegetarian for long (only five months) but sometimes, especially at first, I did find myself craving meat.  The delicious smells from the kitchen, the leftovers in the fridge...

However, at this point, most of it smells pretty disgusting to me.  I'll tell myself: what's more important, a brief craving for a certain taste of my ethics?

Maybe up your intake of protein, iron, and B-vitamins, and treat yourself to something fatty.  If it continues, you could also get some blood work done to see if you're deficient in anything.

Original Post by adrianoariganello:

I work shoveling snow all day and sometimes I have to forgo lunch or dinner. I sustain myself with the occasional bottle of water. Afterwords, I just never really build up the appetite again. I'm more concerned about getting some rest at that point. Seems like a protein shake would be the way to go. Sadly, I can't really sit and prepare a meal in those situations.

 What if you prepared your meal earlier in the day, or perhaps late at night before going to bed?

Then, you can take your sandwich, container of pasta, or bag of almonds with you.  You can either munch on this throughout the day or take a ten minute break to eat.  Surely- possible.

Also, I agree with you- switching from plain water to a protein shake, bottle of juice, or energy drink would definetely help get those calories in.

I do, occasionaly.

I adore fruits and veggies, and tea.  No, really.  Brocolli and lettuce and bananas.  All of it.  Yum.  But generally low calorie...

My suggestions?  Indulge on something you've been craving (a bit of icecream, a slice of cake, ect).  Switch from lowfat yogurts and milks to whole fat.  Eat more nuts and nut butters.  Drink some juice. 

If at the end of the day you find you've eaten too little, force yourself to go out and get something more to eat.  Maybe you're not really hungry, but that doesn't mean yourbody doesn't need those nutrients and calories.

(P.S.  Are you recovering from an ED?  Are you sure you're calculating your daily caloric needs correctly?)   

I think that what you really need is reassurance.

Unless you actually see them get on and off the scale, it's impossible for you to really know whether or not your friends are gaining weight.  But, just talking about you, you sound very healthy and very fit- surely better than ripped and on the downturn?

If you're eating at a defecit, excercise (particularly cardio) is going to use some of your hard earned muscles for energy. 

However, I looked through your pictures, and I'm not seeing any problem.  At all.  People tend to be pretty hard on themselves, but let me tell you- you are HOT!  More than ripped.  So don't worry so much. 

I'm 15, measuring in at 65 inches and 115 lbs.

I was naturally pretty thin until about fifth grade... then, between divorce, moving, changing school, step parents, and new siblings my life became pretty stressful.  I turned to food for comfort.

Luckily, I began to hit my growth spurt right about then too.  Otherwise, I would have ended up being waaaay heavier than I did.  I would eat three bagels, each slathered in cream cheese, nearly every day.  Huge bowls of icecream.  Entire bags of chips.  Two or three servings of everything, at every meal.

Eventually it was seventh grade, I was 64 inches... and I was 140 lbs.  Bleck.

I knew nothing about nutrition, but understood the whole eat less / excercise more thing.  I lost weight ever so slowly until last year when, at 125 pounds, I found CC and later went vegetarian.  

Now I'm fousing on maintaining, eating healthier, and getting more excercise!     

Thanks for everyone's concern.

I scored a five on the test nycgirl provided, which I know doesn't prove anything, but is still somewhat comforting.

I've decided to make a concious effort on maintaining/gaining a bit of weight- (peanut butter, anyone?) and ensuring that I always eat no less than my daily burn.

Instead, I'll probably shift to starting a bit of excercise (yes, taking that into account with my daily caloric needs) to help tone up, get healthy, look/feel better...

I've got a doctor's appointment in a month or so; I'll be sure to talk to her then about my worries.  Once again, thanks.  :)

Everyone above has some really good tips.  But in relation to self esteem, I'd like to add some suggestions:

- Everday, make a list of ten thing you like about your body.  They can be silly, small, unusual- as long as they're positive.

- Don't focus on trying to look perfect, or like a supermodel.  Just stive to look  as good as you can right then.  Maybe your hips will always be wide- but that makes you curvy!  Deliciously curvy!

- When you go shopping, don't be afraid to ask friends or store clerks for advice.  Sometimes it's easier for others to judge what you need, rather than yourself.

About a quarter of your daily calories should come from protein- so about 50 to 125 grams per day ought to be enough to help build muscle. 

Overall, about half of your calories should come from carbohydrates.  So generally:  50-65% carbs, 15-30% protein, and 20-30% fat.

How about trying some tofu, or other soy based products?  They're generally pretty high bulk, low calorie protein sources.    Whole wheat/grain foods also contain more protein than plain white bread.

Also, eat low or no fat dairy products- cheese, milk, yogurt...

Try out these links:

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html -good chart of some meat-free protein sources

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/w hat-should-you-eat/protein-full-story/index.h tml -more in depth information about protein and where to get it

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/ highproteinfood.htm -a list of the protein in various sources

http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/prot ein.htm -helps you calculate how much you need

Original Post by driftpsychosis:

• Exercise! Do lots and lots of cardio.
• Eat the right kind of food! Cut down/eliminate anything oily, greasy, fried, sugary and heavily processed.
• Drink enough water! Cut down on other beverages unless you are talking about tea with minimal sugar/sweeteners.
  
• Get lots of sleep! At least seven hours per night for adults. Rest more if you had a long day to regain energy.

Drift is, of course, spot on-  I'd just like to add a thing or two.

Check out this sites calorie-intake tools:  http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-bur ned.php

This should tell you how many calories you burn each day.  Try to eat that much for maitainence, or less for weight loss, though never littler than 1200.  Creating a 500 calorie deficit, whether through exercise or diet, will cause you too loose one pound per week (-500 x 7 = -3500, with 3500 calories to a pound). 

Also, in addition to cardio, which is great for your heart, try some weight lifting or a toning exercise.  This will help you to look sleeker, feel firmer, and of course, be healthier! 

Good luck!

I'm in!

PW:  145

CW:  121 (October 1st)

GW:  115

Be sure to lift smaller, lighter weights, and add some cardio to your workout.  Keep within your calorie limitation and try to eat a balanced diet.

But don't worry.  It's likely that, because you are unused to having much muscle mass, the small changes resulting from your weight lifting have come as a shock.  You're not going to look like Arnold Schawenager without massive amounts of training and effort.

I completely agree ieevee.

The pressure to be better than -or at least the same as- everybody else is ridiculous and overwhelming.  It's very tempting to give in and do unhealthy, dangerous things.

14

5' 6"

123

Imperfect and happy at the same time.  What a novel concept.  ;)

Hey queenmedia- or stats are very close.

I'm also 5'6", but I weigh 123 instead of 121.  I don't excercise much, so it's all fat, and I feel kinda flabby and squishy.  I'd love to be around 115-118 and toned!

I love Gala apples too, though Pink Ladies are my favorite.  Really, I'm good with any apple that's crispy, fresh, and sweet/tart.

Congragualtions guys!  Remember... even a slight loss is still progress.

I'm a lot lighter than I thought I was- but then, my bathroom scale is old and kinda rusty.  We all got weighed in gym today, and according to that scale I'm 124.  Four pounds away from my goal weight!  So close!

I'd have 3+ slices of pizza, bagels, pretzels and cream cheese, massive amounts of chocolate, icecream, cookies, huge muffins...