QuestionQUESTION: i liked your reply from about a year ago to enzo, the 37 y.o., 169lbs man who had been vegan for 19 yrs and was trying to get rid of his "spare tire". i'm 29 y.o., 5'1" and about 130 lbs and i've been vegan for several years. i'm fairly active (long walks and cycling everyday with sparatic weight training) and have kept a steady weight for years, although not ideal. lately i've noticed that i've been putting on weight and when i incorporate more excersize, like running into my routine, i'm not losing weight the way i used to when i was younger. aside from being vegan and making sure i get enough veggies, and vitamins, mostly iron, i've never paid much attention to what i eat. i love food and have a weak spot for sweets, but now i think i'm getting to the point where i'm no longer able to eat whatever i want and as much as i want without putting on a few pounds. i liked the suggestions you gave enzo (50-112 gms of fat per day, minimum of 86 gms of protien, etc.) because they were simple and i think i would be able to follow something like that, but i'm shorter and don't work out as much as he does, so i was hoping you could let me know how much i should be consuming. thank you.
-mary
ANSWER: Mary,
You're right, your numbers should look much different from Enzo's. Activity level, age, and gender all make a big difference. One thing that doesn't change, though, is please make sure that you do take a multivitamin. While it's easy to get 100% of your daily iron from plant sources, the iron tends to go undigested when it's in plant form, and you only absorb about 1/5 as much as from meat.
The other nutrient of concern is B12. There are no plant sources of B12, so vegans MUST take a synthetic B12 supplement. Generally, carnivores store abouta 5 year supply of B12 in their livers, so after switching to veganism, it can take a long time for deficiency to show. When it does, you'll very gradually start to feel tired, lose energy, and lose your ability to exercise. The energy loss happens over years, so it's really not noticeable until it's gone on for a long time.
Here's an estimate of what you should be eating to maintain your current weight, based on averages for your height and age. The grams of protein is based on very high quality protein like soy. If all of your daily protein came from "incomplete" sources, then you'll have to eat a little more to get enough essential amino acids.
Calories: 1400-1800
Protein: 25-75 grams
Fat: 31-80 grams
Carbs: 100-225
Good luck!
Melissa
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: thanks so much for your response. i do often feel tired and lack energy and have attributed that to many factors in my life, but will start taking B-12 vitamins to rule out that one, at least. i realized that in my wordy question i didn't mention a crucial part of my predicament: i would like to lose weight, maybe 10-15 lbs, over the course of 3 months or so, nothing drastic. in that case should i stick to the lower end of the numbers that you gave me?
AnswerMary,
The lower end of each range represents what you need to maintain your current weight on a day when you do not exercise (drive everywhere, sit behind a desk all day, only a little active cooking/cleaning in the evening). To lose one pound per week, you'll want to create a 500 calorie deficit every day by cutting calories or exercising. Be careful, though, to never eat any less than 1,100 calories in a day (meaning that you are going to have to exercise, like it or not). It's not as bad as you think, though-thirty minutes of brisk walking burns 100 calories, and obviously jogging/cycling burn much more. There are lot of online calculators that given your weight, will calculate how many calories you burn doing any given exercise.
And finally, I should point out that 5'1" and 115 pounds, while still in a healthy range, is pretty darn thin. Why don't you try getting to 125 and seeing how you feel? You might find that you've lost a size or so just from toning up.
Melissa
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