QuestionYou're very perceptive. My doctor is aware of my Vegan diet. And, he found a disturbingly low level of vitamin D about a month ago during a CBC. He has me on a supplement for that. Everything else including B12 is normal.
Do you think this has anything to do with my spare tire?
I had no idea I was to eat that many calories. I've read in some of these weight loss books a person should keep their daily calories to less than 1600. Shows how much I know.
Thanks.
-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Hello,
I've been a Vegan for 19 years now and want to lose my spare tire. I find it strange that I have thin extremities with a beer gut. I thought my diet alone would take care of that but I guess it's not to be. I'm 37 yrs old, 6'1", 169lbs and I believe my doctor said I have 25% body fat. I also exercise for 40 minutes three times a week.
So, for the past week I've been a good boy, eliminating wheat, corn, and soy from my diet just in case I have a food sensitivity that might interfere with my weight loss. It's been a challenge but I'm managing.
I've read a lot about how a person should eat low-glycemic foods to control his blood sugar and prevent unwanted pounds from accumulating on his abdomen. With that in mind, my day to day diets consists of the following:
Breakfast: 1 cup oatmeal (not instant) with 1/4 cup of some kind of nut such as almonds, brazil nuts, or cashews. Also, 1/4 cup of berries.
Lunch: 1 cup cooked grain such as millet ( which I'm going to stop since I found out it was a high glycemic grain), pearled barley, green lentil, etc. 4 cups of a cooked vegetable such as kale, broccoli, lacinata, etc. And, two sheets of nori to give it a bit of a salty flavor since I've also cut that out of my diet.
Dinner: Pretty much a repeat of lunch. I also use a flax seed oil that gives me 14g of fat. The nuts in the moring are giving me 15g of fat. I think this is too much.
What do you think? I have no clue about the pyramid or my pyramid plan for someone like myself. What amount of calories should I consume in a day. How much of those should be fat, carbs, and protein. Please state in grams please.
Thanks a lot.
Answer -
Enzo,
Before you start to make radical dietary changes, is your doctor aware that you have been a vegan for so long? On a vegan diet, it can be hard to get your full RDA of several vitamins and minerals primarily found in animal products. Over a long time, chronic deficiencies can develop... and the 'spare tire' on an otherwise thin person can be a sign of vitamin deficiency. Other signs are 'pins and needles' in your feet, and changes in your tongue. If your tongue has little ridges along each side because it's rubbing against your teeth, or if the surface of your tongue appears smooth, these are signs of glossitis. So my first recommendation is: take a multivitamin that contains about half the RDA of iron. These might be marked as "women's"-usually the men's versions don't contain any iron, since men tend to eat plenty of beef.
Now, what should you be eating? With your stats, you should be eating about 2,300 calories a day. Don't pay any attention to that silly pyramid-even the people who designed it can't figure out what it means.
Fat: At least 50 grams, no more than 112 grams. But since you're eating very little saturated or trans fat, don't be afraid to be at the upper range.
Protein: MINIMUM 86 grams. If you are paying attention to amino acids, using a balanced protein supplement, or getting at least half of your protein from soy, then 86 grams is OK... if not, then you need to eat more.
Carbohydrates: Technically, you don't need to eat any. A good upper goal for a vegan is about 100-150 grams. Watch the glycemic index. Bear in mind that the GI of a food is affected by how it's prepared and what else is eaten at the same meal. Eating some fat and protein slows the emptying of the stomach and lowers GI. For most foods, cooking raises GI, and pureeing/juicing sends GI through the roof (apple juice=horrible, plain baked apples=Acceptable, raw apple=Good). You can also up the GI by eating foods in larger pieces (for example, linguine has a much higher GI than angel hair pasta, even though both are made of the exact same stuff).
Anyway, I don't think your 'tire' has anything to do with being overweight; I really think the most likely explanation is mild, chronic vitamin/mineral deficiency.
Your doctor can also do tests to measure the levels of some essential vitamins in your blood, if necessary.
Melissa
AnswerEnzo,
I'm glad you passed your blood tests! YES, a lack of vitamin D can cause a 'spare tire'... not enough vitamin D means that your body can't absorb any of the calcium you eat, which leads to weight gain. As a side note, if you are taking a vitamin D supplement and a calcium supplement, don't take them together. Your liver needs a few hours to process the vitamin D and get it into position in the cells lining your digestive tract before it's ready to help absorb calcium. So, the calcium plus D supplements in one pill are less effective as taking them separately. You should also take the vitamin D pill with a meal that contains fat.
p.s. I'm sure your doctor also checked to make sure you have enough red blood cells, and he would have told you if it was abnormal... but often a person with too few red cells (because of iron or protein deficiency) will have a normal test result when they are dehydrated. That's because when the lab looks at the blood, they see a small number of red blood cells floating ina small amount of blood-which looks the same as a lot of red blood cells floating lot of blood.
An easy test-go to the mirror, and pull down your lower eyelids. The inside should be red or pink. It shouldn't be pale.
- Prev:Nutrtion after surgery
- Next:Fast Wright Loss For a Model