I had some health issues–ok fat issues last Dec. I gained 15 lbs in a matter of weeks. I have not been able to get it off. I took the green smoothie challenge because I wanted to lose weight. I lost 3 lbs, got down to 153 (I am 5’7”). I started jogging in the mornings and when I say jog, I mean serious fast walk. I continued strength training with a personal trainer three times a week (I have been doing this for over 3 years) and taught yoga twice a week. I continued to eat whole food, plant-based protein (healthy vegan) thinking eating so healthy would eventually lead my body to finding its groove and being healthy, sexy, curvy and svelte on its own. I weighed in yesterday at 156.6 (no it is not muscle, but bless your heart for thinking it).
I logged my food yesterday. I am seriously back in reality.
Yesterday’s stats—average day—maybe a little low (LOL!)
| Calories | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Sugar | Fiber |
| 2670 | 67 | 136 | 336 | 109 | 61 |
Good fiber though! If you have never had to count calories before (then I kind of hate you), but for reference, for my height and activity level, to maintain my weight I shouldn’t eat more than about 1800 claories/day.I have been eating almost 1000 extra calories/day. It takes 3500 to make a pound.
My brain kept telling me” just because it is vegan doesn’t mean I can eat all I want.” I just pretended I couldn’t hear my stupid brain.
I am not chasing skinny (I try not to anyway) but I can’t fit into any of my clothes, I have been wearing leisure suits for 6 months—not a good look. I can’t afford to buy new clothes every 6 months and if I keep eating this much food that is reality. I constantly feel these 15 lbs. Every morning I wake up with a sore back, my workouts are harder, my yoga belly looks like fat Buddha and it hurts to stuff myself into “going out” clothes.
The plan until I drop this miserable fat-baby:
- no dieting, just calorie budgeting (I will log my food so I know what I have spent)
- continue my regular workouts
- cardio at least 4 times/week
- Share my weekly progress and stats with you
Now for the recipes I want to share with you (this may provide a clue to the appearance of the fat-baby)
Chocolate Mousse
I tried to make Erika’s chocolate mousse recipe–disaster. I used silken tofu and the consistency, even after several hours of refrigeration, was liquid. Worse, it tasted and smelled like really cheap vodka—Andrew said it tasted like medicine. Threw that out and tried again with firm tofu. Consistency and taste was better, but still not quite there. I did some concocting and wa-la, better yet, Andrew approved!—next time I make it I am going to try and cut down on calories and fat (starting with the coconut cream).
Better than Veggie Grill Chocolate Mousse (Andrew Approved)
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 package Firm Tofu
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup or evaporated cane juice
¾ cup chocolate chips
¾ cup chocolate soy or almond milk
Cream topping ingredients
2 (14 oz) cans regular coconut milk chilled 4-12 hours
1/3 cup vegan powdered sugar (I powdered evaporated cane juice in my vitamix)
Method
1. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.
2. In a medium bowl, blend tofu until completely smooth.
3. Mix in sweetener, coconut cream, vanilla extract, chocolate soy milk, and cocoa powder. Add the melted chocolate and mix until smooth. Mix in most of the cream topping (saving enough for a little dollop on top, or to layer)
4. Transfer to a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours.
Cream Topping
In a separate bowl skim the top, thick part of the coconut milk from the can, discard the remaining liquid, add 1/3 cup vegan powdered sugar and whip for about 20 seconds
Seriously, this is one you can serve at fancy parties!
|
Calories |
Protein |
Fat |
Carbs |
Sugar |
Fiber | |
| Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened | 124 |
11 |
7 |
29 |
1 |
18 |
| Firm, Tofu |
470 |
51 |
28 |
14 |
0 |
7 |
| Coconut Milk, Regular |
1200 |
10 |
110 |
20 |
20 |
0 |
| Ch Almond Milk (Almond Breeze) |
60 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
| Organic, Dehydrated Cane Juice |
450 |
0 |
0 |
90 |
90 |
0 |
| Chocolate dream chocolate chips |
400 |
5 |
20 |
50 |
40 |
5 |
|
Total: |
2704 |
78 |
168 |
199 |
146 |
31 |
|
Per serving |
676 |
19.5 |
42 |
50 |
37 |
8 |
Still going to have this for a treat, after I loose the fat-baby.
Breakfast Quinoa
Had some left over Quinoa and decided to find a recipe for a breakfast something or other. I found a recipe at this blog http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/04/breakfast-quinoa/ (seriously funny blog) made a few changes. Here is my recipe
Coconut Milk Breakfast Quinoa
serves 1
1 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cup canned lite coconut milk + more for drizzling
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + more for sprinkling
pinch of salt
1 banana, chopped
1 T toasted pecans, chopped
2 tsp coconut sugar
1 T chopped dried cranberries
2 Tbs Natures Path pumpkin seed granola
Combine quinoa, coconut milk, cinnamon and vanilla in a small saucepan and simmer until coconut milk is combined. Add the rest of the stuff.
| Calories | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Sugar | Fiber |
| 578 | 13 | 33 | 62 | 16 | 10 |
Good Clean Food 
Oh Carolyn, I wish I could say we can eat whatever vegan foods we want! Imagine if you had been consuming nearly 2700 calories of normal food daily instead of vegan food. Seriously would have more then 3 lbs of gain. Vegan food does allow you to eat more because of the fiber count, it’s just about the right foods. Read Eat to Live again….. I had to do it as well. Sometimes we just need a re-boot. (Especially me, I’m an emotional eater).
I was extremly shocked I was eating that much, I didn’t start out that way, but replaced my old bad habits with new ones, thinking they wouldn’t get me. Good thing is I have friends like you to kick my butt and get it off.
I hear you, I think we all do it!
Get all sugar out of your diet and cut way back on fat and the pounds “should” leave. 🙂 As someone who is very hypoglycemic, I truly feel that sugar is evil.
Thanks Carrie. Do you use any type of sugar? I have been exploring with coconut sugar and I try to sweeten with dates or cane juice as much as possible.
Hi Carolyn,
I’m new here but I want to say firstly, I love this blog. It’s great for inspiration in so many ways. Secondly, regarding sugar. Start replacing what you are using with Stevia. It’s natural, easier to digest and better for your system. Try and reduce your overall sugar intake (which is really hard I know as I’m a fatty) but I reckon you’ll slim down really fast. A great website for more inspiration regarding sugar levels is http://www.eatingacademy.com I’ve been reading his ideas, adopting some, leaving others. But I reckon he’s hit the mark with added sugar is kinda evil, if you can replace it with natural sugars (bananas, berries or stevia) then it’s easier on your body.
Good luck!
I actually feel a lot better about things now I have left la la land. I will get it under control. Good idea to read eat to live again.
If you are eating primarily vegetables, it’s very hard to gain. He’s onto something and it’s not rocket science 😉
but I love chocolate Mousse and nuts, I love nuts
It’s so nice to know that there’s somebody else in the same boat. Yes, I mostly eat pretty healthy, but I eat a LOT of it. Also, french fries and popcorn are vegetarian, and they are totally my downfall each afternoon. And I’m tired of only being able to wear a very small portion of my closet. Maybe I’ll join you in tracking calories.
I think it is the only way I am going to get it under control
I use a service called dotfit.com because I get it as part of my gym package, it does cost/month, but I like it, it already has a lot of food in the list. Vegan food is so new to it I end up “building” a lot, which is one of the reasons I didn’t track sooner, it took forever to get the food in.
Keeping track of what you are eating is a huge help. If it’s right there in front of you, it’s much easier to see the problem. I am an emotional eater also, which I am working on. One of my other problems is that I’ll often do really well during the day – salads, juice, smoothies, fruit, etc… And then i think about how well I’m doing, then I’m starving at 8 or 9 pm, and then since it’s late and i don’t feel like preparing anything good, I end up eating things that undo all of the good that I did during the day… Or even if it’s healthy, I eat too much too late since I didn’t eat enough during the day. Balance, balance, balance. And you might want to cut down on the coconut milk – too much saturated fat isn’t a good thing, even if people are saying that coconut is a miracle food right now…..
Late at night KILLS me! It helps me if I plan my food for the day in the morning. I don’t actually use that much coconut milk, the recipes I posted this week are the first time I have used it in months.
I love how you – and Somer and the other women on this blog – are so honest! Everyone thinks vegans are super-skinny, but I’ve experienced weight gain as a vegan too! To me, being vegan is all about celebrating life and good vegan food is a part of that!
Yeah, I still plan to celebrate just maybe not so much LOL. Since I have been tracking (a whole 4 days) I am keeping my calories under control but still eating a TON of vegies from my garden since they are so low in calories.
Took me a long time to appreciate that there is nothing wrong with being thin if fit comes first. To that end, try a raw breakfast, get little snacks of almonds in twice a day, and keep food really, really simple. Vegetables with vegetables and vegetables with grains. Watch portion size. Get in a 30 minutes quick walk every day. Feel the sun. Remember the all-important water with lemon. This has been my magic bullet and it is so very simple and yields great results. I invite you over to veganchopnchat.com to check out my recipes and other inspiration! Best to you as you travel on your Path…
check on most of the tips you listed, but I have forgotten about lemon water, I did it regularly years ago but stopped. Do you just add lemon to all your water? I am also going to write your list down and keep it with me–every little reminder helps.
If there’s lemon in the fridge, there’s lemon in my water. I find it a great daily little cleanse…good for skin, breath. When I run, usually it is the filtered and put in my little bottle. Also, I love those big Tervis cups from Bed Bath and Beyond. They hold cold or hot. And…it is a great visual that you are having your water! And…they fit just right in the cupholder in my jeep. Little things! I am going to post a nice, cold broccoli salad today…be sure to stop over.
I have been putting lemon in my water every time I fill up. I have the Contigo “sippy” cup from Costco, LOVE them, they hold 24 oz. Looking forward to the broccoli salad. I need something new.
You should dramatically reduce the fat. Don’t worry about the sugar for now. Per gram, fat has nine calories, more than double the four calories per gram of sugar. Your daily total you posted was over 45% calories from fat, more than the Standard American Diet. Vegan or not, calories are calories, and the body will store any excess fat calories effortlessly. Both recipes you posted were over 50% calories from fat. Humans need less than 10%. Don’t be misled by “healthy fats”, the nutrients you find there you can easily find elsewhere in a more healthful, lower calorie package. For instance, that lite coconut milk is still 90% calories from fat, almost of it saturated. I highly recommend Dr. John McDougall’s new book The Starch Solution, where he devotes an entire chapter explaining how a fat vegan is possible. For a free and shorter version read his newsletter article here: http://drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl/mar/passionate.htm
Also very helpful is the research on calorie density, and no one is better than Jeff Novick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gTLpTq1nQk
Good Luck!
Although I didn’t eat the chocolate Mousse, I still shouldn’t make something like that for Andrew either. I had not idea what the fat content was until I figured out the nutritional information. Really crazy thing is, I know this stuff, I just forgot for a little while.
Great advice! I think vegans are crazy about coconut oil at the moment. I love it, but primarily as a skin moisturizer. I try to use very little oils if any at all in my cooking. 😉
You. Can. Do. It. Starting a 2 week post-vacation cleanse on my end. Join me! 🙂
What are you doing for the cleanse? I have done well this week, logged food everyday. That is key for me–I have to be mindful and budget my calories.
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i really love almond milk because it also imparts some supplements and trace minerals in our body. ”
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