Hi all,

I finally decided to completely cut chicken out of my diet a couple months ago. I felt sadness combined with pride in doing what is right, but also increased concern about my diet. Feedback would be appreciated on it:



Breakfast:
3 oz (dry) of either black beans or a 17 bean mix
3 oz (dry) of lentils.
cooked and eaten without anything else (not so bad after a week)

2 oz of walnuts


Lunch and dinner: about 50 liquid ounces of green smoothie:
25 ounces of mixed greens that have some of the following: spinach, mustard/collard/turnip greens, kale, romaine.
2 bananas (always), 2 more fruits, usually an apple, orange, or peach
About 10 oz of apple juice and 10 of water
One big scoop of plain non-fat yogurt

2 oz of mixed nuts

^I have 2 of those (in other words, a lunch and dinner smoothie)


*I am not a follower of 80/10/10, particularly 10% fats. I think 25% fats is a better target.

I like that I can have lunch and dinner while doing other stuff; it has regulated my energy well and prevented me from wanting to sleep mid day after a big meal. The current diet is easy for me to follow and minimize preparation time to almost zero. I don't seem to crave better tasting food at all so am fortunate there.

I feel good but am concerned that my simple diet is deficient in something. Thanks for any feedback

Looks low in calories to me, have you ran it through a calorie calculator and seen how much the above comes too. I would reckon about 1200 calories from looking at it with the nuts being a significant portion of your calories(nothing wrong with that, just needs more food).

Not that it matters either but breakfast isn't a complete protein, you could boost the calories and nutrients signicantly by pairing with quinoa to complete the protein and add various vits/minerals. If your eating cooked food that is, im just assuming as the beans. Some vegetables probably wouldn't go a miss in this meal also so that it is more rounded nutritionally.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

I forgot to mention! Some days I do feel a bit tired, in which case I eat a bowl of cheerios (dry) or a couple of peanut butter sandwiches. I do it so often now that really it is part of my diet

1,200 calories definitely isn't enough as I'm about 6'2" and 170 lbs.

Yeah from the eye it definitley looks too low in overall calories and probably protein too as a result.

Especially for your height and weight, if you are active even more so.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

I would REALLY cut wheat out of your diet.
I have read so much about it,and how it can cause so much problems in the body.
Bite the bullet and do it,no matter how much you like those cheerios and peanut sandwiches.

Vinny



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 06:08PM by eaglefly.

It looks to me that I'm not lacking calories; if anything I'm getting too much!





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/29/2012 09:08AM by Delta223.

Maybe slightly too much, the peanut butter and the bread add a fair amount of the calories that weren't there originally. Looks like its over-estimating the caloric content of many foods also.

If that is what you eat daily though probably around 2500 calories id suspect which for your height and weight should be normal. Always on the safe side assume they have over-estimated the calories(which is normally the case).

Looks ok other than the cheerios and bread.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Hi, what's the issue with bread? I don't believe I have any gluten allergies

Delta,

Maybe micronutrients? Is that actual weight of 24 ounces of leafy greens twice daily? If you ate more of your carbs as fruit, you'd not need bread or peanut butter, because you'd probably not feel peckish. otherwise I'd say up you satiating fat intake, but you seem to be getting enough cals from that.

I am not officially gluten sensitive either, but I cut it out of my daily diet a few months ago and am amazed at how much better I feel and how much better my metabolism functions. I've had a bit of gluten here and there, at a restaurant, say, and have not felt the devastation that a celiac would feel after eating grains, but have definitely had worse digestion and lessened energy afterward. To my body, anyway, wheat and other milled grains weren't providing any nutrition. I just didn't know it.

Delta223 Wrote:
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> Hi, what's the issue with bread? I don't believe I
> have any gluten allergies

Depends if its white bread or wholegrain and even then i wouldn't suggest it was an optimal food for health, especially in the case of white refined grains which have little to no nutrition and a whack load of carbohydrates. A study recently on white rice showed it increased the risk of type 2 diabetes.

There are better grains if you wish to consume them such as quinoa, buckwheat or brown rice in my opinion of course.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Well everything else in the diet is super clean & nutrient-packed, so really the bread and cheerios are there for when I need the extra energy.

Is Quinoa or Buckwheat available in bread form? Convenience is key here

You diet looks pretty filled with good nutrients. Even without the peanut butter and bread, I saw 2222 calories - 13% protein, 29% fat, 57% carbs. The nutrients were excellent, with only a small deficiency in selenium (perhaps you could eat a brazil nut now and again).

huh 2222 calories

and delta "22" 3

hmmm... interesting

Delta223 Wrote:
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> Hi, what's the issue with bread? I don't believe I
> have any gluten allergies


Personally for us the issue with bread is the same as with all other baked and fried starchy foods (that is high temperature cooked starchy foods) - in the process of cooking they develop acrylamide, and it s a carcinogen, references in the standard wikipedia article.