well I wasnt trying to starve myself..I was just uninformed....now Im here and I can ask questions and get help :)

I agree that you are eating far too few calories per day. I have about 200 calories for breakfast, a 150 calorie snack around 11:30, lunch around 2pm with about 500-600 calories, snack in the afternoon of 100 calories, and then dinner of about 200 calories, and dessert @ 100 calories....I actually find that if I eat a few more calories for dinner...it doesn't hurt my weight loss. I also focus on fiber as well...it really does make a difference, whether through fruits & veggies or through items such as Fiber One Cereal (which I'm not so secretly in love with). I'm rarely hungry throughout my day on this method and if I am, I don't have a problem grabbing a snack.

We know you weren't doing it on purpose. Forgive me if we were a little aggressive in saying you were starving yourself. If there is one thing I hate, it is when people feel like weight loss = deprivation. The greatest news for you - you can eat, and eat WELL, and still lose weight! I hate to see people starving, because you can't live your life starving, and it isn't at all necessary.

Stay here, ask questions, check out FitDay, and keep posting!

Lentils are such a great place to start. I swear, they are the perfect diet food. They are high in fiber and high in protein. You say that your feelings of being satisfied won't last after that soup, but lentils can go for several hours to keep you feeling full.

In addition to calorie counting, I also count fiber grams. If I am under 25 for a day, that is a recipe for unauthorized, late-evening calorie consumption.

Being veggie can make it hard to get the protein you need to lose weight and feel full. The legume family is your friend. Try adding beans to salads, soups and any other place you can think to throw a few in. You don't mention if you also are exercising, but if you are, ya gotta have the protein!

Good luck!

I would definitely bring some nuts with you to work if you can! Or a slice of toast with peanut butter... or even peanut butter and a banana! Scrambled eggs with just a smidge of cheese and some fresh veggies (onions, tomatos, green peppers) with toast would be great for breakfast too! Make sure to get some whole wheat bread. Read the label to make sure there is no enriched flour in it, there will be more calories but it is more filling and will keep you full longer. In fact, I make all of my sandwiches with only one slice. I know Nature's Own makes a few different ones that I rotate between myself! I definitely agree with everyone else here: you should increase your calories. I generally eat between 1500 and 1600, and can lose on that (though if I stop EXERCISING then I will stop losing, which I have done for about the past month or so, so now it's time to kick back into gear ;)

makinthechange, WELCOME!!! I can see from the posts and your responses that you're learning that it's no wonder you were starving on the plan you were on!

There are lots and lots of plans out there. Most of the successes I've seen here have come from plans that allow people to eat good amounts of healthy food. I'm a calorie counter, so that's what I've done, but weight watchers and south beath and other plans could work too. You might have to read about some and find what works for you.

In the meanwhile, take a lot of the suggestions to heart about bringing in more protein and fiber. If you're a vegetarian and like lentils, what about other types of beans? I make a red beans and rice dish that is essentially kidney beans, tomatoes, peppers, carrots and onions and serve it over brown rice. Unlike white rice, brown rice hasn't been stripped of all its nutrients and has more nutrients and fiber.

There's a lot to learn, but I think the first, most important lesson is that you can eat a fair amount of healthy food and still lose weight!

Ive been so misinformed..now Im just not sure what im doing. Im so afraid that if I eat more then Ive been, I wont lose..or Ill fail..or Ill eat to much and not be able to control myself...

sigh

you guys have been a huge help..I need to re-evauluate this whole thing.

Don't be discouraged. We're not trying to be discouraging! It's good news really: more food, less hunger AND weight loss. It's all good. :)

If you're worried about feeling out of control, planning can help. Planning all your snacks and meals in advance allows you to count your calories to make sure you get the right amount, AND it can give you a nice feeling of control over your eating. At any rate, if you emphasize healthy filling foods in your diet, it shouldn't necessarily lead to binging--the opposite, really, because you'll feel more satisfied.

As to whether or not you'll continue to lose weight, that will depend. The meal plan you posted at the beginning is radically low-cal. You should definitely be able to lose on higher cals than that. BUT, you mentioned at one point that you snack on pretzels. Depending on how many pretzels you're having, that may be adding a significant number of calories to your daily intake. There are lots of calculators online to help you to figure out a rough estimate of how many calories you need to lose weight at a safe rate: but, as I said, that will depend on your height, weight, age and activity level. Play around with it. It's an exciting new day in diet-land: no more starvingness!

when you are a vegetarian most of your calories do come from carbs. The carbs she is eatting are perfectly acceptable ( except for the pretzels) the carbs chosen are complex carbs with have a low GI impact, and burn much slower. The problem she has, is she simply isnt eatting enough. I do agree that there needs to be more of a balance between fats, fiber, and protein.. but as vegetarians if you avoided carbs your would starve and die :)

Ready2ShedLBS, doesn't what kind of vegetarian you are make a difference? I have friends who range from vegan to lacto-ovo to fish eater to just non-red-meat eaters.

makinthechange, what type of vegetarian are you?

Jay

Have to agree with Jayell on this one. Which kind of vegetarian you are makes a WORLD of difference. Since she is eating cottage cheese, i assume she is not a vegan. Therefore, she is open to a world of protein. I was a vegetarian and i didnt have my diet consist of mostly carbs. I was/am a veggie freak, nut freak, cheese freak...i had very little carbs actually. Maybe some vegetarians can stay full on an apple or orange...but not me. i would have to have some peanut butter on that, which would make a great addition of protien. And, i dont know, but i think fruit is not THAT great for the glycemic index. My mother is diabetic and she is preached at constantly to never eat a fruit without a protien, to make the sugar in the fruit digest slower.
All i am saying is she needs some fiber and protien and you dont have to live on mostly carbs as a vegetarian. There are a WORLD of "mock" burgers, chicken, hot dogs...all kinds of stuff that have a great deal of protien now days.Tofu is another great one for a vegetarian, 3 carbs, but 12 protien.

hey makingthechange, if you are a vegetarian you might benifit from getting a few cookbooks for diabetic vegetarians. That is what i did when i didnt eat meat...it had some great ideas in it that were healthy and got me used to foods that i didnt even know about before. Or cooking light for vegetarians...but i found the diabetic ones to be a little more to my liking.

I didnt have time to read the whole thread but in a nutshell

I used to be ravenous ALL THE TIME

Eating the way you describe would have just made it worse

Now I have it much more under control

I never ever ever ever ever eat a meal or snack without protein and usually some fat. Fruit by itself for me is an appetite stimulant. An orange means I will be twice as hungry as if I had eaten nothing at all.

Fruit for me is only at the END of a larger meal, never for a snack (except occasionally apples...with cheese or pb.)

10 g fat!!!! that is unhealthy!

I agree with the posters who suggest a diabetic diet for vegetarians. I went the south beach route, which is very similar, but is tough to follow for vegetarians without further help.

I'm so weird. I never get hungry. I am an emotional eater and I eat even though I NEVER and I literally mean NEVER feel hungry. I am counting calories, so I know I am not eating way more than I should, but I don't feel hungry at all, never hungry.

On the good side, I am down my first five pounds, just went below 250 and don't plan on going back. Less than a hundred pounds to go now!!!!

I do have to say about the 10g of fat a day, I went on a fat gram counting program where I could have 20g of fat a day and still dropped 30 pounds and six sizes in two months, so I think 10g is FAR too low. If counting fat grams is how you want to go, check out Joyce Vedral's bikini body book. She has an awesome plan in there for this type of program and I was never hungry on her plan.

I am currently following a vegan, whole foods diet and when I am eating as I should, I'm eating tons of food and I'm feeling pretty stuffed.

I try to eat 2 salads per day, usually with beans but mainly a variety of vegetables.
My snacks generally include fruit and raw veggies
I eat a green smoothie in the morning (vegetables mixed with fruit)
I eat lots of cooked veggies and lots of cooked beans
I eat some starchy vegetables as well

My calorie distribution is somewhere around 70 carbs, 15 fat, 15 protein. My fiber comes out to around 50 grams per day.

If you are eating a lot of high fiber foods, nutrient dense foods and low calorie foods, you can get away with eating a lot of food.

So my recommendation would be just to make sure you are eating a variety of foods and make sure that you are getting the most bang for your caloric buck.