Fruit and Veggies increase

[yessy21]

I have started my Fruit and veggie increase today! Im excited and extremely motivated. i am 5'1 165 pounds and im trying to go back to 130 or at least 125. i was doing P90x and it works! i loved it. but i noticed i was getting too muscular and i didnt like that. i only do it twice a week to tone myself out a bit. My goal is to digest more veggies and fruits than anything else. that means cutting out red meat. fish and chicken will be eaten only twice a month. For breakfeast today i had, 2 bananas and 1 pear. then i had another banana, for lunch i had pineapple pieces, and an apple. dinner is going to be corn and tomatoe slices.

 

i am not trying to just eat fruit and veggies, Im trying to train my body to eat healthier than ever, i plan on doing this for the rest of my life.

 

I wont lie... although im not in the slighest hungry i do crave a double cheesburger, plain with mac sauce and maybe 2 apple pies. (sigh) but i know that if i give in i will slowly gain more weight within the years and put my health at high risk.

 

Wish me luck!

[iris219]

Congratulations on wanting to lose weight and eat healthier.

 

Right now, however, your diet isn't very balanced or satisfying. You need to add some protein (doesn't have to be animal sources) and fat.

 

You probably want to start doing some cardio in addition to the twice a week strength training.

[pink_sugar]

I definitely agree with the above poster. I'm 5'3" at 125 pounds...was 153 at my highest and I know how you feel about adding unnecessary muscle. I've been walking quite a bit and using public transportation, so I'm getting plenty of exercise in those areas. A diet of strictly fruit and veggies will not be a realistic diet to stick to. I've found that moderation is key. I monitor the amount of carbs I have throughout the day, limit red meats...stick to light meats and seafood and make sure I get plenty of fruits and veggies in. Maybe some oatmeal in the morning, a salad for lunch and whole wheat veggie pasta for dinner? Maybe a small treat for dessert such as sugar dusted fresh raspberries or strawberries?

[M30USA]

Congrats on your new diet changes.

 

What I find interesting is that increasing fruits/veggies is the dietary treatment for almost every health malady. Have heart disease? Fruit and veggies. Arthritis? Fruit and veggies. Gastrointestinal disorders? Fruit and veggies (with a few exceptions).

[austyre]

yep fruit and veggies is the way to go quite simply really eat more simply foods your body can process it more easily eat as much as you can in regards to fruit and veggies if you want protein nuts and seeds also believe it or not grapefruit is pretty high in protein , a good source for some fat would be avocados or olives:) been eating this way for the last 8months pretty much gave up on meat but still eat chicken and fish maybe once a month

 

cheers

[yessy21]

I heard the first day is the hardest. aint that the truth, i had to sit and watch my hubby eat rice and ribs. i wont lie i went to bed a little hungry. i had my corn and tomatoes and some red beans but by the time it was 9 pm my stomach was grumbling. enough to give me a headache. but im not giving up. i need to get my body used to the healthy stuff.

[yessy21]

one of the reasons i dont want to add muscle right now is because then i will look like a football player. i will loose my femininity. (sorry if mispelled)... the lowest i have ever been is 135 pounds. i have always been thick and muscular in my legs.

[iris219]

I heard the first day is the hardest. aint that the truth, i had to sit and watch my hubby eat rice and ribs. i wont lie i went to bed a little hungry. i had my corn and tomatoes and some red beans but by the time it was 9 pm my stomach was grumbling. enough to give me a headache. but im not giving up. i need to get my body used to the healthy stuff.

 

Of course you were hungry. You barely ate anything! Your way of eating right now is going to be very hard to maintain. It's boring and unsatifying, and setting you up for failure. If I only ate corn and tomatoes for a meal, I'd be pigging out on those ribs soon after.

 

Why do you have to get your body used to healthy food? You make it sound like it's going to go into shock or something. The best approach is one that you can maintain for a lifetime.

 

As a woman you don't have the muscle mass to ever look like a football player.

[yessy21]

Ive seen women that look like football players. Trust me...its possible.

And i had bean soup last night also. it looked like a big meal. i got full rather quickly, it just didnt hold for very long. today i feel much better. ive had an apple, bananas, more bean soup, a pear and green grapes.

 

After so much fast food.... and junk... my body have become sluggish, i am exhausted all the time. i wasnt used to eating anything so fresh. so i have to get my body used to eating the fresh healthy foods. and my body wont go into shock it will just not work properly internally.

[Enema]

Your diet sounds terrible. So many carbs, no fat and no protein.

 

Also, I think you have a huge misconception about how easy it is to "get too muscular" and look "like a football player". You "should" be trying to add muscle if you want to lose weight and be "toned".

 

So many things to quote, this thread induces a lot of exasperated head shaking.

 

Where did you get your (mis)information from?

[FitChick]

You will feel very weak and shaky without more protein. Eat Greek yogurt, have a big veggie omelet. I just had one for dinner -- one whole egg beaten with 1/4 c egg whites in a carton, a pile of chopped veggies that I had sauteed in coconut oil first. Let that cook slowly, covered, and once it was set, sprinkled 1/4 c shredded lite Mexican cheese from Trader Joe's. I feel stuffed and satisfied and it was low calorie. I had yogurt for dessert.

 

If you don't want to be muscular, do light weight, high rep endurance style workouts. Do pilates or yoga.

[ErosOcean]

I commend you for taking a very important step to improving your health! But I think you could use some help with a cookbook so that way you can have some filling foods for your cravings. The Happy Herbivore cookbook (there's a Happy Herbivore blog as well) has plenty of healthy plant based recipes which you can use. Includes recipes for desserts!

 

I also noticed the comments here that are misinformed about protein, carbs, and fat. Just eating a balanced meal of whole plant based foods of veggies, fruits, grains, and legumes will give you all the protein you need. And the high carbs of fresh plant foods is not bad for you. Natures natural carbs is good. Processed and refined carbs are bad. Since plant foods excluding nuts are low in fat and cholesterol it will help you to lose weight and lower your blood cholesterol levels.

[Imported]

I do the ice cream diet sometimes. You can eat all the ice cream you want, but only Hagaan Dazs coffee ice cream. I think the way they churn it makes it impossible to actually have any of the calories stick on you'and the super coincentration of coffee'flavoring found only in Hagaan dazs has a fat burning effect, so don't worry about what the nutrition label says.

[tman666]

I do the ice cream diet sometimes. You can eat all the ice cream you want, but only Hagaan Dazs coffee ice cream. I think the way they churn it makes it impossible to actually have any of the calories stick on you'and the super coincentration of coffee'flavoring found only in Hagaan dazs has a fat burning effect, so don't worry about what the nutrition label says.

 

lololololol.

 

OP, ur diet needz moar of teh proteinzz.

[yessy21]

Your diet sounds terrible. So many carbs, no fat and no protein.

 

Also, I think you have a huge misconception about how easy it is to "get too muscular" and look "like a football player". You "should" be trying to add muscle if you want to lose weight and be "toned".

 

So many things to quote, this thread induces a lot of exasperated head shaking.

 

Where did you get your (mis)information from?

 

 

I read and looked up videos of progression and testimony from people and thats what made me want to try it.

 

Beans carry protein and so does mushrooms. there was a woman that was on a raw fruit and vegetable diet for 4.5 years and she went on to look amazing and not only that she said her body felt better than ever.

[yessy21]

You will feel very weak and shaky without more protein. Eat Greek yogurt, have a big veggie omelet. I just had one for dinner -- one whole egg beaten with 1/4 c egg whites in a carton, a pile of chopped veggies that I had sauteed in coconut oil first. Let that cook slowly, covered, and once it was set, sprinkled 1/4 c shredded lite Mexican cheese from Trader Joe's. I feel stuffed and satisfied and it was low calorie. I had yogurt for dessert.

 

If you don't want to be muscular, do light weight, high rep endurance style workouts. Do pilates or yoga.

 

 

FIT CHICK>>. thank you. i am going to try this tonight. If you have anymore easy to whip up meals would you please message me with them! i have already googled a couple of things that are easy and ready

[yessy21]

I commend you for taking a very important step to improving your health! But I think you could use some help with a cookbook so that way you can have some filling foods for your cravings. The Happy Herbivore cookbook (there's a Happy Herbivore blog as well) has plenty of healthy plant based recipes which you can use. Includes recipes for desserts!

 

I also noticed the comments here that are misinformed about protein, carbs, and fat. Just eating a balanced meal of whole plant based foods of veggies, fruits, grains, and legumes will give you all the protein you need. And the high carbs of fresh plant foods is not bad for you. Natures natural carbs is good. Processed and refined carbs are bad. Since plant foods excluding nuts are low in fat and cholesterol it will help you to lose weight and lower your blood cholesterol levels.

 

 

Thank you! Yes i read about the legumes and the good carbs and protein that most fruits have. and avocados have healthy fat also. As a matter of fact mostly of what i have read is pretty much sums to that we dont need to eat processed foods. we choose too.

[Imported]

I eat lots of fruits and veggies, but I always buy in bulk at Costco and stuff just gets less than fresh pretty fast in the fridge where I still will eat it, but it is not as aesthetically pleasing to me or as tasty. As well as to the point where I just have to toss it out. Got this to hold all my salad mix in instead of leaving it in the bag

 

Amazon.com: Progressive International LKS-06 Lettuce Keeper: Kitchen & Dining

 

and a few of these to hold other veggies and fruits

 

Progressive International Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Keeper: Amazon.com: Kitchen & Dining

 

Everything stays very nice for a lot longer. I rarely have to toss anything out now.

[Tenacity]

Wow, if that vegetable keeper really works it will be a lifesaver for me. I eat mostly lean meat and vegetables and complex carbs. I find that I end up buying more fresh produce at the supermarket than I can end up eating... even though I eat a lot of it. Now I mostly buy lettuce, fresh mushrooms, asparagus, and maybe whatever other produce is on sale.

 

I am 5'6" and 127 right now - female and medium bone structure. I really love the IDEA and thought of eating so many vegetables but I have to admit that after a few weeks, just the thought of eating vegetables by themselves is no longer appealing. Salads not so much. Wish I could get past that. It seems that frozen veggies don't lead me to that same feeling for whatever reason.

 

I have just started on a weighlifting (not bulk building) regimen along with the cardio workout. I would like to lose another 5 or so pounds and convert some to muscle.

 

I eat a lot like the previous posts which I read (I didn't read all of them) but described omelets with one egg and added egg white with veggies and a bit of low fat cheese. That's my breakfast most days. You do need to get enough protein and your carbs should not be deficient but should be in the form of low glycemic/high complex carbs such as vegetables, whole grain, etc. I also eat Greek yogurt for high protein snacks.

[betterdeal]

I've been increasing my fruit and veg, and reducing processed food and red meat and feel for better for it. Herbs and spices have been key in keeping it interesting, as has variety. Try different root vegetables like beets, sweet potato, parsnips, and different greens like kale, spinach, broccoli, and not being completely strict about it. Your preferences will change naturally over time, hopefully and you'll crave that burger less and less :-D

[Tenacity]

Wow, I just read the OP. Pears, apples, pineapple, and bananas? OMG....

 

You need to talk to a dietitian. Fish or chicken no more than twice a month? Who on earth told you that?

 

You need a diet high in lean protein and vegetables with fiber (certainly not bananas and pineapple multiple times a day!) I didn't read some posts in between so I hope you figured this out.

[Tenacity]

Okay, I just read all of these posts and I am very worried for you.

 

From your post title (increase in fruits and veggies) I took it to mean that you would still be getting the other nutrients needed in any diet. But what it really meant was FRUIT (and virtually no vegetables that I can see in your posts so far). As in, three bananas (in one day!!), green grapes, apples, pears, pineapple, etc and that's it! I don't see any vegetables at all in your diet (except corn - which is a high carbohydrate starchy vegetable with basically no nutritional value).

 

The fruits that I mentioned in the last paragraph - the ones you are eating every day - actually carry very little nutritional value in relation to their high fructose and carbohydrate level. Just because they are "natural" does not make them "healthy". Your body does not in fact know the difference between a bunch of green grapes (fructose) and a chocolate bar (sucrose) in terms of the carbohydrate load you are giving it, and the nutrients found in that fruit are negligible.

 

That doesn't mean you should not eat fresh fruit... it just should be a minor part of your daily diet, not the major constituent!

 

I do not eat apples, melon, grapes, pineapple, bananas, or any of those high carb high fructose load fruits at ALL. They aren't needed in a diet, frankly. I eat the occasional citrus fruit (but even then, the leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and spinach give those nutrients along with antioxidants, with far less sugar load). And I eat berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries). From those you will get important antioxidants as well as vitamins - but eat them in moderation!

 

You need protein in your diet, and you are getting nowhere near enough. A bowl of bean soup here and there is not doing it. I think one poster in this thread stated that if you eat enough veggies and fruit you will get enough protein. This is NOT true for most people... most people who are vegetarians take active efforts to get enough protein in their diet.

 

You also need healthy fats. You need a certain percentage of healthy (preferably) fat and protein in your DAILY diet or you will lose muscle mass and soon your health will suffer - your immune system, all of it.

 

Healthy sources of fat include avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, but you will also get some fat from your sources of protein which should be lean and should include (every DAY!!!) fish/seafood, chicken/poultry, lean dairy (low fat cheese/cottage cheese, greek yogurt). If you choose a total vegetarian diet, there are ways to get the daily required protein in, but you have to actively build it in (not just a bowl of bean soup!).

 

PLEASE talk to a dietician. I don't know who told you this was a healthy diet, but you are on the way to disaster if you keep this up.

 

I do know what I'm talking about - I am a physician who works primarily with patients with Type II diabetes and their dieticians. You may think this just applies to people with diabetes, but I can tell you that most people in this country need to be on a diabetic diet. I am, and I am not overweight or remotely diabetic. It's just a healthy diet. It is based on low fat sources of protein, high fiber and low glycemic sources of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats, and it meets daily nutritional requirements and you can do this diet while avoiding almost all processed foods -- so it's completely natural and involves whole foods that are good for you!

Edited December 2, 2012 by Tenacity

[emilywtf]

Try a website like sparkpeople.com. You can use their fitness and meal trackers to give you an idea of how much you should eat, what nutrients you need, and a good range for calories you should be burning.

 

I lost 100lbs using their meal plan and exercise suggestions. My nutritionist and personal trainers recommended them and I am glad I followed their advice.

[threebyfate]

Fruit has fructose (sugar) which converts to fat if not burned off. Reduce the amount of fruit intake and replace some of it with lean proteins.

 

If you're consuming refined grain or rice products, replace with whole grains.

[soccerrprp]

First of all, all living things have protein. But, yes for best protein, stick to vegetative forms like soy, nuts, etc. It doesn't hurt to add some dairy forms like whey protein isolate to add to milk shakes, etc.

 

Good luck.