I am trying to gain weight, and knowing what to eat and when to eat it is difficult for me as I am a vegetarian. I prefer to work out late at night around 9:00 PM. Do you have any tips on when to eat and what to eat?
– Hailey P.
When to eat is a matter of your hunger and routine. Your late exercise schedule offers an opportunity there. If you don’t already consume a post-workout recovery shake, doing so can add a couple hundred calories before you end your day. Try an Orgain® Vegan Organic Nutrition Shake, an OWYN™ Vegan Plant-Based Protein shake, or a Garden of Life Organic Protein Plant-Based Drink. Foods and snacks are fine, but a liquid beverage is quick and delivers nutrients to support immediate muscle repair and synthesis.
High calorie vegan items include canned coconut milk, nut butters, tahini, sweet potatoes, avocados, oats, soybeans, dried fruit and most tortillas. Lacto/ovo vegetarian choices also include cheese, yogurt and eggs. Don’t forget about adding calories through condiments like pesto, hummus, vinaigrettes, marinara, and vegan mayo.
You’ll want to incorporate at least one high calorie food each snack and meal. There are so many high calorie dishes you can create on a plant-based diet! Breakfasts suggestions are banana-nut pancakes made with almond milk, chia seed pudding or avocado toast. Lunch and dinner options include butternut squash ravioli with pepitas, meatless chili with cornbread, and coconut curry with tofu, noodle and veggies.
– Debbie J., MS, RD
Disclaimer: Author is an Orgain® Brand Ambassador and has received product samples.
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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With so many sources offering nutrition advice, it’s hard to know what’s true. Even factual information can become distorted by the time it reaches you. Like a game of telephone, the message often changes as it’s passed along. Here, we debunk 5 common diet myths to...
Eating the right foods before a workout can make a significant difference in your performance and recovery. The goal is to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at its best while minimizing muscle damage. Here’s a guide on what to eat before a...
If you’re careful with your nutrition, working out weekly, and still experiencing problems with your weight, take a moment to read this QA.
No matter how much exercising and dieting I do, I can’t get rid of a small “spare tire” I’ve had for years. Is there something I can do nutritionally to help burn off that fat?
– David H.
Hi, What are the foods you recommend that can reduce belly fat (subcutaneous fat) and give a flat belly? Thanks.
– Karthik K.
What foods are the best to eat to get rid of your belly fat and keep it off?
– Shawn R.
We are asked these questions a lot! Scan for previous Living Healthy blog articles on the topic and you’ll find no less than twenty. For those already at a healthy body weight or with only a few pounds to lose, fat around the midsection and abdomen seems to resist all efforts at reduction.
Though you can’t target belly fat with specific foods or exercises, fine tuning your diet and workout program can help you lose weight and tone all over. Exercise including moderate intensity work at least 30 minutes per day plus strength training helps control weight and fight abdominal fat, both subcutaneous and visceral (around the organs).
For diet, the goal is to reduce foods that are readily converted to fat and focus on those that require greater work to metabolize. Doing so reduces both actual fat storage and the signals/prompts that cause it to happen, such as insulin. …As long as your overall caloric intake is less than your expenditure, of course!
Sources:
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
With so many sources offering nutrition advice, it’s hard to know what’s true. Even factual information can become distorted by the time it reaches you. Like a game of telephone, the message often changes as it’s passed along. Here, we debunk 5 common diet myths to...
Eating the right foods before a workout can make a significant difference in your performance and recovery. The goal is to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at its best while minimizing muscle damage. Here’s a guide on what to eat before a...
If you’re careful with your nutrition, working out weekly, and still experiencing problems with your weight, take a moment to read this QA.
If you are vegetarian, do you have to take iron tablets to compensate?
Do you recommend any other foods or fruits? I drink a lot of milk (1% organic) and take the following pills daily:
1. Move Free Ultra Triple Action
2. ‘C’ Vitamin 500 mg.
3. MSM 1000mg
4. Calcium 600 mg
5. Multivitamin Silver Centrum for men +50
I am 81 years old and have a slight knee problem. Please let me know if you have any other recommendations.
– Michael J.
Your current nutrient supplements do not provide any iron (also known as ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, ferrous fumarate). If you consume a good amount of non-heme iron from plant sources such as vegetables like spinach, beans, nuts, and fortified grain products, it’s possible to meet your daily iron need without supplementation. The Recommended Dietary Allowance for vegetarian adults over 50 years of age is 14.4 milligrams of iron per day, which is 1.8 times higher than for people who eat meat.
Vitamin C helps absorb iron so you should take it with your richest iron meal. Your calcium supplement, on the other hand, reduces the availability of iron so take it at another time of day. Consult with your doctor if you’re concerned about anemia.
The Vegetarian Resource Group offers sample high-iron menus and a discussion with sample menu for seniors. Unless you have specific symptoms, complaints or health conditions, there is no need to focus on a particular food. I’d recommend a diet rich in legumes, grains, green vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit with 2-3 dairy servings if you wish. Choose whole foods and limit processed foods, added sugar and alcohol.
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
With so many sources offering nutrition advice, it’s hard to know what’s true. Even factual information can become distorted by the time it reaches you. Like a game of telephone, the message often changes as it’s passed along. Here, we debunk 5 common diet myths to...
Eating the right foods before a workout can make a significant difference in your performance and recovery. The goal is to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at its best while minimizing muscle damage. Here’s a guide on what to eat before a...
If you’re careful with your nutrition, working out weekly, and still experiencing problems with your weight, take a moment to read this QA.
I want to follow a daily routine which will help me reduce weight. Currently, I am 129 lbs. I want to reduce it to 120 lbs; however, I am a vegetarian. I don’t eat eggs or meat. Please help.
– Swapna A.
Vegetarian diet or not, the same rules apply for reducing body fat to lose weight: eat less than you burn. Where vegetarians may have trouble is with concentrated sugars (in foods like smoothies, cereals, fruit bars) and excess fats (hidden oils in boxed/frozen foods). Restricting intake of processed foods while focusing on whole plant foods will ensure you control the amount of sugar and fat consumed. Basically, choose foods you need to chew!
Consider a healthy vegetarian dish of lentils, mushroom, onion, chopped spinach, olive oil and carrot over sweet potatoes. Despite the correct balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein you still need to deal with volume. Do you fill a 10-inch plate, 20 oz. bowl or only a cup? Portion control is important, no matter the diet you follow. Just cutting back 50 calories a day can promote a 5-pound weight loss over a year.
I wouldn’t advise a daily menu repeated over and over because you need a variety of produce, legumes, nuts and seeds to meet micronutrient requirements and provide beneficial phytochemicals. But, you can start with a few days mapped out for you! EatingWell® has a decent vegan 7 day 1200 calorie plan. For a week’s worth of lacto-ovo Indian meal suggestions, check out this traditional plan from Healthline. Also read the Living Healthy blog’s Ask Our Dietitian post How to Lose Fat as a Vegan for more meal and snack options.
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
With so many sources offering nutrition advice, it’s hard to know what’s true. Even factual information can become distorted by the time it reaches you. Like a game of telephone, the message often changes as it’s passed along. Here, we debunk 5 common diet myths to...
Eating the right foods before a workout can make a significant difference in your performance and recovery. The goal is to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at its best while minimizing muscle damage. Here’s a guide on what to eat before a...
If you’re careful with your nutrition, working out weekly, and still experiencing problems with your weight, take a moment to read this QA.
Hi, I wanted to ask a question about dieting. What is the lowest number of daily calories for an adult woman (34 years old, 5’6”, 140 lbs.) that is safe but will also allow for weight loss? I’ve been even eating 1,200 or so per day, but I’m not sure if that’s accurate. Thanks!
– Jess S.
First off, 140 pounds for a height of 5’6” makes your BMI 22.6, within a healthy range (18.5-24.9). In general terms, 1,200 calories for women and ,1500 calories for men have long been used as minimum recommended intake levels. Even at these amounts it’s difficult to meet vitamin and mineral requirements unless one’s diet is exceptionally nutrient-rich and balanced.
Using personalized estimates based on standardized equations is more predictive of actual needs. Using your age, height, weight and gender, your calculated base energy requirement, called basal metabolic rate (BMR), is 1,352-1,376 calories daily*. Your body composition, genetics and physiology, among other factors, determine your true metabolic rate which may be higher or lower than estimated.
It’s not advised to reduce intake to BMR minimum very long for successful fat loss. Restricting intake to that level creates such an energy deficit that lean mass starts to break down for fuel. The scale may show a weight drop – often significant – from the water released as stored glycogen is used to fill the energy gap. Neither of these conditions foster fat burning or improve body composition.
My best advice is to increase physical activity which will help retain lean mass and allow you to get sufficient nutrients from a more generous diet. There’s a lot of nutrition you can pack into 150 calories of wholesome foods. A yogurt parfait or bowl of crunchy popcorn is worth a half hour of dancing, recreational biking or swimming in my book!
*based on Mifflin–St. Jeor and WHO equations.
Suggested further reading:
Resting Metabolic Rate: Best Ways to Measure It – And Raise It, Too https://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/2882/resting-metabolic-rate-best-ways-to-measure-it-and/
Calories Burned in 30 Minutes For People of Three Different Weights https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities
– Debbie J., MS, RD
This article should not replace any exercise program or restrictions, any dietary supplements or restrictions, or any other medical recommendations from your primary care physician. Before starting any exercise program or diet, make sure it is approved by your doctor.
Some questions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Have a nutrition question? Our registered dietitian is ready to help!
Email nutrition@lafitness.com or submit your question below and it may be featured in an upcoming article!
With so many sources offering nutrition advice, it’s hard to know what’s true. Even factual information can become distorted by the time it reaches you. Like a game of telephone, the message often changes as it’s passed along. Here, we debunk 5 common diet myths to...
Eating the right foods before a workout can make a significant difference in your performance and recovery. The goal is to provide your body with the energy it needs to perform at its best while minimizing muscle damage. Here’s a guide on what to eat before a...
If you’re careful with your nutrition, working out weekly, and still experiencing problems with your weight, take a moment to read this QA.