As a junk food vegetarian, are there some supplements I should probably be taking?!
My typical day would probably look something like this:
B- 2-4 whole wheat toast with peanut butter
L- A can of veggie soup with crackers or a can of pasta
D- Tacos with salsa/sour cream/cheese or chili with bread or cheese pizza, or french fries, etc.
I might have an apple at some point
Answers: I really don't eat much protein at all. I eat more vegetables than I used to, but definitely not regularly. I don't like most veggies, and I don't like faux meats or soy milk. I figure I need to be taking a multi-vitamin at least, but I've seen other's mention flax seed? What do you think?
My typical day would probably look something like this:
B- 2-4 whole wheat toast with peanut butter
L- A can of veggie soup with crackers or a can of pasta
D- Tacos with salsa/sour cream/cheese or chili with bread or cheese pizza, or french fries, etc.
I might have an apple at some point
I understand the struggle! and, for the record, soymilk is disgusting. I also had a hard time figuring out what I can eat...esp. what tastes good. What worked well for me was to figure out what I liked at restaurants...fairly healthy dishes, or ethnic foods. Then figure out how to make them easily at home...or modify them to be vegetarian. Vitamins can be good...but it is really about having a balanced diet.
I also love junk food...and even though a vegetarian diet can be a lot healthier then a meat one...there are a LOT of unhealthy foods that are meat free (ie: those french fries)...I just try to make the occasional trade off...I can only have french fries if the rest of my food for the day was uber healthy (ie: salads)
Wow, that is an AWFUL diet. You should try to add some beans, legumes, and nuts into your diet if you really don't like soy. And have you tried chocolate and/or vanilla soy milk? It's actually very good.
I would definately be taking a multi-vitamin if I were you. Make sure it has some iron in it, as you are definately not getting any from your diet. Flax seeds wouldn't be a bad idea either. I think I'd do both in your case.
As a vegan myself, with that diet I definitely think you need extra vitamins. Have you tried eating less junk and more good things like pulses, felafel, homemade veg soup? They're a lot more filling and good for your body than what you eat now. Go to your local chemist and ask the pharmacist which supplements they think you need, explain what you have done on here so they can give you the best ones to suit what you need.
I like the "I might have an apple at some point" ending sentence . it really sounds like you really struggled even saying it. Made me smile.
Rather than take a supplement perhaps you coud spend a little time reading through some info ?
There are plenty of veggie foods that are easy to prepare & quick to eat. These might meet your "junk" criteria without resorting to pills, and they might actually end up being quite good for you.
Perhaps surf and read the veggie society pages about food info. It explains what nutrients we need and where we can get them from on a veggie diet:
http://www.vegsoc.org/info
Yuo might find the addition of just a few other products will sort it out for you.
Not a great diet but not as bad as I expected from your lead in.
You are getting plenty of Protein. Just not enough FRESH Veggies & Fruit.
A nice Multi Vitamin would not hurt, but a fresh Salad & a bit more fruit would be even better(keep up the apples). Flax is a great addition.. I use it every day in my Smoothies.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/a...
Slainté(to your health)
Your eating doesn't seem that bad. Compared the general population it's pretty good.
To get into vegetables you first have to try some different things. Try everything -- then try it again and again. Why try something that didn't taste very good again? Many factors can result in different experiences. Definitely fresh organic vegetables straight from the garden taste SO much better than store bought non-organic (and organic too) veggies. Then, cooking or preparing them properly has a lot to do with it. I grew up hating veggies because my parents would just cook the cr*p out of them. Most of the time we'd eat only canned peas that were then boiled for 15 minutes and the water drained off. Basically, it would make most people gag -- so I didn't eat it. All the other veggies they made were just as overcooked and flavourless.
There's a whole world of interesting veggies out there. If you can't find much at the store, or at the farmer's market, try growing your own. Most things can even be grown in containers on an apartment balcony etc.
Supplements, vitamins, etc. are just a scam.
1. vitamins are a complex and cannot be put into a pill.
2. cost too much even if #1 could be done
3. they are dead
Perhaps the only supplement I would consider would be whole-food supplements. That is, low temperature dried and ground up veggies, fruits, etc. Basically raw food powder.
You need living unprocessed uncooked (or at least lightly cooked) foods as your main staple. Fruits are great is you have easy access to them. Eat lots of fruit.
well...maybe you should change your diet to a more healthy lifestyle. and if not you should be drinking vitamins for sure, try this for a week or so and than see what you wanna do:
b- rice cereal with berries and soy milk
l-salad with nuts
d-eggplant Parmesan with a salad
for a snack you should have fruit, or my fave rice crispy treats :)
Trust me!
You need a big piece of meat!