From: altar@beaufort.sfu.ca (Ted Wayn Altar)
Subject: Re: info needed.
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 23:41:25 GMT

Jill A. Johnson writes:


>Also, I feel that I should be losing weight - I have cut out all meat and dairy
>and haven't had any that I know of now for a couple weeks.  I feel like I'm 
>gaining weight and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.  I have probably been 
>eating more than I did when I ate meat, but I have been eating alot of rice 
>and veggies and salads.  I'm starting to get really discouraged.  

It has only been 2 weeks as you say, but also remember it is still
winter after all.  Not the easiest nor the best time of
year to lose weight.   Most important, the best way lose
to lose excess weight is slowwwwly.  Be patient.  

In terms of excess dietary fat, for vegans the largest single s
source would be the refined oils.  If you are eating a lot of 
refined vegetable oil with your salads and frying a lot of veggies,
then consider a lighter salad dressing and frying in water
instead of oil (start with half oil and half water and then
reduce the amount of oil until you can skillfully fry with
water alone).

Don't forget to exercise, which again is not easy to do in
the winter unless you do regular winter sports/activities.
Ideally, daily aeorbic exercise works best, but even twice weekly
exercise can make a difference and maintain fitness.  Here
we are talking about a *minimum* of 12 min. of cross country
skiing, 15 minutes of jogging, 30 minutes of cycling on an
exercise machine, and 45 minutes of brisk walking.  Swimming
simply doesn't cut it, unless you're slim to begin with (the
cold water burns calories for the uninsulated).

The problem with exercise machines, I think, is that they
are boring and eventually most people abandon them.  Yet,
potentially "interesting" exercises are available all
around one in one's everyday routine.  For instance, instead
of driving up Burnaby mountain and paying $70 per semester
for parking, I simply park at the bottom of the hill and
walk up through a pleasant trail through the woods.  It
takes about 45 minutes to walk up and a mere 15 minutes for
me to jog down the hill.  Not only do I save on parking,
extra gas for the car to drive up the steep hill,
but I save money also on exercise classes.  This comes
to a total of about $500 per year!  The really nice thing a
about it all, is that it is simply part of my routine.  I h
have to go to the university in any case, so why drive all
the way when I can get some free and interesting and
"easy" aerobic exercise.  

Another example, instead of taking elevators or escalators,
use the stairs, and there are plenty of stairs on my campus :-)

Exercise and diet are the two most important things you
can do to maintain your ideal body mass.  And in terms of
diet, we are not talking about some temporary weight-reduction
diet, but a life-long change in eating habits.  A permanent
change in dietary choice is necessary for a permanent change
in body mass.  

Again, be patient and focus instead upon trying new
and tasty low-fat recipes and more interesting ways
of exercising..


					ted
.  

Newsgroups: rec.food.veg