Hey! I'm Andrea.. my cousin has a column here, DarkChocolate794.
I've been giving advice here for a long long time. I've been through more than you'll know. I've managed to stay normal thanks to Jesus.
I'm nowhere near perfect. I'm a busy girl,so I don't have much time to get on as I used to. I'll hit you up immediately if you inbox me.
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I'm 5'4" and weigh 140 lbs. I eat a 70% raw vegan diet, and eat no processed foods (beyond dried fruits), salt, oil, or sugar (well, only 1 teaspoon of black strap molasses in my tea each day). The lowest I've weighed is 135 lbs. Idk why I'm plateauing. I've been this weight for the past year, and lost 40 lbs in the year prior, when I first went vegan. I lost 40 lbs then with barely any exercise. Now, I'm actively exercising (~3-4 days a week) and am stuck. My exercise is to run 3-5 miles, which takes me between 30 mins and 1 hour. I like cardio because I want to just get a skinny figure. I don't care about building muscle. For the first time in my life, I can see a thigh gap developing, but I don't know why I'm losing weight so slowly now. What can I do to increases things? I don't think I'm eating too much, either. Here's an example of what I eat on a typical day. Green smoothie (21 oz of kale, bananas, other seasonal fruits, water, and 1/2 tsp flax seeds) for breakfast, a big salad for lunch (homemade, low fat salad dressing), and veggie soup, steamed brussel sprouts, and a steamed sweet potato for dinner. I'm not starving myself.. should I cut my portions further or focus on exercising harder? Idk what to do. I can't afford a gym and my bike is broken. I'm afraid of exercise tapes and weight lifting, like I said, because I want a thin, modelesque figure, like Alexa Chung. Not super defined or anything. I'm closer to my goal than I've ever been in my life, but now I'm stuck (link)
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Your BMI will be too low if you lose 40 pounds. A BMI of under 18.5 is underweight, and that is not healthy.
Healthy weight loss happens slowly. To lose 30 pounds (which would have your BMI on the low side of normal at 18.9) should take you 4 months if you consistently lose 2 pounds a week, which is doable with a lot of hard work and dedication. Losing weight slowly will prevent you from readily gaining it back.
Cut your carbs. Eat carbs only before exercising. Lower your fruit and starch intake and increase your leafy greens.
If you up your protein intake and start lifting weights you can obtain the figure you want without losing more weight-just an aside. I spent a lot of time thinking the number on the scale was key. Body composition matters. You can look 110 at 130 or 140 if you exercise smarter and up your protein.
And don't force your body to do the impossible in order to fit into unrealistic beauty standards, created by men to make women feel inferior. You eat healthy and exercise, your body will sustain you in wonderful health- love it always.
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Rating: 4
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Great advice. I'll definitely take it to heart. My only issue is your critique my goal of being 100 lbs. There are working models with similar BMIs, whose bodies are well appreciated. I'll learn to love myself even if I can't get to my exact goal, but that doesn't mean the goal in itself is so horrible. I want to look dainty for myself. If I wanted to please guys I'd aspire to keep more of my curves.
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