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I've eaten a reasonably low fat vegan diet since 1990. I've never been what anyone would call thin but not terribly overweight either. I usually carry 10 extra pounds. I'm currently more like 15-20 over my ideal weight. I'm 57 years old, 5'3", weight 145 and have a small frame. I've had my percent body fat measured professionally and it's 28% which is considered average but not great. I'm a consistent exerciser doing 30 minutes on elliptical 6 days a week and lifting weights 3 days a week. I also take yoga classes twice a week. In the summer months my husband and I ride a tandem bicycle and we've trained for and completed some fairly arduous events over the last several years, such as riding 200 miles in one day and riding 155 miles around Mt. Rainier with 10,000 feet of elevation gain. In August after cycling through the French Alps for 2 weeks we were hit by a car while cycling locally. I broke my arm and couldn't exercise at all for a number of weeks. That really slowed down my metabolism, hence the additional weight gain.

I'm interested in lowering my percent body fat and being stronger and leaner for cycling and for long term health. I currently eat 1500 calories a day with 60% coming from carbs and 20% coming from both protein and fat. I KNOW what the McD plan is but have never actually felt the need to follow it. I did send my Mom to the residential program years ago and she has been vegan ever since. I've had a vegetarian MD and fitness coach both recommend the 20-60-20. When I first went in for evaluation several years ago I was eating close to the McD plan and the tests showed my body didn't know how to burn fat at all because all I ever fed it was carbohydrates. That's when I started adding a little more protein and fat to my diet.

I just read John's newsletter article from a year ago Vol4-#4: Soy – Food, Wonder Drug, or Poison? http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/april/050400pusoy.htm I'm TOTALLY freaked out. I eat a LOT of processed soy, fake meats, protein bars and shakes in addition to a lot of fruits, veggies and grains and legumes. I'm not sure it's possible to maintain the 20-60-20 ratio and eliminate all the processed soy. I'm sure I could go on the McD plan and eliminate it. But I'm not sure, given all the input I've had, if the plan is right for me. I realize I'm talking to the choir here so I'm going to get a slanted response. But I want to know your experiences if you're as active as I am. And where are you getting even 15% of your calories from protein without eating processed soy?

I welcome your comments.
Thanks,
Sheila in Seattle

Here is a short (and incomplete) list of natural plant based foods that are calorically 15% or higher in protein.

Oatmeal - 15%
Whole Wheat - 15%
Black Beans - 27%
Kidney Beans - 27%
Peas - 28%
Asparagus - 42%
Brocolli - 42%
Lettuce - 40%
Mushrooms - 32%
Spinach - 51%

I got this list from the December 2003 newsletter on protein (a good read).
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougall/031200puprotein.htm

Another interesting article on Protein on the PCRM website
http://www.pcrm.org/health/Info_on_Veg_Diets/protein.html



Regarding activity level and diet the following link is an article from the Sept. 2003 newsletter about Carl Lewis (the Olympian) that you may find interesting.
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... pletoo.htm

I hope this information is useful to you.

Scott

Thanks everyone for your responses. I have a follow-up question. I've been reading a lot of stuff on the boards and following links about omega fats. Until last month I was taking 1 tsp a day in my morning shake. But now I'm not having the shake and I haven't found another easy way to consume the oil. I'm just wondering how you all follow the McD plan and consume oil at all. It seems like it'd be hard to keep your percent of calories from fat down to 10% or less if you take any Omegas. I'm assuming even in capsule form they count as fat.

Sheila, I am not sure if you have read the newsletter by Dr. McDougall talking about omega-3's, but if you haven't I can dig up the link. Anyway, I haven't decided actually if I am convinced about their necessity, but what I do is just add ground flax to a lot of my baking, my oatmeal, or my smoothies. That way you get the whole package of fiber, protein and omega-3's. There is a new product out, a modified version of chia seeds called Salba that are high in omega-3's, but supposed to be less bitter and more digestible than flax. I have a package but haven't tried it yet. When I do I'll post (darn expensive things, I must say.)

thanks, yeah, I've seen that article. It sounds like he's recommending 4 T of ground flax a day. That's a LOT to put on cereal, I don't bake at all and I've given up my shake due to too much protein. So my question still stands, isn't it an awful lot of FAT in the diet? I'm assuming the ground seeds still have a lot of fat. That IS the point is the Omega's are fat. There must not be room in the diet for ANY other fat to keep the total as low as McD recommends.

Actually, I think I found the original article:

http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_vegetable_fat.html

The dose he quotes that sounds so high is for constipation, not supplementation. My cardiologist told me I should aim for 1 Tbsp. per day of flax seed or 1 tsp. per day of flax oil. The reason I would personally take the seed is that it is less refined and comes with the fiber and protein so that the fat content is reduced to 66% fat calories vs 100% fat calories vs the oil. It makes a better impact on the %fat taken in in the course of your diet overall. In general, Dr. McDougall (and I think most lifestyle physicians) recommend whole foods rather than processed.