Help with VEGAN diet

[Trainwreck]

Hello all,

First of all I am not vegan. This is for my girlfriend, and she is looking to shed some pounds and I told her about this forum and how it helped me... and she would like me to fine tune her diet.

Her stats:
She is 32 years old, 145 lbs, and is 5' 1/2" tall, bf% unknown
She workouts 3 days a week doing ZUMBA. (burns 740 cals per session)

Here is a sample diet I put together:

Breakfast
Scrambled Tofu 1 serving 268 cal / 20 pro / 20 carbs / 13 fat
WHOLE WHEAT bread 2 slices 138 cal / 5 pro / 26 carbs / 2 fat
2 medium wedge CANTALOUPE, RAW 48 cal / 1 pro / 12 carbs / 0 fat
MARGARINE SPREAD, 1 tbsp 14 75 0 0 9 0 0 0 0
Meal Total: 529 cal / 27 pro / 57 cabs / 25 fat

Morning Snack
SOY YOGURT, Vanilla 4 oz 100 cal / 3 pro / 17 carbs / 2 fat
FLAX SEED 1 tbsp 59 cal / 2 pro / 4 carbs / 4 fat
Meal Total: 159 cal / 6 pro / 21 carbs / 6 fat

Lunch
Black Bean & Sweet potato salad 340 cal / 12 pro / 54 carbs / 8 fat
GRAPEFRUIT, RAW 1/2 fruit 46 cal / 1 pro / 12 carbs / 0 fat
Meal Total: 385 cal / 12 pro / 66 carbs / 8 fat

Afternoon Snack
TRAIL MIX SNACK, 1.5 oz 196 cal / 6 pro / 19 carbs / 13 fat
Meal Total: 196 cal / 6 pro /19 carbs / 13 fat

Dinner
QUINOA COOKED 1 cup 256 cal / 12 pro / 34 carbs / 8 fat
Grilled vegetables 1 serving 195 cal / 6 pro / 30 carbs / 8 fat
Meal Total: 451 cal / 18 pro / 64 carbs / 16 fat

Evening Snack Fiber
FRUIT SALAD, WATER 1 cup 74 cal / 1 pro / 19 carbs / 0 fat
Meal Total: 74 cal / 1 pro / 19 carbs / 0 fat

Daily Total: 1,794 cal / 69 pro /247 carbs / 68 fat

FITNESS GOAL: just to shed a few pounds of fat.
She usually works out after work so we'll call it after the afternoon snack.

She is very dedicated and is willing to adjust/add to her fitness regimen.

Thanks again ladies and gentlemen!

[tbody66]

First recommendation, pitch the vegan diet! Okay, I know she won't so.... moving on. Posting pics is the best way for us to help, truly without a solid estimate of bf% we don't know her LBM so we can't accurately discuss caloric needs and defecit requirements. Adding muscle helps burn fat, would she be open to lifting on non-zumba days? If she is adding muscle she needs to be careful not to use the scale as her only guide to progress, muscle weighs more than fat so she can way the same but have added muscle, which burns more fat and enhances her overall appearance. The cantaloupe and bread are not the best choices, are eggs acceptable? What about oatmeal and brown rice? What are here protein source options and are protein drinks an option?

[Trainwreck]

Ok, she will not ditch the vegan diet...
I'll get a bf% soon and update...
No on the eggs... nor the protein shakes since they are dairy..
As far as brown rice, whole wheat bread, and oats, all a yes.
Protein sources can be edimame, broccoli, natural peanut butter, nuts and grains, beans, so many sources that are not animal products.

She is not opposed to weight training, and I'd LOVE to help her.

[tbody66]

There have been statistics that support progress can be made on a vegan diet, slower and harder but still possible. I know that there are vegan purists and vegan slackers and everything in between, so just wanted to know what we are dealing with. Bread is bad, the other sources are workable, and what about a soy protein? Is the basis for the diet religious or health? If you "helping" her get in shape is something you could both benefit from as far as weight lifting goes then post your information as well. It always helps if you have similar goals. My wife weight trains but she does not work out with me. She's at the gym the same time as me, but she has very different goals and her program is far different from mine.

Glad you're here and looking forward to help in cutting your learning curve short!

[maxwkw]

I'd get her a vegan protein. There's a couple of different ones, trueprotein carries pea protein, rice protein, and hemp protein. They're all fine. My personal favorite of the 3 is the pea. It's similar to whey (just make sure to flavor it strongly) and add that in.

I'd also like to see more vegetables and less soy.

[Trainwreck]

Ok, I will look into the vegan protein powder.
My main concern here is the numbers... she is not very tall... only 5ft and a half.
Calorie count too high, maybe? Protein too low? fat too high?

She is talking to a trainer at the gym about adding a weight training regimen to her Zumba.

Thanks!

[tbody66]

The cals seem high and the fat should be about half of what it is, you might even be able to just remove those and that should put the cals where they should be.

[Trainwreck]

So ditch the canteloupe and bread... is what you are saying.
That sounds easy enough.

Still hasn't gotten the BF% checked... update still to come.

[tbody66]

I agree with both of those but also the overall cals and fats seem off for her stated desired results.