vegan cheese: ok so I just wanna try this out because I want to lose weight...I exercise about 90 minutes a day, 1 hour on the elliptical climber, and 30 minutes of weight lifting oh and about 100 sit ups a day I wanna say my diet will mainly be 1. A glass of low fat soy milk, w/ a boiled potato, and some veggies, and a serving of soy meat 2. a smoothie (carrot, broccoli, strawberry, and cellar - along with a salad with nonfat dressing and "fake chicken" 3. some vegetarian enchiladas (soy meat rolled in a tortilla, and topped with vegan cheese) - and maybe a spicy nonfat sauce in between meals i plan to eat fruit (apple, orange, pineapple, pears, etc...) will this diet work? NOTE: i do not like eggs, so I was thinking of using tofu instead|||How could going vegetarian help you lose weight, the only difference is you don't eat meat. You can still eat ice cream, noodles, cookies, all the fattening stuff. Do you really think it's better to use fake chicken instead of real chicken, soy meat instead of real meat, tofu instead of eggs, or soy milk instead of real milk?|||Before starting any diet it is a good idea to see your family doctor and maybe a dietitian as well.|||Weight lifting builds muscles. Building muscles requires protein. Include whole wheat, a variety of beans, and peanut butter. OK. You don't need the peanut butter, but is life really worth living without peanut butter? Also, if you are going to go veggie or vegan, I suggest you stay away from veggie or vegan substitutes to the "real" thing. It will just make you crave a nice juicy hamburger with lots of real cheese. Yum!|||Try eating legumes ,whole grains, and nuts instead of mock meat. You really need holistic, natural, complete protein if you are going to continue to lift weights. Also, take a look at the vegetarian food pyramid and eat the servings of food that it list. Measure anything fatty that you eat like nuts, dairy, avocado, etc.in order to keep from gaining weight. http://www.utexas.edu/courses/ntr311/nut鈥?/a>|||Analogs (fake meats) should be used at most a few times a week, not twice a day. They are processed foods, and like all processed foods they have junk in them you don't need. And you're relying too much on soy (milk, three analogs, cheese) Think natural. For breakfast look at a whole grain like quinoa or amaranth (both complete proteins and complex carbs) sweetened with a little molassas (iron and calcium) Have a piece of fruit with this, as it will give you vitamins and absorb the iron better (vitamin C aids in absorbtion) Instead of enchiladas with fake meat and fake cheese, so for black beans, tomatoes, avocado, etc. You have very little fat listed in this diet plan, and that's a concern. You need fat for your body to work - your brain, eyes, digestion, and more all need good fats. Avocados, olive oil, coconuts, almonds, peanuts, etc are some examples of the kinds of fats you want to include. Fruit is good, but veggies are a better snack. And nuts. And edemame. Avoid white foods - no white bread, white pasta, white rice - it's all simple carbs stripped of its nutrition. Think whole grain, think fresh fruits and veggies, think nuts, legumes, beans. Limit the processed food and definately don't do 3 fake meats a day. Don't drink soda (not even diet, it's just as bad for you.) Lots of green veggies.