For several years, I ate a vegetarian diet; the only problem was that my definition of "vegetarian" was too limited; I had a meatless diet, but in the regimen that I kept, there were very few alternate protein sources, like soy or fish. I ate mainly low-fat complex carbohydrates ( brown rice, whole grains, pasta, vegetables and legumes),believing that as long as I avoided fat, I was on the path to nutritional salvation. Despite my running, my weight soared. I was hungry all the time. By 5 o'clock, I felt I had been run over by a truck and more often than not, steered straight to my favorite Tim Horton's for my almost daily fix—coffee and bagel. Those were the days I felt sanctified for not succumbing to a donut; but little did I realize then that my whole-grain bagel fared little better than a Boston Crème in terms of body mechanics: both were filled with carbohydrates which shot up my insulin level, which in turn increased my appetite and made me feel more tired. The bagel was a temporary fix because on most days, my heaviest eating occurred from 5pm onwards.

Once I increased my consumption of protein, my body started shedding both water and fat. I was not on a high protein diet—but made sure I had 30% protein, 50 percent complex carbohydrates and 20% essential fats. I also learned how to select my protein with intelligence. Not all proteins are alike and animal proteins are laden not only with fat but chemicals and hormones. Instead of relying only on meat (with its accompanying levels of fat) for my protein source, I had soy protein as well in my daily meals.

Fruits and vegetables became mainstays for almost every meal. My standard fare consisted of a small bowl of unprocessed oatmeal and soy protein shake with a cup of blueberries or strawberries for breakfast and another soy protein shake plus a large green salad for lunch.I have been on this regimen for almost 4 years now.No longer a vegetarian,I eat some form of meat 2 or 3 times a week. My evening meal is usually composed of whole-grains, legumes, stir-fry veggies with lean chicken,turkey, salmon or chickpea falafel. My body has returned to a kind of internal balance. I am back to a size 4(my wedding dress size); I have more energy now than I ever did and I cannot even remember when I was sick (more than 5 years ago).

Why do you need protein?

1.Your lean body mass is the metabolically active part of you. It consumes energy, repairs the daily wear and tear of vital body structures and it replaces fluid and body chemicals. It is dependent on protein.

2. If you go on a low-calorie, high carbohydrate, low protein diet, you can easily lose up to 50% of your muscle tissue. Each pound of active muscle mass that you lose reduces your metabolic rate—which means that you can just have tea and toast twice a day and still gain weight. This is very similar to what is known as "sarcopenic obesity"—a condition sometimes found in women who are thin; but because their lean body mass is low and percentage body fat is high, they are still in the obese range in their BMI index.

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