Calories and Fitness~ life as a high carb, low fat vegan!

Like most women I have counted, cut, and pretty much cried over calories!! They run or ruin most of our lives! We spend meal after meal, snack after snack calculating and then cutting :( Does it work? NO!!! Here are my thoughts on calorie restriction:

1. They don't take into account where your calories are coming from? A bag of skittles or a bowl of fruit? Some would argue if the calorie count is the same you can choose either option. I say you have lost your mind! I used to be fooled by this crazy idea 'calories in vs. calories out' until I began to eat for health! I switched to a low fat/high carb vegan diet which allowed me to eat about 1000 calories EXTRA, especially when I eat high raw! I think they need to be more specific with the calorie restricting...*only for those eating UNHEALTHY FOODS. If you don't know what healthy food is, Google it! Go to google images and type in 'healthy food' and then do the same for 'unhealthy food' :) Easy! This is what I got when I entered 'unhealthy food'
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=unhealthy+food&FORM=HDRSC2
as you can see...most of it is pizza, burgers, fries, candy, junk! lots of meat & cheese!

and this for 'healthy food'
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=healthy+food&qs=IM&form=QBIR&pq=healthy+&sc=8-8&sp=1&sk=
as you can see...most of it if fruit, veggies and grains!

2. When you calorie restrict (in order to eat unhealthy foods) you are creating this horrible feeling that food is bad and we need to reduce the intake :( Well...that is just silly!! REAL FOOD is not bad, your body requires food to live! The only thing that is bad is YOUR choice! If you choose to eat junk food you will have to cut and restrict, other wise weight-gain is the end result (not to mention a crap load of health problems). You don't want to feel hungry and deprived all the time. That is very un-natural! Food is fuel, you can choose the type of fuel you are using...therefore there results will be very different.

and 3. I must workout every day, all day! NO!!!! I get this comment anytime I tell people how much I eat. I am also told it's because I am young with no kids...WRONG!!! I am not a twenty-something year old, (I will be 34 this month) I have a child, and I am not a slave to fitness!! Here's look into my calories and fitness:

I teach Spin class twice a week, I do my squats (100) daily (it takes a few minutes),  I hula hoop randomly, as I feel like it, and I do 1 or 2 at home workouts a week. So...usually that equals to 4 days a week. Sometimes I go walking with my husband, nothing crazy though! I wouldn't call my workout routine insane or too intense. I think  ANY person could do the same, I have also NOT added or changed my workout since going vegan! Well...the squats are new...but I also decreased 1 class a week, so it evens out! I don't believe in spending hours a day, every day training (unless you enjoy it). I train at a moderate level, and I do workouts that I enjoy! Some days are more intense...some days are very mellow :) There are times when I don't feel like training...so I don't!!
I do believe we need to be active, get our heart rates up, and move as often as we can! Not for weight, but for health! We need to get the blood flowing and oxygen into the body. I don't understand when people say they hate to exercise...how can that be??? Exercise can be so many things, hiking, walking, biking, running, swimming, sports, dance, strength training, etc. There is something out there for everyone!

My daily diet:

I ALWAYS start my day with a fruit meal. I mono eat because I love it! I can just eat and enjoy the fruit, and I know when I have had enough! So, it could be an entire pineapple, or 6-8 bananas, or any other fruit. I eat until I feel satisfied. If I am hungry a few hours after, I eat another mono meal of fruit or make a smoothie! The calorie count for breakfast can be 600+ calories depending on the fruit, and my 'snack' is usually about 400 calories or more.
Lunch is another fruit meal or a large salad. I like to use a serving bowl for my salad, NO SIDE DISHES ALLOWED!!! I hate that we use a side dish for salads...why??? Shouldn't we be filling up on fresh veggies??? So my lunch can easily equal about 800+ calories, again depending on the fruit or salad. If I add avocados the calorie and fat will go up, if I add seeds it will as well!
If you add up the calories I am at 1800...and now for dinner:
I like to have a salad with dinner, usually in a large soup bowl or serving bowl. Dinner is some sort of high carb meal with lots of steamed or roasted veggies, potatoes, pasta, brown rice, or quinoa. I don't know the exact breakdown of my dinner calories...but I know it is a lot! Probably 1000+.

This is a breakdown of one day (it was a Friday and low on fruit, so I ate small amounts of different fruit, lol, at work)
Smoothie: 366 cal
Grapes: 220 cal
4 Oranges: 320 cal
2 bananas: 220 cal
3 apples: 285 cal
Total so far 1411...without dinner!! I didn't calculate dinner because it is a pain in the butt...
4 potatoes (large) boiled and topped with red pasta sauce (about 1 cup)
2 cups steamed Broccoli
Large salad (kale, tomatoes, onions, corn, cucumbers, red peppers,with lime juice and pepper)
That's a large meal :) If you want to know how many calories, just google each ingredient and you can get an average count. I just hate doing it, lol! (and I like to have a second serving of potatoes usually)
If I estimate my dinner at a low, 800 calories, my daily intake is 2200+...so it my dinner is 1000+ calories then it would be 2400+. That day I probably had a second serving of potatoes so it is higher ;)
I looked up my caloric intake based on my weight/height: 1780cals to maintain my weight, and 1068-1424 to lose weight! WOW!! To maintain my weight...I would have to make a dinner with only 300 calories :( Not possible! I would be so hungry!! To lose weight...I couldn't eat anything after lunch, lol!
So if you can see...I have lost and maintained my weight eating way over 2000 calories a day, usually closer to 2500-2800!!! I don't exercise like crazy, I don't starve myself, I don't focus on restricting! I focus on enjoying exercise, and then fueling my body with high energy, clean food. I keep my fat down, and carbs up!