Angelina Jolie discussed her bad experiences with a vegan diet.

“I joke that a big juicy steak is my beauty secret,” said Jolie. “But seriously, I love red meat. I was a vegan for a long time, and it nearly killed me. I found I was not getting enough nutrition.”

This is not an uncommon complaint among former vegans; the limitations of the diet require extra diligence to make sure you get proper nutrients.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/17/angelina-jolie-says-vegan-diet-nearly-killed-her.aspx

It's my theory that everyone goes through a pretty stage & yours may not have started yet but check your girlfriend at the 10 year reunion & see how much prettier you are than her. I know that doesn't do anything for you now, but you have a long life – do the best you can with what you've got.

A few comments on your diet though. I have serious concerns about unfermented soy products effecting thyroid health. I would highly recommend adding egg yolks & sardines to your diet. Grass fed animals are very healthy & provide complete protein. I hope your diet includes lots of avocado, coconut oil & olive oil & not just your hair. The body needs lots of fats to make the vitamins & minerals in the foods bioavailable so they can be incorporated into the body structure.

I'm a big fan of kombucha tea but I had a really bad reaction (my teeth throbbed) adding (too much) apple cider vinegar while drinking lots of kombucha. I think it overloaded my system, they both have acids.

I would also highly suggest adding UNrefined salt to your diet. Refined salt may be unhealthy but unrefined salt is required for good health & includes 84 other minerals.

For optimal health, I advocate a low carb way of eating. As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories, because insulin (the ONLY fat storage hormone) isn't activated.

I personally believe in using fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates. Fat is totally benign in the absence of insulin. There aren't enough calories in vegetables & fruits to fuel the body, if you get enough calories from carbs to fuel the body, then you maintain an almost constant high insulin level with roller coaster blood glucose levels. I recommend fats from butter, coconut, olives, avocados, nuts, fish & meats, chia seeds & flax seeds.

When you restrict higher carb, lower nutrition foods, it becomes much easier to greatly increase vegetables in your diet. Change your mindset just adapt it to low carb -
replace bread with lettuce
replace pasta with cabbage
replace rice with cauliflower
replace potatoes with brocolli

High carb levels trigger insulin which unbalance other hormones, promote inflammation, weight gain, hunger. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones and allow sex hormones (testosterone in men) & human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so lean muscle will be gained even without exercise. Any exercise will greatly increase muscle mass with high HGH levels.

Carbohydrates trigger insulin, the fat storage hormone. Protein triggers the fat burning hormone, glucagon.

Highly nutritious foods you should consider: avocados, sardines, sprouts, spirulina, paprika, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, garlic, brewers yeast, raw almonds, ground flax seeds & chia seeds.

Chia seeds sound so expensive but 1# will make 10# food – I buy in bulk from getchia.com for $5# with free shipping.

Faux tapioca – 2 cups of water, 5 scoops of low carb whey protein powder, stir together & add cup of chia seeds, after they have started to absorb the water, add in 2 cans of coconut milk & sweetener if you like and mix it all in. Can be eaten after an hour but will be better tomorrow. Cream a pkg. of cream cheese into a can of pumpkin and add to the faux tapioca for an even more nutritious pumpkin pie pudding.

Ground flax seed (4 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, sweetener, cinnamon & mix in a raw egg – let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put some cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 minutes. Suggested for daily fiber needs.

I make a "porridge" suggested by Dr.Mercola – low carb whey powder & water, I add ground flax seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, coconut milk, tahini (ground sesame seeds) & raw egg. All seeds & nuts are raw & soaked to germinate them.

Raw nuts are living and full of the energy of life and should be capable of building a tree. Roasted nuts are dead & they may still provide some nutrients, but none can compare to the nutrients and enzymes from a live food.

Unfortunately, raw does not necessarily mean living.

For example – Commercially sold almonds are now required to be pasteurized turning a live food into a dead one. You can not sprout an almond that has been irradiated. I buy my almonds direct from growers off ebay.

7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat

1) Improved cardiovascular risk factors

Saturated fat in the diet is the only means to reduce the levels of lipoprotein (a) — that correlates strongly with risk for heart disease. Eating fats raises the level of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol.

2) Stronger bones

Saturated fat is required for calcium to be incorporated into bone – According to expert in human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D., as much as 50 percent of the fats in the diet should be saturated fats.

3) Improved liver health

Studies show that saturated fat encourages the liver cells to dump fat content. Saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from toxic insults & even to reverse the damage.

4) Healthy lungs

The fat content of lung surfactant is 100 percent saturated fatty acids. Replacement of these critical fats by other types of fat makes faulty surfactant & potentially causes breathing difficulties, collapse of the airspaces & respiratory distress.

5) Healthy brain

Your brain is mainly made of fat & cholesterol. Most of the fatty acids in the brain are saturated. The brain needs saturated fats to function optimally.

6) Proper nerve signaling

Certain saturated fats, found in butter, lard, coconut oil, & palm oil, function directly as signaling messengers that influence the metabolism. Without the correct signals to tell the organs & glands what to do, the job gets done improperly.

7) Strong immune system

Saturated fats found in butter & coconut oil (myristic acid & lauric acid) play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells hampers their ability to recognize & destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, & fungi. Myristic & lauric acid have potent germ-killing ability. We need dietary replenishment of them to keep the immune system vigilant against the development of cancerous cells & infectious invaders.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/06/saturated-fat/

First of all, who's telling you that you're not pretty? And what the hell defines pretty, anyway?
IMO, you sound like a beautiful girl, but perhaps something deeper is causing all of these insecurities? It might do you some good to talk to someone, anyone really.

Actually Daffodil, you're wasting your time. Cosmetics and such are only meant to enhance and highlight the beauty that is already there. All the working out in the world is only going to put your body in shape hon, not change what God already gave you. And you could eat all that healthy food (which, yes, is good for you) and eat it til "the cows come home," and it's still not going to change your facial appearance. Sad to say, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I am stuck with me, and you are stuck with you, okay? But Daffodil, there's such a thing as an "inner beauty" that a lot of these other gorgeous babes doesn't have. Ever stop to think of that? You may have a personality and an inner beauty that would leave them standing out in the rain, so try and look at it in another aspect, huh? And besides hon, you may not think you're pretty, but I bet there's a lot of guys out there that do! You're just not giving yourself too much credit here. Good Luck!

Not stressing helps your appearance as well! That's something you seem NOT to be doing. Some people are naturally more attractive than others, it's genetics. It's no different than someone being a faster runner, being able to sing, draw, etc. I believe superior looks is a gift. Why are you so concerned about your appearance anyway? Personality can increase or decrease a guy's interest in a woman. Be confident in yourself. Confidence is hot on a woman. And Be Yourself! Let people see who are, so they can appreciate you for who you are. Therefore, stop comparing yourself to others and be you. Also, I advise that you continue to workout. Caring about one's health is something I find attractive in a woman. Other guys may think the same. It's good that you care about your outer appearance but don't forget that people are attracted to personality and character also. I have came across a physically attractive girl with an attitude that made her ugly. Good looks draw people in and personality and character keep them around in my opinion. Then there are others who have personalities that are hard to ignore and hearts that over shadow their less than extraordinary looks. Therefore, the best looking may not always be the prize winner. And I agree with Mickey; she made a good point.

2nd Reply: There is only so much you can do to alter your physical appearance (unless God miraculously changes you). That is why I emphasized inner beauty. It compliments your physical appearance and can make you appear more attractive. If you hit a wall in the physical area, start building up the inner self. If you can afford to do so, speak to a professional hairstylist and make up artist. However, you probably don't need them because you seem to do a lot already. I imagine that you are attractive already based on the list of ways you take care of yourself. And remember to relax, because stressing out isn't going to help you! from what I have read and heard, stress causes people to age faster.