monkandmao

On New Year's Day, we had friends over and I prepared a vegan sushi feast. My favorite roll was made with marinated tempeh, grilled shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, asparagus, avocado and a little bit of sriracha mayo (made with Vegenaise, of course!). I also made a seaweed salad with a spicy toasted sesame dressing. It was such a great meal!

Thanks for the comment! I use the LoseIt app to track my foods. It has shown me that I really need to add more protein. Hopefully that will help with my overeating problem, too. My muscle soreness is definitely just DOMS. I've got a mild case of it today after taking my first yoga class yesterday. It hurts so good. Thanks for the follow on twitter. I look forward to chatting!

It's embarrassingly low! I promise I'll get some protein powder. I might even do that tonight so I can start tomorrow off right. Thanks for keeping an eye on me, Claudia!

Just got home from my first yoga practice in almost a year. It was a 75 minute intermediate-level class and it kicked my butt. I hope I'm not too sore to run tomorrow. I'm eating MUCH better today than I did yesterday. I'll post that in the morning.

Hi, Baby Herc! Nice to meet you! I'm glad you got to experience Denver, especially running here. Isn't it beautiful? I usually run around my neighborhood (NW Denver) and Rocky Mountain Lake. A giant group of geese landed on the icy lake as I was running a few days ago. It was so cool!

Thanks, Robert! Colorado is a beautiful place. I'm happy to hear you make it out here pretty frequently! I'm really looking forward to making some new friends here, and learning how to better myself. I'm happy to be here!

Yay! Hi, Robbie! I haven't been on IG much since my phone took a swim. The phone survived, but the camera didn't make it. I'm looking forward to chatting here!

Breakfast: Coffee with almond milk, one cup rolled oats with one cup blueberries Snack: Apple Lunch: One cup brown rice with 1/4 c black beans Snack: Nine baby carrots Dinner: Homemade pizza with a whole wheat crust, tomato, basil, olives, roadted red peppers and caramelized onions. No sauce and just a tiny sprinkling of FYH mozzarella. Calories: 1,441 Fat: 34g (20.6%) Carbohydrates: 262.4g (70.8%) Fiber: 35.6g Sugars: 69.1g Protein: 31.9g (8.6%) Definitely nowhere near enough protein. I usually have tofu or tempeh with lunch, but I was too lazy to cook. I won't make that mistake again. I'm going to try some protein powders next time I'm at Whole Foods. Also did 3x30 bicycle crunches. It hurt so good. Tonight I'm going to my first yoga class in almost a year. I'm expecting soreness tomorrow. Good soreness. Yay!

Hi Claudia! Thanks for the tip. I definitely need to find a protein powder I like. I'll grab a few samples when I go to Whole Foods tomorrow. What are your favorites?

Just finished my first run of the year! Denver's weather is gorgeous today (sunny and mid-50s!) so I did a quick run around the neighborhood. 3.11 mi / 00:30:29 / 09:47 pace I drank 32 ounces of water and ate an apple about an hour before I ran. It did a good job keeping me hydrated and full of energy. I sure do love me some fruit! I'm eating well today. Full food & fitness post coming later tonight.

Yay! Hi! I'll be following your journal too. Looks like you've already put in a lot of work. From what I can see in your avatar, you sure don't look 39. Nice work!

Hi, Miss E! My goal is similar. I just turned 30 a few days ago and I've decided that this is the year that I will FINALLY like the way I look in a bikini. I was chubby until 25, and I've never had any sort of muscle tone since getting my weight down to the 130 lb range. Let's do this together! Amber

(I copied this from my journal since I probably should have just posted it here in the first place.) Hi! I'm Amber and I'm currently living in Denver, Colorado. I went vegan in September of 2010. It started as a week-long detox after a vacation, and turned into a permanent lifestyle once I looked at the ethical reasons for veganism. It was the best thing I've done for myself so far! I'm currently 5'6" and 131 lbs. Ever heard the term "skinnyfat"? Yeah, that's me. I've been running off and on for a few years and it has helped me shed some pounds. Running is great, but it's not really helping me build muscle, which I desperately need. My goals are to gain core, arm and leg strength, and to firm up those areas as well. As for recent training... I turned 30 on December 30th and ran 13.25 miles! That's the longest I've ever run. Unfortunately I didn't train very well up to that point and was reeeeally sore up until yesterday, so I've been slacking on my training. My eating habits are the best they've ever been, but I could still use some guidance on what to eat before and after I work out. I almost always have a giant bowl of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, fruit or veggies as snacks, and a tempeh or tofu scramble loaded with veggies for lunch. I usually end up overeating at dinner and I'm trying to figure out why that happens. I'm a former baker with a huge sugar/fat addiction. Right now I have it under control and don't touch sweets. I had cake on my birthday and felt like complete crap. It was a nice reminder to avoid stuff like that. I plan on keeping a food journal here as well. That's enough about me! I'm really looking forward to making some new friends, and I'm especially excited to work with Claudia Lailhacar and get whipped into shape!

Wow! Lookin' great! I just found bodyrock.tv last week, but I haven't tried any of their workouts. You've inspired me to do it, though! Thanks!

Hi! I'm Amber and I'm currently living in Denver, Colorado. I went vegan in September of 2010. It started as a week-long detox after a vacation, and turned into a permanent lifestyle once I looked at the ethical reasons for veganism. It was the best thing I've done for myself so far! I'm currently 5'6" and 131 lbs. Ever heard the term "skinnyfat"? Yeah, that's me. I've been running off and on for a few years and it has helped me shed some pounds. Running is great, but it's not really helping me build muscle, which I desperately need. My goals are to gain core, arm and leg strength, and to firm up those areas as well. As for recent training... I turned 30 on December 30th and ran 13.25 miles! That's the longest I've ever run. Unfortunately I didn't train very well up to that point and was reeeeally sore up until yesterday, so I've been slacking on my training. My eating habits are the best they've ever been, but I could still use some guidance on what to eat before and after I work out. I almost always have a giant bowl of oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, fruit or veggies as snacks, and a tempeh or tofu scramble loaded with veggies for lunch. I usually end up overeating at dinner and I'm trying to figure out why that happens. I'm a former baker with a huge sugar/fat addiction. Right now I have it under control and don't touch sweets. I had cake on my birthday and felt like complete crap. It was a nice reminder to avoid stuff like that. I plan on keeping a food journal here as well. That's enough about me! I'm really looking forward to making some new friends, and I'm especially excited to work with Claudia Lailhacar and get whipped into shape!