Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I hope it's the core fusion body sculpt with Elisabeth Halpapp and Fred DeVito. I didn't like the cardio video in that series.

I'm almost fifty and also getting back in shape after many years, too. I had to learn sometimes more isn't better. Injuries cost me training time last year. Rest is definitely very important. I also agree with your thoughts on timing of sleep and wish I would discipline my self to go to bed earlier. I feel like a spoiled teen, not wanting to go to sleep at my 12 year olds bed time! When I go to sleep early it's also easy to avoid going to sleep soon after eating. You're giving your kids a fine example of life long fitness, rather than the prevailing "40, it's over" attitude. Rock on, Mom.

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an evolving primate

Yeah. I have too much work and a lot of West Coast clients to go to bed at 10 pm. But as soon as I move to CA, then I'll be on the right time table!

Hey thanks John! Yeah, my kids are kinda blown away how I'm not like "other moms". its all in the attitude, eh? and oh, yeah, the sleep thing...I guess I just got so tired of being tired, I mean, my kids get up early regardless of what time I go to sleep. I guess I really had no choice! But if I did, I probably would stay up later too. All my friends who don't have kids do

My daughter is home schooled, so we work on a strange clock. It will be a shock when we start regular school at some point, but we did it last year with a private school -- to expensive! The 7 am leave the house thing. Then I went to sleep by 11 pm, I was chronically tired.

Yes, I think having kids really makes me have to sleep early if I want to have any free time at all. I have to get that workout in before they get up, or I just probably won't do it later. Sometimes I make myself do it after they go to school, but that cuts into my work time (self employed).

I started a new thing to deal with overtraining. I am working out (hard) mondays, tuesdays, thurs, fri and sat, taking wednesdays and sundays off. I was doing 6 days a week and was SOOO tired, plus the fat loss stalled. So far, this is working well already. Also, on those wednesday rest days I'm eating all raw vegan. Its easier for me to do raw during the week cause weekends are usually socializing, etc, and kids home, etc. But I'm thinking that all raw is a really deep rest as well as not exercising. Good regeneration day.

BTW, I have found some REALLY killer workouts to do at home with just a set of 3 lb weights and a mat! (Thanks, drop soul for telling me about the core fusion sculpt-I just bought it, can't wait to get it. )

The tracy effinger workouts, called "squeeze" are REALLY effective. I can't believe whats happening to my body. Also, Amy Bento's dvds for cardio-really butt kickin'. And the core fusion that dropsoul talked about. Along the same lines. These are all avail. at collagevideo.com

Just sharing cause I am so excited! Peace!

Ok, one thing I have to share is that alcohol is not our friend....at least not when being used as a "distraction method". Drank a few beers with a friend last night as we talked all about this stuff.

Anybody else going through tough emotional stuff the last couple of weeks? We just had a huge eclipse series, solar and then Lunar ecli[se, which happened last Monday. Eclipses bring up our subconscious fear based beliefs for purging. THe only way to purge the unconscious is to make it conscious. I know I'm feelin' my stuff come up....

For me its about letting go of being afraid to express my power. this is an ongoing theme my whole life, and I've been ascending, esp. the last few years, through it, but here it is....I am a professional intuitive, bodyworker and spiritual channeler, and hearing that "now its time to channel to the masses", like just channel Holy Spirit to the world....anyway. A WEE bit "out of the box". Thats my issue....anyone else feeling stuff coming up?

Hey all...just want to share that I'm finally starting to see some really amazing fat loss!

I started working out at least 4-5 days/week in october, so it's been a solid 5.5 months of that. The diet came up to speed later, it took awhile to get that down. Last month I started being pretty conscious of not eating after about 6:30pm, at least 6 nights a week, and a couple of weeks ago the fat REALLY started melting off.

Also, now that I am totally in that habit, my appetite is WAY down altogether. I just don't have cravings as much. I fit into size 4 jeans this past weekend and can I tell you, at 44 that is no small achievement for me. People have been shocked to hear my age. I'm just sharing this because its been many, many years since I felt good about how I look. This is my daily diet, most days:

green protein smoothie after workout for breakfast: vega, flax seed, 1/2 frozen banana, frozen berries, greens such as kale, romaine, spinach or parsley; organic coffee with silk creamer

Salad and veggie/bean soup for lunch, usually. I make a big pot of soup and it lasts all week, then just heat it up and put it on top of a ton of salad greens. simple, cheap, healthy and filling.

Dinner is an emerald smoothie, as I call it: 1/2 avocado, spinach or romaine or mixed greens, a cucumber, 1 tsp stevia powder, one-2 whole limes with green stuff peeled off. This is SO good. I got this from the pH miracle folks.

It doesn't sound like a lot, but I just do not crave anything else. Not eating after 6:30 I think is a fat loss miracle for several reasons:

it promotes more effective detox, which increases metabolism and normalizes endocrine function; it allows the body to obviously not consume as many calories; it SERIOUSLY lowers appetite (at least thats what I've found). Its a miracle thing to me.

I still occasionally go out to eat with my kids or my boyfriend, but really, only very occasionally. So the dinner of a green smoothie is really easy to stick to. Just had to share! There IS life after 40, lol!

Yeah for you!! So cool!

Hi folks...

just another update. Had to quit coffee for 8 weeks because I'm taking a homeopathic remedy and naturopath says coffee interferes. not CAFFIENE, but coffee. So, finally, I got the motivator I need to quit. Its been about ten days and I feel good. not missing it and sleeping through the night. I realize my sleep has been deficient for at least the past 10 years that I've been drinking coffee. No wonder its been so hard to lose weight, with all that cortisol in my system all the time.

Went shopping for clothes last week. Thought I was a size 4, but I'm not yet. I'm a six, but cripe! after struggling to get below a 10 for the last 13 years, I'll take it! Its ok...after dropping the coffee and getting better sleep, I can work out even harder now cause I have more energy. I've upped the workouts to 5 tough ones a week, and longer, at least 45-60 min. each. that last bit will come off in a couple of months. I'm realizing slow and sure really IS the best way to lose fat and get in great shape. I'm very grateful that I know about this stuff.

Also, I realize I have to eat more. I was getting pretty weird about eating, getting into that "less is more" trap, and probably not doing my metabolism any good. I was really only eating maybe two small meals a day. I'm not doing that-definitely eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, all whole foods, all vegan, all made at home (to save money). Just sharing cause it keeps me motivated! have to take some photos soon.....this past weekend went to a casual high school reunion of sorts of my boyfriend's friends. They were all saying things to him like, "what Mark, robbing the cradle?" and "You can't be a day over 30," and he's only 2 months older than me! (we are both 44). How totally fun! Blessings!

Congrats! That is so exciting. Keep us posted. Don't worry so much about size. Look at your body and go from there. Do you want to be smaller or just have the ability say you're a size 4? I always got more compliments as a 4-6 than a 2. It's all very personal based on your body and goals. Do you have pics posted? Keep up the good work.