Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Just re-starting a workout plan. I keep making excuses...(5 kids, full time work, school, etc) but that isn't working for me anymore. Going to start P90X today (second round but not without a very long break of about a year).

This is my wife and me on our way to a warrior dash. I am on the left.

wow a lesbian couple with 5 kids, that's awesome. Glad to hear you are giving up on excuses and ready to get at it.

Keep pushin' and hope to read about your progress here.

-Dylan

Thanks, C.O.

Feel free to be constructively critical! My food for today:

Breakfast:
2 cups coffee w/soy creamer (haven't been able to give this one up...)
Lara Bar - Key Lime Pie

Lunch:
Kale - 4 cups
Raw Sunflower Seeds - 1/4 cup
Braggs - 1/2 tsp
Nutritional Yeast - 2 TBSP
(I made a little mix with these.)

1st Snack:
Asparagus, lightly baked - 14 spears

2nd Snack:
Banana - 1 medium

Dinner:
Homemade Chili - about 1 1/2 cups
Tofutti Sour Cream - 1 TBSP
Daiya Cheese - 1/4 cup
Crackers - 1 serving

3rd Snack:
Kiwi - 1 medium


Totals:
Fat - 58g
Sodium - 2161
Total Carbs - 215
Protein - 42 (I understand that this is very low. Out of protein supplements at the moment and not terribly good at eating the meat substitutes.)

Please make suggestions on what I can improve diet wise. I know one day is not a good indicator of how a person typically eats but I plan on posting many more days. I also can not have tree nuts in the house as one of my children is allergic. Lara Bars are an exception I sneak when I am not at home.

I will post my workout later. Unfortunately, the kids had Fall Festivals today as everything was postponed due to weather. So, I folded a couple load of laundry and walked the neighborhood - does that count as a workout? And no worry, we don't eat the candy...they just have the experience. The candy goes to the soldiers over seas.

Just finished first day of P90x. Hoping to exercise earlier in the day...was tired before I even got started. Didn't realize how weak I am these days.

Note to self: Don't stop.

Today was P90X Plyometrics. I think maybe I am not eating enough...feeling very drained during workout. Since I finished Insanity I don't think P90X cardio should be hard to keep up with...

Food today:

Breakfast:
1 cup Coffee w/soy creamer
Banana
Lara Bar - Apple Pie

Snack 1:
1/2 cup grapes

Lunch:
1.5oz Baby Spring Mix
1/8 cup raw sunflower seeds
3oz. carrots

Snack 2:
1/2 cup Cucumber slices

Snack 3:
Med Fuji Apple

Dinner:
Small Baked potato
1 TBSP Tofutti Sour Cream
1/4 cup Daiya cheese
1 1/8 cup frozen veggies
2 TBSP barbecue sauce

Totals:
Fat: 29
Carbs: 198
Protein: 23

..I just noticed calories are at 1096...I am going to find a snack before bed.

Hello Veggiewarrior13!

I just started my journal here a few days ago and tonight I will start the P90X myself (and my wife).
My first impression is that you dont eat enough and that's not good for you, especially when you work out.
Coffee dehydrates big time so, by the time you're having your coffee in the morning you're supposed to have had enough water. How much water do you drink in a day? How about sleep?

Thanks, GeorgeP. I believe you may be right; I am not eating enough. Upped my intended calories today. Hopefully that will help me out. I have been operating at a deficit so long it seems weird to intentionally eat more.

I drink a good deal of water. Get a gallon or just over every day.

Is coffee very detrimental? I can stop drinking coffee (and have for raw weeks before) but I just happen to like it in the morning.

Personally I don't find anything wrong with coffee. Lots of athletes using caffeine supplements, I just prefer to drink mine
I definitely agree that you want your calories to be higher. I've noticed that I get really sluggish pretty quickly if I'm not eating enough, and then my lifts suffer. An idea for you because you have a hard time with the meat replacements... maybe try to incorporate more beans? I pretty regularly take a can of beans and empty the entire thing out onto a "side salad" at work to make it into an appropriately sized entree for myself during lunch, even add an avocado if I'm feeling like really filling up. I know this isn't a possibility for some people because they have trouble digesting beans or just don't like them, but if this isn't the case for you I bet it would help you pack on some more calories and protein! I've found substituting lentils in for recipes where I would've previously used ground beef helps keep my protein high, as well, without having to rely on store-bought meat replacements.
Also, I know you said that you were out of protein supplements, so I'm not sure if you regular supplement with a shake or something similar, but if you don't that might be a good idea too. I fix a morning shake with soy protein, soy milk, peanut butter, and a banana that gets me to ~45 g protein and 450 kcal before I even walk out of the door or have my first sip of coffee in the morning. It fills me up and gets me ready to go conquer the day with some solid nutrition already behind me.
Anyway, welcome to the forums!

Thank you for the welcome, BeansNBroccoli. I read a bit about coffee today and decided I will keep my one cup per day. I understand that it can be dehydrating as GeorgeP said but I think that one caffeine drink in the morning will not hurt so much.

Beans aren't a problem for me, we actually eat them pretty often in my house. With all these children running around we have a weekly menu every week and Wednesday is taco night. It's our busiest day and tacos are quick. Yummy. Not a bad idea to take them to work with me. I need to get some dry and cook them up...trying to watch my sodium so too many cans are out. Thanks for the suggestion. Avocados rock too. The two days before I began my journal I had two with lunch each day. That's the only reason they haven't been in my lunches since I began posting.

I don't actually dislike the meat substitutes; I am just trying to stay away from too much processed food. When I began a vegan diet I relied on them. I had to learn how to eat veggies.

I do usually use a protein powder but we don't have any in the house right now. Today I did start with a smoothie, though.

Food for today:

Breakfast -
1 cup coffee with soy creamer
Fruit smoothie w/banana, frozen fruit, soy milk, flax seed

Snack 1-
1/2 block tofu sauteed in olive oil

Lunch -
2 cups kale
1/2 block tofu sauteed in olive oil
2 TBSP nutritional yeast
1 tsp. Braggs Amino Acids

Snack 2 -
1 medium apple

Dinner -
4 spears asparagus
1 cup elbow macaroni
2/3 cup broccoli & cauliflower

Snack 3 -
Protein Bar

Totals -
Fat 50g
Carbs 199
Protein 90 (much better)
Calories 1572

...and workout was completed. P90X Shoulders and Arms.

Food today:

Breakfast -
1 cup coffee with soy creamer
smoothie w/banana, soy milk, frozen fruit, flax seed

Snack 1 -
1 cup grapes

Lunch -
2 cups garden salad (with olives, zucchini, carrots, green onions, Bragg's)

Snack 2 -
Avocado with nutritional yeast

Dinner -
Taco Night!
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup refried beans
1/4 cup Daiya cheese
2/3 cup spinach
small flour tortilla
two hard taco shells

Snack 3-
Protein bar

Totals:
Fat 60g
Carbs 223g
Protein 60g


Workout today was P90X yoga. I do NOT like this workout. Ugh.

Food for today:

Breakfast -
1 cup Coffee w/soy creamer
1 cup steel cut oats
1/2 tbsp flax seed
1 banana

Snack 1 -
Banana (was feeling bananas today)

Lunch -
1 1/2 cup garden salad
1/2 cup spinach leaves
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup grilled zucchini

Snack 2 -
1 medium fuji apple
1.5 cup boiled kale

Dinner -
Veggie casserole w/rice

Snack 3 -
Protein bar

Totals -
Fat 23g
Carbs 246g
Protein 51g
Calories 1344

Workout completed today was P90X back and legs.

Today's food:

Breakfast -
1 cup coffee with soy creamer
1 banana
1 serving steel cut oats w/flax seed

Lunch
2 cups 15 bean soup

Dinner -
1.5 cups veggie soup

Snack -
protein bar

Totals:
Fat 32g
Carbs 205g
Protein 59g
Calories 1332

I am taking a day off from workouts as I have a big physical day planned tomorrow.

Didn't get a chance to welcome you aboard.. So ... Welcome

With regards to coffee, you're right a cup a day won't hurt, in fact I've found that drinking coffee an hour or so before training or even directly before training in some cases really improves my performance. Right now though the cup I'm drinking is to get me through work..
All the best and I look forward to seeing your progress
Ross

Thank you for the welcome, rossco. I have been enjoying your journal.

Food for today

Breakfast -
2 cups coffee with soy creamer (Saturday cheat, I suppose)
1 cup oatmeal

Lunch -
4 small red potatoes
1.5 cups kale
1/4 cup green onion
1/4 cup yellow onion
1 TBSP nutritional yeast

Snack -
Protein Bar

Dinner -
Vegan Un-chicken nuggets (the kids get a cheat meal too )
1 cup green beans
1 cup cous cous

Totals
Fat 23g
Carbs 246g
Protein 72g
Calories 1412


My workout today included moving a wood pile, then moving it back. Moved it about 30 feet up a small hill.
This pile:


Then, I pulled this sled around for about half an hour. I went up and down the small hills around my house. Had a little help getting the weight on the sled up. The kids took turns.