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Vegan Curious


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I'm not currently vegan, but I find it tempting. I've been veggie for 9 years but I didn't research when I started, so I've been eating rather poorly for several years. Now that I'm not living with my parents I don't eat on the theory that 'convenient is best'. I need to better my veggie diet before progressing to vegan.

I've been in and out of the gym for several years, all of it starting because of competing in power lifting in high school. This year I've made more progress than any other time at the gym, but I need more! www.simplyshredded.com has made me obsessed! Up until now, it's been I go to the gym when I can, and I'm realizing that I don't push myself as much as I should. I'm hoping keeping this journal will keep me motivated so that in the new year I'll develop a body worth of a fitness competitor

I haven't really set my gym schedule yet, but what I do know is sundays are for lower body...emphasis on my glutes/hamstrings!

Mondays are upper body...Only in the last 2 -3 weeks have I started working shoulders, and they've become one of my favourite parts on my body! They've drastically improved. One area that I need to work more is back, mainly lower. I'm trying to fix this with dead lifts on sundays.

Tuesdays are a rest day (for now).

Wednesdays are either a gym class (Body Pump @ Goodlife) or my own whole body workout.

Thursdays are a rest day.

Friday and saturday are for intense cardio sessions. I also do cardio after my weight lifting, I want to shed some fat!

 

When I have more of a set schedule, I'll post exercises so that I'm not being so vague.

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Today, being monday, I worked upper body, which I don't enjoy nearly as much as lower...Majorly lost focus near the end. That could have been from inadequate nutrition before the workout, though.

Bench press - 55lbs x 10 x 3 sets

Chest machine I don't know the name of... - 60lbs x 10 x 3 sets

Shoulder press (BB) - 30lbs x 10 (1 set), 20lbs x 10 x 2 sets

Lateral raise combo - 7.5 DB in each hand 10 x 3 sets

Skull crushers/tricep bench (BB) - 20lbs x 10 x 3 sets (1 set consisting of 10 skull crushers and 10 bench)

Tricep extensions (DB) - 17.5lbs x 10 x 3 sets

Bicep curls (DB) - 15lbs in each hand, 10 x 3 sets

Preacher curls - 30lbs x 10 x 3 sets

Wide grip pull downs - 60lbs x 10 x 3 sets, 45lbs x 15 x 1 set

Close grip pull downs - 60lbs x 10 x 3 sets

Abs - crunches on decline bench, side raises with twist on incline bench, leg raises

 

I should have done cardio afterwards, but given the intensity of my cardio, my legs/butt couldn't handle it after yesterday's workout.

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Good rest day...my legs definitely are still appreciating it. They did scream at me a little when I had to lift myself off the floor while holding a 20kg dog, though.

My eating wasn't the greatest today...although given my typical diet, it wasn't all that bad, either. My pit fall was a client having brought in homemade toblerone cheesecake...How do you say no to that??

I started the morning off with a protein shake...30g protein, 1 banana, 1 scoop peanut butter and water.

Granola bar for snack.

Cheesecake...Some would be disappointed they gave into one piece, but I'm just happy I resisted having more.

Rice/broccoli mixture for lunch (brown rice).

Protein shake in the afternoon.

1 piece 12 grain toast with egg whites for dinner.

Tostitos with salsa/hot sauce (this is how I justify it...hot sauce to create a thermogenic effect)

 

I really should get in the habit of counting calories and macro-nutrients...I think that's my main problem, that I don't pay attention to the numbers...Just one more thing to work on.

 

Tomorrow - Body Pump with my boss!

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Holidays seem to make everything difficult. The 2 days before my holidays started I had zero time for anything between work, packing for my parents', and Christmas dinner with friends. Fortunately, I didn't eat TOO terrible over the last few days, but I also haven't worked out since wednesday. No gym in my hometown. I should have done small, easy exercises in the house though. Shoulda, coulda, woulda, I suppose.

I managed to stay away from most desserts while at my parents'..not all, but most. My protein intake was significantly lacking, though I think the tofurkey I had helped up it a bit. I also had a light bulb turning on moment when I had some kraft dinner one afternoon, and I felt awful afterwards. I'm not sure how I never put two and two together before, but at least now I know and have no real desire to eat it anymore...One less bad food to worry about!

 

Tomorrow I'm back at the gym. It'll be a little shorter time frame than I'd like since it'll be over my lunch break (luckily I have a split shift tomorrow and have more than just an hour), but I'm definitely going to make it worth while. These next few weeks my schedule is going to be really messed up. I won't be around the gym for the next 2 weekends, so I've really gotta push it on the days that I get.

Here's to building a better body!

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All in all, I did really well today. Definitely put myself in a caloric deficit.

Protein shake for breakfast..1 scoop protein, 2 tbsp peanut butter, and water..260 calories of protein and healthy fat.

Subway for lunch..No idea what the numbers are on that lol but I'm sure sub sauce destroys the healthy-ness.

I managed not to snack all afternoon while at work, then for dinner, veggie chicken breast, 1/2 cup rice, and 1 cup veggies. Dinner was 3 hours ago, and I haven't even thought of snacking..yay!

 

I had a decent workout before work, too. I decided to do legs/cardio. I had a minor muscle pull (groin) last wednesday at the end of the gym class but I had iced it, hadn't done much, and it was feeling really good so I thought it'd be ok...I got through the whole workout, it felt fine...until my cardio. Hill pattern on a treadmill. I made it about half way through before the twinges of pain started..then I was stupid and tried to do a little ab work with leg raises. On my third or fourth one, I felt the pull. I may have cursed a little, but I feel my language was justified lol I forgot how much it hurts!

I'm glad I got the workout in, but now I'm screwed for working legs for a while..and for cardio! What's really depressing is I'm really, really gunna have to watch my food intake, cause I'm trying to shred fat and my main tool for that was cardio... *sigh*

 

If anyone has tips on speeding up the healing process of a pulled muscle, please help!

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Today wasn't such a good day...It started off bad before it even began. Last night my building decided it only wanted to give us cold water, so no shower. This morning I slept in till 20 minutes after I was supposed to be at work, so no breakfast.

Half way through the morning at work my breakfast was a brownie (luckily a small one).

Subway (again) for lunch.

Another brownie in the afternoon, and an apple.

KD for dinner...only half the package, and I didn't even want it. I just want it out of my house. I don't feel ill after eating it, but I definitely don't feel good.

 

Knowing that I can't go to the gym, even to do cardio, is making me extremely antsy! I'd really appreciate any help on healing this muscle!

 

Tomorrow's menu is promising to be better than today's...Protein shake for breakfast, granola bar for snack, remaining tofurkey with brown rice and veggies for lunch, and either egg whites and veggies, or a protein shake for dinner.

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I'm clearly terrible at the whole planning meals ahead of time...

Egg whites and whole wheat toast for breakfast

Brownie as a snack...but there are no more left at work! Thank god.

Subway (had a craving...couldn't resist) for lunch

Small bit of tofurkey near the end of work

Egg whites and veggies when I got home, then some crackers.

 

I need to work on forcing myself to drink water...I'm really terrible about that. Today I've had a small amount, maybe 500ml. Then 2 teas and 250ml of coke (I'm getting better at avoiding pop..)

 

All I want is to go to the gym!

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All in all...I was pretty well behaved this weekend. With the exception of pizza. I was back at my parents' for the weekend again, hence not writing anything until now.

Saturday I had egg whites on whole wheat toast for breakfast, almonds on the train (with a cream soda...), pizza for dinner, and of course booze later lol

Yesterday I was at a friend's for the day, and we basically had a diet consisting of only tea...and pizza. Almonds again on the train with water, egg whites and veggies when I got home, then some crispy minis.

 

Today I've been very well behaved, though I didn't go to the gym...couldn't bare the thought of the cold and snow, and while there is a women's only gym above the grocery store I was at, being in a women's only gym is extremely unappealing.

For breakfast, 2 pieces whole wheat toast, one with peanut butter, one with egg whites.

For lunch/snack, small bag of carrots with a bit of ranch dip.

Dinner, soy chicken breast, veggies, and egg whites.

Right now I'm enjoying more crispy minis and water.

Again, I really need to start calculating macro-nutrients..Still working on that.

 

Tomorrow is back to work, then weather permitting, gym on wednesday for an upper body workout...but it just doesn't feel right not working legs, or cardio.

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All in all, pretty good day, I think.

 

Breakfast: Protein shake (banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 scoop protein, water)

- 360 calories, 28g protein

 

Snack: granola bar and an apple

 

Lunch: 1 cup veggies, 1/2 cup brown rice, and 1 soy chicken breast

- 350 calories, 4.5g fat, 45g carbs, 28 g protein

 

Dinner: protein shake (banana, few frozen berries, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 scoop protein)

- 265 calories, 39g protein, 10g carbs

 

Snack: pb & j

- 490 calories, 54g carbs, 21g fat, 14g protein

(These numbers are going to make me eat these a lot less, that's for sure..)

 

Total : 1365 calories, 109g protein (I slacked on getting all numbers for everything, so I'll leave those out..)

According to a calorie counter site, I'm allotted roughly 1500 calories/day, so yay! Now if only I didn't have that PB&J...

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Awesome day!

I pushed myself so hard in my [upper body] workout today that by the end, when I was trying to get out some push ups, I felt the need to either scream or cry...though I did neither.

With the exception of a can of coke, I as very well behaved as far as diet. I can't wait until these last few cans are gone and I'm not tempted by them anymore..

 

Breakfast - 1/2 (ish) cup egg whites with a bit of mushrooms and 1 cup veggies

 

Snack/pre-workout shake/lunch - protein shake (1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 banana, 1/2 soy milk, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, and a couple berries)

 

Post-workout shake - 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana, and water

 

Dinner - thrown together mixture of mushrooms, tofu, and fresh green beans with brown rice. I made this mostly for lunch at work the next two days, but I had a small bowl tonight to make my stomach shut up.

 

I have no way of measuring macronutrients from my dinner, but otherwise for today..

855 calories (including the coke), 80g protein, 40g carbs, 10(ish)g fat

I think it's safe to assume I'm under 1000calories for the day. Woot! Since my allowance is 1500/day, and I had an intense workout, I'm DEFINITELY in a deficit today!

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So sore from yesterday's workout! It was so intense that despite only working arms, back, and chest, my legs and my abs are also sore

 

Diet today was pretty good...I had 2 cokes (I want them gone!) and a banana/cranberry muffin that a client brought into us at work...I had to pat myself on the back for only having one, my god it was good. I did manage to stay away from the shortbread that she brought with it though.

 

Breakfast was egg whites on whole wheat toast and veggies

Granola bar for a snack

Coke with my rice/green bean/mushroom/tofu mixture for lunch

The muffin...mmm...and a protein shake for snack

Veggie chicken breast with veggies for dinner, and a coke.

 

On days that I workout, I drink so much water, that's all I want, but on days that I don't...the thought just really, really doesn't appeal. Gotta work on that..

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I was very proud of myself today. I desperately wanted Subway for lunch (I work beside one) despite having my rice mixture in the fridge, and I managed to tell myself no...I don't need all the extra carbs. Those delicious, delicious carbs..

 

Today's menu..

 

Protein shake for breakfast

(360 calories, 28g protein)

 

Granola bar for snack

(170 calories, 4g protein)

 

Rice mixture for lunch

([guesstimate] 250 calories..no idea on anything else)

 

Protein shake for snack

(265 calories, 39g protein)

 

Egg whites and veggies for dinner

(110 calories, 13g protein)

 

No coke today, but 4 cups of tea and my current glass of water.

Total = 1155 calories, 84g protein (not including whatever I got from lunch..maybe allow for 10-12g)

 

Any tips on how to get in some more protein without increasing my calories?

 

Oh, and I'm down 2.5lbs from just 5 days of eating well!

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The weekend wasn't as bad as I expected..Pizza Hut probably equaled my daily caloric intake, but it was SO good! I ate 5 pieces in total yesterday..4 in one sitting, which I really regretted. But having eaten that, I didn't eat much else for the day. Some pumpernickel bread and dip, and I drank quite a bit lol but not much food wise. Thankfully.

Today I was good, mostly. The only bad thing so far was a can of coke. Breakfast was 5 pieces of soy bacon, a granola bar and some almonds for 'lunch', and 1/2 cup egg whites on a piece of 12 grain toast for dinner. I'm going to have to have something else, too..I'm thinking either veggies and rice, or veggies and soy chicken..even though I shouldn't have more soy.

I haven't weight myself yet today..I've taken to doing weight checks at night, right before bed. I'll have an update tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow also means back to the gym! I'm going to try doing a bit of legs this week...see how that goes.

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Decent day..1109 calories, though I haven't consumed the last 110 yet, and 103g protein.

Does anyone have ideas on what I can eat that's low calorie and high in protein? I'm having EXTREME difficulty getting up to 1g protein/lb body weight.. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

I had a pretty good upper body workout again today..Not nearly as good as last week's, but that's what happens when my routine gets thrown off. I always start with bench press, and today all of them were taken, and by the time one was available, I was too deep into the workout to do it.

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Yesterday I apparently neglected to post...it wasn't the best of days. I wasn't in much of a caloric deficit despite not eating much. 2 protein shakes, as always, my rice mixture for lunch, and almonds for dinner (late night at work...had no desire to cook when I got home). I was roughly 100 calories below my daily allotted amount at the end of the day. Not ideal, but better than being over.

 

Today I did gym class...it was just ok. I was worried about my leg, and promised myself that I'd stop as soon as I felt anything that wasn't right in the muscle. I made it through most of the class, which was nice, but when we got to lunges it didn't feel right. I stopped in that set, continued with shoulders which were last, and tried to do abs..during one of the oblique crunches there were leg extensions involved, and there was a very notable 'pop' in the area of my pulled muscle, so I stopped there, too. *sigh* I just want to work legs again

Today's calories are completely unknown...though yet again I didn't eat much. Shake in the morning, veg chicken with broccoli and green beans for dinner, 3 cups of tea and 1 diet pepsi. The reason calories are unknown is that for lunch I was out, and had Japanese..grilled tofu with a bit of veg and rice. So I ate nothing horrible, but I'm not sure calories were ideal...

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I must be eating a lot worse than I think this week...my weight is steadily going back to what it was a week and a half ago. Granted, I'm not working out much cause of my damn leg, but I don't think I'm eating much at all *sigh* Highly annoying.

 

Today wasn't ideal, but not horrible (I think). Staff meeting at work, so we ordered lunch in...delicious thai food. While I'm assuming that my tofu pad thai is high in calories, other than a shake for breakfast, it was the only thing that I ate today. As much as I wanted a pop with lunch, and I desperately wanted one, I managed to avoid it. I also avoided all the bad cravings that lunch gave me...like ice cream.

So as far as triumphing over cravings, today was a smashing success. Otherwise...not so much.

Weight loss is a pain in the ass lol

 

I'm planning on hitting the gym tomorrow while on lunch at work, tear up my upper body a bit with the weights

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Decent day...workout was ok. It always sucks going to a different gym than normal...nothing is where you expect it to be and it makes it so much harder to get your head into the workout. I did alright though, worked hard enough on my upper body to make my legs a little shaky walking out.

Diet was alright...protein shake, subway (I justified it by no cheese, no sub sauce, and adding hot peppers, jalapenos, and hot sauce...delicious, btw), another protein shake, and egg whites and veggies.

Giving in to having subway makes it feel like it was a bad day though. Suppose it could have been worse. I didn't give into my desire to have pop with my sub.

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I so desperately want to eat chips or something equally crunchy and delicious...thank god I don't have anything in the apartment.

Good day as far as diet - 1200 calories and 140g protein (the total protein really caught me by surprise). I'm getting better with water intake, mostly because my boss is excellent with his diet and exercise regime (he got jacked in a year, and he hasn't even entered growth phase yet) and he scolded me for not drinking enough water lol

I know I'm only feeling so hungry and snack-ish because I'm bored, but my god I want food! lol Water will have to do, because I refuse to take in more calories today.

 

Can anyone give me suggestions on low cal, vegan proteins? I really don't want to be relying on my shakes for all, or majority, of my protein...but I guess I already am. That, egg whites, and soy chicken. I'm wondering if it's even possibly for me to go vegan..I hate most beans (except for green), chick peas, hummus...can't stand any of them, and it seems they're kind of a staple food.

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Hi,

 

as you probably already found, there is now a decent selection of vegan protein powders that have a great protein/calorie ration. but, since you're wondering about non-powder sources, soy (edamame/tempeh), gluten, and nutritional yeast are all in a good protein/calorie ratio. (do watch how much nutritional yeast you have though (i think you're not supposed to do more than 2T/day of the large flakes) because of uric acid).

 

Hope this helps..

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Yo,

What are your reasons for wanting to be vegan? This can really make a difference to how I'd recommend approaching the transition and choosing foods.

 

Regarding protein, what is your ultimate goal? If you're aiming to bulk up, you can eat more anyway, and if you're trying to cut and maintain your muscle, you don't need so much protein.

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Marble Slab ice cream...so delicious. lol I went today with friends of mine, but it also kept me full for hours, I didn't even think about food. My caloric intake for the day otherwise was low enough that the ice cream probably still didn't put me over my limit (I hope).

I didn't go to the gym, which I had kinda hoped for, but I did a fair bit of walking which was nice.

 

My daily target for water intake is 2L. I've made it, plus a little more, the last few days. Today I'm at 1L so far, but I'm about to pour my second. My skin already feels better, between cutting out pop and adding more water. I'm quite frustrated with what the scale is telling me though. I know I shouldn't focus on that, but it's what I'm conditioned to do as a woman! lol It's hard to break a habit like that.

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Thanks for replying, Richard

I don't have any major reasons for going vegan, which is probably why I haven't. I just think I'd like to try it, mostly because it'll force me to keep a cleaner diet.

My main goal at the moment is to shred fat..I have a lot of muscle, it's just got a soft covering lol Daily protein intake should be 1g/lb, I'm usually content if I hit 100, though. I've noticed that I'm maintaining a lot more muscle since keeping my intake that high...about 6lbs of it lol In the end, I want to be lean and muscular, which is why I'm lifting rather than doing cardio. Plus lifting is just more fun.

--

Today was an awesome day..clean breakfast, clean lunch, great workout (that included a compliment from a former pro-powerlifter on my form with bench press!), and I just had a shake now...just wondering what to have for dinner...

I bought groceries while I was out, and just knowing that I bought all healthy things makes me feel good. Veggies and tofu, that was it...I almost bought some 'convenience' snacks...falafel bites and spinach bites, made by a company that makes damn good soy chicken nuggets. I looked at the calorie : protein ratio though, and decided it just so wasn't worth it. A display of doritos, and one of pizza pockets pretty much made me drool though.

 

If any women are reading this, what's your bench like? I think I lift pretty decent, but I've never had anyone to compare to. I'm 125lbs and while I don't have a max. lift, today I did 55lbs x12 reps for 3 sets, followed by 65lbs x 6 reps.

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Good say so far...I'm currently at 1080 calories and 124g protein. Somehow I just kinda fell into a routine that provides me with enough protein, not sure how, but I'm not complaining. I'd like to say that's that for eating today, but my stomach won't shut up and my brain is too tired to fight it, so I'm making a second soy chicken breast. It's only 150 calories, and while I didn't want to have any more protein, my stomach was not content with the thought of veggies. My water intake is still good, at least 2L every day, thought right now I'm quite behind. It'll be finished before bed though.

Back to the gym tomorrow, and hopefully I can have a longer lunch from work on thursday and hit it then, too!

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Anyone else have those gym days where you just don't want to be there, and despite knowing you're working hard, it still feels half assed? That was my day today. I tried working legs, and while I didn't push it by trying any adduction exercises, it went well. I was wobbly walking up the stairs to leave, but it didn't feel fulfilling. I suppose that's because my head wasn't in it.

 

Total intake today was just over 1000 calories and just over 100g protein. I don't increase calories on gym days, and yet still I'm not dropping weight...very frustrating given that I'm used to dropping a pound or two practically just by thinking about it. Sadly, the more frustrated I feel, the more I dislike my body.

 

Hitting the gym again tomorrow, upper body this time..Then after work, out for dinner to one of the best restaurants ever! If you've never been to Mongolian Grill...find one and go to it. While I'll be way, way over calorie intake, the food can be very healthy. Veggies and tofu is essentially what I'll be eating, grilled right in front of me...There are worse things I could eat lol

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