veganmama's food and fitness log

[veganmama]

my goal is to get in good shape and feel really healthy and fit. I have 2 young kids and I want to be able to keep up with them (as they are quite exhausting) and I also want to be a good role model for them as they grow up-- I want them to be as proud to have me as their mom as I am to have them as my babies.


Here is a little "case history" of my body by way of pictures:

1. my belly- 1 year and 2 months ago (8 months pregnant- I swear, that is NOT a basketball under my shirt)...



2. my poor tummy now... after being stretched out twice by giant babies....




3.me, a week after Finn was born (a little more than a year ago)...





4. me and the kids now...





I have lost most of my pregnancy weight but, as you can probably guess, I am pretty interested in strengthening my core and losing the last of my "baby belly".

My Specific Goals:

1. lose 20 lbs of body fat.

2. work out at least 6 days a week.... a combination of cardio machines, strength resistance circuit, and group fitness classes (yoga, dance, kickbox).

3. Eat lots of healthy vegan food, mostly raw fruits and veggies, some brown rice and tofu.

4. have fun and feel good.

ANY AND ALL comments/suggestions are always appreciated!!!

[veganmama]

DAY 1 (starting weight 161lbs)

Monday 7/14/08

breakfast:

coffee w/ soymilk
watermelon

lunch:

tiny bit of leftover thai green curry w/ rice (1/2 cup total)
avocado and tomato salad w/ organic balsamic vinaigrette

dinner: something healthy

snack/s: ??

exercise: none

NOTE: today is Friday, my internet has been down most of the week so I am just now updating... I can't remember what I had for dinner on monday and I didn't write it down! I know it was gooooood and healthy though

[veganmama]

DAY 2: Tuesday 7/15/08 Weight: 163 +2lbs (possibly PMS)

Breakfast:

coffee w/ soymilk
raw organic food bar

MORNING WORKOUT:
60 MIN CARDIO
3 MINUTES OF CRUNCHES

Lunch:
32 oz juice *FRESH* - "Farmer's Treat" (celery, carrot, apple, ginger, beet)

Snack:
thai rice noodle bowl w/ chili sauce and lime

EVENING WORKOUT:
1 HOUR ASTHANGA YOGA

Dinner:
Gnu Foods flavor & fiber bar
watermelon

GOOD DAY!!

[veganmama]

DAY 3 Wednesday 7/16/08

Breakfast:

coffee

1/2 avocado
1 slice ezekiel bread
earth balance

Lunch:

tofu/brown+wild rice/onion/tomato/zucchini
on a bed of...
romaine lettuce

Dinner:

vegan pizza

Snacks:

apple slices, mint chocolate chip tofutti cutie, iced coffee w/ chocolate almond milk, graham crackers w/ tofutti cream cheese (NOTE: I am DEFINITELY pms-ing I don't normally eat that much chocolate or "junk food")

WORKOUT:
1 HOUR HATHA YOGA

[veganmama]

DAY 4 Thursday 7/17/08

NOTE: My sister in law had her baby Wednesday night a few minutes before midnight!! We were at the hospital until about 12:30 am so I didn't get much sleep (+ Finn didn't sleep much at all even after we got home because he has EIGHT teeth coming in )

I spent all day at the hospital with Luz (SIL) thursday (so I ate mostly cafeteria food) and I didn't get to work out Oh well, baby Gabriel will only be one day old once!! I didn't want to miss out on it

Breakfast:

large soy latte
Bumble Bar

Lunch:

Odwalla Super Protein- chocolate
small bag of Sunchips (gag)

Dinner:

a few bites of a wheat roll from cafeteria before I realized I was late to pick my husband up at work and a few sips of a fruit smoothie before I threw it away because it was way too sweet... (wouldn't you think that a hospital, of all places, would be more interested in having some truly healthy food???????)

[veganmama]

DAY 5 Friday 7/18/08 Weight: 159.5 (-1.5lbs from starting weight)

Breakfast:

coffee w/ soymilk
Organic Food Bar-wild blueberry flavor (98% Raw) (yuck, I did NOT like this flavor... odd, because I like all of their other flavors...something about it just didn't work for me.... made me wish I had kept it simple and just had a banana for breakfast oh well)

Lunch:

"B".L.T sandwich on sprouted wheat bread (fake-bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato & Nayonaise)

Dinner:

bean and lettuce tostada w/ spicy carrots (mmmmmm....)

Snack/s:
organic baby carrots w/ eggplant hummus

WORKOUT:

none

[veganmama]

Monday 7/21/08 weight: 158 (-3 lbs from start)

Breakfast:

2 cups coffee w/ soymilk
kashi w/ a banana, raspberries and soymilk


Lunch:

vegan restaurant:
vegetable samosas, artichoke dip w/ chips, salad w/ hearts of palm and green olives, soy ice cream

Dinner:

almond flavored agar-agar "Jell-o"

Snack/s:

1pc sprouted wheat bread w/ organic earth balance and 1/2 avocado
Laura's wholesome junk food "bitelettes"

Workout:

none



today was my husband's day off... we went out for lunch at a new (new to us at least) vegan restaurant as a treat, it was really fun! He has been sticking to the vegan thing for almost 2 months now! He has lost 14 lbs just cutting out meat and dairy from his diet(!). We had a fun day, I feel a little guilty for the soy ice cream and all... but I am trying not to because it is not like I eat junk food every day and it WAS a lot of fun

[veganmama]

Tuesday 7/22/08

Ok, I need to vent:

My dad has had a myriad of health problems over the last 10 years... cancer, which is now in remission and more recently (the last 2 years), a stroke, heart disease, the list goes on and on. Right now he is in a nursing home because over the last few weeks he has fallen repeatedly and he lives alone. At the hospital he was taken to by ambulance last week they discovered something wrong with his spine (a lesion? a bruise? something about the myelin sheath.) and yesterday a doctor at the nursing home told him that he has Multiple Sclerosis(!) without giving him any good reason or having run any tests (which I am pretty sure is very important when diagnosing someone with MS)... she just blurts out MS!!! My dad has been on xanax for 40 years and so this bitch who tells him he has MS out of the blue also takes xanax off of his list of meds... so my dad is having a fucking heart attack in this nursing home with these incompetent people taking care of him. I want to cry right now. I feel so sad for my dad and angry about the lack of care that he is receiving. I want to call the nursing home and express my concern but he is afraid that if I raise my voice in concern they will take it out on him and his level of care will decline even further.

uuuuuggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[veganmama]

Tuesday 7/22/08

breakfast:

2 cups of coffee w/ soymilk
1 banana

snack/s:

organic food bar-chocolate
apple slices
handful of pumpkin seeds

lunch:

black bean, tofu, and corn enchiladas w/ "sour cream", 1 avocado and some spicy carrots

dinner:

kashi w/ soymilk

workout:

none But I DID get a lot of stuff done around the house that I had been putting off, so that's good.

[veganmama]

Wednesday 7/23/08

I lost track of this day... didn't write anything down and I have a bad case of mommy brain so I don't remember anything about it!

[Andreafrancis]

Tuesday 7/22/08

Ok, I need to vent:

My dad has had a myriad of health problems over the last 10 years... cancer, which is now in remission and more recently (the last 2 years), a stroke, heart disease, the list goes on and on. Right now he is in a nursing home because over the last few weeks he has fallen repeatedly and he lives alone. At the hospital he was taken to by ambulance last week they discovered something wrong with his spine (a lesion? a bruise? something about the myelin sheath.) and yesterday a doctor at the nursing home told him that he has Multiple Sclerosis(!) without giving him any good reason or having run any tests (which I am pretty sure is very important when diagnosing someone with MS)... she just blurts out MS!!! My dad has been on xanax for 40 years and so this bitch who tells him he has MS out of the blue also takes xanax off of his list of meds... so my dad is having a fucking heart attack in this nursing home with these incompetent people taking care of him. I want to cry right now. I feel so sad for my dad and angry about the lack of care that he is receiving. I want to call the nursing home and express my concern but he is afraid that if I raise my voice in concern they will take it out on him and his level of care will decline even further.

uuuuuggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so sorry to hear this. Did he go ahead and get a proper diagnosis. Do you get to visit him?

[I'm Your Man]

Keep on the good work !

My Specific Goals:

1. lose 20 lbs of body fat.

2. work out at least 6 days a week.... a combination of cardio machines, strength resistance circuit, and group fitness classes (yoga, dance, kickbox).

3. Eat lots of healthy vegan food, mostly raw fruits and veggies, some brown rice and tofu.

4. have fun and feel good.

ANY AND ALL comments/suggestions are always appreciated!!!

#3 and #4 are very important ingredients for the success of #1 !!
From my personnal experience, (I'm losing 15-20 pounds of fat every summer in less than a month, then always gain it back in a bit more than a month) I've noticed that very low calorie diet works well to lose weight fast for like 2 weeks, then it's a complete failure and I stop losing weight and I even gain some, because the metabolism becomes too slow, I lose motivation and I am too weak to work out. Best diets are alternating often between low-cals and medium calorie intake, for short periods of time, like 3 days each. To always eat enough to have full energy to work out.

#2 perhaps is a bit too much pressure and stress, and taking some break to rest and relax often helps. You can set goal for 3 days/week weight lifting + 2 days cardio for instance, and when you can train for a 6th day, you're gonna be even more proud of yourself because you do better than what you aimed for.

all the best luck to you

[veganmama]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Did he go ahead and get a proper diagnosis. Do you get to visit him?

Thank you for asking, he did get a proper diagnosis on wednesday after much suffering at that ridiculous nursing facility. He had emergency surgery wednesday afternoon (it is a lot to explain, but it had to do with a pump he has implanted in his spine which supplies pain medication because of chronic pain from the cancer). Anyway, he is doing better physically, but not mentally.

The director of the nursing home came to see him in the hospital because he filed a complaint and they are basically afraid that he is going to sue him (which he is not). But it just makes me really sad to think of all of the people that have to actually live in that place long term.

I do visit him a lot. It is kind of hard on my kids though (I don't have anyone to babysit them and my husband works 12-14 hours a day so I have to take them with me) so the visits don't last long.

[veganmama]

Keep on the good work !


#3 and #4 are very important ingredients for the success of #1 !!
From my personnal experience, (I'm losing 15-20 pounds of fat every summer in less than a month, then always gain it back in a bit more than a month) I've noticed that very low calorie diet works well to lose weight fast for like 2 weeks, then it's a complete failure and I stop losing weight and I even gain some, because the metabolism becomes too slow, I lose motivation and I am too weak to work out. Best diets are alternating often between low-cals and medium calorie intake, for short periods of time, like 3 days each. To always eat enough to have full energy to work out.

#2 perhaps is a bit too much pressure and stress, and taking some break to rest and relax often helps. You can set goal for 3 days/week weight lifting + 2 days cardio for instance, and when you can train for a 6th day, you're gonna be even more proud of yourself because you do better than what you aimed for.

all the best luck to you

Thank you for your support and advice!

I really like that idea of limiting calories for 3 days/eating normally for 3 days- that makes a lot of sense. You don't want your body to ever get too comfortable, right?

muchas gracias for all of your input!! It is much appreciated!

[veganmama]

Friday 7/25/08

Breakfast:

cinnamon raisin RAW organic food bar (yum)

Lunch:

salad...
romaine lettuce, avocado, warm masala burger patty (mmmmm....), kidney beans, dressing (hummus, vinegar, and tiny bit of olive oil)

Dinner:

stir fried veggies (bok choy, broccoli, carrots, celery) seasoned w/ liquid aminos over brown rice.

Snack/s:

pumpkin seeds

WORKOUT:

1 hour cardio... and some time spent throwing around a medicine ball w/ my brother's GF.

p.s. DOES anyone know of any actual exercies to do w/ a medicine ball??? We didn't really know what we were doing and felt like we probably looked pretty stupid haha.