Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hello, Hi, Hola & Howdy ya'll!

I've enjoyed & been inspired by reading what many of ya'll have posted so now it's time to join the party!

My wife ( who will be joining the forum very soon! ) & I have decided to start a cleansing diet next week that will continue for over a month. We're still discussing some of the details but here's the general plan:

Day 1: Whole foods
Day 2: Raw
Day 3: Liquid
Day 4: Master Cleanse
Day 5: Master Cleanse
Day 6: Master Cleanse
Day 7: Liquid
Day 8: Raw
Day 9: Whole Foods

After that, we'll follow this plan (or something very similar) for 4 weeks:
Sunday: Vegan
Monday: Whole foods
Tuesday: Raw
Wednesday: Liquid/Cleansing
Thursday: Raw
Friday: Whole foods
Saturday: Vegan

After all of that, we plan to make some permanent changes to our diet but we're not sure what yet exactly...

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

What is the Vegan food day...is that the day you eat lots of packaged goodies that say Vegan on them

The Vegan day is just our "regular" diet day where we eat whatever vegan food we want.

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

I like your plan, with the different days. You will have to tell us how you feel on those different days!

_________________
"Look at your life, determine what is not in line with your heart, and make an honest effort to change it." - John Robbins

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Yesterday was Day 1!

Eating mostly whole foods is something that we regularly do anyway so this was nothing that out of the ordinary for us. I started the day as I usually do by drinking several (3-5) glasses of water & having a cup of tea. I also had a tiny amount of fruit smoothie - maybe a couple of spoonfuls total. I think I may have had a piece of fruit but I cant remember...

Mid-day food included:
- 1 large-ish bowl of rice, quinoa, curried lentils & kale
- 1 16oz/480ml bottle of home-brew kombucha
- 1 small handful of pinon pine nuts
+ lots of water

For the afternoon & evening I ate:
- 1 large bowl of brown rice, black beans & fresh salsa
- approx. 1/3 of a cantelope melon
- 2 banana's
- 1 tangerine
- 1 apple
- approx. 20 soaked almonds
- approx. 2 oz of mixed flax, sesame & hemp seeds
- approx. 10 medium/large leaves of spinach
+ lots of water & several cups of herbal tea: chamomile, an echinacea blend & a "smooth move" laxative blend

I plan to weigh myself & take my blood pressure/pulse each evening that I can. Yesterday evening's results: 195 lbs, 120/73, 63

Bonus info: My 4 year old is walking around the house singing "Please Don't Touch" by Girlschool/Motorhead!

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

Day 2!

Today is our raw day. Here's what I ate:
- Lots of water
- 2 cups of echinacea blend tea
- 2 cups peppermint tea
- 1 cup "Smooth Move" laxative tea
- 1 banana
- a couple of bites of mango
- approx. 1/4 of an apple, mostly the core
- 4 walnuts, fresh out of the shell
- approx. 25 rasberries
- 3/4 of a tangerine
- approx. 1/2 cup bluberries
- 40 soaked almonds
- 1 cantelope minus 1 piece
- large mixed salad with burdock, spinach, red leaf lettuce & more

I'm feeling good overall though I do have some congestion & headache.
Todays weight & vitals: 195lbs, BP 117/75, Pulse 72

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

so I thought since I am doing the cleanse with love liberate I would add to the blogthang!
So I am going into this with a head cold and feel kinda crappy.
Yesterday was o.k. with whole foods although I did notice really wanting sweets.
today is my third day off of caffeine and the first day that I have had a headache most of the day.
Today I was advised not to do a cleanse by a Chinese Medicine Practicioner/Acupuncturist due to spleen deficiency/yang and Qi deficiency.
I am going to continue anyway and see how I do.
I am hoping the cleanse will improve my health and help me to get off of caffeine and feel more energetic.
Anyway, today is raw foods day...I am doing o.k. so far but feel kind of hungry...I have eaten lots. I am not sure if it is due to old habits or just that my body is trying to change over.
I am thinking of pizza, warm miso, toast and tofu and all kinds of other
things. I find myself thinking about when I can eat warm food again.
hopefully it will get easier and easier.
I am still very tired as usual, so no change in energy level so far!
Tomorrow is liquids day but I may start the cleanse early.

so day one of the Master Cleanse..We skipped the all liquids day for different reasons.
I woke up feeling o.k., even though I thought I would awaken hungry.
I drank the lemonade about 2 hours later. So far I have had 32 oz of the lemonade. I am getting hungry again so I think it is time for more. I have drank about 50 oz. of water but definately feel very thirsty.
I am thinking about food alot...and realizing that I have some emotional issues around eating.
ex: It's a nice day so I want to eat, watching a movie I want to eat.

I feel a little nervous and shaky and cold. I am still very tired and was hoping that my energy level would pick up. If it does not by the end of the cleanse, then I will know it is not very food oriented.

the kids are eating all raw foods so it is easier that I do not have to smell food cooking, but I am preparing it, which makes it a little tougher.

I feel kind of "wimpy" that I want to eat so much...

I am peeing alot and my poop has changed, I really want to see something funky come out (O.k. not too funky!) cuz everyone has stuff stuck in their Gi tract.

I am glad to be doing this with loveliberate, it is nice to have support and accountability.

Hi loveliberate and lotus!

Just wanted to cheer you two on!

I hope the cleanse is still going well. I did one (11-day Detox by Bernard Jensen) for New Years and totally bonked around day 5, so I know how hard it is. However, I didn't stop working out, so I think that was my demise. That said, try to take it easy if you can!

_________________
http://www.myspace.com/smashingdarling

Thanks for the cheers Yogita! I will be cheering if we see you two again at vegan vacation this year!

Today I broke the lemonade cleanse with fresh squeesed orange juice. I drank that, tea, and water for most of the day and then did some fresh veggie juice.
I juiced carrot, beet, celery and ginger...it was very good especially after 3 days of the lemonade!
O.k. so while I was on the lemonade cleanse I felt very thirsty the whole time, even though I was drinking a gallon plus of water for day 2 and 3. My tongue was very coated and dry and the taste in my mouth was awful!
My energy level has been o.k. but I have not been doing that much either.
I ccoked for the kids today and the food looked very tempting, but I feel good about easing into cooked food again.
I feel like after the initial emptying of my intestines that nothing much else came out.
I think I will have more insights into the benefits of the cleanse as time goes on and as I start to introduce foods back into my system.
I think the next time I do a cleanse I will do a different one.
I am looking very forward to raw day tomorrow!

Thanks Yogita!

I apologize for falling behind on this - here's a quick summary. My lemonade cleanse lasted for 4 days. Like Jen, I went on to having fresh squeezed orange juice which was followed by a fresh juiced carrot, beet, celery and ginger blend. Then came the raw day & finally a whole foods day. We are postponing & re-evaluating the cleansing diet month....

The cleanse went well for me though no amazing/weird stuff came out. I felt great the whole time with tons of energy, no hunger or headaches, etc. If anything, I felt better than I usually do! Weight-wise, I lost about 8-9 pounds during the cleanse. Of that, 5-6 pounds have stayed off - which I am very happy about.

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

Hey yous twos!

So, over a month since you started the cleanse, and you're most likely back to eating a more or less "normal" diet...I'm curious...how goes it?

_________________
http://www.myspace.com/smashingdarling

Thanks for checking in! Nothing real noteworthy to mention - we have become more thoughtful about what we eat but haven't made any major changes.

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

I've decided to start using my blog more often. Right now, I'll mostly be using it to share personal tidbits that I think/hope folks here will find interesting.

Heres some news:

I recently signed up for a new phone plan that includes unlimited long-distance on Saturdays, Sundays & nights after 7pm pacific time. I also get cheap international calling rates. Yay!

My family had a pretty busy Mother's Day. We started out by driving east through the dark, wet & green forests east of Portland. It felt great to get out of the city! We continued on and up to the top end of the road on Wy'East (aka Mt. Hood). It was sunny where we were but the clouds came & went from the peak above us & the many lower peaks & valleys below.

After this, we headed around the east side of the mountain down to the town of Hood River. The forests here are much more dry & open. As you get close to town you come into a valley filled with orchards, vineyards & farms that is surrounded by hills & mountains. Here you have great views of Wy'East to the south & Mt. Adam's snow-capped peak across the Columbia river in Washington state.

Hood River itself is a pleasant town set right in the Columbia River Gorge. We stopped by Mother's Market, a nice natural foods market & deli that is entirely vegan with the exception of a few products containing honey or casein. We had a couple of slices of their vegan pizza which was tasty & filling.

From Hood River we headed back to Portland through the very scenic Columbia Gorge with the Columbia River in view most of the time. We stopped at Multnomah Falls & walked up to the bridge at the base of the falls. Apparently you can hike to the top of the falls - maybe we can get a group together to do this during Vegan Vacation?

We wrapped up our Mother's Day adventure with a visit to Blossoming Lotus for dinner. We had a great time & now have even more ideas for things to do when folks come visit!

_________________
"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." - The Dalai Lama, May 2001 at "Educating Heart Summit" in Portland, OR.
http://www.a-human-right.com - http://www.aware.org

ll & l: Wow. WOW. WOW!!! The most lenient-appearing days of your cleanse are a lot "cleaner" than my strictest food plans have ever been. Congratulations to the two of you for eating and living in such a healthful manner, and thanks for sharing your experiences.