THE +40 FORUM

[Vegan Joe]

jUSt checking in kids.

[JW]

jUSt checking in kids.

 

Hey Vegan Joe!!! How are things?

 

by calling us all kids, does that mean that we need a new thread for you??

 

hope all is well!!

[JW]

curious.... Are there any foods that you just can't eat anymore?

I've generally been okay with my foods but I sure can't eat very large portions anymore! I can't believe how much I used to eat when I was younger!

[Theresaann]

I can't get away with eating a lot of bread or other flour products. Or too many grains. Really, I also have to eat a fair percentage of raw greens to continue to lean out. And I've found that not eating after 6:30 pm or so is like magic for dropping the fat. I'm starting to settle into a high raw diet thats greens heavy, and lighter on the nuts and fruits. Not only great for fat loss but also gives tons of energy and makes my skin look so much younger.

[Vegan Joe]

jUSt checking in kids.

 

Hey Vegan Joe!!! How are things?

 

by calling us all kids, does that mean that we need a new thread for you??

 

hope all is well!!

OK, I can take a hint. I'll go away quitely. lol

Things are good, thanks for asking.

[JW]

LOL

just kidding, you are welcome here veganjoe!!!

 

glad to hear that things are well with you!

[JW]

Probably the biggest challenge I am facing which I attribute to age is stubborn bodyfat in the lower abs.

It is so frustrating to see great results in muscle growth and bodyfat% reduction but verry little reduction in that one area!

I'm pretty sure that if stay the course it will slowly disappear but man!!! does it go slowly!!!

[Guest]

I'm close enough. This forum should have private membership as far as who can see it. I have the same issue as JW. Its harder to loss bodyfat when you hit 30ville. It used to be easy, now I have to work twice as hard. It sucks.

[JW]

I find that I really don't care about the number (age)

It's all about how I feel. Sometimes I feel old when aches and pains hit, but in my mind I'm still young! Doesn't bother me at all sharing my age.

[Guest]

Do any of you men have man boobs?

[JW]

not me!

[RawVgn]

I'm 48. At 6-1 and 160 pounds with 6 pack abs, I'm feelin good-though I have had essential tremor since my teen years and it's substantially incurable. I was a few inches overweight when I was a regular vegan, but when I went low-fat raw (avg less than 10% fat daily), the stubborn fat around my waist melted off. I don't do any cardio to speak of and usually lift about 30 minutes twice a week. In my experience, fitness is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

 

I had my annual checkup last week; blood pressure was 94/52, pulse 70. They don't bother testing my blood after they did it a few years ago. No colon or prostate tests either. Whole checkup took less than 10 minutes.

 

I started experimenting with 5 grams daily of creatine about 2 weeks ago; hopin I can go from a triathlete type build to a little more of a bodybuilder look. I don't take any supplements except an occasional B12. Haven't been sick in 2 years. not so much as a headache, fever, nothing. Sex drive in many ways is better than when I was a teenager. Do martial arts twice a week; I'm the second oldest person in my school of about 100 students. I see nothing to stop me from training and casually competing for many more years.

 

Veganism, and particularly raw veganism, has made all the difference for me. If someone had told me 5 years ago I would be fitter at 48 than I was as an athletic 20 year old, I would have laughed. I'm still amazed at the transformation I've experienced.

[JW]

Wow!!! thanks so much for posting that RawVgn!

 

I experimented with eating raw a couple years ago. I find it tough (for me) to keep on the diet. (I should really focus on substantially increasing my raw intake. I totally agree with you about the diet part. I'm prone to candida and eating high raw was the only thing that really helped.

 

I was interested to read about your essential tremor.

I was diagnosed with that a few years ago. It's not horrible but every so often people get a bit freaked out because my head or hands are shaking.

 

How has yours been?

My doctor told me that there are a few options available to control it but recommended waiting until the tremors got to a level where it was "socially noticeable"

[RawVgn]

Yeh, alot of ET out there. I've had it since I was a teenager but it got a lot worse when I hit about 40. Main thing that got me into veganism and then raw veganism was the diets help reduce the tremor quite a bit. For a while, I thought the raw thing might even cure it. I have pretty bad-very noticeable in my head and voice though the raw diet has reduced it probably 50%. Part of me believes ET is another dietary toxemia like heart disease or most diabetes. There's a pretty good body of literature that points to cooking by-products and grains as neurotoxins. Unfortunately, I've never come across another person with ET who has tried raw to see if they improved as much as I did when I stopped eating cooked food, and the researchers aren't interested probably because you can't profit from food like you can from drugs and surgery.

 

I don't take any of the drugs because all they do is partially treat the symptoms and they tend to be pretty powerful with lots of annoying or toxic side effects. Just hope you don't progress to being really bad because deep brain surgery and a lifetime on central nervous system meds aren't great options. Guess there's a silver lining to ET though: I probably would never have experimented with diets and nutrition as much as I have if I didn't have it so in a strange way the ET has made me healthier than I might have otherwise been. I also had to give up my traditional career and ended up reinventing myself as a pretty good securities trader-lends itself to long hours of solitude and study and patience (at least the way I practice it.) So now I make a good living and call my own shots and have a lot more free time for doin things I enjoy like liftin and growin organic veggies and hangin out with my boys. Life's pretty strange.

 

ET is almost invariably progressive so anything you can do to slow it down is a big benefit. If you do end up experimenting with raw some more, I'd love to know if it reduces the tremor? If you ever have any questions involving ET feel free to ask me; I've way more experience with it than I'd like.

[JW]

wow! I imagine that must be very tough to live with.

My symptoms are relatively sporadic. I just get the odd comment from friends who see me shaking.

I agree on the surgery thing. I just looked at my doctor with disbelief when he mentioned that.

I hope that the continuing clean diet will help you overcome this thing.

[JW]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/635584

 

 

here's a role model for us "old" people (and he's from my city too)

[govegan]

46 here. Hanging on to as much fabulousness as I can handle until I explode (or have to wear diapers)

[Theresaann]

rawvgn very inspiring! will you share what you eat on a daily basis? I'm wanting to go all/high raw all the time....would love to see how it looks in action-thanks!

[JW]

46 here. Hanging on to as much fabulousness as I can handle until I explode (or have to wear diapers)

 

I love it!

that just about sums it up doesn't it?

[RawVgn]

Hi Theresaann

 

I'm the epitome of simplicity-at least when it comes to diet and exercise. I eat pretty much the same things (different varieties) everyday: bananas, cantalopes, watermelon, oranges, grapefruit, grapes, papapaya, tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, 1/2 an avacado-any fresh (non fatty) fruit basically and as much as I like whenever I like. So yesterday is pretty typical: 3 or 4 bananas and a large cantalope for breakfast, a large (like 4 regular servings) salad for brunch of romaine, cucumber, tomatoe, and 1/2 an avacado. Half a large papapaya for lunch. More bananas as snacks, then 1/3 of a large watermelon for dinner. Then another large salad (without the avacado) for late snack followed by a few bananas. I don't take any supplements except occasional B12 and don't drink any fluids. That's it. The nutrient ratio works out to about 80% carbs, 10% protein, and 10% max of fat. Most people on this diet really have to keep the fat down because it will really slow down your burn rate and can cause yeast problems-the sugar burns fast as long as you keep the fat under 10% which also gives you tons of energy.

 

This diet makes me very lean and ripped so I don't need to do any cardio. I just lift weights about twice a week for about 30 minutes each session: 1 set of about 12 exercises each time to complete failure at about 8 reps (High Intensity Lifting or HIT). This very simple, affordable, and time efficient routine keeps me in tip top condition year round. Hope ya give it a try!

 

There's a book out there published by Dr Douglas Graham, The 80/10/10 Diet, that lays the whole thing out real well; do it the way he says and most people Jam!

[Theresaann]

yes, 80/10/10 I've heard much about it. Don't have the book but have watched him lecture on it online. I have to say, thats a LOT of produce-the word I'm first hearing is "expensive," especially if it's mostly organic.

 

I know, the money you save not eating crap, or eating in restaurants, can offset that cost. I know where there is a will theres a way...for sure. I've heard that people get truly amazing results eating this way. I'm going to consider doing this...really look at my life (single mom, two teenagers who won't be vegan much less raw, and much much less 80/10/10 lol) and find a way to fit this in...I realize its a major commitment. But I would REALLY love the results!

 

Thanks for sharing!

[DCNINJA]

RAW, wow that is a lot of carbs. The interesting thing is your diet is all complex carbs. I am at the opposite end of the spectrum getting as much protein as I can. I try to keep a third from fat, a third from protein, and a third from carbs. But we are alike in that neither of us is hitting any processed carbs. Okay once in a while I will have some processed carbs, but not that often. Most of my carbs come from organic fruit and vegetables.

 

I am curious to hear the kind of numbers you are putting up lifting. I know a number of people are going to more infrequent workouts and getting great results. I have cut my days in the gym in half recently. I am guessing you probably have a pretty decent power to weight ratio.

[RawVgn]

Yeh, I'm pretty strong. Not big Powerful like some guys but I can easily do 20 GOOD pushups, 10 good pullups. I mostly use machines for working out so not sure the numbers mean much since different machines feel ALOT different at a given weight. I usually workout with 90 lbs on a curl machine, 220 on a lat pulldown, 170 on a pec fly, and I usually use the whole stack on leg extension (300 plus pounds)and ab machines. Not too bad for a 48 yr old who weighs 163 lbs and has a 31 inch waist. I would describe my build as slightly heavier than a triathlete.

 

I just finished renovating a house where my brother-in-law and I worked 22 days straight 8 to 12 hours a day. I haven't missed an hour of work due to illness in over 2 years and haven't had so much as a headache or fever for 2 plus years. My blood pressure runs about 94/52 and my cholesterol (they don't bother checking my blood anymore during my well-checkups)last time they checked it nearly 2 years ago is 110. My sex drive and strength is as good as when I was 18 except I don't recover quite as fast.

 

I think there's a little error in one comment regarding "complex carbohydrates." I think my very high carb diet is almost entirely SIMPLE carbs being mostly raw fruit. I do eat a lot of greens but they have very low caloric density and contribute few calories to my diet; I mainly eat them for bulk and minerals.

 

Cost wise its not too bad: cantaloupes run me about 33 cents a pound, bananas are about 49 cents a pound, watermelon in season is as little as 12 cents a pound. I buy food for 4 vegans so buying all organic isn't really practical for me (many things like organic melons aren't available in my area most of the time either.) I can't remember the last time I was in "health food" store; I typically grocery shop in WalMart or a local chain called Woodmans. I'd be very surprised if I eat more than $7.50 per day of food and could do better if I needed too. I also essentially never eat in expensive restaurants, don't drink any expensive alcoholic stuff, never buy medications or supplements, never miss work, don't need any skin creams or deodorant and practically no soap or shampoo. I do laundry once a month and rinse my dishes in warm water without soap usually. I also don't use a stove and have no cooking fuel expense and no need for pans or extensive utensils/gizmos. When you look at the whole picture, my guess would be that I spend less than most people on food/hygiene/health care.

[DCNINJA]

Would you say that you noticed a bigger difference in your body from going to vegan or going to raw? I noticed a difference going from omnivore to veg and again to vegan.

[RawVgn]

Definitely bigger improvement going from regular vegan to low-fat raw; a world of difference: lost 40 lbs, skin got super clear, imflammattion in elbow went away, tremor decreased alot, much higher energy level, never get sick, lower body temperature, much better hygiene level, greater mental focus and poise. I loved becoming vegan and loved the move to raw even more; it's great being 50 in a 18 year old jock's body!