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I found the mothership!


Shesfit
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Hello Everyone!

 

What a super site! I was linked here from Brendan Brazier's website and to Robert via the Vega Ambassadors page.

 

After reading Brendan's book The Thrive Diet, I feel validated in my belief that one can build enough muscle to compete without having to sacrifice personal health and the well-being of animals.

 

For the past 12 years I have been giving up the 'health robbers' (dairy, preservatives, processed foods, refined sugar, wheat & red meat). I set a goal to compete in a Figure competition when I was 40 and was provided a diet of lean animal proteins (chicken, egg whites, fish). I had a successful first year competing as a natural athlete (never wanted to supplement with anything other than a multi vitamin, protein powder and Udo's oil!). However, consuming so much poultry didn't sit well with me. Also, the more I learned about the inhumane treatment of animals and the devastation to the planet with factory farming, the more I wanted to do my part to put an end to it.

 

I am now in the process to transitioning to more of a raw foods diet (thanks to Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Live Foods. There is a lot to discover about raw food prep between sprouting & dehydrating, but I will aim for 80% raw foods right now.

 

This site is exciting because I am considering competing again in a Figure competition this Fall as a vegan athlete! I love the hemp protein (the Vega meal replacement is SO complete!) and will search the threads here for sample menu plans for body builders.

 

Looking forward to learning more.

 

 

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Welcome to our forum! I'm glad you found us through Brendan and Vega. Both are great to me!

 

Awesome that you'll be competing in figure as a vegan athlete. We have a handful of competitors here, including other figure competitors.

 

Thanks for the great introduction and welcome to our community. Have a great time getting to know the other members.

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Good Day Everyone!

 

Thanks to each of you for the warm welcome. I am really honoured to be part of this inspiring group.

 

A little more about my life. I am 42 years old have been divorced since my youngest was 4 months old. My children are now 9, (daughter) and 6, (son) and I work 2 part-time jobs to support the household. One is an office job and the other is as a promotional rep for nutritional supplement company. I live in an 80 year old home (love it!) in a great downtown neighbourhood but this month is the time for the new roof, knocking down old chimney, replacing new eaves and new furnace (ouch!). I also perform in theatre (once per year) and sing and am currently part of a emerging wedding band (yes, I'll be the 'Wedding Singer'!)

 

My 5 year plan for the family is to invest in nearby rural land/farm so we can grow our own fruits & veggies and have the animals that we love (dogs & horses).

 

My transition to a vegan/raw foodist is interesting and enlightening. I would really like to take the time to get a full year as a complete vegan athlete under my belt before I compete. That being said, I am going to forgo competing in 3 months time.

 

My competition year will include at least 2 natural competitions in 2008, (June & November). I have not planned any fitness goals for this past year and my body feels it and shows it! My last competitions were in 2004 & 2005 (4 shows). I'm just not the best version of 'me' without fitness as a priority.

 

Therefore, my current goal for August is to complete a 10-day cleanse (starting next Monday) while continuing to weight train so I don't lose too much muscle.

 

For the balance of 2007 my fitness commitments include:

 

1) 4 weight training sessions/wk followed by 20 min. HIIT cardio

2) Yoga practice 2-3 mornings/wk

3) 2-3 bikes or hikes/wk with the kids

 

My nutritional goals include:

 

100% vegan with minimum 80% raw food

 

Whew! I feels great to have a clear vision of what I want for my life!

 

For me, everything is connected to everything, so having balance in my life is crucial to personal well-being. And now I've discovered the root of all energy stems from the root bearing foods! (yeah, it took me 42 years to figure that one out!).

 

Thank again for the support!

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Great to have another parent here! Are the kids vegan as well? I am a mama of 3 vegan kids, 2 of them are the same ages as your kids! It would be great to have all 3 of you come here for next years vegan vacation! We need a bigger crew of kids around for sure!

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Hi Lotus!

 

Wow! Vegan kids ... that's my goal!

 

My kids are mostly dairy-free with exception to what they eat when they are with their dad and don't consume a lot of refined products. They still consume some chicken and eggs but I am planning to make our home vegan .

 

I am reading Raw Kids (by Cheryl Stoycoff) to help me with the transition to more raw foods.

 

How long have you and your kids been vegan? Any advice on how to transition my children??

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. Oh, I'll check out the thread on the annual vegan gathering in Portland. It sounds like a great place for a family trip.

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Hiya!

I'm husband to Lotus & daddy to our 3 awesome & vegan since before they were born children. I'll let Lotus reply to most of your questions but wanted to add that I'm also very happy to see anouther vegan parent here - there's more of us all the time! It would definitely be great to have your family (and more families & kids in general) come out for Vegan Vacation 2008!

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Hi Lotus!

 

Wow! Vegan kids ... that's my goal!

 

My kids are mostly dairy-free with exception to what they eat when they are with their dad and don't consume a lot of refined products. They still consume some chicken and eggs but I am planning to make our home vegan .

 

I am reading Raw Kids (by Cheryl Stoycoff) to help me with the transition to more raw foods.

 

How long have you and your kids been vegan? Any advice on how to transition my children??

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. Oh, I'll check out the thread on the annual vegan gathering in Portland. It sounds like a great place for a family trip.

 

 

Hi Shesfit! LL already answered a few of your questions, but I will add to what he said.

I have been vegan for 13 years and veggie before that.

Our kids have always been vegan so it has been pretty easy. First and foremost I like our kids to be educated about the choices we make. That way they understand and agree with veganism, heck they insist on it and advocate for it. We also practice compassion in other ways (ie, catching bugs that are in the house and setting them free outside, respecting and caring for other beings etc), we encourage and engage in fitness and we teach them about health and the environment.

 

I really commend you for making your home vegan! It seems a little more difficult for kids to adjust after having an Omni diet but stick with it, discuss the reasons, and try out lots of different things so they can see what they like.

 

We pack our kids lunches for school and when they attend non vegan parties etc, we send like items for them to have and they don't mind at all.

 

I am always amazed and excited at how accomodating other kids and parents are to our diet. Especially here in Portland most people want to make things for our kids. Some of our kids' friends are so thoughtful about it that they have told their parents that they want a vegan party! This is so great yet, if it were not the case our kids could still be involved.

 

For school events we just send them with something vegan and teachers or the kids will often tell us ahead of time that they are having a party and what they are having.

 

With raw foods, the kids love just plain fruit and veggies (each kid has their favorites and their dislikes) and they like some if the raw things we have tried and don't like others.

 

Good luck with this and please feel free to ask any questions you may have!

We should start a vegan parenting section or thread!

 

I hope to meet you at VV08!

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Hi Shesfit!

 

I'm also a vegan mom transitioning to 100% raw vegan. I've been vegan for just over a year now. My son and hubbie followed soon after with wonderful results. Now we're trying to be raw with pretty good results, but lots of improvements still need to be made. Going vegan was easier than we thought because we discussed the animals rights issues-we have dogs and my son loves them dearly so thinking of them makes saying no to animal products relatively easy. Going raw is harder, but still doable. What we try to do is fill up on all the raw fruits and veggies possible. Leave them cut on the counter for easy snacking. Cut up fruits and veggies and offer them when playing with friends or doing other activities. Put them in beautiful countainers like bento boxes to make them even more appealling. Finally, talk, talk and talk some more with your kids about why you've made these choices and how you feel about them. Share the information as you go along constantly. Presently we discuss how we feel after a raw meal versus after a cooked meal we've had at a social activity. We all notice the difference- more stuffed, bloated, and lethargic with a cooked meal even if it is vegan. My son is very proud now to have become vegan and he even tries to convert his friends.

Good luck and keep us posted. Ciao

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Hello Loveliberate, Lotus and Veganitaliana:

 

Thank you for all the helpful ideas to transition my family to vegan!

 

Lotus, I admire that you have been vegan for so long and that your kids were vegan from birth! How incredible! They must be the healthiest, glowing kids on the earth. Super!

 

Veganitaliana, so, transitioning kids can be done! I think I have been approaching it all wrong. I haven't included my kids in the detailed 'whys' of the choices I am making. I say things like, "Fruits and vegetable are healthy for you," but what kids really cares about that or understands what 'healthy' is if I don't elaborate?

 

I am looking forward to educating them on the truth behind where meat comes from and go from there. If I can educate rather than lecture, there may be more hope.

 

When I try to introduce new foods to the kids their immediate reaction is, "Yuck! I don't like that!" Of course, they haven't tried it before so they don't know whether they would like it or not. They can both be relentless with their protests about trying new foods and I have to be patient and equally persistent but I don't want it to become a battle either.

 

Any suggestions about how to encourage them to try new foods without it becoming a power struggle?

 

Again, thank you all for the great tips! I will be sure to try them.

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Shesfit,

 

Education & positive peer pressure are two powerful tools for helping kids ( adults too! ) make the transition. There are a number of books, coloring books, etc out there that are kid-focused. If it's at all possible, even just a few times a year, have your kids be around vegan kids &/or just kids who are up for trying new, healthy foods.

 

Have you had your kids help with the selecting and preparing their own food? Having more of a choice in what they are eating & being involved with food prep often gets kids into trying new (vegan!) stuff. Also, a lot of folks have success with substituting vegan items for familiar foods as long as the foods are similar enough.

 

I dislike starting with junkier foods, but few people of any diet dislike "Purely Decadent" vegan ice cream - so that can be a "gateway" food that helps show that vegan food can be just as good or better than the other stuff.

 

And there's a time & place for just setting out the food you prepare for the kids to eat and if they are hungry enough they will have it. Sometimes us parents are stuck with making choices that while unpopular with the kids at first, are in their best interest. <Insert comment about being disturbed about sounding like one's own parent here>

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Thanks, Loveliberate!

 

My kids I would say generally eat 90 % dairy-free. We are fond lovers of Purely Decadent and some hemp ice 'cream' too. They consume soy yogurt, soy cheese so being almost dairy-free have been in their favour (no ear aches, colds). The only meat they eat is chicken & eggs and I have transitioned them onto soy burgers and will add more beans, quinoa and seeds to those in future. I guess I just need to have them try more veggies (can I ever get therm to eat salad??)

 

I've been testing some raw recipes and my daughter helped prepare vegan raw coconut chocolate brownies and loved them, as did my son.

 

I will take up your suggestions for getting them more involved with the prep. I think that If we plan it well, they can pick the recipe they would like to try then we can shop for it and prepare it together. I want this to be fun and I think my mental attitude have to reflect that and believe that kids want fun food, regardless.

 

Super thanks again and I will update you.

 

P.S. BTW, I have a smlal workout room in my basement and my daughter and I did some weights training together last night. She's game to do yoga (and dances, too) so teaching her about proper fuel for athletes is a good approach. My son is 6 and already eager to try new stuff so we'll just keep at it.

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