BethL

Yesterday was as pretty good day, feel better getting rid of the bloat from Christmas. Workout was good and food was in range. Today will do 40 mins of cardio and Weight Lifting will be Chest and Back. Going to keep my food about the same as yesterday, started with PB on WW toast this morning, so a little low on the protein but will catch up later on that.

Yep Christmas cookies are so dangerous. Ate enough food on Christmas day for three days lol I made vegan lasagna for Christmas eve and it turned out really good. My husband and son actually liked it, they are not vegetarians, but I told them I wanted a meal for me this year, not having to make two separate ones. Also one good thing about dieting, it never goes out of style lol

Okay, thank goodness Christmas is over, now on to 2010. Workout plan 40 mins spinning Weight Lifting - Legs and Butt (one more week of endurance training and then will kick it up) Food plan Breakfast Tofu scramble (1/4 block tofu, peppers, tomatoes and onions), 1/2 cup oatmeal with a little soy milk. Post workout drink Plant protein, soy milk, flax seed, and mixed berries Lunch 1 cup split peas, garden salad, calorie free dressing Mid afternoon snack Orange, 1 TBS Nut butter on Celery Dinner 1 Cup black beans and assorted veggies steamed (no oil) Roughly 1350 calories

Here is the "boast your immune system" nutrients. Vitamin C rich foods like Oranges, Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, and Papaya Vitamin E rich foods, Seeds, Oils and grains (usually need to supplement daily to get enough) Carotenoids - Carrots, Sweet potatoes, Kale (all Vegans should eat Kale daily it is a super food), spinach, greens, and tomatoes Vit C, Vit E and Beta Caratine are Cancer fighting nutrients as well. The battle free radicals and is quite fascinating how they work together. Eat up!! Zinc rich foods - Beans, and fortified cereals Selenium rich foods - Whole grains, brown rice, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts and garlic Omega 3 - Flax seed (all vegans should eat this daily) Spices to reduce seasonal allergies and colds - Garlic, Cayenne pepper, and Ginger are good Now looking over the list and thinking to myself, what nutrients are probably the weakest in a vegan diet that is not designed for good health. In my opinion I was say ZINC and OMEGA 3. I know a lot of Vegans that don't even eat beans outside of tofu, and Flax is the highest plant food for Omega 3 but how many Vegans do not eat it daily. Just my thoughts really. BTW I haven't had a cold or flu in almost 10 years. But my diet is not the only reason.

Everyone is different in how they lose fat. Some lose off the midsection first and some the thighs and hips, other all over. I lose all over myself which is a good thing, but also gain all over too ugh. Wish I could just lose my tummy and thighs and keep the butt lol Okay but anyway, eating a whole food diet while keeping the starchy foods at a minimum works best for me, and having a ration about 45/35/20. Like I said no one is the same, some can get away with a high carb diet and lose fat, I am just not one of those people. Also a whole food diet will reduce inflammation too. Unfortunately when I was a meat eater I could lose weight (especially on my midsection) pretty easy, oh what a challenge it is to lose weight as a veggie and still be satisfied. Now for advise I would say work with your diet and see what kind of results you are getting. Stick to something a few weeks and if no change then try something else. You are the only one who really knows your bodies system, looks back at times when a program worked for you and go from there, tweak it some if needed. What was your lifestyle like then, were you a lot more active, is there high stress in your life? Etc. Something the answer is not so simple, but what is simple is Whole Foods.

Congratulations on your new job. I was a CJ major in college, worked in the system some but went into private work. Ended up leaving the CJ area for Computers though lol But hey too bad the cafeteria won't accommodate you, I am not surprised at all, I am sure the prison food comes in big huge cans like you mentioned the food we had in school. I can also see why they won't let you bring your own food in, DUH lol But hopefully you can work something out. Good Luck!

I will have to post some garden goodies here soon when I get my winter garden going. I live in Tucson AZ, we have two growing seasons. Tomatoes grow fantastic here but I have to build a whole cage around them because the birds love to eat them. Pretty much I can grow anything but strawberries (bummer) but have a problem with the critters. The rabbits and ground squirrels will eat anything green. Love the new shoots the best of course. We lost a ton of products last year because of this, even with a fence, so we are doing things different this year. I am planting seeds as soon as I can till the garden. Probably within the next two weeks. Our ground squirrels are hibernating now so once I can get the plants large enough they won't eat them. We already fixed the fence problem with the rabbits (I Hope lol) Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sharing with the critters but they don't leave much lol But then heck this is the desert, where else are they going to get yummy beet greens If i can find some clover seed going to pant the rabbits a little garden just for them I still have time to plant by seed, Beets, Peas, onions, radishes, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli and spinach. Then in March it will be time to plant stuff like Melons, cucumbers,corn, okra. lots and lots of peppers and tomatoes. Getting excited about the garden again. We lived in an apartment for 5 years until buying our property out in the desert country. Now have a huge huge garden that is all hooked up to a trip line water system. Need now hoses though.

It has been a while since I last blogged, quite a while. But wanting to go into 2010 with a good mindset. I slipped back into being a vegetarian instead of a vegan. Mostly just from weakness and stress. This has been a terrible year from me. My sister died of cancer (she was 47), my husband has stage 3 lung cancer and went through the whole chemo thing then he had open heart surgery because the cancer caused a heart tumor that had to come out. The good thing is the cancer is gone for now but he starts radiation next monday for several weeks. Also my husbands mom and brother both died within a month of each other and he lost his favorite uncle too. Just a terrible year. Not to mention the financial problems with my husband being out of work. Okay so during all this my stress hormones really kicked in and I started craving sweets, all my husband could really eat during chemo was sweets, so there they were right in front of me all the time. I caved of course. So dairy and eggs were back on the diet, and unfortunately not organic or free range when they come in forms of ice-cream or candy bars. Not only did I go back to a vegetarian diet (Always felt guilty too) I also gained 20 pounds in a year. Now this is ridiculous to me. Sure I am a fat person by nature but I didn't work my ass off for years to get in shape and lose 55 pounds to gain back 20. So I must do something. I have been trying for months but just can't seem to get a program that I can stick with. I have to go lower carb to lose weight, it is just my metabolism. What worked the best for me was a 40/40/20 plan. Really hard being a vegan unless you drink a lot of protein shakes. I would rather eat than drink for calories, so going to go with more like 45/35/20. I can do this just have to have one free day a week so I don't totally blow it. Exercise has never been a problem, I have worked out for 27 years. Right now I am doing a 6 day split and 6 days 40 to 60 mins of low impact cardio, usually spinning, but dancing and walking too. I have to watch my shoulders right now, they are prone to injury, I can feel it and know if I don't really take good care while lifting I will be back with a major shoulder injury again, and it takes me so long to heel now that I am over 45. Okay enough rambling here, I will post my program tomorrow. I did order the Thrive Diet so will use that too, but that could take a while to get here since I bought it off amazon.

I am studying Yoga now, I don't know all the name of the poses but thought it might help with my frozen shoulder. So far so good, I love it. Also my son has a Wii and we like the sports package, the boxing is a good indoor cardio workout, but I love the bowling lol

Day 2 of my Tahoe training Day has started off great, Got a decent power walk with walking lunges and did squats, calf raises and kickbacks. Keeping my weight low for the first week, I don't want any pulled muscles from lack of exercise the past two weeks while in Illinois. Food started off good today, hoping to keep calories at 1300. While burning roughly 500 calories in exercise. Just finished off a wonderful protein shake made with a Hemp, peas and rice protein powder, lite soy milk, a small banana and 1/2 cup mixed berries Early AM was a whole wheat tortilla with 1 cup pinto beans and green tea. Making sure to drink lots of water

Finally back from Vacation and ready to get back on track. I didn't gain any weight the last two weeks so that is good, but my eating wasn't as good as it usually is. I walked just about every day and had a fabulous time with family and old friends. Now it is time to get back to training. I will be at Lake Tahoe mid July so I wanted to plan a 5 week program to try to lose 10 pounds. Ulitmate Goal by July 17 Lose 10 pounds which will put me at 145 Maintain muscle mass and strength Daily Food Plan Calorie Range - 1200-1400 2-3 servings of starchy Carbs 2-3 servings of fruit 5-7 servings of non starchy veggies 2 servings of healthy fats 3 servings of plant proteins 1 protein shake a day (any fruit used to be included in the servings mentioned above) 2 low fat soy or rice dairies (included when making shakes) 1 Free Day a Week Allowed Free Days may include Alcohol and junk food, otherwise these foods are not allowed in plan. Workout Out Plan Brisk Walking 5 times a week for 60 mins or more Cycle 2 times a week no time limit 4 day split weight lifting program, complete upper/lower body workouts Do more physical therapy for left arm front and center delt heads that are not completely healed. Do pilatees and/or yoga three times a week Drink 8 cups of water or more a day Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night Meditate 4 times a week That should be about it, now time for my morning walk ROCK ON!

I am visiting the St Louis area so will not be posting to my journal every day, but wanted to make a vacation plan Exercise, I will be taking the next 9 days off of weight lifting, but will do walking lunges and some other lower body strength training without added weights For Cardio it will be mostly walking with some sprints here and there. Food, Just trying to keep it healthy. There isn't any good healthy food grocery stores near by but I did buy some soymilk and will have plenty of nuts, fruits and veggies, with a boca burger here and there. I am from the St Louis area, so back in my old stomping grounds which is nice

Hi Dan and thanks thats sweet of you. To respond to your post here, Yes we shouldn't harm anyone or anything. But I do think that people have to be realistic. When it comes to protection rather it be our land, or family, or ourselves, fighting and killing is normal. It is normal in the wild and it is normal in the civilized. But of course humans unlike other animals are greedy, and this has always lead to terrible outcomes.

Hi Hsorlando, I have been thinking about becoming an instructor for Bodypump the next time they have the training course. I missed it a couple months ago, I didn't really have the money so figured I would wait. It is a good class

hmmm I have never heard of that spin class...it is just standard...and the kick boxing is tae boe style...we also have a class where you use heavy bags to kick box...I never took it though. I took a Korean form of martial arts when I was younger...for a few years...and I love tae boe...I am going to join the martial arts club when school starts next semester so I am going to add more kick boxing in to get refreshed on the moves. I am so jealous lol I would love to join a martial arts club, you will have some much fun.

Thats really great! I have done the Real Age tests too, they are fun No doubt you will continue to be really healthy and fit.

I have heard that before too. You and Emmybear are really slim so I bet your bodyfat was too low to have a healthy period. I wish I could say that lol Well you know what I mean.

Marcina thats great. I hope you get your stress level down soon, exercise sure helps though doesn't it.

Sounds like you have a great doctor, Cool Yeah let us know what he says. Oh and to answer your question, yep 46, but I have only been Vegan for a couple months and a vegetarian just 9 months. I think the main reason I look younger is because I have exercised all my life, never stopped, but eating healthy the last 5 years I am sure has helped too. But thank you I always love hearing I look younger My daughter is 21 and her friends freak out and think I had her when I was 12 or something lol

do you think it's possible for them to change (at least for most of them) or they're just born like that and there's nothing to do ? Gosh, I am certainly not an expert here when it comes to spirits/entities but will try to explain what I believe now days. I am new at this way of thinking. Some say there are three kinds of human spirits, white, grey, and dark. The grey entities are kind of stuck in the middle and yes can change. But the dark entiies will always be dark and evil. I can't even imagine why a dark spirit would be a Vegan, but a many of us can have grey spirits, and I believe these spirits started out white but go sucked in to the negativity of a world of greed, gluttony and pride to name a few. A Dark Entity is not always easy to spot either, but haven't we all come across people who just gave us the creeps and for no logical reason? Something happened to me last fall. I started researching different religions and although I am fasinated with Buddhism it left out one major component for me and that was God, but I did start meditating. A couple months after meditaing a few times a week, I got laid off from my job which I didn't really like but I made fairly good money. Anyway many of us were laid off due to downsizing. People were very upset, crying, ranting but I just stood there a little numb and thought to myself, "okay so thats that, now how can I turn this into a positive". Normally I would have been hysterical wondering how I am going to pay the bills. By allowing myself to become more open minded and intuned to my spiritial side I suffered a lot less. My sister-in-law is a Psychic and we started talking a lot more through emails. A lot of her beliefs were matching up what I found to be just what I was looking for. and she was able to help me clear up a few things.

I think this is true for me, too. I went vegan as a teenager, but I was a junkfood vegan and didn't work out consistently. I didn't notice any change in cramps or other menstrual symptoms as compared to when I was just vegetarian. BUT once I started eating healthier foods, decreasing my caffeine intake (soda and coffee; I'm still a green tea junkie) and exercising regularly I noticed a positive change. My cramps aren't nearly as bad as they used to be; I think that's the biggest difference. Wow Larua, that is incredible you became Vegan as a teen, great I wish I would have became a true vegetarian a lot sooner, but I am here now. The way I look at it, I have ate enough animals for three lifetimes, so for the next 55 years (I plan to lilve to be 102 lol) I hope to give back some of what I took. I cut way back on my caffeine just in the last few weeks. I went cold turkey and didn't have that bad of headaches but then I drinnk a cup of coffee a week later and it made me sick. Really wired with anxiety geez lol I didn't like that feeling at all, but was so impressed by the fact that we can get so used to caffeine that a pot of coffee doesn't even effect us. Oh the reason I am cutting back on Caffeine is because it depletes are calcium and I want to save my bones. And it is not good for our breasts either.

Exercising just seems to have a positive effect on our whole lives. I have been doing it forever and I seem to be younger looking and have less stress than any of my friends my age. Got to keep moving

Thanks Girls Monday Morning you sure looks fine, Wednesday I got traveling on my mind. OOps sorry singing to myself here, must be a good day Todays Exercise Plan This morning, 30 min brisk walk with 50 yard sprints and 150 walking lunges outdoors. Come home and lift weights, leg and butt day WOOHOO my favorite. Got to keep that butt high lol Food today(running out of everything) Breakfast - 1 serving oatmeal with a small banana with 1 Tbs Peanut butter post workout - 2 TBS hemp protein and 1 scope soy protein mixed with water OMG no soy milk, will have to drink this really fast lol Lunch - 1 cup black beans with 1 cup brown rice Mid afternoon - 1 medium baked potato with a little vegan butter Dinner - 1/4 block tofu with steamed veggies

although these are all about 30+ take a look at some natural sunblocks discussed here... viewtopic.php?t=12463&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Thanks for the thread link Jessi

Don't be cute Zack LOL