BabyVegan

Hrmm... I don't like taking supplements and wanted to find a more food-based way of getting more Vitamin D (it's been raining here for a week and I'm definitely feeling the effects of a lack of sun exposure... I've always been that way, it's weird). I've been looking around for 'natural' sources of Vitamin D but all I seem to be finding are fish/meat/dairy products... any suggestions as to how a vegan could get their Vit. D from food??

I've been a big long-distance flyer for as long as I can remember, but only started 'flying vegan' since late 2008 and I gotta say the food on Qantas changed the way I look at airplane food forever. It was AMAZING. There is this belief that airplane food has to be gross and really crappy (which I've never bought... it's not THAT hard to make good food that can keep for a few hours). Even my sis, who was eating the non-vegan food beside me, got this really well balanced meal with protein + a very adequate selection of fruits & veggies (actual fresh ones not canned) + whole grains, etc. I'd never seen that in my life. Air France was also really impressive in terms of vegan food. Just recently flying from Hong Kong to Paris, got to have a really diverse bean salad, pesto pasta with veggies and all the fruit I could dream of. They even had a vegan granola bar and more fruit for breakfast. Like I said, in comparison to 20 some years of eating bad plane food, I was impressed by both them and Qantas... Gotta say though, good thing you aren't flying Air Canada because food-wise (and comfort-wise for that matter), if they had airplanes in the middle ages, they would have been run by Air Canada. Gotta say, I adore Canada for most things, their airlines are NOT one of them. And yay! I get to take Lufthansa this summer too and discover their vegan food too! We'll see how it goes! This was a long rant, but every time I think of those Qantas and AF flights I HAVE to rave about them.

hahahaha... That was... a disturbing way to start my morning.

I haven't been posting for the good reason that opening this account has served as enough motivation that I've been sticking to my plan and haven't really had the time to update. Things have been going well (ups and downs based on my occasional inability to deal with my now very picky metabolism). Things that have changed: -I'm going on a 40 day detox during which I'll maintain my workout schedule but will be detoxing diet wise (following Sara Rose's detox book which I love because it actually sets up your meals for 40 days and can easily accommodate a vegan diet) -I've instituted 20 minutes of yoga every morning (different routine every morning) -I'm doing weights twice a week now because the increase of endurance cardio was making tired in the exhausted as opposed to the 'just had a great workout way' -so now still doing cardio via switching between 1 day of 20 minute high intensity interval training and 1 day of 30-45 minute medium to medium-high intensity endurance cadio, but 5 days a week instead of 6 As a side note, hemp in all its glorious forms (butter, seeds, protein powder) is the greatest thing ever. I wish we'd legalize growing hemp for food in the States like in Canada because it's SO much cheaper there it's insane... Have an awesome day! Chantal http://www.eatdancelive.vox.com

I've found the whole fasting/detox thing to be really beneficial every once in a while. I've found doing it once a month (usually the first sunday) to be really great. I usually have some form of detox tea the night before and stick to the whole 'just drinking water all day' thing. The cool (and somewhat unpleasant thing) is the night after your fast, you tend to deal with all the chemical release from previous times you were sick/hung over/whatever, and it can lead to a rough night, but I always feel awesome the next day! Gives me more energy, makes me feel cleaner, etc. Then again, I'm not a bodybuilder so, don't know how that would work for you guys.

Welcome! Always great to have people with similar goals join The more of us the more we can support one another! Good luck!

Coolest thing ever! I'm not usually one who wants things, but I want!!!

There's nothing like some form of event coming up and/or recent mindset change to give you incentive to reach your goals! Welcome and good luck

I definitely agree with the whole cutting the carbs thing, but I usually have complex carbs (like bread/cereal type foods once a day just to keep my energy levels constant) usually cereal for breakfast and try not to eat any more starchy carbs as the day goes on (or if not, just in less and less amounts and none after 4pm). Definitely try to make a couple of your meals liquid meals (it's been working out great for me too!) and try to make your last meal heaviest on protein. In terms of workout, if you do want to follow the goals you say, cardio is probably best. Try to do a least one day of medium intensity cardio for a little bit longer (about 30 minutes) and one day of intervals where you go as hard as you can in well... intervals. I'm sure there must be a 'how to do interval cardio training' somewhere online or on this forum (sorry I'm not so helpful but I'm sure I'd explain it terribly if I tried), but interval training is really what made the biggest difference for me when I wanted to lose weight fast and wanted to keep it off. It can be as short as 20 minutes (which is usually good because you go so hard, it'll feel like enough) or more if you like! Good luck!

mmmm, me too, if only their sugar levels weren't so high I'd them at unhealthy levels... but then again, they wouldn't be dates without that.

Hi and welcome, Just moved from Canada to DC in September, and though it's great here, I do miss it! In terms of your goals, I was originally in almost exactly the same situation as you (except 2 inches taller really). So to let you know what works in a nutshell: -don't skip breakfast (which i definitely did at 17), and try to eat 4 or 5 small meals a day while trying to cut your calorie intake a little bit in comparison to now -eat more protein, less sugar and starchy carbs -drink more water -when you head to the gym, at least 1 of your workouts should be strength training/weights (check the strength training forum for help ) -vary your cardio and do it for less time at a higher intensity interval training (if done properly 20 minutes 3-4 times a week is enough to start) Good luck Send me a message if you have questions! (as a sidenote, I'm not a huge fan of turning your pets vegan... that's your personal choice and that's awesome but not theirs. Especially for cats and dogs who are naturally/biologically carnivorous-unlike us obviously-this goes against their nature and the way they need to eat to stay healthy)

It seems we have similar goals! I'm looking forward to see what how progress goes! Welcome

Welcome and good luck! Your diet and goals sound awesome!

Cardio cardio cardio... That's pretty much been my week and for the first time in a long time, I'm loving it! Wednesday: Busy so became something of an off-ish day -30 minutes of yoga -1 hour of dance Thursday: -35 minutes on the treadmill (a big deal for me as I did it non-stop instead of my usual interval training at a level which is usually a higher one for me... felt so awesome afterwards, I think I buzzed off of that for a while) -15 minutes of stretching Friday: -20 minutes of interval training on stair climber -back strength training because I felt like it since I'd been sitting at a conference all day, and back training is the funnest thing ever) -20 minutes of stretching + abs Today: -started off my morning with 20 minutes of yoga -hopefully heading out to the pool for a 45 minute swim later on So to cope with my three meal issue, I've added in a fourth meal between 1pm-ish and 7pm-ish by just having a liquid meal (some form of organic meal replacement powder), and it's doing wonders!

Hehe, thanks I guess either one can work!

dropSoul: Thanks so much for the encouragement and the advice And good luck to you as well, your progress has been awesome!! I've definitely been on a successful hunt for people whom I admire and whose training I will follow. I also think that's the easiest, most inspirational and most effective way to get where you want! I do tend to lift pretty heavy right now already, though my goal is not to get ripped, so I'm learning to balance that! I've definitely doubled what I could do when I started. I don't push crazy hard just because when I have I did start to get ripped and that is the opposite of what I was going for, so I stay just below that, which seems to be serving me just fine!

I was just posting on my training journal thing and realized (yet again) how much I f*cking love breakfast. Does anyone else love that meal as much as I do? It's almost like I love going to sleep at night just knowing that I get to wake up to breakfast... I used to be one of those girls when I was a teen who just skipped breakfast cuz (which would explain A LOT). In my first year of college, I thought it was such a big deal that I started treating myself to breakfast once a week (really, it was the only day I actually got out of bed in time for breakfast because I had a morning class, heh...) But every since I turned it back into a habit a year later, it's changed my world! It's crazy how one little meal can have such effects on your health and levels of energy and fitness, etc. On that note, I could worship a Nature's Path Cereal God.. and smoothies...

So I've re-instituted my usual (but recently removed) habit of 'eating every three hours' and its been working out really well even after only two days! I decided to just suck it up, eat more frequently but eat less... if I feel like I'm eating like a bird, I can learn to enjoy it (which I have!) I guess the motivational factor of joining VBB has woked Didn't post yesterday but that consisted in a morning cardio workout (25 minutes medium-high intensity) and an afternoon strength training workout (chest, shoulders and back). Today was another cardio day (25 minutes of interval training) on the treadmill + 10 minutes of stretching and light abs... will probably go swimming tomorrow because I'm feeling the two days in a row of treadmill in my knees, big time. Meal 1 (9:30am): Nature's Path cereal (the best thing that ever happened to cereal) with pineapple and 1/4 of an orange Cardio at 11am Meal 2 (1pm): mixed veggie salad (way too many to remember) with bbq tofu Meal 3 (4pm): 1 scoop of vega w/ water Meal 4 (7pm): seitan and broccoli Also, I usually don't tend to count water because I know I drink way more than 2L a day and I just lose track.. All in all, an awesome day! Wanted to get in some dance practice today, but looks like grad school is piling up stuff on me this week... excuses excuses!

Hm, really? Why would they make such a claim? (not trying to be argumentative, I actually want to know ) I think he puts forward a really rational and compelling argument as to why people should lessen if not stop their meat consumption. I think what's attractive about it, especially to your every day omnivore, is that it's not preachy, which is an infamous vegan trait that tends to get on most people's nerves! He just lays out facts and says do what you want with this, but the facts hit you so hard, all you CAN do is convert! That's my take on it anyway...

In terms of what tipped me over the vegan scale was "The Ethics of What we Eat: Why our Food Choices matter" by Peter Singer. I read tons to I can't narrow it down so much but in terms of influential... I read "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coehlo when I was about 13 and it so vindicated the positive life I was trying to lead.

love it! Definitely falls under the creepy-cute category, which is always best...

I totally agree with that one too. Once you start eating clean , what you consider to be your 'off day' foods (sadly) becomes what most people would probably consider to be their diet on a good day... but I guess vegans aren't most people Also I definitely recognize that that's the attitude to take, I guess I just have to adopt it! I know it's just a matter of dropping the psychological guilt factor which I can manage to do most of the time when I realize what I just said above.

Hahaha, first thing I thought when I read this was "What?! There's a Happy Things thread, that's awesome!"... then I realized it's just me. When you think about though, I think more web forums should have a 'happy things' board, I think it would make the world a more positive place! And yep, gotta say, ever since I've been doing the morning thing I've been loving having such long days but still, I really value my sleep!

Cheers! (And love the quote you have in your signature!!)

Thanks for letting us all know! Will definitely be there for the one in February!