HawaiiDolphin

I really like SunWarrior, and it's good with just water. The Vega Sport protein is good too. The vega meal replacer is good, too, if that's what you're looking for.

It might be a good idea to add more low fat protein, like legumes or pseudograins like quinoa. Otherwise, it looks like you have a good start! Your body will start giving you feedback soon. If you've just gone "cold tofurkey" so to speak, I wouldn't start an intense exercise regimen right away, but a little light cardio can't hurt, and it'll burn some calories, which is ultimately your goal when you want to lose fat.

If Bear Grylls was trying to simulate a real life or death survival situation, he would kill and eat his cameraman. I think the "education" argument is now invalid.

What is your diet and exercise routine currently like? Any info along these lines will be very helpful.

I really like sunwarrior. It's tasty just with water, and it has pretty good nutritional balance.

Wow that means it will kick off during Seattle Vegfest, I can't wait to read it and tell all my friends to buy it!

Ugh so I took one of my friends to sign up at my gym (LA fitness, for what it counts), and the GM came to help us. 1. He had a HUGE mouthful of chewing tobacco he spit into a coffee cup, it was the grosses thing I've ever seen. 2. He was a TOTAL dick to us, trying to charge us more than the actual price and talking to someone else the whole time. 3. His desk was a disaster area of food wrappers and trash. 4. It took us SO much time to do it since he was being totally inefficient. What should I do about this? What makes this okay to people? Who do I complain to? I can't find corporate contact information. This totally warrants a complaint and is NOT okay.

I'm from the Denver area originally, so I can try to help: Cost of living is pretty high, but not compared to coastal cities, generally. It has a completely undeserved reputation of being vegan-friendly. Though there are a lot of chain health food stores, there are not very many vegans or vegan businesses, sadly. Like any other big city, the culture is pretty diverse, and it's what you make of it. The region is beautiful, and you'll never be for want of a whole foods. Let me know if there's anything more specific you want to know.

There is a fast and simple hormone test that you can do using saliva and there are labs you can use that do not require a doctor to order the test. Saliva is much more accurate than blood tests for hormone levels. I have used BioHealth Diagnostics in California to do saliva testing of my adrenal gland function. They also can do estrogen, testerone, DHEA and cortisol levels. My body temperature runs about a degree below normal but I too have normal thyroid function but weak adrenals. Hope you can get some answers and get your body back on track. Yeah the actual tests don't take much time at all. The problem is that other doctors just tried to gloss over the problem which they never thought was related (acne and irregular cycle) by putting me on hormonal contraceptives. This new doctor thinks those were symptoms of the same problem. Until I can get them totally out of my system (about 2 months) they can't get an accurate measure on my androgens.

Yeah my issue is body mass/fat, my belly is always pretty big. I'm gaining definition and losing inches in my arms/legs on a SUPER strict diet (I count every calorie and gram of everything) and going to the gym 3 hours/day, 6 days/week. Despite this, I'm not losing weight or body fat %, since it all redistributes to my abdomen/face. Ugh, I know. I count my blessings in that I'm really healthy, I just have some issue that they haven't been able to find yet that causes this. I'm also "normal" looking, you would just think I eat some junk and am not as fit as I am. (Women's size 10 for what it counts.) I really just want to eat normal food sometimes. This calorie restriction thing (1000-1800 depending on workout) gets old. Not that I don't love vega and greens, but 2-3 meals a day are green smoothies or powder-based. I'd kill to eat a cookie sometimes. 2 months and we'll know and I can start treatment to get healthy!

Nah they've checked my thyroid up and down. He's 99.9% sure it's adrenal or androgen related, but it'll take 2 months to know for sure. But yeah, that was the first thing they checked.

Ever since going vegan, I love going to the doctor. They marvel at my iron levels, glucose/insulin, and are delightfully flabbergasted with my cholesterol. I've been waiting to see this doctor for 6 months who can tell me, despite my spotless diet and 3+ hour/day exercise regimen, why I cannot lose weight, especially my ever-growing tummy (which, despite common onlooker reactions, is baby-free). The nurse asks what supplements I'm taking, and I tell her all about Vega (woohoo) and that I take a DHA capsule (algae- derived, of course!). So the Dr. comes in and looks at my chart and was like: "You need to stop the DHA right away! It's a steroid and it's androgen like and it's making you put on weight." Being a metabolic biochemistry major, I was very confused. "Uh, isn't it an essential fatty acid?" "No no, it's a steroid." I really wasn't sure on this one, so I drew a picture of the molecule on his chart (yes I'm a nerd) to clarify. Doctor: "No, that's a fatty acid, DHA is a steroid." Me: "You mean DHEA?" Long pause..... Doctor: "Oh, never mind. Keep taking it." Besides that, which made me really laugh, he was SUPER helpful. We now know I have one of 2 things, one is really rare and curable, and the other is really common and sorta treatable. HOORAY losing this stupid tummy! (It will take 2+ months for a final diagnosis though).

It's pretty easy to make your own food, even if the dining hall is no help. You definitely want to get a microwave, minifridge, and blender. You can get all of that for less than $75US and they will save your life. Stock up on easy things like nondairy milk and cereal, bars, and other stuff. Also, most places have at least a salad bar. I don't much care for salad every meal of the day like some do, but you can nuke the veggies with different sauces and make impromptu stir-fry. Also, if push comes to shove, oriental ramen is vegan. *Braces self for onslaught of OMG MSG WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE feedback*

As a student I'm ALWAYS walking, and my job entails carrying heavy things a lot. This may not be deliberate like yours, but it keeps my energy up through the day. Elevators freak me out and I really try to avoid taking them. It's a tiny room for lazy people to stare awkwardly at the floor, too weird for me.

I also will sometimes relax after lifting/running in the sauna or steam room. I just keep some powder in a blender bottle in my gym bag and chug it before I go in. Super easy!

I have an LA fitness nearby and go for $30/month. It's nothing fancy but it's clean and they have everything you could want.

I know this seems dumb, but I want to be sure I'm doing it right. I'm trying to gain muscle and lose some weight, so I just want to be sure I'm doing this right. I have a personal trainer and this is what he's got me doing. He seems knowledgeable, but I still want to be sure I'm maximizing my potential. 6 days/week: 13 g soy protein 1 hour heavy lifting, 1 group/day (Biceps/back, chest/triceps, 2 days legs, etc) 1 serving vega sport 30 minutes intense interval cardio Vega, oat flour, sun warrior, and a piece of fruit for breakfast. Should I be doing my cardio first? Should I have protein before and after? Any advice appreciated.

I really like them because I work without a spotter, so I don't have to worry about injuries to my shoulder when I try to go heavy. It's a great exercise, in my experience, but don't make it your only chest work, because the limited range of motion limits the work you do. Also, the floor prevents me from trying to use momentum, so every rep is starting from rest.

Even adidas and nike have vegan shoes. I have a pair of adidas that has more miles on it than my car, and a pair of new nikes I REALLY love. Just read the tags carefully, then pick what fits you best.

Since I've been focusing most of my efforts on building muscle, I've been keeping my cardio sessions really short and intense, so probably won't focus much on endurance in the near future. I'd love to get even faster, but I have pretty short legs so I don't know how much faster I can get. It'd be pretty cool to sustain that for 30 minutes, though! A girl can dream...

I know this might not be that impressive to all the athletes here, but I was pretty stoked this morning to complete my first 8 minute mile! I've gotten so frustrated exercising and eating like a mouse every day for the last year, I wasn't looking at my other progress. I was totally stoked about this, since 2 years ago I couldn't even finish a 16 minute mile without feeling like I would die! Gotta love the little victories...

If you actually read the articles where he talks about it, he says he drank twelve glasses a day! That's 1200 extra calories! I highly doubt his man boobs are the result of hormones and more the result of too much intake with too little output.

The NewGrip gloves are weird, but I really like them once you get used to it. They're like a flip-flop for your hands, but with wrist support. They're a little more cumbersome than regular gloves, but they offer great padding and grip.

Not all cats can be vegan due to the high solute concentrations, so bloodwork is always a good idea beforehand. My cat is on a 50/50 vegan food and duck based food diet. Cats are obligate carnivores naturally, but technology is catching up. In the meantime, I try to make it as "natural" as possible, so I don't feed her things like beef or tuna that she would never see anything like in the "wild". For now, I justify it because she doesn't have a choice. Soon I believe they will make an option that is suitable for cats with kidney issues, which is very common.

If you're taking a good prenatal multi those are developed to really cover your bases. It's also a good idea to eat just a bit more fat (not too much!) to make sure you're getting good absorbance of your fat-soluble vitamins, which are important for development. Just an extra teaspoon or so when you take your vitamins can be very helpful.