horsedoc

What are your goals? You look pretty fit now. I have found it much easier to stay on the lean side since eating a primarily raw vegan diet for over 2 years now. How are you liking it so far?

Okay MDV, sorry for the assumption. The dinners just sounded like processed food. Thanks for the correction. But then there's the ff soymilk from Krogers.... hmmm that sounds processed.

Okay, here's my take on it. I agree if you are working out that you need more calories on average than 1500 unless you are really really small (like me:). In the morning I would suggest adding some greens to alkalinize and to balance the sugars in the fruit. Plus all that great fiber they provide along with easy to absorb minerals. Lunch seems good as long as you are not coating the salad with a processed dressing. Dinner it would be good to eliminate the processed food and eat real food instead. Lots and lots of veggies possibly adding in beans, small amount of rice or quinoa and even another small salad.

My legs build easily and seem to be the last place the fat leaves. I have found that I still need to workout my lower body but no heavy weights. Using a bike in low gear or a stationary bike at lower resistance seems to work the best. Long, slow boring cardio does not seem to do as well as high intensity interval training for fat burning. Staying low fat with my diet and staying away from salt, sweets and processed foods are also a must for me. Eating high water foods and lots of alkaline foods (tons of blended greens) also has been extremely beneficial. Keep up the questions and post what you are currently doing and how you are progressing. Sometimes it takes a lot of tweaking to find what works best for your metabolism.

Great progress. What are your fitness goals?

I agree with Fallen Horse, I don't think you can have bulk and be super lean without good protein powder. I have been extremely lean with decent muscle mass without it but if you want bulk I think it would be really difficult. You would need to do almond yogurt, coconut yogurt and still I think you would need whole foods powder supplement. Keeping alkaline will help you to lose fat faster also.

I agree the website looks terrific after its much needed overhaul. I normally go straight to the forum so didn't know about it until after see this thread. Great job!

Looks like you are doing a great job Zoe. It helps to start with a good shape but the weightlifting seems to have emphasized all the right things. Great Job!

No offense taken. I am not condemning grains and have tried almost all of them but do not do well on them. There are a lot of gluten-free grains. I think too in the US the growing and processing of grains may be very different than other parts of the world and this affects their digestion and absorption. If someone who has adult onset diabetes just goes from processed foods to whole foods including whole grains of course that is going to help them. Just getting off the SAD diet onto a more plant-based diet would do that. But too many times I see folks who just stop eating meat but don't use enough real foods such as vegies and fruit to get their nutrition. And synthetic vitamins will not replace real food. (Synthetic vitamins are a whole discussion on their own.) Just getting more people in the USA to eat more real food would help lighten the health care system load. From what you wrote sounds like Jack Norris has his target audience that he is trying to reach and improve their health. But to me it still looks like a no meat, no dairy version of the food pyramid. Just my opinion. I am not an extremist on any front nor an alarmist. I do tend to be a rebel and usually about 10 years after I make changes either in the way I practice veterinary medicine or my own lifestyle it starts becoming more mainstream. But I am also practical, realistic and down to earth. I do appreciate your comments and information.

We do blood work in animals for food allergies and they are fairly reliable now. They've come a long way. Muscle testing is another good way to confirm what is best for your body and what you should avoid.

Hi Colin, Glad you are here. There are lots of folks ready to help out here. Sounds like you are already well on your way to preparing for the City to Surf. There is always something to learn about fitness no matter how much you know - that's for sure. Dr. Debra

I ate very little grain, medium to high protein, lots of veggies, little fruit, some dairy prior to stopping meat and dairy. Now am mostly eating a raw vegan diet with mostly vegies, medium fruit, no grains, small amount of nuts. I lost weight when I stick to this way of eating. Have occasionally gotten off track and only then do I add body fat/weight. When I err too heavily on fats or cook/bake too much for others (hard for me to cook or bake without tasting). Eating loads of greens and starting my day off with green smoothies keeps my nutrition and hydration up and is a key to success for me. Too much fruit or too much fat cause issues for me. Staying away from man-made foods and sticking with whole foods (including condiments) also a big factor. I don't think it is just about calories but calories do count.

I agree about chewy... Especially after a season of gelding horses!

Sounds like great incentive to re-vamp your diet and experiment with new things. Baking gluten free is pretty easy using almond flour. Some of the other gluten free flours are nasty tasting. You can find Bragg's in any grocery that has a health food section. Cultured foods would probably be really good for you. There is Bubbie's Sauerkraut and Rejuvenative foods cultured veggies. You might find Garbanzo beans are okay, they seem to be different than the rest. And you may need to use protein powders to boost your calories for awhile.

[quote name="Atki" Plenty of Bananas' date=' Dates and Almonds, Lite Soy Milk, Muesli, wholemeal Pasta, Tofu, Soy Yoghurt, Avocados, Red Kidney Beans and Wholegrain Wholemeal Bread. And moderate amounts of Grapes, Apples, Pears and Nectarines, Zucchinis and Carrots, Tomatoes etc. In the mornings its normally Muesli with Nectarine and Pear with lite soy milk or a banana, date and almond smoothie. Later would be salad sandwichs with hommus, lettuce and tomato or red kidney bean burritos with tomato and lettuce. Dinner typically will be a pasta with tofu and veges or a mix of anything in the fridge but with a combination for all the macronutrients. [/quote] Wow, I could not eat that way and have any lasting energy. Come to think of it I have eaten that way and my energy level was a roller coaster. I would have to eat often just to not crash. Where are the greens?? I suggest you try adding in a large amount of greens, eliminate the refined carbs like pasta, bread and try replacing that breakfast with a big Green Smoothie. That will give you fruit for calories and tons of greens for sustained energy. Might stick to low glycemic fruit like apples or pears. Adding the minerals and fiber from the greens should help a lot. I have lots of recipes if you want suggestions. My morning brew is 1 bunch greens (I prefer kale), 4 stalks celery, 2 apples or pears, 1 lemon (peeled), 1 jalapeño, small piece of ginger root, a handful of parsley and/or cilantro. Not for the faint of heart! But extremely energizing, filling and it will wake you up! Just try to start with a huge green smoothie to which you can add some ground flax or hemp powder or something along those lines and see how you feel. I'm sure the night hours don't help but since you can't change that then it is even more important to re-think your diet.

Thank you for sharing this resource. I respectfully disagree with some of his recommendations based on my education and personal experiences. Under Omega 3's he wrote about cooking with oils. The only oils that I am aware of that do well heated are coconut oil and grapeseed oil. That being said, many oils are also pro-inflammatory such as flax seed oil. Much better to consume fresh ground flax for fatty acids. Any nuts are best eaten raw after being soaked to neutralize enzyme inhibitors, increase absorption of nutrients and reduce phytic acid. Calcium is available in dark green leafy vegetables so no need for the man-made variety. Vitamin A food recommendations were good. Then came the protein recommendations which were shocking to see processed foods listed as a good source of protein - wow! Loved the Vitamin C recommendations. Zinc recommendations failed to mention dark leafy greens and did have some items I would steer clear of such as tempeh and a multi-vitamin. Whole grains I find are totally un-necessary and for many of us a source of problems for digestion and overall health. Then to see only 2 servings each of fruits and green leafy vegetables as enough, well that is just plain ridiculous. 1 apple sometimes is considered 2 servings of fruit. It looks to me like a vegan version of the old antiquated food pyramid. This was good to see what RD's are recommending for vegans and think through and analyze it. Thank you again for sharing this.

Well, mine is my profession. I'm a horse doctor - veterinarian.

Okay, I will chime in. I have had blood sugar issues in the past and hypoglycemia but do fine on a raw vegan diet that emphasizes greens greens and more greens! Always eating real food and not processed fats,carbs or proteins and steering clear of refined sugars, dried fruit and other things that concentrate the sugars and foods that are concentrated fats. I personally do poorly on grains and try to only eat nuts that have been soaked. And I don't do too many of even these. Making almonds into an almond yogurt seems to work well and goes well in smoothies as does fresh ground flax. I investigate and test out new ways of eating for energy and health and now that my body is pretty clean it is quick to respond to new ways of doing things - good or bad. Here are some of the things I have found: Loads of greens (usually in smoothies), starting the morning with an alkalizing drink of lemon and cayenne, then following with a green smoothie with small amount of fruit, large amount of greens, lemon or lime, ginger and jalapeño. Salads are good in the evening and I do best eating early. If I eat late then I get energized and stay up too late. I rarely eat fruit alone unless it is an apple. I do well on sea vegetables such as nori and dulse particularly in the heat. Okay, I thin I am running on now, but this should give some good food for thought. Staying hydrated seems to be extremely important so eating fresh not dehydrated foods helps a lot, smoothies are great for this as are juices.

I agree that some of us do not eat meat for reasons other than animal rights issues. There is a separate topic heading to discuss those types of things. My reason for not eating meat has nothing to do with animal rights and everything to do with personal health and preferences. I too appreciate the separation of these 2 things.

Yes, welcome back. I too have been away for awhile not due to changes in my diet but an overhaul of my life.

Hi Ryan! Congrats on the positive changes you have made. Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum. Keep in contact and let us know how you are doing and if you need any help. Glad you are here!

Biking to the gym does sound like a great way to warm everything up! I workout at home and don't have a bike so not an option here. But I have used cardio equipment in the past and still didn't really feel prepared to lift weights. What I do now is a bodyweight circuit twice with a 30 second rest between circuits. This seems to work the best for me. Each circuit takes 5-10 minutes. This really has helped prevent injuries for me. I may cut something short but not my warm-up.

You are definitely plenty active! Sounds like most of your activities are not muscle-promoting for your body type. I would suggest compound exercises like push-ups, squats, squat press, rows to get the most out of the time and effort you put in. Great that you are making progress to meet your goals. Keep us posted on your progress.

Any Arizona bodybuilding competitors out there?? I'm hoping to join up with other Arizona bodybuilders that are planning on competing this year. I haven't competed since 1994 but am seriously contemplating either an August or October show in either Physique or Figure, don't think I want to carry enough muscle for bodybuilding class. Would really like to support others in our state that are planning on competing.