veganlily

That guy looks hungry. The flat abs are almost painful in relation to the rest. I'm no expert, though, just an opinion. I like the Marlon Brando post. For me, I am always inspired by the women in the Athleta catalog - very athletic, generally real breasts, realistic hard-working body goal.

Thanks again for the additional responses, they are really helpful. I am reading all the links and thinking about what everyone posted, and will keep you updated on my progress. Training and diet are both going really well right now, I feel more in control of it all. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks...I've really appreciated the input! lily

Thanks for the responses! I do think that lifting heavy and eating enough are both super important. And I really appreciate the positive comments! I very much want to arrive at a balanced place. For the most part, I do really enjoy and respect and love my body, I want to keep myself in that healthy place and still be motivated to get stronger and stay in good shape.

Hello! Thanks so much for your response. I do limit nuts/seeds to 1 oz or less per day (usually like 2 walnuts, 5-8 almonds, 1 tsp peanut butter, one tablespoon sunflower seeds). I agree that they pack major calories without a ton of satiety. I generally eat between 1200-1500 calories per day; I tracked calories for a long time, stopped for a while, and then food journaled for most of July to see where I landed. Some days are as high as 1700, but I would say average is 1400 or so.

Hi Y'all: I posted this in the nutrition section, but someone very nicely suggested that I first introduce myself here...hello! I am a 30-year old female looking for some advice and online vegan workout buddies to swap tips and thoughts with. Here's my longish post, with details (and pics of me)...thanks! viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18731

Hi All, I am a long-term vegetarian (1998), vegan since about 2002. I have worked out consistently since 2005, including progressively heavier lifting, cardio, and some work with a personal trainer. I'm 30 years old, 5'9.5" In 2007 after going through some rough personal stuff, I developed a bit of an obsession around food/exercise, and got down to 130 pounds. That was too thin. I am a classic pear, and my upper body was frightening. Through work with a personal trainer and eating more, and healing myself emotionally, I became a lot healthier about food again, and gained some needed weight. Things went well for about two years, and I lingered at about 143, and liked the way I looked. My bodyfat was measuring pretty consistently then by my trainer at around 18-19.5%. Fast forward to now. I find myself now anywhere between 144-149, depending on the day and where I am in my cycle. Though I am actually not all that concerned about the number on my scale. Instead, recently, I have been not liking what is happening with my body - the way it looks or feels. I am trying to trust myself and continue to eat enough (I vowed never again to work out excessively and be hungry), but I am developing a "fatty" look that really bothers me, particularly in my butt, a bit in my hips, and for sure the dreaded saddle bags. I have been lifting heavy (3-4 x/week), a combo program based on "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women," the advice of my very good all sorts of certified personal trainer (no longer seeing him, can't afford to), and I also read Oxygen magazine. I eat pursuant to Eat to Live for the most part, and have realized that I have recently dramatically increased my intake of fruit. This is mostly because it is summer. I think I am consuming like 6-7 servings of fruit daily, sometimes up to 9. I do not eat sugar, white flour, pasta, bread, crackers - I am mostly gluten and sugar free. I do eat tempeh, tofu, beans, a little quinoa. Huge salads every day for lunch (with fat free homemade vinegar/mustard dressing, but with avocado or raw seeds/nuts for fat). While I have oatmeal every single morning, it is sometimes my only grain/starch of the day. Occassionally I'll have quinoa, brown rice, or baked sweet potato, but not every day. Dinner is usually a huge green stirfry of veggies. I have protein powder (vega, brown rice) on occassion, not as much recently. My hunch is that I am eating too many carbs via sweet fruits, and not enough protein. My snacks are almost always fruit and nuts. I do eat a high percentage of raw, but I am not a raw foodist. Anyone have ideas for me? I'd like to be healthy, not be hungry, but achieve a tighter/leaner look. My plan is to lift 4x/week (about 50 minutes, I do lift heavy with circuits), continue doing cardio (20-45 mins 5-6x/wk), and perhaps reduce the fruit and increase the protein. Oh, and here I am, this is about what I look like right now: http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp8%3B3%3Enu%3D3335%3E669%3E9%3C8%3EWSNRCG%3D327678566%3A335nu0mrj http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp8%3C4%3Enu%3D3276%3E53%3B%3E895%3E236753%3B986244ot1lsi http://images1f.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp8%3B5%3Enu%3D3335%3E669%3E9%3C8%3EWSNRCG%3D3276785669335nu0mrj