TheBestPossibleMe

lobsteriffic, Thanks for the nice welcome! I'll need to look into what you brought up about the two Thrive books being combined into one. And thank you for the other book recommendation. BTW, I love your blog! I know how much work it is to track what you eat, let alone document it with great photography. Seriously, excellent work!!! Erich

I've been lurking around for a couple weeks and finally decided to register. So, here I am! I've been vegetarian for about 2 months now and hope to be completely vegan soon, but I am trying to ease into it. I started out at 246 lbs. and now weight 231 lbs. Not too bad. However, I fear that much of my weight loss has been muscle. I have not been good about working out at all lately and the few times I have lifted weights I have felt very week. It's not that the weight feels heavier, but I have found that I hit a wall without warning while doing my sets. This is very abnormal for me. Am I not getting enough protein or carbs, or... ? Despite this, I am very excited about creating a new life for myself. I'm 38, have recently been diagnosed with type II diabetes, and have triglyceride and cholesterol issues. In general, I am very out of shape. What makes me so sad is that I feel like I am drifting further and further away from what I used to be and what I can be. When I was in my early 20's I felt pretty darn good. I never have had a great physique (I have only had ONE visible ab my whole life), but at 5'6" (on a good day) and between 165-180 lbs, I was benching 330 lbs. and squatting 480 lbs. for reps. Those days seem so far away that they hardly feel real anymore. I am very happy to have found this site, though. I am hoping to learn more about vegan nutrition and working out. I am looking forward to being a part of support group to motivate myself and others. And I am looking forward to meeting some new friends (or maybe even some workout partners). I really want to post some before pictures while I feel positive about the transformation I can make. But to be honest, I am still a bit reserved about doing so. I have a huge belly and generally feel unattractive. I do, however, try really hard to see that person inside of me that is dying to come out. Maybe others will see that in me too. Although there is a lot of great info on this site alone, can anyone recommend a good book for someone like me who is not completely new to working out but fairly new to vegan nutrition? I was thinking about reading, "Thrive". Can anyone vouch for that book? Anyways, I am glad to be here. Thank you all for making a place like this possible. I look forward to getting to know many of you and I would like to thank you in advance for your support. I'm sure I'll write more later, as I tend to be rather long-winded. Best regards, Erich