Adena

Herbivore is really affordable and has a pretty large menu, so I ended up there three times on my recent vacation. I'm kicking myself for not trying Maggie Mudd's. That would have been awesome!

My poor butt is very sore from lunges yesterday. I'm not used to those.

Wow! Nice PR!

What are your goals? I have some ideas if you want to get stronger. As far as your injuries go, it might have something to do with how new you are to running. Maybe your body just isn't used to it yet. I'm not a doctor though, so if it really hurts, go to a doctor!

Deadlift Day Deadlifts: 1x5x115 1x5x130 1x5x150 Good Mornings: 5x12x75 Hanging Leg Raises: 5x20 Various planks to work my abs a little more Bench Press Day Bench Press: 1x5x60 1x5x70 1x5x80 and just because I was feeling extra strong today 1x5x90 Bent Over Rows: 2x10x65 1x8x65 2x6x65 Push-Ups: 5x10 Cardio: 20 minutes of sprints on the stationary bike, minute springs with a minute rest between So I feel better than I did on SOHP Day.

I think you need more legumes in your life. Do you know how to cook with chickpeas or lentils?

So last night was Overhead Press Day....um. I did 1RMs and apparently my 1RM for standing overhead press is 65. Really disappointing. I'm trying to remember that lift is definitely the most difficult one for me to see any improvement in. Since I've been eating so much I'm feeling bloated and weird, I kind of cut back today to just eating what I actually feel like. So far it looks like this: Breakfast: the usual oatmeal and tofu scramble deal, green tea Snack: carrot sticks and ten almonds Lunch: slightly smaller portion of adzuki bean and kabocha squash stew, oven-braised leeks Snack: bit of hummus and a pita Supper: will probably be more of that dang adzuki bean stew...I always have so many leftovers. I'll probably also have a little broccoli, and a smoothie if I still have room. Rooibos tea would be nice, too. So no peanut butter sandwich and dried figs. Not too much less, just a little bit less. I feel better, but I don't know if this is really enough for me to see any strength gains. I guess we'll see. It's a little too early to tell. Today is deadlift day, yay! I love deadlifts. I'm sure this will go better. I won't be doing any 1RMs until next week, so tonight I'm doing sets of five.

Well, that's what I've been doing, but then I realized that the adhesive in pretty much everything is made from animal products. So if it's not put out by a vegan company I'm kind of suspicious. It may be made from man-made materials, but the adhesive is not vegan. It's kind of one of things that's really really really really hard to avoid, though.

That's kind of what I was thinking...we currently have over a foot of snow covering pretty much everything. During the winter, I pretty much stick to cardio machines in the gym.

Most of the hype surrounding tofu is supported by the dairy industry. The only thing it may do to you is give you a bit of gas or indigestion if you have a ton of it in the same day. That doesn't happen to everyone, though. If you want some different meal ideas, there's a recipe section in this forum. I would suggest trying more recipes with different legumes like chickpeas and lentils so you don't get bored with tofu. Also, I think quinoa is the grain of champs!

I look at my nutrition as a journey. Everyone's kind of on a different part of the journey. I used to have next to nothing, and it was all sort of processed crap. That was a pretty long time ago, but anyway, I feel a lot better now. I'm still kind of a coffee and sugar fiend, but I'm getting it under control.

So the rest of Deload Week went as follows: Day Three: Bench 1x5x45 1x5x50 1x5x60 Push-Ups 5x10 (was experimenting with using better form so I don't kill my elbows) Bent-Over Rows 5x10x50 Day Four: Squats 1x5x55 1x5x70 1x5x85 Leg Press: 5x15 (I don't remember the weight, but the idea this week was to take it easy, so it was pretty light) Leg Curl: 5x10 (ditto) Well, I'm looking forward to tonight at the gym. It's Standing Overhead Press Day, and I think I'll test my 1RM in that lift, then do some dips and chin-ups for assistance work, then do sprints for 20 minutes if I have the energy. Today I ate as follows: Breakfast: Tofu scramble (ate about 1/2 a block, saved leftovers for tomorrow Oatmeal with peanut butter and milled flaxseed, went much lighter on the brown sugar than usual 1 cup of green tea Snack: Carrot sticks Ten almonds Six dried figs Lunch: Adzuki bean and kabocha squash stew with veggies Hummus and a pita Wished for leafy greens, but I forgot them at home Snack: Peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread And after I work out tonight, I think supper will be leftover stuffed peppers. They're stuffed with quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, onions, chili powder, olive oil, garlic, and salt. I tried to sautee the stuffing with a lot less oil than usual and just add some more water when it got sticky. I also want some steamed broccoli and a smoothie with soy milk, strawberries, bananas, cinnamon, and ginger. All right, I'm excited to lift heavy stuff!

Yeah, we live in a good farming area with great soil and a decent growing season, so you'd think it would be CSA heaven. But last year we got screwed.

My boyfriend and I were put on a waiting list for Small Potatoes Farm, a community supported agriculture organic farm in Minburn, Iowa. We really didn't think we would hear back from any of them, but last night we got the call and we're in like Flynn! Yee-ha! Last year we joined what had to be the worst CSA in Iowa, if not America. If any of you live in the midwest, do not, under any circumstances, join L.T. Organic Farms. The guy who owns it is a crackpot and charged way too much for like, hardly any veggies. There was no variety at all. Basically, we paid $700 some for a lot of gross turnip greens and green onions all year long. We got a good amount of hot peppers and eggplants, but we need more basic stuff. This new CSA costs about half as much, and sounds as though it will give us like, four times the amount of vegetables. We'll see how well it works out. A CSA is about the best way to get affordable organic vegetables, so I'm really excited!

Major source...... yes, what else can you recommend ? I think he just means that you need to eat beans more often. I would also recommend that. There are many different types to try. Good luck, it sounds like you're starting out on the right track!

I think it looks pretty good. It's important to have all those legumes and grains, and I think yams and sweet potatoes will help you out a lot too. Have you tried more exotic grains, like quinoa and amaranth? I'm a big fan of quinoa because it has a good amount of protein and calcium, and a complete amino acid chain.

This week I'm just finishing up my deload week. It's intentionally much lighter than I can lift, and kinda boring. The whole past month has seemed too easy, so I'm going to add at least 5 lbs to my overhead press and bench and 10 lbs to my squat and deadlift and see what happens. Also, I'm going to be testing my 1RMs for all the key lifts over the course of the next month. So that will be exciting and give me a better idea of where I'm at. So anyway, today I had my first experience really having trouble stuffing my face. So far today I have had 1/2 a block of tofu scrambled, a bowl of oatmeal, a bunch of carrot sticks, almonds, and dried figs, a bowl of kidney bean and cabbage soup, hummus and a pita, and a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread. I just finished the figs and the pb sandwich during my afternoon break at work and felt like I was about to puke. But I'm fine now. Hopefully this will help me get used to eating more and prepare me for lifting heavy stuff!

Thanks for all of your responses! It looks like I just have to sort through a lot of information. I don't think I should do barefoot running, because sometimes my knees and ankles act up if I run more than one day in a row. I alternate running with biking, and using an elliptical and it seems to help.

Yes, I run for endurance sometimes, and do sprints sometimes. I have New Balance running shoes right now, but they're about two years old.

Just wondering where you get your running shoes. Mine are almost worn out. I've bought some shoes on mooshoes before, but they were just comfy work and hangin' out type of shoes. Ideally, I would like something that is not only vegan but fair trade and environmentally friendly. Any suggestions are welcome!

First of all, I like Chewy's use of the word rubbish. Second of all, I totally agree with him. It's sometimes more expensive, but easier to figure out, if you just buy whole foods. Tofu and soy milk are the only moderately processed foods I buy anymore. Dried beans are really cheap, so that's something I frequently purchase. If you're trying to avoid carbs, maybe try making healthy stews with lots of beans (whatever ones sound good to you, I like lentils), a variety of veggies, and olive or canola oil or something along those lines. Dried lentils only take about fifteen mintues to cook, so they're pretty easy to just toss in a stockpot along with vegetable broth and whatever else.

I'm pretty new to powerlifting, but I've been vegan for seven years. Do you have any vegan or vegan-friendly cookbooks yet? I'm not big on protein shakes or supplements, I mostly just stuff my face (in a healthy way). So I could give you some of my favorite easy recipes, if you want. I guess I don't have a lot of advice on losing a little weight before competition, since I haven't done that yet. Oh, and welcome!

Wow, you're a freakin' warrior! Your workouts look perfect for someone who is serious about martial arts training. I attempted MMA a few years ago. I stuck to it almost every day for about a year and a half, and even competed in jiu jitsu competitions, but eventually decided I just wasn't competitive enough for MMA. Also, I don't have the guts for stand-up, haha. I flinched a lot when I was just sparring with my friends. Anyway, I admire your dedication!

Isn't splenda aspartame?Not good. Whoa! I didn't know it was the same thing. I better tell my mom. She used NutraSweet for years, which I think was the brand name for aspartame, and now she is all about Splenda. Dang it.