amawalke

Hey Robert! Thanks for asking, that's really sweet of you! Things have been pretty tough since the beginning of November...I started getting really sick and having no energy and having trouble keeping down food. It got so bad I had to bail on training (at my doctors advice, I totally fought him on it!) for my marathon for my friend...it almost killed me. I'm still mentoring for the marathon group; I go to the runs every Saturday morning just to wish everyone good luck, and then drive back home in my car where I do some yoga Luckily, about a week ago, I went to a holistic healing doctor and they found out I have parasites, goodness knows what from! I'm glad to finally know what's going on; I've been doing this parasite cleanse dealie and am already starting to feel a little better. I ran for the first time in a while a few days ago, and felt pretty good! Today I picked up some weights but barely made it through what used to be easy for me. It's frustrating to see how weak I've gotten! The end of 2010 seemed to be full of fitness roadblocks, and I'm hoping 2011 will totally rock to make up for it! Apparently it takes a while to get rid of parasites, but I'm doing my best and hope to do something amazing this year. I'm getting really excited about yoga; maybe getting sick is really a blessing in disguise! My boyfriend and I went to Hawaii this Thanksgiving to take a breather and rest while I was feeling icky. I included a pic of us at a Luau! How are you?

Why pooping is good for your face!

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/digestion-and-your-complexion-why.html

hey...I haven't seen you post in a bit! If you're still visiting the forums here's a great article on Marzia Prince on why she's now 80 percent raw vegan 20 percent cooked...it basically resulted from burnout from comp diets...now she looks amazing and is a full time bikini and fitness model on a vegan diet! (her interview is on pg 32-33)

http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/total-health/nov10virtual/2010102401/

what do you think? What's the healthiest diet to you?

so most everyone agrees that a mostly raw diet is healthiest?

RAWbstacles: things to consider when thinking about becoming raw

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/rawbstacles-things-to-keep-in-mind-when.html

My plan for how to NOT suck at running marathons!

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/from-failure-to-inspiration-how-i-plan.html

I have to admit...I watched the video for the first time because I was interested in how you make delicious vegan food. The second time I watched was to listen to your accent again

An account of my massive massive failure...

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/hating-myself-right-now.html

new post about my half-marathon tomorrow!

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/rock-and-roll-denver-tomorrow.html

posts about my FAVORITE way to detox my system

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/most-pain-free-innocuous-detox-youve.html

post about why puppy poop makes me happy

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-puppy-poop-makes-me-happier-person.html

I guess I should caveat that with I'm not huge with the macro emphasis on grains. But it's just where I learned the general principles. Then my friend introduced me to doshas and I thought it was so interesting!

obviously wiki isn't the end-all be-all resource but this is how I learned about the macro diet, and it seems to focus a lot on balancing yin and yang as far as foods go. I thought it was interesting. Whether or not you buy into the macro principles, I think everyone could use more balance with food and life in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrobiotic_diet

Thanks! I've been looking more into doshas, and I feel like I'm mostly vata with a little pitta in there. hmm...so much to read about...

The lazy person's guide to starting and maintaining an exercise routine!

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/lazy-persons-guide-to-starting-and.html

I'm your Man; do you feel cold in the winter eating raw? And do you drink hot tea? I'm living in Colorado and wonder if I could stay warm in the winter if I ate lots of raw food? I guess I could just dress more warmly

New post on how to make green smoothies that don't suck!

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-green-smoothie-that-doesnt.html

Taking a break from food journaling (at least on here! I've got one at home...) but I feel like I'm eating such similar things every day it would get boring for people reading about my food! But THIS is what I've been up to. Should I run a marathon in LA or Paris?

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/2010/10/la-or-paris-yes-its-real-question.html

started posting to my blog again! Consolidating. I may still keep track of food here, but for the most part this is where I'll be writing

http://theyear4kindness.blogspot.com/

planning so many things, so excited about life! Not writing down food as a result, lol. I'll get back into it in a bit, but food has been good these past few days

meal 1: smoothie with vega whole food health optimizer (120) celery (15) mixed greens (15) banana (70) grapes (30)

meal 2: apple (70)

meal 3: butternut squash (50) and cabbage leaf wraps (15) with tempeh (180) and avocado (100) and salsa (15) and cilantro (15) and greens (10)

meal 4: 1/2 scoop whole foods heal optimizer (60)

post-workout: vega protein (110)

meal 5: almonds (180) on top of a salad with spinach (15) and jicima (30) and blueberries (15) and cilantro (5) and salsa (15) and other half of butternut squash! (50)

Thank you so much! When I took progress pics today, I was a little worried because I didn't feel like I looked any different. After looking through my new pics I feel like there was so improvement so that made me happy! It's nice to know you're not working hard for nothing. ALSO I found out that I'm going to be a mentor for Team in Training this season which I'm SO excited about! Team in Training is a group that trains for marathons, half marathons, triathlons, and other raises while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I did it last year and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! This year I'm coming back as a mentor, which means it's basically my job to motivate and train with the new participants; send out motivational emails etc. I'm so excited! I know it puts the bikini competition a little farther away than I'd originally planned (now I'm shooting to be ready by next August, the marathon is next March) and I'm going to try and focus on staying toned during the season and try not to lose muscle definition. I think all this running will really tone my legs and help me stay slim; it'll be interesting to do this on a vegan diet! last year I wasn't vegan, and it definitely changes things a little. Also today was fun and my friends and I went out to eat and ran around denver like crazy people most of the day. I literally wasn't home all day. I'm usually someone who likes to go out but stay in and relax later on, but it was nice to really get out and stay out for a bit! Here's my food for the day.

meal 1: smoothie with vega whole foods health optimizer (120) 1 tbsp brown rice protein (60) grapes (30) mixed greens (15) celery (15) Amazingly, this tasted delicious! I was bummed about my green smoothies the other day and I think the grapes really give it some freshness! It was good!

pre-workout: 1/2 apple (45)

post-workout: 1/2 apple (45) vega protein (110)

lunch: Delicious almonds (180) with cocoa powder (20) and a smoothie with vega whole food health optimizer (120) grapes (30) celery (30) greens (15) 1/2 banana (45)

early dinner: awesome salad from downtown with tofu, avocado, grapes, pine nuts, strawberries, and 1/2 slice bread (?? no idea 500?) and two bites of my friends vegan coconut cream pie! I read the first two bites are the ones you taste the most! (50)

snacky snack: carob faux cocoa (20)

...and 2 more

I think I might be making progress!

Progress pics tomorrow! I honestly don't know if I've made any progress these past few weeks, but I feel like I've been slowly moving towards a diet and exercise plan that's best for me. I've experimented with so many things in such a short period of time, that I haven't yet "settled" into the best way to do everything for me. First I tried heavy lifting, then p90x, and now (after reading the bikini preparation guide) I realize I really don't need to build muscle, I just need to shape and tone my legs and make sure my waist is small and my arms are toned. I've recently started doing cardio every other day and jillian michaels no more trouble zones on the other days. As far as diet goes, I've gone from higher protein to experimenting more with raw, and now I'm moving towards somewhat of a mix between the two. I'm excited to see how everything turns out in the long run!

pre-workout: 1/2 apple (45)

post-workout: vega (110)

meal 1: smoothie with 1 scoop brown rice protein (60) banana (70) coconut oil (50) spinach (15) and 1/3 cup blueberries (30)

meal 2: 1/2 apple (70)

meal 3: smoothie with 2 tbsp pb (180) cocoa powder (20) papaya (70) spinach (15) cilantro (10)

meal 4: dinner out where I had hummus and pita bread, an amazing salad with blackberries, avocado, onions, pineapple, and grapes (500-700)

Didn't feel too hungry today honestly! But felt way energized Now I'm dead tired even though it's only 10pm lol...going out to dinner with friends and an exhausting week will do that!