kareno

Awesome! Good for you! I'm finding that journaling here everyday this month is really helping me with consistency and accountability in exercise and diet. I've also found people to be really super encouraging and helpful. Keep up the great work and attitude!

Thanks for that suggestion. I did see that her website has a bunch of recipes, which I'll continue to spy until I get her book. I LOVE chickpeas!!! Your relay sounds like fun! Lots of breweries in your area? Would you drink beers between each leg of the race?

Typing this from my iPhone, so please bear with me if this doesn't look very pretty! Today was a travel day for me. I flew out of state to be with my parents, as my mom had surgery yesterday (knee replacement) and will be in the hospital a few days. Anyhow, I WANTED to get up early and go to the gym and exercise on my way to the airport, but I guess I didn't want it badly enough because I didn't get out of bed early enough. Therefore, I spent the day traveling, then at the hospital with my folks. So, no exercise to speak of today. My mom has a treadmill here at the house, so I'm looking forward to doing my Couch-2-5k training tomorrow before heading back to the hospital. Yes, I'm actually looking forward to it! My food wasn't exactly on target today, but I'm gonna cut myself some slack today. Breakfast: green smoothie Lunch: yogurt (almond) and 1/2 Vega protein bar Snacks: banana and Clif bar Dinner: found this funky vegan cafe near the hospital and took my dad there. Had mushroom/spinach/cashew cheese red chile enchiladas with a side of sautéed squash/zucchini. Mmmmmm! After dinner at hospital: salad with hummus, cookie (oops), pineapple Have a great weekend, everybody!!

I've become interested in the Happy Herbivore cookbooks lately. I believe there are two... Which do you have/recommend?

Just be patient (I know that's hard!) and keep at it!!

Have fun with your snow holiday!! Be safe and warm.

Hahahahahahaha! Oh, Doug, you crack me up!!! Keep up the great work and positive attitude, my friend. You're a diamond geezer! I have no doubt there are so many people here on the forum who would absolutely be delighted to get encouraging words from you. Not like a fart in a spacesuit at all! Hahaha, you are so funny! Have a great weekend!

Yay! Have fun, Mary!

Hey Dylan! Your last post made me laugh! I used to be a Nutella addict! I first discovered it while living in Italy, and we put Nutella on pretty much everything! I've never tried an alternative, but here's some stuff I found: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/vegannutella.htm http://epicurvegan.com/2011/02/15/vegan-nutella/ There were some more recipes if you just Google "vegan nutella" Also, Vegan Essentials carries a product called "rawtella". I don't know anything about it, other than what is on their product page, and they're currently on backorder. (Is that a sign that it's good?) http://store.veganessentials.com/rawtella-organic-raw-chocolate-hazelnut-spread-p3226.aspx Go to Rawtella's website, and you can see where else you can buy it online, or you can buy it there in NYC: http://www.rawtella.com/retail-locations.html I understand when you just have to fulfill a craving! Haha! Good luck!

Awesome! Sounds like you really pushed yourself hard yesterday, which is great to hear! And you've lost weight! Yay! Also sounds like you have a great husband. Congratulations on all counts!

Hehe, no worries at all! I hope you'll keep posting your journey here! -Karen

Thanks, you guys. Last night's snack attack was a bit more intense than I think y'all are imagining, but anyway, I appreciate the support. Today was much better. Exercise: Treadmill: Couch-to-5K week 1 run 2: 30 minutes, 2 miles, incline 1.0, 5 min walking warm-up, then 1 minute runs, alternating with 1.5 minute walks for 8 cycles, then 5 minute cool-down. I bumped the speed up ever so slightly today from Tuesday. I did the warm-up and cool-down walks at 3.5 mph, and the walks between runs were 3.2 (Tuesday was 3.0). So far, the program is pretty intense for me, but totally doable, and it feels great so far! It's crazy to think that in 2 months I should be able to run 30 minutes straight. Can't wait! Elliptical: 60 minutes, 10 minutes at each of the following resistance levels: 4, 8, 12, 16, 12, 8/4 Food: Breakfast: Green smoothie with Vega WFHO and flax seed Lunch: Just realized I didn't eat an official lunch. Dinner: Tofu scramble with tons of veggies, black beans, corn tortilla, and avocado Snacks: Radishes...and 1 serving of little cookies Pre-workout: Vega Energizer Post-workout: Banana and 1/2 Vega protein bar (Chocolate Coconut, mmmm!)

YAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY! I LOVE that you're looking and feeling so good! That's so fantastic! And, by the way, I'm so freakin' jealous of your Vitamix! I want one SO bad!

That's tough, Jesse. Sorry to hear your system is all messed up. Hope you can get that sorted out soon. Good luck on your fast, if that's the route you decide to go! I just started working out myself, but have really taken a liking to one of the elliptical machines at the 24 Hour Fitness gym I go to. I don't know exactly what it's called, but I like it so much better than all the other elliptical machines I've ever been on. I didn't even know before that there was more than one type! Good luck!

Hey Jeremy. So sorry to hear about the loss of your grandmother. Such a huge loss in a person's life. Take good care.

Cajun Chickpea Cakes! Yumm! I've been spying Ms. Nixon's books, and I'm happy to hear your positive review. If I was only going to buy one of them, which one would you recommend I should purchase first? Thanks! Enjoy date night with your hubby!

Great job!! Your cravings for bacon (and cheese!) will definitely go away with time, after you stay away from it for a while. Good luck, and keep at it!!

Hey you! Great job!! I know, we're already like 2/3 through the program! It's been life-changing for me! I hope I will keep with it for a lifetime. Thank YOU for all your help and knowlege!! You're my hero!

Great job and congratulations!!!!!! I really want to try a boxing gym!

Yay, you did some pushups! Good for you!!!!!! I'm glad to hear that you felt happy and confident when you looked in the mirror today.

Hahahahahahahaha! She screamed? Why? In disgust? That's cute. I've been having to learn to be a better judge of calories, too. And I hear ya, the calories in those smoothies can really add up quickly. You think, "oh, this is good for me, so I'll put some in here. Oh, and that's good for me, too, so I'll put some of that in as well." And before you know it, you've got over 400 calories in the blender! I'm learning to try to be really careful to measure everything that goes in the blender. It's tough sometimes. But, they're sooooooooooo good!

Wow, I'm really overwhelmed (in the good sense) by all the comments y'all leave for me here! Thank you so much. It means and helps a whole lot. Thank you. Today's exercise: Stairclimber: 22 minutes. Set on the interval setting, so speed varied from 45-65 steps/minute, I believe. Avg. steps/minute=51. 68 floors. I realized today that I actually hate the stairclimber. It's no fun, it hurts my knees, and my toes are constantly getting squished between the steps. Ugh. Elliptical (glider): 65 minutes. Started on resistance level 4 and increased it in increments of 4 every 10 minutes, then back down. 4, 8, 12, 16, 12, 8, 4 (last 5 min.). It was tough to get through it today! That was the longest and hardest I've pushed myself on that machine. Treadmill: 35 minutes. Nice, fairly casual walk at incline level 1.0, 3.5 mph. Distance=2 miles. Food: Breakfast: Oatmeal with blueberries and chia seeds. Also a Vega WFHO shake. Snack: Orange Lunch: Leftover kale/tempeh/bean salad from last night (had half before my workout and half after) Dinner: Green curry tempeh with mushrooms and spinach, served over quinoa/brown rice blend. (I don't normally eat so much tempeh.) I might as well 'fess up to the fact that my diet fell way short today. Actually, it wasn't bad all day... until I came home this evening. I got a little out of hand (and by "a little", I mean "a lot") with the snacking. Part of the problem was that I made my roommate and I dinner, but he came home late, and I was hungry. Rather than eating my dinner without him, I just started snacking. But, then I kept on snacking, and it really just got out of hand from there. I'm embarassed to admit that, but that's the truth, and I might as well be honest here. I went a little nuts (and by "a little", I mean...). Emotional eater, plus I just started my period (sorry to you men who may be reading this, but we're all adults here). and that makes always me a little crazy ("a little"?). I'm so mad at myself! Grrr.... Looking ahead, I'm anxious to do Week 1, Run 2 of the C-2-5K program tomorrow. @Greenbride, I'm using the iPhone app, too! Love it! Thanks, guys.

Feel better soon, Carley!!

Is your name Lynn or Mary? I'm confused. Hehe! Great job on your workout today! I don't think I ever had a green smoothie until I started this New You New Year challenge a couple weeks ago! Now I LOVE them and have one most mornings. I also add a scoop Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer to mine. What a great (and filling!) way to start the day! Keep up the great work!

Awesome job! And so glad you're feeling better! Hope the whole family will be soon, too!