stcalico

Welcome Shani. I generally have only been making 'green' smoothies which don't have any added proteins but I think there are some protein shake recipes in the food/nutrition section here that you can check out.

Welcome aboard. Best thing to stick to a fitness program is to find something you love.. or at least like doing. The roller derby sounds like fun.

You made some great improvements. Good luck with your current goals.

Too much tofu possibly? It is made of beans - some people forget that.

Welcome Bob. Your wife probably has lots of answers for you, but if you have questions she can't answer, feel free to ask here.

Converting over a bit more slowly, will probably make the transition a bit easier on your digestion system.

I believe biotin is a b complex vitamin... but it is it's own vitamin (ie. vitamin H), so would not contain B12. Unlike B12, biotin exists in plant foods like beans and raspberries.

Most people in the northern hemisphere are D deficient... so altho you should take action to fix it, don't let this diagnosis scare you. This deficiency is definitely not isolated to vegans.

If you can afford it, best and preferred way to treat D deficiency is a sunny vacation. You only need a few minutes in the sun (without sunscreen!) to get your daily dose.

If a vacation is not on the horizon just go with the D2s daily. D3 absorbs better.. so the dose for D2 should just be a bit bigger... which one you take shouldn't matter.

And eat more mushrooms (D fortified if you can find 'em).

As you indicate that your food habits were poor as a vegetarian, you may want to consider the possibility that your symptoms are related to a vitamin deficiency.. iron, b12, zinc?? You would need to get a blood test to confirm whether that is the case and if so, whether there is more than one deficiency.

A multi does not have the amount of b12 that is required by a vegan.. so hopefully you are supplementing with the higher dose (ie. about 1200mcg/week). Many vegetarians have limited stores of b12 (unlike ominvores), so switching to vegan and failing to take a b12 supplement can quickly deplete any stores.

Do not supplement iron if you are not deficient .. there are serious health repercussions if you overdose. So make sure you check with a doctor before supplementing. Foods high in iron are soy, beans, and green leafy vegetables. But to ensure absorption of iron, you need have some vitamin C at the same time. Also coffee and tea inhibit absorption.. so if you drink them, I'd limit it to the a.m.

You need vitamin D in order to absorb zinc... Scotland is pretty dreary in the winter (like Vancouver!), so I highly recommend a D supplement. I also take a zinc supplement now and then as recommended by Jack Norris.

You always have such detailed information ! I

Thanks Compassion.

If you're on Facebook check this page out -

I'm nearing the end of that challenge now. I keep cheating tho... if I don't like the recipe they send I make something different. lol. I think the challenge mostly made me really want a Vitamix!

Soy has phytoestrogens (plant-estrogen), which does not have the same effect as actual estrogen found in dairy.

Anyway, plant based diets have a protective effect against excess estrogen due to fiber content of the diet. Because of fiber, excess estrogen is easily flushed out via the digestive tract.

Much of the 'scare' info on soy that is out there is coming from Weston Price or other 'meat' funded scientists and is then perpetuated by the 'meat heads'. So make sure you have a clue about your sources and their agendas before you believe anything you read or hear. And also make sure results are based on human studies.. not rats or mice - generally the rats and mice studies are just cruel and tell us nothing about humans in the end.

You will find most legitamate studies indicate that soy is fine in moderation... so don't feel you need to avoid it completely.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378106

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11880595

You should aim for variety in your protein sources to ensure you are getting all amino acids. Beans and legumes (black beans, chickpeas, white beans, kidney beans, peas, lentils, nuts) are good sources of plant protein. Grains (oats, wheat, barley, rice) and seeds (sesame, sunflower, quinoa, amaranth, hemp, chia, flax) are also good sources of plant protein. This chickpea cutlet recipe from Post Punk kitchen incorporates chickpeas and wheat gluten and is fairly high in protein. If you decide to try it, make the cutlets really thin.. or they will turn out gluey. The cutlets freeze well.

Most vegetables have a gram or two of protein, and some like potatoes & squash have 4 or 5 grams in a serving.

Fruits generally have negligible amounts of protein (except avocados), but you should still include them in your diet for all the other nutrients they have.

There are also non-soy protein powders available... rice protein, pea protein, hemp protein if you want to go a less whole food route.

CO... I don't know how to meditate, but I've always read it is so good for your mental health and I've wanted to try it.

I just signed up for the 21 day meditation (free) with Deepak Chopra and Oprah. It just started today. You may still be able to join in if you are interested.

Sorry... I haven't heard of compassion meditation before, but if I get the hang of this, I will definitely look into that more .. sounds interesting.

Just looked at the date of your post... guess my reply comes a bit late. Hopefully you've found and tried some good recipes since your original post.

This Quinoa, Avocada, Mango, salad is really good with lots of 'super foods'.

Another kale salad (kale slaw) here. I add purple cabbage to this recipe.

You may wish to 'massage'the kale in kale salads first... apparently it takes out some of the bitterness... tho I've never found it too bitter myself.

A quinoa, spinach and pear salad. It tastes like dessert... not sure if that is good or bad.

And here are a bunch of smoothies I've collected, but have not necessarily tried yet. Mostly I use the list/pictures here for ideas and then make something 'similar' depending what I have on hand.

Have fun!!

Sounds like fun! You are looking great!

I think that is 'vegan tank' with you in your last pic, no? Nice to see that there were other vegans there to support you.

I'm happy with my lifts .. but I'm an ectomorph...so my goal of 'looking' like I have muscle is a hard one for me. I probably have to increase my reps... just I know my max lifts will go down when I do that. As far as ligaments and restitution, I've never been one to experience much in the way of DOMS - maybe a bit when I start a new workout program. I injured my rotator cuff over a year ago and that still bothers me slightly on upper body lifts... but I have an old collar bone injury so I think the rotator cuff succumbed to that imbalance there - ie. I don't think that injury would have happened if I did not have the pre-existing imbalance. I go lighter and move up much slower on upper body lifts now.

I think you are smart to start with lighter loads and get your form down. Best to avoid injury since injury = negative progress. To increase your flexibility for squats, try doing overhead squats .. high reps, light load. Make sure to lean onto your heals.. not your toes.

880 pound leg presses sounds impressive! Pretty sure I can't do that!

Talking about all this weight lifting... think I'm gonna go to the gym now. Lol.

p.s. Eggs are unfertilized - they will not develop into conscious beings. But the factory farmed hens producing the eggs are definitely horribly treated throughout their life, and once spent, most are ripped from their cages, breaking their wings and legs or both and then they are processed into pet food. And let's not talk about what happens to the male chicks. It is possible tho to source your eggs to kinder operations with a little research.

Cruelty is cruelty regardless of our 'ancestors' involvement with it. We are at a stage where we can stop and think about our own involvement. ie. Human survival does not depend on meat consumption. With the rate of deforestation, climate change, fresh water shortages etc, I personally don't expect humans need to worry much about future 'evolution'. Even if there was time for further human evolution, the genetically modified strain of humans will just take over. (I jest.. sort of)

Why aren't chimpanzees endowed with human brains? They eat meat.

And why aren't lions and tigers smarter than us? They eat a lot more meat! I think the meat eating 'theory' is thus debunked. Or perhaps the cats are just biding their time and will soon wage war, then round up the humans and put them all on factory farms. hmm... wouldn't that be true karma.

Your diet looks good in terms of number of fruits and veggies you are getting in ... so that's great.

Try to throw in a bit of protein if and when you can. You can add beans or chick peas to your salads, or throw on some hemp seeds or pumpkin seeds. You can also add hemp seeds or protein powder into your smoothie.

Whole wheat pasta is good and has a bit more protein and fiber than processed wheat, but you might want to take it a bit further and add in some veggies and tofu ricotta (or cashew ricotta). Or you might switch your pasta out for a stir fry with veggies, nuts and tofu ... or chopped up fake meat if you eat that.

Just some ideas to think about for getting a bit more protein in there.

Unless you are pushing 'extremely' hard on the insanity, I don't imagine it would burn 1400 calories. Even an hour of jumping rope (and jumping rope is a brutal cardio workout) only burns 800 calories. Of course if you are quite heavy, then you would burn a lot more in an hour.

Great job on you weight loss so far! Not sure if you were tracking weight too... but you don't want to lose too fast... that will kill your energy.

I think it is good you are considering and even trying change but I understand that every person has to follow their own path and go at their own pace. I had to try vegetarianism a few times before it stuck. Then personally, once I made the switch to vegan, my only regret was not doing it sooner. I don't think you are alone in enjoying the taste of meat... most (not all) vegans were at one time omnivores that grew up learning that cultural norm.

For the sake of the animals, my goal has been to succeed as a vegan. In the process, I'm eating far healthier than I ever did and I have not experienced any negative effects in my workouts - ie. I don't nor have ever aspired to compete... but my current max squat is 175lb, max deadlift is 245lbs (both up 20 pounds from beginning of January) ... and my weight is 114lb (down 4 pounds since beginning of January).

The one and only study done showed that vegan men have higher testosterone levels than omnivore men (average of 6% more) (sorry, don't have reference for you, but you can google it), so I don't imagine switching to vegan will negatively effect your testosterone levels. Milk has loads of estrogen .... so giving up dairy may benefit if you are looking to avoid added estrogen. And there are vegan proteins supplements if you are worried a vegan diet is not giving you enough protein. I rarely use protein supplements, since I feel pretty confident I'm eating okay and am also in the camp of not believing the 'protein myth' our society sells us. But of course, on the days when I know I'm screwing up badly or don't have time to make a decent meal ... then I might grab a protein bar to make up for that.

Good luck.

Photography... it helps a bit when I have 2 cameras around my neck, both with long lenses. My right arm always gets sore from holding one of the cameras for hours, but can't imagine how it would feel if I didn't workout.

A long time ago, the reason I first started weight lifting was because I really wanted to be better at rock climbing. In the end, logistically speaking, rock climbing was too complicated (too far to drive and no one to go with) so I gave it up. I stuck with the gym tho, even if there have been highs and lows in my commitment level.

There are lots of recipes out there for vegan eggs benedict. It includes tofu... but not necessarily scrambled. It might give the 'runny' texture you are missing. I haven't tried any of them yet so don't know if they are good.

And just googling it... apparently Vegan Essentials carries something called the 'Vegg'. (an egg yolk replacer). I don't know if it is just for baking tho.

Hello Cimm

That's awesome how much better you are doing within only 5 months of changing your diet. Glad that your are feeling incredible these days. Welcome.

Along with shrugs you can try upright dumb bell rows. Careful on the weight with that exercise tho as it can cause shoulder impingement.

I like doing a heavy deadlift best... if you lift heavy and stretch out properly at the top of the lift, your upper traps will be sore the next day.

I think all fruits are good. As you already mentioned... variety is probably key. Fresh berries are more expensive, but you can get them much cheaper frozen.. especially when they are not in season. They lose little of their nutritional value when frozen. Frozen fruit goes well in a health smoothie. I'll sometimes buy a fresh watermelon or pinapple and chop up and freeze half of it since I can't eat it that fast. I'll also chop/freeze bananas that are getting past the ripe where I like them.

I've read that many of the 'berry' fruits have higher levels of antioxidants than other fruit, so may be good to incorporate them here and there, but the other fruits will have micro nutrients that the berries may not.... so that's why I recommend variety.

Just came across this hip hop song... Thought it was cool enough to share here. Not fitness related, but definitely vegan.

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3 sets for 126 (1 set = diamonds to max & wait 30 secs, regular to max & wait 30 secs, wide to max & wait 30 seconds)

86800 + 126 = 86,926