veggieprincess

You're right, from what he wrote it didn't seem that high in fat, so I accounted for that. I assumed that he didn't eat a dry salad, as most people put some form of oil or dressing on it. I assumed that the noodles or couscous wasn't completely dry, so I threw in a conservative amount of oil, so if seitan man does indeed eat his foods dry with no oils, then about 20 to 30 grams of fat would be subtracted from that number, thus taking the calories down even further. The fat in the diet is actually right on target in my opinion though. Your body uses healthy fats. It's more the higher carb, higher sugar, lower protein ratios I was noticing...

okay, so just for sh*@ts and giggles I threw your diet into a software program just to see what your ratios are in a typical day. Now I have no idea the quantity that you are eating of these items, so I had to guestimate. I picked the higher protein items too like the seitan, veggie meats, tofu... and I went middle of the road on the carbs, assuming that your not weighing and measuring the items... so I figured a couple cups of noodles when you had seitan and noodles, maybe 1 1/2 cups of couscous... again, just going middle of the road, not too much, not too little. Here is what I came up with: 2219 calories 64 grams fat 340 carbs 115 grams sugar 101 grams protein Ratio breakdown: Approximately 58% carbs, 17% protein, 25% fat So, in your opinion... you are doing everything you can for your nutrition?? Lets compare these ratios to what Lean and Green said that his body requires to build muscle. In the protein thread, he states that he needs nearly 400 grams of protein when he is in a building phase. Even if we were to up the protein grams significantly... that's still about 2 1/2 times to 3 times more than you are currently eating... yet you FEEL you are doing everything you can to build muscle. I don't want to turn this thread into a protein debate... I simply disagree that you are doing everything you can to change your physique when it comes to your nutrition. You feel you are doing "enough".... And as xjohanx said... I was a little offended at your post suggesting that I was "peddling" my services because I don't want to work with people who don't feel that I could help them. Trust me, I don't. People who feel that way tend to cause me more frustration than anything, so its usually not worth the money to me. I feel my time is better served with people who will actually do the program I give them rather than starting off thinking it won't work.

Also, have you asked yourself if you are truly doing ALL that you can? If you are working with a trainer; I don't doubt you are working your ass off in your workouts. That I believe. But are you doing everything you possibly can? If I want to get rid of the fat on my ass... do you know how much cardio I have to do? 2 hours a day 6 days a week. Yep. You read it right. I remember reading of a fitness competitor who had to do 3 HOURS of cardio a day and eat no more than 600 - 800 calories because she had an extremely underactive thyroid and this was the only way she would see results. In other instances, there are guys who can't see any muscle gain unless they are eating over 5,000 calories a day. So I challenge you to ask yourself.... do you TRULY feel you are doing everything you can? Maybe you are a hard gainer. Maybe your not doing enough cardio. Maybe your not eating enough protein. But have you TRULY tried everything? Have you tried taking out most of your processed meats and eating cleaner? Sometimes I feel that what we truly yearn for... is for the answers to be EASIER. I mean... how jealous am I of a 23 year old that can shed the same amount of bodyfat as me on 20 minutes of cardio a day? EXTREMELY jealous. But it's condusive to how bad I want it. I do what it takes because that is how bad I want it. Maybe you ARE doing everything you possibly can... but if not, ask yourself some hard questions... how BAD do you want it?

How many grams of protein would you say you are eating per day? Put down a typical menu that you would eat morning to night.

I will definitely have to drop by the good 'ole VBB booth and say hi to Robert! I know I've been MIA for awhile, but I'm back in the swing of things now Rob. We'll talk soon.

no SuperEthan.. they don't make anything like those shots that I'm aware of. If so, sign me up I would love it if they would even makes some canned soy protein shakes for on the go. Your best bet for protein on the run is going to be a Cliff Builder Bar OR packing up a scoop of two in a ziploc baggie, then diluting with water and making into a pudding or a shake when your ready to consume it.

Hey fizeek; Good luck with your challenge and your decision to move to a more vegetarian lifestyle. Just to explain, I think the biggest reason that some Vegans get there feathers a bit ruffled is not that you eat eggs or that you post on a Vegan board... but its more that eating eggs would make you a Vegetarian and not a Vegan; and there's nothing wrong with that at all... again, so great that your taking the first step on MOVING TOWARD a Vegan diet, and we're here to support you in that. But if you were to advertise yourself or market yourself as someone who competed on a "Vegan Diet" that would not be correct because a Vegan diet is one that consists of no animal products of any kind. No Whey, no eggs, no dairy, nothing that comes from an animal whatsoever. There are competitors here that have competed in figure competitions and bodybuilding competitions on a completely Vegan diet and for some IT'S TOUGH, but they manage But you're probably going about it the best way for you, which is to start small and gradually take the non-Vegan foods out that are remaining in your diet. Or not... then you would be a Vegetarian competitor, and that's great too! Either way... good luck, and we'll be following your progress

Nobody believes me when I tell them that where I turn for stress is to food and alcohol (wine). But lately, I've had a really good handle on that.... I think it's because I've went back to jogging for my cardio, done mainly at night when I normally would want to snack or have a glass of wine. I am sacraficing some lean muscle in order to jog, but I had truly forgotten how much it relaxes me. Other than that, I struggle to relax. I'm a very high strung person and have a very hard time relaxing, but I'm in a good groove right now and feel very in control this month P.S. Oh... just noticed the 2nd part of this thread was WHAT stresses me out. I've always had very high expectations of myself and if I'm not on track I literally will NOT do social events unless I feel I've earned them; so the stress is ALL self inflicted. The only thing that keeps me sane is I have a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at myself and at life. Without that... I'd truly be a nutcase! ha, ha.

Just thought I'd bump this to say the Brown Rice Protein with Peaches N Cream premium flavoring is pretty orgasmic and is one of the very few proteing powders I've found that tasted GREAT mixed with plain water. When I have it with fruit, it is to DIE FOR mixed with mangos or frozen banana or a little of both is absolute heaven! So so YUMMMMMY!

Have I really not posted since January? OH MY WORD! Wow... Well... I had some things happen this year that really through me for a loop. Maybe I'll get into it later... maybe I won't, but thanks for the continued support. Currently... I am feeling pretty good about everything. If anyone reading this is someone that has emailed me that I never responded to, I'm really really sorry about that. I went through a few months where I only could put in energy to my own stuff... helping my existing clients... and of course helping people who signed up for my Online Training program... but for awhile I lacked the patience to follow up with emails about the diet and training. It's a hard job sometimes... It requires alot of time, and soon I'm going to just be phasing out the program and writing an ebook because it simply takes too much time, but for now... I'm getting better about getting back to people and I have a several very motivated clients that are doing great! Always makes me feel good I MAY.... that that is a big MAYBE train for a show. I have given up setting these kinds of deadlines because if I do... something always seems to get in my way. But I've been training and dieting pretty consistently these past several weeks and have my sights set on a end of summer Bikini show BUT WE'LL SEE. I'm not making any promises till I have some hardcore momentum. In my world, a few weeks of solid training and diet doesen't always mean my mental focus is in check enough to complete the job. But I've recently been resinspired by some very disciplined people and I'm getting the fire in me rekindled. I will post more LATER. Oh... as far as the DVD Series... the rumor is we film end of September, so that would coincide nicely with the show I have my sights set on IF I TRAIN FOR IT. Again, I'm not making any promises til I'm fairly certain I'll do it.

Hey, thanks for the heads up!!!! Less carbs than Builder Bars... can't they throw in a couple more grams of protein for me? Oh well.. hey, can't have everything. Looks good Robert, thanks!!!!

BREAKFAST - 8:00am Bowl of oats with soya milk and dried currants and almonds - 20g/400cal MORNING SNACK - 11:00am Fruit smoothie with 30g Soya Protein - 30g/200cal add peanut butter to the shake - add a carb such as a slice whole grain bread or brown rice LUNCH - 2:00pm pasta dish or Avacado Salad with bean burger and humous - 20g/500cal Have 2 bean burgers with avocado, salad AFTERNOON SCACK - 4:00pm Humous/beans on toast and portion of nuts - 25g/400cal DINNER - 7:00pm Curry or stir fry or whatever dish with lots of veggies and rice - 20g/400cal BEFORE BED - 10:00pm Protein shake with flaxssed powder +sandwich or toast - 30g/300cal You're off to a good start. Just add more fat and an extra serving here and there, but you have the right idea. No need to be doing much cardio at all on your thin frame right now. Just get the calories higher and lift.

Brett; Got get Body For Life by Bill Phillips. Buy off of that shopping list and follow his training and diet to the letter. As many people said, it's very easy to cut the dairy out of your diet. It may be more challenging to cut the fish, but try doing it for 1 or 2 meals and Vegan options for the other. It may be easier than you think to slowly cut back on the fish and start replacing it with Vegetarian Protein Powders, Seitan and high protein tofu options. At your age... following the BFL program... you should be very pleased with your results

yep... same thing only cheaper than you can get off most store shelves.

That's great. Now have 3 kids and breastfeed for 5 years. The implants start looking really good after that. Can you say flap jack titties? I don't plan on having children. Btw, I know you were being sarcastic/joking around but that post was kinda rude.. My first post around here in AGES! Marcina.... I don't think that Molly was trying to be rude when she posted that... she is a big sweetheart and I get EXACTLY what she means. After you have kids and the body you once knew and felt great about suddenly starts to change.... it can be devestating to your self-esteem. I was SOOOOO against ANY form of plastic surgery before I had a child. But I was very LUCKY, because up until then, nothing had changed. But when overnight you watch something that you were proud of and made you feel sexy and feminine change that drastically... there's nothing wrong with wanting to have that feeling of confidence and sexiness that no amount of fitness... no amount of exercise or dieting can help you with. I am still against surgery such as liposuction, because I feel that it is a shortcut... and your robbing yourself of the confidence and self esteem you get from acheiving your body by training and dieting your ASS OFF (litterally.... LOL) But if its something you can't change on your own... something that is effecting your self esteem and femininity and sexutality and can make a women feel more comfortable in her own skin... confident about what she looks like naked.... and just overall more confident, it's not anyone's place to judge her decision to make that happen for herself.

Well, you came home and at a big meal, but then you exercised willpower in the morning. Although, it would have been GREAT to see this reversed (because the extra calories at night are prone to stay on us at nightime), you did wake up the next day, and not give in... which means your fighting spirit is still in you. A figure competitor recently said this to me. We ALL want to come home, lay on the couch in front of the tv and eat a big meal. This is what the body NATURALLY wants to do. That is where the struggle and the hard part comes in. To not succumb to those temptations. Having said that, maybe when you are feeling those days when you are really really dreading the meal you've laid out for yourself... that's when you get creative with it and have something you do actually enjoy or has more sustenance. Let's say your plan was to come home after your workout and have a protein shake and veggies, but you were really fighting against that and felt that you might REALLY cheat if you had that. Maybe that's the day you scratch the protein shake and have a couple veggie burgers with grilled onions, ketchup and a big side of your favorite vegetable. On the days where you're really really craving sugar... maybe that's when you have a builder bar and coffee with vegan creamer instead of a shake. Work WITH your cravings while still staying on track. It's more of a mental trick than anything else... But it's still gotta be somewhat on track. Not like a couple weeks ago when you told yourself the coffee cake (or danish of some kind... whatever it was) was because you needed a refuel. You KNOW the difference. LOL k... I gotta go now cuz I'm not even supposed to be on the board. I hired a time management coach who said no forums until after the show, so I'm cheating by posting this on your journal, but I wanted to give you a pep talk. So there... I've now given you some guilt to motivate you. I'm supposed to be doing my schedule for the show and my business, but I thought you needed this pep talk instead, so now if you cheat, you have some guilt on top of it as well.. hows that Hang in there. If it were easy, we'd all have drop dead gorgeous bodies. It IS hard... and it isn't fun alot of the times, but keep you eye on the prize. Don't give in to short term satisfaction to give up what you know will make you feel better about yourself and get you to bigger goals in the long run!

So happy for you Christina! Yay!!! Hey... I just provide the road map, but you have to drive the car... and you're driving the car ravenfit... UGH! This concerns me greatly... and I will look into it. I may have to rethink things now... sigh... thanks for telling me that, and I get what you're saying and I'm surprised. I'm going to email him. Why this confuses me so, is that I personally talked to a bodybuilder that he prepped for a comp and the guy was so pleased with his gains and his cuts and never once did Chuck recommend this... so I'm going to talk to him and see what he has to say. Thanks for telling me.

I would love to know what your basing this statement on ravenfit, because the only non-vegan trainer/dietitian I have recommended to people is Chuck Rudolph who did my diet and training and has done lots of diets for Vegan bodybuilders and figure competitors, so I'm confused. He's expensive and he's not Vegan, but I can't see him saying something like that unless he was confused by the question. Why I chose him and why I refer him is because he was one of the only trainers/dietitians out there who believed you could acheive the same results as Omnis on a Vegan diet.

Sorry, but this just isn't a true statement for most people that have applied it. I have watched myself shrink and lose my shoulder caps when I cut back on protein. My clients have noticed the same thing. There are people on this board who cut back on protein and lost their muscle and when they added in higher protein, they got their muscle back. There are people building good muscle on less protein than most bodybuilders consume... like Zack... but they are more patient than most people... and as I've pointed out... he's 12 years old so it's a bit different It just seems that people go Vegan and want to reinvent the wheel on tried and true principles that work. You say that bodybuilders are obsessed with their protein intake.... and I challenge that comment by saying that many Vegans seem obsessed with trying to convince us that muscle can be built without focusing on protein. But when push comes to shove, the people who are showing us their results... the people with admirable physiques... most of them have got there by increasing their protein intake. So we can listen to the THEORIES of focusing on amino acids as opposed to the foods with high protein... but the ones who are getting their gram protein count higher are building more muscle and faster than those who aren't doing that.

Personally, I love wine. If I didn't have the Big Man Upstair's voice in my ear all the time reminding me I'm supposed to do important things with my life, I'd be buzzed everyday. Curse those damn morals, ethics and values!!!! I envy people who don't struggle with the urge to overconsume food and alcohol. But I question how much they enjoy life too. ha, ha. ... that was a joke. Forgive me... I'm feeling feisty today.

Glad it's working for your Theresa. Thanks for sharing. I have heard of Tracy Anderson and researched it. I always think its good to change things up, but I think lifting heavy has its place too. But I'm glad it is working for you and you've found something your happy with. Okay, so this weekend I can tell you I'm FINALLY seeing some real changes. I tried on a pair of pants that were tight last week, and now their a bit loose, and that's an awesome feeling. Still no work on a start date for the project. Kim says hopefully we'll know in the next week or two. Okay, so I just have to tell you, I had the most amazing phenomenol date last night. It's been along time since I talked about boys, huh? I think the last time I had a phenomenal date was 9 months ago. Then the emotionally damaged ex squirms his way in between just to keep me busy long enough NOT to work on finding a man that is emotionally healthy.. LMAO as I realize the truth of that statement. So last night, I had the most amazingly wonderful date... you know... when you feel a little dizzy and lightheaded and the world kind of stops when you're around them. So far he is so wonderful in so many ways. One of the things I love the most is he's the opposite of my ex in so many ways... No myspace page... no facebook, no multiple dating sites or sites that rate your frickin picture. He understands why I have an internet presence, but he feels no need to go seek out any kind of attention for himself. Most importantly (and this is where alot of people might not agree with me)... he is a bit possessive early on, and I'm sorry, I have such a HUUUUGE place in my heart for a man who is brave enough to tell you right out of the gate what he wants... that he doesen't want me dating others... asks me to only see him and see where it goes.... That is what drew me to the ex in the first place, accept that all turned out to be a facade. Am I too much of an idealist to think that sometimes a man can come along and actually BE who they appear to be? Man, I would love to think so. And my daughter has pointed out that I definitely have a "type". Uh!!! I can't wait to see him again... okay, focus Melissa, you have work to do. LOL Mood Today: Smitten

Best protein I ever had HANDS DOWN was Pure Advantage Chocolate Mint, which has also been discontinuted. I'm starting to think its a conspiracy against the Vegan Community. Everytime a protein comes out that is the LEAST BIT TASTY, it is discontinued. What is up with that? I'm serious... the makers of Whey are all in it together to take away our good tasting powders in the hopes that we will all turn to Whey. LOL They have a new version of the Pure Advantage Chocolate Mint but it has 12 grams of carbs, so I am hell bent on finding the old formula. I found ONE website that had the old formula, but its like $47.00 for 2 pounds. I might as well buy Vega Anyways, the Vanilla flavored Nitrofusion makes me want to hurl (sorry Johnathan, just being honest). But the chocolate is good, and he told me they were reformulating the flavors, so I haven't tried the new Vanilla yet. But it also has 9 grams of carbs. I'm pretty particular with my macronutrients that I like my proteins to be almost void of carbs so I can get my carbs in a whole food state.

thanks Holly Just don't drastically cut your calories/carbs after your binge.... force yourself to go right back to a moderate calorie plan, otherwise it's a vicious cycle. So Kim just told me that the contract is FINALLY HERE. She's driving back from Cambria now, so hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will know how much we get paid, what our start date is, etc. We've been working on this project a year and now we finally have a contract in our hot little hands. All thanks to her. Kim's work ethic and drive has been such a huge inspiration to me. She just sent me a text reminding me that almost exactly a year ago today, this was just an idea in her head with NOTHING put in motion yet and now we have a contract from a major production company with HOPEFULLY a fairly large budget! To give you guys a little more background on the project.... 1 year ago, I only knew of the Vegan Vixens but had never officially met them, when Kim found me through myspace and told me of this idea she had for a workout video where Moms get in shape with their toddlers and kids to live bands and with silly dances and themes to keep the kids entertained and strength moves for the moms, and she asked me to be the Personal Trainer/choreographer of the project. We met at Native Foods... and she had basically hired me before even meeting me because she said she had really good instincts about people and just felt I was perfect for it. So she got Susie Feldman to host, some Vegan friends to do the music and write songs, me to choreograph it and instruct it... AND when she found out I had a daughter she thought it would be great if we were both working with our kids in the project too. So we filmed the pilot which was great, and she began aggressively cold-calling every single person she knew or didn't know to fund it. Then we landed a bigger fish than we could have ever imagined when she found to big named producers to back it. They said everyone would make more money if we turned it into a Webisode online series, along with the DVD's, so she said "sure"... and been kind of in limbo ever since. So today we have a contract... and that is very exciting, and I'm so proud of her. It just goes to show you how tight-knit the Vegan community is. She used all of her sources that she had met through the Vixens... and this person would know this person, which would lead her to another person, etc, etc. I would have NEVER had this opporunity before I became Vegan. It really makes you believe in karma and the more good you put out in the world... eventually it all comes back around. I think I will vomit if the contract says we start in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking March though. I just need her to tell me a START DATE. I care about that more than the money. I need solid, concrete things to train for and focus on otherwise I feel like a lost ship. Man, I'm so anxious right now! I should go to the gym to work off the anxiety

So if I weigh 210 llbs, I need at the x2 ratio, 420 grams of protein a day? I have been steadily gaining muscle for nearly a year now since I went vegan last april.I am not counting my protein intake but its not near 400 grams I dont think.More like 200.Its working. Does everyone agree with this ratio, or have I got the wrong end of the stick? If it's working for you, then its working for you. There are plenty of people who can build on less than 1 1/2 and you seem to be one of them. Age plays a big part... the young guys can definitely respond better and quicker than older ones. All I'm saying that from what I'VE seen, the ones who seem to be consistenly successful seem to be getting in about 1 1/2 per pound bodyweight. For someone who weighs as much as you... I'd recommend they only go up to 2 grams if they weren't seeing results on 1 or 1 1/2. So maybe that clarifies it. But its all irrelevant if you are seeing consistent results. Also, remember that some people don't have the patience to wait months and months to see things happen, so for those people, they might want to increase their protein to see results quicker to keep their momentum up. There's no one size fits all.

Hey Vivaslasvegans; Okay, I only read the first five pages of your journal or so... so forgive me if you've already addressed this issue, but I just wanted to point out something that I noticed. With your food logs, it always seemed like you'd eat really low calorie and really low carb for 2 to 3 days, followed by a big carb cheat (candy, cake, etc). I saw this as a consistent pattern in your eating everytime. So to me, it's pretty obvious that your "cheats" are not a sign of loss of willpower. You simply aren't giving your body enough calories and food and it eventually says... "Uh, uh, chica... go feed me some carbs damn it!" So I really think you'd see more success if you go ahead and just GIVE yourself a daily grain serving. I'd say two, but if you're not used to eating at least 1 grain daily, maybe babysteps is best. Your body is going to USE small amounts of healthy carb servings. It is not going to store it as fat. Just get it in earlier in the day. 1) Grains provide B Vitamins, fiber and all kinds of good stuff that are body needs. It's excess carbs that people (especially women) store as fat 2) Get it in early in the day like for lunch. Your body will USE it and I think you will see less "cheats".... But yeah.... try to get 1 grain and 1 legume serving in at least per day. Then build around that with proteins, healthy fats, lots of veggies and throw in a couple of fruits Hope this helps a little.