tsarnold

Holy moly! Totally had no follow thru on this! But I'm now three days into contest prep and feeling super motivated...so let's see if it helps me to stay active here! I'm hoping so. Been doing lots of heavy lifting and eating lots of food over the previous several months. I feel like I have made some progress toward putting on some muscle mass that I lost marathon training last year. Currently 16 weeks out from the Ronnie Coleman Classic on May 3rd. I'm still working with my trainer and group of other women and there are several of us whom plan to compete in this competition. I'm working with Claudia Lailhacar for my meal plan as I had NO IDEA how to do that myself. She has been awesome so far and looking forward to having her assistance throughout this journey. She's got me all set up and I'm still early on in prep but still eating lots of tasty food! Today we did an awesome Quad workout that had close feet leg presses, leg extensions, sissy squats, and goblet squats all super-setted with weighted reverse lunges and then finished off with some bench crossovers. Too much food to post! Totes plan to keep to TRY to keep logging! Night!

Thanks for the encouragement! It helps! So I wasn't planning on taking the day off from training but life happens sometimes! I'll be training with the group tomorrow and I'm not sure what our trainer has in store for us. Yesterday we ended up doing a killer quad workout and after I did about 20 minutes of incline walking. Really feeling that work out today. Which is awesome! Today's noms: Breakfast - Protein Shake (PlantFusion, 1/4 cup oats, 1 cup almond milk) and a small banana. Lunch - Salad (Spinach, Kale, Cucumber, Fava Beans, and Broccoli) and Balsamic tofu Dinner - "Bowl" (which is what I call when I make some variation of the following: 3/4 cup Spanish rice, 1/2 cup black beans, 4 oz Tempeh, Sauteed mushrooms and spinach, topped with salsa.) Roasted asparagus. Snacks - Apple and Almonds. My macros ended up looking something like 51/24/24 which is not what my goal was but that's cool. I'm still pleased with my intake and dinner was super yummy. Making a variation of rice or quinoa, beans or tempeh (or both), and different sauteed or roasted vegetables topped with either salsa or sirracha (sp?) is one of my favorite things to eat. It's super filling and I am always changing up my combinations to keep it interesting, but could seriously eat it for every meal!

Hello! I've spent some time on the site and forums over the last few months admiring the dedication and determination that is posted here. I've read some of the profiles featured on the site and admired the fit physiques and have thought, "If only....."! If only I had the determination, or the time, or the drive, or the motivation.....blah blah blah. I'm sure I'm not the only one to make excuses. I've recently decided though that I am done making excuses and floating somewhere between non-commital and intimidation. So here I am, jumping in amongst this awesome community and deciding that I will commit. I've been vegan for over three years. I went "cold turkey", so to speak, overnight after a friend loaned me a copy of Skinny Bitch. I had been a vegetarian in my early twenties, I am currently 30 years old, but I was not a healthy vegetarian and ultimately gave it up after a year. So after reading Skinny Bitch, I dived right into the lifestyle and have never once regretted it. After going vegan I began running more seriously and consistently. I have ran numerous 5K's, 10K's, a 15K, multiple half marathons, a triathlon, and recently ran a full marathon. All while vegan and often rocking my No Meat Athlete shirt! But now I want to take on a new challenge and this is to get really fit! I followed the PlantBuilt team and was inspired! I have recently joined a group of women at my gym who are training to compete or have already competed in bikini and figure competitions. Scary stuff considering I am a self confessed Cardio Queen! I do not have any direct plans to compete myself but I admire the hard work these ladies put in and am using their awesomeness to help motivate me to gain some muscle and shed some fat. I'm not new to lifting but I am new to this type of lifting. I begin my third week with group tomorrow but have not really committed to the process. My diet has been lacking. Lots of processed vegan foods. I'm ready to change all of that, buckle down, and see some progress. So this will be my training log. I plan to post my workouts and journal my food. Though our coach is accepting of my vegan diet, I am kind of on my own with it. I've done some research but have so much I still need to learn about eating for the body that I want. I've bought Samantha Shorkey's E-book and have just bough Robert Cheeke's book. I plan to try to work with my macros until I find what works best for me. So please be kind! I know there are lots of different opinions out there about how much to eat, what to eat, what to avoid, no protein supplements, when to eat, etc....but ultimately, I believe, we must do what works for ourselves. That being said, I am totally open tips! Some additional info: I live in Oklahoma, I am a RN and work for Pediatric Home Health company, I have one child, have been married for almost 7 years, and have a rescued cat, and a great dane (also rescued!). I've planned tomorrow's meals and have prepped them already so here goes.... 5:30 AM Work-out - Will post specifics tomorrow, but I do know it's leg day! Pre-workout: 1 slice ezekial bread with 1 tbsp Almond butter Coffee with 1/4 cup Almond milk Post-workout: Protein Shake: 1 cup Almond Milk, 1 scoop Plant Fusion, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 frozen banana. Snack: 1/2 cup Cantaloupe Lunch: Salad (Cucumber, Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Fava beans, with black pepper) Baked balsamic/olive oil tofu with italian spices Snack: 1/2 cup Brown/wild rice Dinner: 4 oz tempeh, roasted asparagus and brussel sprouts Snack: 1 scoop Plant fusion Annnndddd.....lots of water and some green tea. Per myfitnesspal that should put me at 41/28/31