kbfitmom

I love the Vega berry, but I'm having to drink it before bedtime because it makes me so sleepy. It puts me right to sleep. I also am struggling stomach pain on my right side when I use it, which I'm guessing is fiber related? Has anyone else experienced side effects from Vega? Maybe I'm allergic to Hemp or something else in it? As for the Vega Sport, will this help me during weight training or is more for endurance atheletes? I was drinking a straight amino supplement prior to workouts, but it has artificial flavoring so I'm trying to switch to something natural. Thanks!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! All of you have been such an inspiration to me, and without the support of this site and being able to read your stories, I don't feel I would have stuck to it. It can be difficult to break habits no matter how badly you believe in something, but I have been able to stick to a vegan diet because of you all. Now, I am now at the stage where it has become a lifestyle for me and I no longer struggle with figuring out what to eat! I am just so amazed at this point with the change in my body. So many people are commenting on my body at this point, I have really transformed in such a short period of time just by not consuming animal products and cutting my protein intake. I have leaned out to where even my face looks different. I have never felt this good in my life! Being in the fitness industry, people keep asking me what I have done to change so drastically so quickly. I haven't been this little since high school! It is crazy! I will try to post pics once I figure out how to downsize them. Thanks to all of you for inspiring me and giving me strength to begin and stay with the journey!

Haven't posted in a while, but I'm doing well. I feel like I've lost some strength in the gym, but other than that, things are good. I am definitely leaner at this point, something I thought I couldn't acheive b/c I was already eating as well as I could and working out like a maniac. I have managed to make some pretty interesting meals with beans, and I discovered some indian dishes that are easy to prepare and delicious. I still keep an eye on carb intake, but I pretty much eat when I'm hungry and found that with some planning, I manage just fine. Couldn't live without the VEGA. I had to grow to like the taste, but now I look forward to it.

I am not sure of your first name, but wanted to thank you for your help and blogs. I read your articles online and checked out the pics of your meals. It has really helped me! I am eating big portions when I do eat, and because today is a 3 hour workout b/c I picked up a class, I eat more carbs. I am now sick with sinus congestion, however and wondering if I'm overloading on soy. Between the Vega and soy, let me just say it is better if I'm not around people (which trying to teach classes with this problem is killing me)! The digestive effects are not the greatest, which I am attributing to the increase in fiber with the veggies and vega at this point. I know the soy causes it, but I can't say how much is soy and how much is from fiber. I have however lost 5 lbs, and I am not constantly craving food which was a big problem on the typical fitness diet.

Alright! I am feeling amazing! I think any dairy, meat, etc. is now officially out of my system! I have so much more energy and am not near as hungry as I normally am throughout the day. My typical exercise routine (I teach fitnes classes, so I don't follow a typical plan. I used to lift in the gym, but at this point only teach classes to avoid overtraining: Mondays - 30 min martial arts training/zumba 1 hour Tuesdays - 30 min martial arts training/bodypump/zumba Wednesdays - bodycombat/bodypump Thursdays - bodycombat/zumba Fridays - off Saturdays - light run/yoga Sundays -bodypump/bodycombat Diet: (I've had trouble soy before, and am still trying to adjust to it, but think I'll be ok) oatmeal/raw nut butter/berries or vega apple w/ handful of sunflower seeds big salad with veggies/tempeh and braggs vinegar carrots and hummus vega shake or some kind of tofu dish. lots of water, herba mate tea in the midday.

Oh dear, that picture came out enormous! Didn't mean to plaster myself all over the screen!LOL It was small when I uploaded it! I am taking a multivitamin after just finishing a detox. I am using flaxseeds in my oatmeal every morning. My typical day right now is looking like this: raw oats with raw nut butter/wheat germ and berries in the morning with some coffee. apple with nuts ~snack tofu cooked in tamari/sesame oil with broccoli raab/garlic carrots/hummus (let me just say this is where cravings for anything sweet kick in). it is bad, but i bought dairy free/vegan chocolate bars and cookies...I was used to protein shakes twice a day, so not having the chocolate is killing me. tempeh with veggies and herba mate. I've had trouble with soy before, but since doing the detox, I've been fine.

I'm using hemp protein as a supplement and it is burning the heck out of my stomach. Has anyone else experienced this? Thinking I might be allergic to it.

So, here I am trying again! I introduced myself a while back, and was doing well with a vegan diet. I had been strictly vegan for several months and experienced some health problems from not food combining properly. I developed some vitamin deficiencies and was severely fatigued to the point that I passed out twice after gx classes. I also developed digestive problems and severe burning in my stomach (needed iv drugs with each episode b/c it was so painful, like someone lit a match in my stomach). I think it was from all of the acidic vegetables and fruits maybe? From that experience, I reverted back to turkey and chicken. I've been on a vegan diet again for about a week, and hope to keep it up this time! Thanks for this site! It has been my motivation to keep trying! Here's a before pic on a tradition clean meat diet. I will track my progress every 4 weeks and post on the before/after boards. I am interested to see how the diet change will affect my muscle and overall weight keeping the same workout program. ~Jamie

There are many scientists and holistic practitioners that argue that birth control pills cause breast/cervical cancer....especially those that contain higher doses of estrogen. If you read the fine print in the pamphlet that comes with a pack, it will state that taking birth control pills increases your risk for certain types of cancers. Not the same as being "a leading cause of breast cancer", but obvioulsy they won't put that in the pamphlet.

HI. I really want to make sure i'm eating the right foods and combining them properly. I'm used to the standard chicken, vegetables and whey diet. If there a professional that provides programs and vegan diets at an affordable rate, I would be interested in that. I really would like to get ripped, without adding mass or changing my size. I'm female, 5'6", 134 lbs with 17% body fat size 4-6. My body has good definition and tone, but I'm not ripped. I do 6 days a week of 1.5 hours (either swim, bike run, step class or zumba) 1 day a week of power yoga 1 day a week of full body muscle endurance training (body pump class) 3 days pyramid style weight training (m-w-f, upper, lower, upper) Sometimes I think I eat way too many nuts in one day, and I can't seem to lay off of the almond/peanut butter!! breakfast: ezekial english muffin with organic almond butter some sort of fruit 1 cup coffe w/soymilk and stevia (I'm trying to cut this out) snack: soy protein shake (I am switching to vega) or fruit and nuts Lunch: big leafy salad with whatever veggies I can find and bragg's dressing usually, I need a luna bar or something (sometimes my sugar cravings kick in here and I can get out of hand) snack: carrots and hummus or organic,seeded crackers with pico de gallo Dinner: tempeh stir fry or salad or tofu tacos w/ brown rice snack: some sort of fruit with nuts 1 gallon of distilled water every day.

Wow. Thanks so much for all of the welcomes and the vegan lunch box site. It looks amazing!

I agree with Charlie. The cells begin changing at leat 10 years prior to the actual diagnosis of breast cancer. Remember that genetics play a huge role in who is more likely to be diagnosed with cancer or any other disease. We can do our best to fight disease with diet and exercise, but nothing can make us disease proof. With that, you have to consider the area she lives in (a valley or high industrial area). Cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, lotions, medications are all factors as well. It is proven that parabens and other perservatives and chemicals in products causes cancer. And, birth control pills are one of the leading causes of breast cancer.

Hi! I've enjoyed reading through the site and am so happy to have found this site. I've been teaching group fitness for 10 years now, and compete in triathlons. I became vegan several years ago after discovering my baby had allergies (I was breastfeeding). It was really the best I had ever felt in my life! I was able to stay vegan for 3 years, then we started moving around and were always on the go so eating out and making quick lunches to take with me ruined what I had going. Once I started eating sugar and hamburgers again, it was difficult to stop. During the past few years, I've really thought about what I'm feeding my body and my children's little bodies. I also have watched way too many PETA clips at this point! I have been successfully following a vegan diet for a few months now. The struggle for me is food preparation, and what to feed my kids! They do not want big leafy salads with peppers and tomatoes in them!