Hey everyone! I know it has been way too long since I have updated, but life has been kinda crazy lately!

If you follow my other blog, you know about my recent head injury. It's pretty minor, but unfortunately I had to take a few days off from the gym. The accident happened on a Saturday, and I waited until the next Saturday to really work out again. Other than walking, which I did a lot of. I got two of my stitches out on Sunday, and I just ran into my neighbor (the guy who is taking them out for me), and he said he is coming over tomorrow to take out a couple more. So I should be good to go!

Also, I joined a site called Fitocracy, and I've been logging my workouts on there. It is a great site, and super motivating.

Oh, and I am officially 70 pounds down! I was nervous that missing workouts would hinder my weight loss, but I've still been steadily losing... it's the veganism!

Anyway, hopefully I will post more once I'm fully functioning again. But until then, I hope everyone is reaching their goals and working out hard!

I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but I'm finally about two pounds under the weight I was when I started dieting, which was about nine years ago.

How sick is it that I started dieting when I was fourteen?

If I could go back and talk to my former, adolescent self, I would tell her be happy with her body. I would warn her that years of dieting would damage her self-esteem and her metabolism. I would tell her that I would eventually gain almost 70 pounds, just because every failed diet leads to months of bingeing.

My body isn't perfect now. I still have a while to go until I get down to my "goal weight". But,  I know that I have come so far. I look and feel so much better. I am happy here.

More importantly, I am happy with who I am as a person. I feel like I've changed so much over the past few years. And that is more important than what size I wear or what number flashed back at me when I step on the scale.

My biggest regret is that I wasted so much of my time feeling bad about myself.

This is the first summer in a long time where I've actually felt comfortable wearing shorts and tank tops in public. But why? Why did I spend every other summer over the past nine years wearing clothes that were too hot and uncomfortable? So other people wouldn't see my thunder things, or arm fat?

Who was I kidding?

I've made a promise to be more gentle with myself, and to accept my self for who I am.

And I'm so much happier because of it!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Not only is it a great Sunday morning, but it is also Memorial Day weekend. So, Charlotte, Colt, and I are heading over to our neighbor Joe's house in a little bit for a barebeque with some our neighbors.

Usually, holiday parties are tricky. Typically I'm on some diet, and I don't want to eat a bunch of junk food. But, now that I'm vegan, there are a whole new set of problems. When you think of cooking out on the grill, you typically think of meat... lots and lots of meat. And the sides are usually full of dairy products.

Luckily, Joe knows all about our eating habits, so he made sure to buy some veggie burgers and a few other vegan things for us! We are bringing our favorite black bean burgers for everyone and I just made some really great chocolate chip, banana cookies. So, hopefully this holiday party will be much more guilt free than normal.

In other news, I've been doing a great new exercise routine, that I just have to talk about.

I've been doing HIIT for a while now, but I've always used the little method. Well, out of curiosity, I decided to try the Tabata method, and I love it!

Basically, you do 20 seconds of really high intensity exercise, followed by ten seconds of rest. You do this four times, and the whole workout takes only 4 minutes.

Sounds crazy right?

I was skeptical too, but after adding this into my daily workout routine, I'm already five pounds down.

Now, let me start off by saying that this isn't all I do. But, I do it every morning as soon as I wake up. It raises my heart rate enough that it wakes me up, and helps my body burn more calories for hours afterwards. (Some sources say up to 36 hours.) I should also say that, by "high intensity" I mean, really high. You have to  work so hard that by the end of the 20 second interval, you feel like your heart is going to burst.

Some athletes do only this... four minutes a day and that's it. A quick Google search brings up tons of research and testimonials about Tabata. I'm so glad I found it!

Aside from that, I've been doing a lot of HIIT on the elliptical, and I have been doing a weight routine which I'm going to do for two weeks, to see what kind of changes I see.

So far, I've increased my weight to 30 pounds, and I've been improving my count every day!

I feel really good, and I'm gaining confidence every day!

Happy Memorial Day!

I planned on coming here to post my weekly workouts... but if feel like that's getting old.

Is that getting old?

I'm also tired, so tomorrow I might reevaluate my decision to half-ass this post... or maybe not.

It is just that there are so many things that I want to write about on this blog. I want to talk about body image, fat-shaming, and all of the other issues that I've faced on this journey. But it seems like all I do lately is post about my workouts, which kept me accountable for awhile, but these days most of my workouts are looking pretty similar.

If I'm not doing a fitness class, I'm usually doing some combination of strength training, cardio, HIIT, and circuit training. Which is great, and my workout is different every single day. But, I don't think it is necessary to post a play by play.

So, I've decided (just now, in my head), that I'm going to start posting about the things that I want to talk about. And, if I have a super good workout, I will post about it in detail, which will be more beneficial than just saying I did HIIT for the day.

Anyway, I'm tired... so that's all I have to say.

Goodnight!

I just realized that it has been close to two weeks since my last post.

I had originally planned to write an update while in Ohio, but it was a crazy, hectic, trip and I just really didn't think about it.

I made some crazy realizations while home. First of all, I realized that it is no use planning my diet and exercise while in Ohio. It just never works out the way I want it to.

More importantly, I realized that eating Non-Vegan foods does not agree with my body.

The first night home, my mom excitedly told me that she had been marinating steaks since the day before. So, I hesitantly decided it would be okay to eat one. I also added a little butter to my baked potato, and had a glass of milk with my dessert (blueberry pie).

Let's just say, woke up at 2 am, and spent the next thirty minutes with my head in the toilet.

So not worth it!

I ate an abundance of sugar while at home too. Between Colt's birthday party, and my early birthday celebration, there was enough cake to feed a third world country.

Needless to say I felt pretty gross.

Exercise was pretty lacking too. I had planned some pretty tough workouts, as an attempt to offset the bad eating I knew I might do. In reality the only real exercise that I got was a couple of walks with my mom.

So, I bet you can guess that the scale wasn't happy.

But, I didn't gain too much, and I already have more than half of it off. (Water weight)

So, even though I wish I could have been healthier, it didn't turn out too badly.

We came home on Tuesday evening, so Wednesday I was ready to get back in the gym.  I didn't have my own workout plan ready so I opted to go to a basic step class, and I added a set or risers to make the workout a little more intense.

Thursday, I did a really effective CrossFit workout. It was five rounds of 100 jump ropes ,and 15 overhead squats. My legs and abs are still really sore.

This morning I'm getting ready to head to the gym to take a Kickboxing boot camp class, and if I'm not too tired I will do Pilates afterwards.

I'm really excited to see where I can take my body this month. Going home was a great reminder of how far I've come! I got such a positive response from my family and friends, so I want to make sure I look and feel even better when I go home in July!

I Eat to Live.

I'm sure you've all heard the popular mantra that 80% of a healthy body is made in the kitchen, the other 20%  is made at the gym. Sometimes it's 70/30 or 75/25. Sometimes it takes into account genetic factors. But, the point always remains clear, that what we eat has more to do with the way we look and feel than how much or how hard we work out.

So, I thought that maybe I should talk a little bit about how I've been eating lately, since becoming 100% vegan. After the first two weeks of being vegan, I lost 8 pounds. During the 3rd week, I lost 3 more. Now, coming up on the forth week, I think it is safe to say that my weight loss has gone much faster than it ever has on a normal diet. (By diet I mean "way of eating", not unhealthy food restriction.)

When I tell people I'm a vegan, I usually get questions like "So you don't eat meat, or milk, or cheese, or eggs... so what do you eat.", as if those are the only four foods on the face of the earth. I also get things like "Don't you feel deprived.", and, "How do you get enough protein/calcium/iron."

So, let me walk you through a typical day in our family.

I start off every day with a glass of green tea, with a table spoon of lemon. Lemon helps detoxify our bodies, and helps to balance the body's p.h.

Then, I drink a table spoon of apple cider vinegar, followed be a few gulps of water. It is really repulsive, but it also helps with detox and p.h. balance, as well as digestion, and a few other things.

For breakfast, at around 8, I have a Vega One Nutritional Shake. It comes in powder form, in a few different flavors. I add it to one cup of nondairy milk (usually almond), half a banana, some berries, and some leafy greens (typically kale or spinach). Then, I throw in some chia seeds, flax meal, and ice. I blend it until it is a the texture of a smoothie. It is really filling, and it is formulated to provide vegans with a lot of the nutrients that people assume we aren't getting. Although it is possible, and quite easy, to get protein, calcium, and iron from a plant based diet, Vega One makes it so much simpler.

At around 10:30, I have a snack. Typically I have fruit. Because fruit has such a high sugar content, it is important that it is paired with protein and fiber. So, I usually add a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter, or 2 ounces of raw nuts (cashews, hazlenuts, almonds, or walnuts). If I'm not going to be home, I will pack home made trail mix. Basically, just nuts with raisins and dried fruit.

I have lunch between 12 and 1, depending on the day. Some days, I just have dinner leftovers from the night before. If I make lunch, it is usually something easy to put together, like a baked sweet potato and kale, or sauteed vegetables with soy sauce. Always lots of vegetables.

Around 3:30, I have an afternoon snack. I try to do vegetables for this snack. So, hummus and carrots, or peppers and cucumbers. Just something to keep me full until dinner.

Dinner is the most fun. We have found a ton of great recipes, and already have our favorites figured out. They include black bean veggie burgers, heart of palm "crab" cakes, and peppercorn tempeh. It is really amazing how we can throw plant based foods together to make wonderful food. We are also able to have a lot of our old favorites, with just a little modification. We make vegan enchallidas, quinoa, spaghetti, and pizza. The vegan versions are just as good as the normal versions, and don't leave us feeling tired or gross.

After dinner, we have banana ice cream, which I'm sure I've talked about on here before. It is the perfect way to end any night, and it is an especially nice treat after I get home from the gym.

So, that's it. We eat a lot of good food, and get a lot of nutrients.

A lot of people wonder why we would choose to eat this way. The answer is simple, we eat this way because it is the healthiest way to eat.

I always here things like "our bodies were made to eat animals, humans have always done it." Well, to that I say, that I'm pretty sure that cavemen didn't eat cows and chickens. They most likely ate wild boar, deer, and small rodents. None of which are seen in the traditional American diet.

When we eat meat, we are giving our bodies a huge serving of protein and fat, without any fiber. Which is why meat consumption has been linked to all kinds of cancer.

You think it is healthy to drink milk, or eat dairy products? Think of it like this, when you go to the store, and buy a gallon of milk, you are literally buying cow's breast milk. That milk was designed to help baby calves grow to the size of, well, a fat cow. Clearly, it has the same effect on people. Besides that, we live in a culture that is so judgmental when it comes to breast feeding mothers. Heaven forbid a mother is still breast feeding her toddler (which is absolutely normal and beneficial) but we all pump our kids full of breast milk from a cow and say that it will give us strong bones.

Okay, before I go off on any more of a rant, I'm going to stop. But, to answer the questions you've all been asking- I eat a huge variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. I absolutely do not feel deprived, and I probably get more protein, calcium, and iron than the typical american.

I can't believe that April is almost over. Time really needs to slow down, so that I can have a minute to prepare myself for what's to come. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was thinking "Wow March is almost over." In a little over a week, my job search starts... yikes.  So, I'm trying to really focus on myself this week. Working out gives me a temporary break from the stress of being an adult, which I think is why I spent so much time doing it this month. If my calculations are correct, I've worked out all but two days this month. Which is a big improvement from where I used to be. I find myself growing more confident every day. Even when I don't notice obvious changes on the scale or in my body, I know that little by little I am become the Stacy that I want to be, and it is an awesome feeling.

Later this week, I am leaving for Ohio for a couple of days. I'm so excited to see everyone, but I'm also nervous about what I'm going to eat and how I'm going to work out. Being a gluten free vegan is easy here, because the people who I eat every meal with are also vegan and gluten free. When I get to Ohio, that will be vastly different. For now, my plan is to mainly focus on the vegan aspect of my diet. For example, spaghetti is vegan, but it might be hard to find gluten free noodles at my hometown grocery store, so I'll have to suck it up. I can also make pizza with no cheese, but I'm not going to make my mom buy gluten-free flour just for one pizza crust. It will be a challenge for sure, but I think I'm up for it.

I'm also going to have to be creative with my workouts. The last time I was home, I did a lot of running, which is great, but I've really been trying to focus on circuit training and high intensity intervals, so I'm going to have figure out a way to do that in my mom's apartment. The only equipment that she has is 3 and 5 pound weights, and I plan on taking my jump rope. So, I'm going to sit down tonight, in between planning for Colt's party, and figure out an exact workout schedule. I need to make sure to work every muscle group at least twice while I'm away, which might prove to be a little tricky.

Anyway, here is my workout log starting with Sunday, April 21st.

Sunday- I had a massage this day, so I didn't want to ruin my relaxed state and pain free muscles with an intense workout, so I just took Colt and Bella on a 2.2 mile walk.

Monday- I did a circuit of 15 minutes on the elliptical doing the hills program, 2 exercises for each muscle group, 4 core exercises, and then 15 more minutes on the elliptical.

Tuesday - I did another 2.2 mile walk, but I mixed it up with some sprints. It proved to be challenging running with a stroller in the wind!

Wednesday- I did a circuit routine. I can't find the sheet where I wrote it down, but it was 40 minutes total on the elliptical and 1 exercise per muscle group.

Thursday- This was one of the toughest CrossFit workouts I've ever done. It was and 800 meter run, 50 burpees, 40 wall balls, 30 squats, 10 pushups, and another 800 meter run. It doesn't sound that hard, but I promise you, my legs hurt until today (Monday).

Friday- I didn't work out today for a couple of reasons. First of all, my legs were so sore that it was hard to even walk. And, even if I had wanted to work out, I spent most of the day shopping with Charlotte and Cassie, so I didn't get home until it was to late to get in a good workout before bed. It was a much needed day off.

Saturday- I did 50 minutes on the elliptical, Pilates, and Zumba.

Sunday- I decided to whip out my iPod and use my Nike Training Center app. It's been a while, and I remember a few months ago thinking that all of the workouts were so hard. While the one that I ended up doing wasn't "easy", I think it is safe to say that I am in much better shape now. It was a fun workout, and it got my heart rate up.

Monday- Today I did a HIIT elliptical routine that I found online. I love the elliptical machines at my gym, they are so easy to program, and have tons of different crossramp/ resistance options. This particular routine was only 30 minutes long (including cool down) but I was exhausted at the end. I think HIIT is going to be so important when it comes to burning fat. I also did a strength training routine, focusing on my upper body.

So, that's all! Tomorrow is the last day of April and I plan to do either CrossFit, or Nike Training Center.

Wish me luck on being healthy at home!