Edge of Glory

Last week it was really hard for me to get up early and go to the gym without my gym buddy.  So this morning, even though I hit snooze one extra time, I was ready to get up and go! I just felt ready to shake off the cranky that I went to bed with last night.

What better way than to get in my car and hear The Edge of Glory playing?  I don't know what it is about this song, but it forces me to turn up the radio, pretend I am an amazing singer and absolutely belt it out.  I love it!  Abby and I are actually rocking out to it right now as we eat breakfast.

Anyway, I was pumped to get to the gym and Kaella was already there and she was killing it on the treadmill, and that really inspired me to kick it up a notch or two as well!  We knocked out 30 minutes on the treadmill, then an arm interval, and then some v-sit ball bounces.  I felt grreeeaaat when I left!

I got home and Abby was still sleeping (apparently she had put in a brief appearance with Ty this morning but settled back down easily) so I lay in bed and read the book that I am plowing through right now for a bit and enjoyed a cool breeze blowing into the bedroom.  When she was ready to get up, we cuddled in her room for a little bit, and now I am enjoying my new fave breakfast.

My friends, this is oats, soy milk, a big scoop of melted crunchy peanut butter  topped with crumbles of the granola bars I made.  HEAVEN.

Despite going to a funeral this afternoon, today is going to be a great day.  An amazing day actually, because I owe it to myself and everyone else after my crank episode last night.

So, I am going to keep listening to some Lady G and have a great one, and I hope you do too!

Just work it out

My gym buddy is away this week, so it is up to me to get up at 5:07 in the morning and get to the gym on my own.  I have to say, with no accountability but to myself, this is a bit of a challenge.

Yesterday I had an alarm clock malfunction and slept right through until Ty got up and left.  Oopsie.  I vowed I would go that night, but as the day wore on, I was less and less inclined.  So, instead we leashed up the dogs, popped Abby in the push trailer and set out for a walk.  This was definitely not the same intensity that I would have done in the gym, but at least it was exercise and I got to hang out with my little family and enjoy the weather.

This morning when my alarm clock went off, I thought myself  I'll just go back to sleep and then go to the gym tonight.  Then, I remembered that I was having an epicure party tonight, so that definitely wouldn't be happening.  I wrestled with just skipping the gym all together until a voice in my head said make a decision!.  With that, I got out of bed and headed out to the gym.

On the way there, I negotiated with myself that I would just do cardio (I really don't love strength), and again, that mental voice piped up, asking who are you cheating?. 

Touche, head voice.

It continued much along the same track at the gym, with me wrestling inner voices telling me to take the easy way out or to give it my all.  I decided to listen to the more positive voice, and was able to crank out a decent strength workout including 2 circuits and then 30 minutes of cardio.  I left the gym feeling pretty proud of myself for not cheating myself out of a good workout just because Kaella wasn't there to hold me accountable for my actions.  Now, I feel great and like I have the whole day stretching ahead of me to accomplish many things on my list (cleaning, Costco, cooking..you know, the 3 C's).  It is only 7:15 and I have made bread, a lunch for Tyler, and Abby and I are wrapping up breakfast.  Score!

As an update as well, I accomplished everything on my list yesterday...procrasti-what?  :-)

But where will we eat?

Often when I am going out to lunch or dinner with friends, they insist that I pick the place because I know where I can eat.  For 1.  I HATE picking restaurants, unless I have a crazy craving for Indian or Sushi or something, and 2. I can eat ANYWHERE.  And I mean that!

Except for a string of bad luck about a month ago, my order rarely gets screwed up.  I can eat in pubs, steakhouses, cafes, coffee shops, chain restaurants, ethnic restaurants, you name it.  And I generally do not order a salad unless that is what I am craving.  I'll admit, when you first look at a menu, it doesn't look very vegan friendly.  But, if you get creative, you have a world of possibilities ahead of you. 

For example, I will often ask that they switch out meat for double veggies in things like salads or stir fry.  I order pizza or quesidillas with no cheese.  Recently, I have started subbing out meat or cheese for rice or beans, and have been ordering "fish" tacos or more hearty wraps.  Any place that has an actual chef will custom make a dish for you as well, and as one server told me, they get excited by the challenge.  Sweet.

Even when I go over to someone's house for a party or get together, it is rare that there isn't something that I can find to eat.  I don't feel like I am missing out when there are dishes that aren't vegan friendly; most of the time they just don't appeal to me at all.

I will admit that I am more lenient than most people are when it comes to things "touching" my food.  If I can avoid it, I will, but if someone accidentally put a slice of cheese on my sandwich, and I can pick the entire thing off, I will.  I have scraped sauces off of sandwiches in the past and survived.  I have eaten things by accident and somehow lived to see another day.  For me, the concept of being vegan is to make a 100% effort to not eat meat and dairy, all while living a normal life and not sweating the small stuff. 

So, the moral of the story is, if we are going out to eat:  Don't make me pick the restaurant!

It was great...except for the part where I felt like puking.

After an embarrassing 2.5 months away, I am back at the gym!  Yay!

It felt so good to get back last night.  Kaella and I went at 5:15 and stuck to cardio for a gentle introduction back in (for me...she's been going!).  I was able to maintain my usual routine on the elliptical (with much complaining), but once I got on the bike I was able to see the results of my hiatus. I use to be able to pedal with only minimal difficulty on resistance 12, and now I can't even get the bike moving!  Oh, so sad what I have done to myself.

Here we are after my first workout back: 

I'm feeling good...not looking good!

This morning, we both pulled it together and met at the gym at 5:30....in the morning.  Yes, this from the girl who refuses to get up for the day before 7 am.  Don't get me wrong, when my alarm (since when do I use one of those things?) went off this morning, I thought of every excuse as to why I should stay in bed.  That is why having someone meet you there is such a great idea, it keeps you accountable.  This morning we did a 5 minute warm up on the treadmill, and then lunges (ugh...do these ever get easy?  I don't even touch my knee down) while throwing a ball overhead, ball squats, ball slams, triceps dips, triceps weights, mountain climbers, kettle bells, seat belts, v-sit ball bounces, plank wars on a ball, and 15 minutes incline walking.  In and out in 50 minutes, just in time to get home so Ty can go to work.

Speaking of which, I have to mention how much I appreciate that I have a husband who helps me to make myself a priority.  When I asked him how he felt about me going early in the morning, since that might mean he had to get up with Abby if she happened to wake up, he didn't even hesitate to say yes.  He told me that I get up with her all the time, it is only fair if he has to every once and a while.  Tyler knows that going to the gym makes me feel better and gives me better self esteem, so I appreciate so much that he is willing to take over childcare duties so that I can make time for myself.

Anyway, everything is WAY harder than it use to be (understandably).  I have lost so much strength and endurance and I hate that.  I felt amazing afterwards, except for that pukey feeling that you get when you are out of shape!  I made a quick breakfast of oats, a scoop of chocolate protein powder and soy milk (so good!) and an apple.  I am excited to get back again tomorrow morning, and make this part of my days.  I feel like everything gets better when I go to the gym.  My back feels better, I feel more awake, I eat better, so I feel better that way too.

Here I am before heading to the gym this morning.  Looking good!



5:15 this morning...and why yes!  That
is the same shirt as last night!



One of "Those" People

On Being Vegan

About a year and a half ago I decided to stop eating meat, eggs and dairy.  In the year and a half that has elapsed, I have fielded a lot of questions and gone through a lot of changes, both philosophical and physical.  Hopefully this post will answer a few questions!

I became vegan almost accidentally.  I was up late one night and there was nothing on TV so I was watching the Joy Behar show and Alicia Silverstone was on.  She was promoting a new book she wrote called "The Kind Diet".  I really liked how she presented herself.  She fully admits that she use to love meat and had a hard time giving it up initially.  She also presented her book as a tool for people to use to introduce some aspects of vegan lifestyle into their daily lives.  Not once did she preach or say that people should do exactly what she did.

The next day I ordered it online from Amazon and anxiously awaited it in the mail.  When it came in, I read it front to back.  The book is structured so that the first half is research and information, and the second half is recipes.



Although the book was extensively referenced, I wasn't really willing to leave it at that, so I did some additional research.  A lot of what I read resonated with me, so I decided that I would give veganism a go for a 2 week trial period.  I figured it would be so difficult to follow that I would abandon it soon after that, but hopefully incorporate one or two meals in a week.

So, off we went.  Tyler didn't go whole hog (no pun intended!)  vegan, but relegated meat eating to the weekends, and still kept dairy in his diet.  After a week I could feel a huge difference internally.  I just felt...better.   I felt cleaner and food was way more satisfying.  When I had cravings, they were actually for something that I was missing in my diet (like an apple if I hadn't had a lot of fruits that day).

I was a changed woman.  I dropped about 30 lbs (see before and after...now, I know the after still isn't great, but it is a start!).

Here is me in the summer of 2009, before adopting this diet. 



Yikes, I know.

Here is me exactly one year later...and also almost 5 months pregnant



A big difference if you ask me.  Solely through diet.

Another big difference is that I use to be sick all of the time.  I missed so much work, school and general life because I would be throwing up for no reason, have terrible headaches, or generally just be unwell.  I caught every single bug that came my way.  Now I rarely get sick, which is great!

Now, in a year and a half I have gotten lazy and I definitely don't eat as clean as I use to, and I think I am going to re-read the book so that I get inspired again. 

So, what do I eat?  Everyone always asks that question with an air of disbelief, as though there isn't a single food on this planet that wasn't produced by an animal.  I eat pretty much everything!

Now, there are certain categories of food that are just automatically out.  Like baked goods, which is a real blessing in disguise!  I also have adapted a lot of recipes for delicious vegan desserts though, like cinnamon buns, scones, cookies, etc.  Easy.

To make it easy, here is what a typical day looks like for me.

Breakfast:  Raisin toast with peanut butter, coffee with soy milk
Snack:  Fruit, a (homemade) muffin, veggies
Lunch:  A big salad with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, or a sandwich with veggies, humus and mustard.
Snack:  Popcorn, corn chips, rice chips, crackers...something deliciously carb-filled
Supper:  Steamed veggies and hearty grain (quinoa, barley, or rice),

Pretty easy!  Everything is available at a local grocery store, so it isn't like I have to travel far and wide for my food. 

Now, something different about my diet is I don't really like a lot of meat substitutes.  The only one I buy is Oh Natural Veggie nuggets, and even Ty says they are just as good as the real thing.

(On the left)



Finally, the big question I get:  my feelings on animals.  I'll be honest with you, I don't think that any cow is going  to be a productive member of society in that they will contribute like a doctor or lawyer.  I'm just sayin'.  It doesn't bother me that animals are killed for food, but it does bother me if it is done in a way that causes suffering.  I am going to leave that subject at that, because everyone has their own personal beliefs and they are entitled to that.  Furthermore, ranching and farming is an integral part of our society and economy.

I don't think that everyone should run out and buy Alicia Silverstone's book (although she was voted Sexiest Vegetarian).  I also don't think that people should follow my word as gospel.  I do think that everyone should THINK about their food at least.  I am not going to get into all of the nasty things that meat and dairy does in your body, because frankly, if you have no interest in being vegan it is just a mean thing to do.  And like I said, those are my beliefs, not necessarily yours.

If I could answer any questions, make suggestions or provide resources for anyone, I would be more than happy to do that!

Food for Thought

As you can see, Abrielle enjoys her food.  She especially loves feeding herself, to the point where she will push my hand away in a cranky way if I try to feed her finger food.  Hence the array of treats she has there.

I was fairly picky growing up when it came to food.  Not terribly so, but there were definitely certain things that I wouldn't eat.  In my early 20's, I gave up refined sugar so that really limited a lot of my food choices.  I don't know how my parents just gritted their teeth and supported me through that.  I remember literally pulling a package from the garbage before dinner so that I could double check the ingredients.

Then one fateful day in  mall, my sister convinced me to have some Kernels caramel corn and that was the end of that!  I became less and less picky (and strangely enough, less and less thin!).  I even started eating foods that I never would have touched before, such as baked potato, eggs, even some pork! 

About a year and a half ago, I decided to give Veganism a go.  I might save my reasons for another post, but regardless, I am still going strong.  So, although I don't feel limited in my food choices, I might be considered "picky" once again.

Now, Tyler is definitely  not a picky eater, but before he met me, his cultural palate was somewhat limited.  There were fruits, vegetables and grains that he had never tried or heard of.  He had never eaten Japanese, Indian or Ethiopian food and claimed he didn't like it.  He preferred more traditional dishes to ethnic ones (unless it was the western version of Chinese food!).  He really has expanded his interests and has indulged me in a few restaurant choices that he really was opposed to.  I remember he complained all the way to Osho's the first time we went for Japanese food, grumbling that they had better not serve him cat.  Flash forward about 6.5 years later and this man has tried raw octopus. 

I really hope that Abbers is more like her Dad than me when it comes to eating.  I get a little stressed out at the thought of going over to a friend's house for dinner in case  they went to special trouble for me and I still can't eat their food.  I am really lucky that my family is really supportive and two of my best friends are vegetarian and practically vegetarian, so they are sensitive to what I can and can't eat. 

As much as I don't want Abby to eat meat or dairy, I am going to give it to her.  I don't want to, but I also don't want to make her food choices for her.  Who knows, maybe in a month I will decide I want to eat meat again?  Probably not though.  I want her to be well rounded in all areas of her life, including her palate. 

That being said, I am hoping to introduce her to meat gently with organic choices and I will alternate it with other great sources of protein that don't come from animals.

Here are some more shots of my piggy pants