Day 75: Me, A Vegan???

Sorry for the lack of posts on my part! Have been busy with school and everything. I hope I will be able to become more active henceforth. :-)

I have suspected for a long time I had an allergy to dairy. It can be rather intermittent, but lately I have been having severe GI issues, sometimes for several days at a time, and I couldn't figure it out. Well, I have discovered I'm allergic to dairy and possibly have a soy/grain allergy as well. It would explain why I feel allergic to everything! So, on that note, I have decided to eliminate some things from my diet, mainly meat, dairy, and as much soy as possible. So, this gal will be vegan, again. :-)

I am a little nervous about this transition. My fiancé and I eat out a lot, and so does my family. I am, however, looking forward to trying my hand at some new vegan recipes. I used to run a blog that had all kinds of reviews of vegan recipes, vegan products, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. However, when I stopped being vegan I stopped maintaining the website. Now, it seems that my life has inevitably been turned in that direction again, and I may be reopening the website. :-)

It will definitely take some effort and some tolerance. But I think it will be a positive thing for me. I have impacted a lot of people through the Girl on Fire site and I think I will be able to make a positive impact with the V365 site as well. I have always been supportive of animal rights issues in various avenues, and I totally think its a great thing to be vegan. :-)

In unrelated news, I am doing well staying below 200, have been in the 190s for several days now. However, I can't seem to move from there! It may be to my benefit to change my diet up for that reason as well, maybe it will move the scale. But for now, I'm all about taking care of my body and doing what is best for it. :-)

Hope everyone has a fantastic day! Be blessed and enjoy the journey!

Day 30.5: More Signs You're Getting Thinner

-When people are sending you advertisements to become part of AdvoCare (turned it down)
-When your job preferences lean more towards Lululemon, TrueRunner, and REI because it's become an area of expertise and, let's face it, you really want that employee discount! :)
-When it literally sends you into a tailspin when someone takes away your healthy food (true story)
-When your plans for the weekend revolve around whether or not you can get your run in
-When you're looking forward to a paycheck so you can register for yet another 5K.
-When you have a 5K sticker on your car and don't feel inferior for having it
-When you go into the mall, and you want to go into literally every store having something to do with fitness
-When you are told to teach someone to do something, and you think a workout sounds pretty good
-When half your internet time revolves around your Facebook page and inspiring others

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These are more examples from my life! It's crazy how my life has changed completely. I still remember when I walked into S2 in May and felt like an idiot because I didn't look like the type that would even belong in a supplement shop. Now I am looking forward to my next visit, with the intention to keep going! And today the scale FINALLY tipped in my direction, putting me at a very nice 207.0. If I can shake off that last pound, I will be down 25 pounds! That would be such a geekout moment for me, because it means I am a quarter of the way there, give or take. My total goal was 106 pounds, and now it's down to around 82-83 pounds. That's not such a scary number when you see that almost 25 lbs of it is already gone.

My mom has decided to make some spaghetti for the evening and I will be more than happy to partake. I need to have some cause I have realized my caloric intake is way too low! I had no idea that I was eating so few calories, I thought for sure I was averaging around 1200-1500 but it is actually somewhat lower than that. I am shocked! So, I will be having a good meal tonight, and trying to eat a little more than my usual.

Please know that this is not an intentional thing and I don't encourage you to not eat! I have no intention of eating or not eating. I just eat when I feel like eating, and don't eat when I don't feel like eating. But I am so glad I found that out early in the game so I know to adjust my caloric intake to help recover the fuel burnt after a workout. I didn't realize that I was burning such ridiculous amounts off until today! So tonight and henceforth, I will track my food and make sure that I get enough calories in! :-) Never thought I would say that, but there you go. :-)

I would love to know how to get around 1500 calories a day in in a way that's not going to make me feel all bloated and gross. Any suggestions would be welcome! I will probably go to S2 on Wednesday and see if I can get advice on how to eat MORE. Crazy. :-)

I hope everyone has a great night! Be blessed all! :)

Day 19: Ch-ch-changes

First of all, love that song! :-)

I have been noticing some changes. Today I ran 15 consecutive minutes and was actually running longer than anyone else in the gym! They were doing running/walking intervals and I was powering away on that run like a total beast. That felt so awesome. I used to be the chica not even going above 3.0 on the treadmill. I watched everyone else run and I wanted to do it so bad. Now, I'm slower than them but leaving them in the dust as far as time.

I have been opening my mind to religion as well. I have not had good experiences with churches because I am SO different than most of the people there, I am very matter-of-fact and I ask a lot of questions which sometimes gets on people's nerves. Besides, I have struggled with a number of sins in the past that are too personal to share and I was always embarrassed to come to church because I was afraid someone would find out and be judgmental towards me. Because of that, I built up walls and pushed people away in church so they wouldn't see my sins. Silly logic, I know, but when you're scared you do some dumb stuff.

I have a Joyce Meyer obsession. I have mentioned it in previous entries and it still holds true. I'm not like hanging out in Fenton trying to find her or anything, but I do watch her show every morning and read some of her books. There is this series she has done that literally took 3 times before I could watch it all the way through because it was so hard to wrap my head around. It was about deception and compromise, a very meaty sermon indeed. That wasn't really the part that got me. She says towards the end of the first part of the sermon, "Listen, God can give you a better life than the one you're living now." It's ironic, because right now I think I have a great life and an awesome thing going for me. I thought, "I could have an even better life WITH God? I have a great life now, and that must mean with God it will be even more awesome!" Naivety, yes, but get over it. We all have our catalysts.

So, with that in mind I am putting a different bend on this website. Since Vegan365 is going the way of the dodo bird (sorry, all of you that are fans, it is going down later this afternoon), I am changing the name of the site. It will be called: Girl on Fire: From Underdog to Beastmode. I'm so excited about the name change and the lifestyle change and I'm excited to share it with you!

I hope all of you have a blessed day and enjoy life!

Day 18: Kickin Butt And Taking Names

Day Five of the running streak! I have gone 10-10, 3, 6, 10, and today I ran for 12 minutes. It's not exactly doubling my time but I reckon that as I clock more and more minutes I will have to add a few minutes at a time. I am still trying to hit that elusive goal of 20 minutes of running and trying to add more time every day.

I also gave up caffeine, entirely by accident. :-) I have been drinking flavored water for about 2 or 3 weeks, and I realized yesterday that I had drank no soda at all, just drank water and was fine with it. So I thought, what the hey, I'll just stop drinking soda. So I have and have my cup with a V on it (it originally stood for Vegan to promote my blog, but since I am no longer updating the blog I just carry it around for fun) filled with lots of water. It's a 24 oz Tervis water bottle and I am totally geeked out about it.

I made this really great little fruit salad today. My mom was serving eggs with way too much fat added to it in the form of sausage and LOTS of cheese (yuck), and I wasn't really interested in that after a 12-minute run. So I threw together a can of mandarin oranges, a handful of blueberries and slivered almonds, and some Greek yogurt. It was delicious and more nutritious than my mom's eggs and sausage. :-D I will post a picture of it the next time I make it and give a more detailed recipe.

Well, this is a short entry since I have class in a few minutes. Have a great day all and I'll catch you later today. :-)

Day 16: School Daze

Morning everyone!

Survived my first day of school yesterday. It was actually quite a bit less traumatic than I thought it would be, both psychologically and food-wise. I thought it was going to be a huge adjustment since I hadn't even thought about school for three or four months, but I seemed to fit right in and was able to take notes. I was also okay for eating, I only ate a little and got full fast.

I seem to be plateaued at 216 again. I really do need to step up my game a bit because I had a busy weekend and I think I tend to gain weight over the weekends. My fiancé and I are becoming more active though which is a great thing. We do a lot of walking and such and we will be doing a 5K later on in September. :-) It will be the second of that run that I have done, and my fiancé's first of this one, though we did the Race for the Cure last July. It is an untimed race but I hope to beat my PR this next year and even run it.

I also hope to run for five minutes continually soon. That is my next goal. I ran for about 3 minutes the other day and got a bit tired after that. I want to eventually get to the point where I'm running all 20 minutes. And then I will add more! I want to be able to run a 5K, and eventually a 10K. I have a very awesome friend that regularly runs marathons and did a few ultramarathons recently; I would love to do that. My ultimate goal is to do a full triathlon. My fantasy and not-very-realistic goal is to be able to do an Ironman tri someday, but I don't know if that will actually happen. But first, to do the 5-minute run, lol. :-)

Welp, it's to the gym with me, and then to hang out with my best friend. Have a great day all and enjoy the weather!

Day 11: Cause I'm Awesome that Way.

Hi guys!

I appreciate your patronage! There have been 61 page views in two days! I am so happy that you are enjoying the site and I hope to see even more of you soon.

I have had a mixed bag of a day. On the positive side, I ran three consecutive miles without stopping. I haven't done that in my continuous running adventures, even when I was good at it. I ran a total of around 5-6 minutes, with 4 minutes of walking. Considering the circumstances, it's not a bad go of it. I'm planning on going back later on tonight if the gas in my car holds out for another day. :-) Also, I weighed in at 215.2 today, breaking the plateau at 217-219. When I compare side by side pictures I can truly tell a difference. Check out this bad boy:

 



I can really tell a difference! That is the same shirt too, and yes I bash on the Cubs and don't particularly like them or baseball in general but my parents keep on buying me shirts when they go to Chicago. My dad is a huge Cubs fan. And we're in St Louis. Awesome planning there, but my dad is from the UK so he has that excuse.

 

I have also had some not-so-good news in that someone I have trusted in the past has been lying to me constantly, and tries to pass the buck to me and say that I don't understand what's going on. And today I unearthed a huge honker of a lie that this person told me that could have cost me a ton of time, hassle, and kept me bound to them for the rest of my life. I won't get into the particulars, those who are close to me know exactly what I am talking about, but I am honestly shocked. I don't understand how someone who is supposed to be close to you lies to your face and then blames you for not understanding why they lied and how the whole schema works.

 

Anyhoo, I have also received a call from a college that may work with me to find a place to live and transfer some of my college credits at my current college to theirs. I didn't realize they had been calling me because they never left voicemails until today, and I had wondered where they had been all this time. Either way, I have not decided if I will switch my major at my current college or transfer to this college. It's a huge decision and I want to make sure I'm making the right one. :-)

 

Talk about a drama filled day, right?? I hope everyone else has a less drama-filled day and enjoys their day.

Day Nine: Actual Next Day!! Mind is BLOWN.

Hi everyone, 11 page views today? Man you are all amazing. :-)

I finally got on after one day, so technically this is day nine!
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I went to yoga class this morning, reluctantly. I have not been to an exercise class in ages, and generally speaking I don't like them. I'm always the token fat chick in the class; sweating, not in proper workout clothes, and just somewhat of a spectacle to myself and others. So, needless to say, I generally avoid them like the plague. But today, I decided to be different. I got in, and true to form I was the sweaty fat chick (but there was an old guy in my class who was borderline flashing his backside on the bending moves, so I felt better, lol) but I felt different this time.

Sure, I was screaming inside my head, things I prefer not to repeat, but I feel like I made the right decision trying to take care of my body. Ever since I took some serious steps towards reevaluating my life, I'm starting to realize that without exception that everyone starts out that way. They might not be as heavy as I was and am, but they feel out of place, like the token something-or-another. They feel like everyone is staring at them and judging them when in reality everyone feels the same way about the way they look and could care less what you look like. In fact, I saw someone more overweight than me totally killing it on the elliptical and my immediate thought was, "Get it girl!" I was so psyched to see her kicking ass like that. :-)

I found something kind of cool today when I was taking my supplements this morning. I noticed on the bottom of the 1st Phorm container that holds the Thyro-Drive I take every morning there is printed in script, "Never Settle." I had never noticed it before and thought it was super cool. As I fought my usual inertia, I kept repeating these words to myself, "Never settle." And I think that after some evaluation of my own life there is some truth and motivation in that phrase.

I have settled my whole life. For crappy jobs, abusive family members and boyfriends, for programs in school I didn't enjoy in the slightest, for being unkempt and overweight my whole life. I was always saying "Yes," to someone or something without considering my own opinion. I just continually let myself go without considering that I could take my life in another direction. Maybe today I can decide for once not to settle and to say "Yes," to myself.

Didn't think you would get poetic turn of phrase, didya? Well luckily, today you did. I hope you all have a great day and remember not to settle!

Day Four: My Worky-Work

I started my new job today. Came in to sign some paperwork and earned $17. I hope this will be a fantastic job. Everyone seems really nice though.

I'm sorry for not posting for awhile. I had an anonymous person somewhat insult my other blog, Vegan365, because I pay for my own products to review. They said because of that it was a fake blog and they weren't going to sponsor my reviews. So as soon as I get my paycheck from my first two weeks of work, I will continue to pay for my review products. I don't really mind doing that, I just think of myself as a guinea pig of sorts and enjoy putting money into a habit I feel passionate about.

My weight loss has been going fairly well, at least going down steadily. Due to family issues I haven't been able to work out for the past few days, and even thought I would have to move out of state for awhile. Thankfully, things seem to be going alright with the family for a change. So I can concentrate on continually losing weight.

My nutrition counselor at S2 said to consider using protein powder and consider doing weight training. I can dig both really, I have wanted to try some vegan protein powders and use them with some coconut milk and ice and make some smoothies. It seems pretty cool to me. I also used to weight train when I was really gung-ho about working out every day.  I am still using BMR Bliss Go Pack which is BMR Bliss, Thyro-Drive, and Downtime PM. I still get hungry and eat more sometimes but it is considerably less frequent. It's not like every meal is a banquet but having a nice meal from time to time is good.

I hope to keep this blog updated regularly as long as I'm not working. I work 8-hour shifts so I may not be available every single day to update the blog. But I definitely will check in at least once a week to let you know how things are going.

Week One, Day 1: The Beginning

This is my before pic, week one. 5'3", 218 pounds, and way too overweight for my liking. I have been using some amazing supplements called the BMR Bliss Go Pack, as well as keeping to the diet plan they gave me and working out on the treadmill. I have lost 5 lbs, going from 223 to 218 in a few days, but the journey is only just beginning.

I abused my body for way too many years. I had a few traumatic events in my life but I don't think it was the cause of my weight issues. A lot of people who have similar events have residual issues dealing with them, but fortunately that was never the case with me. I definitely had self-esteem issues, but I think it was just because I underwent dramatic changes, going from very skinny to very overweight in a short amount of time. I try not to hold too many things against too many people. They are human and have their own issues as well.

Anyway, after burning way too many bridges in my life, I am trying to make right some of the things that have gone wrong in my life. I am treating my body with respect and dignity, and I'm treating my family and friends with the same respect and dignity.

This will not be a whiny blog. I am not the type who wants to lament about how no one was good to me and my dad never hugged me and whatnot. I have some great people in my life and I hug my dad regularly.

Here's what I will do though: I want to be able to empower others to make the same good choices in their lives. I will be open and honest, but respectful. I will not be too flowery or new-agey (I apologize for my departure in this post) but will still be encouraging. I hope you will comment on my blog and share your own stories because I love making friends.

So, let's kick some butt and take names, shall we?