All posts in category Energy

WIAW: Whole Foods Plant Based Diet

I stated on Monday that I was going back to a plant-based diet and I am now on day 4 and going strong.  I am already feeling lighter with more energy, and lets just say that last night was a whopper, yet I am not feeling tired at all (we’ll see how I feel come this afternoon!).  On a side note, I can’t wait until we get our third room finished for our new daughter.  She is the NOISIEST sleeper ever!  She grunts and makes all sorts of weird noises and when I get up to check on her she is totally asleep!  The first 3 months are the hardest, right?

Anyway, onto my Tuesday eats!  Thank you to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting this blogger get together every Wednesday!

Breakfast was eaten before I could snap a picture, but it was Oatmeal with ground flax-seed, vanilla soy milk, and frozen berries.  Not anything too exciting.

Lunch was leftovers from the night before and they were delicious:

IMG_0443Homemade veggie burgers dipped in BBQ sauce and a salad with mixed greens, cucumbers, avocado, and spicy hummus.  The recipe I used for the veggie burgers came from Oh She Glows and it is her Spicy BBQ Chickpea Burgers

I love the crunch that the sunflower seeds added, although, these would have been better on a bun (I forgot to get some from the store).  But I mus say they held together really well and it was a lot better than buying sketchy frozen veggie patties from the store with an ingredient list a mile long!

In the afternoon I saw that I had a banana and a zucchini that was on their last legs so I decided to make Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Happy Herbivore. I love this recipe because my daughter calls them “cupcakes” and she will polish off 2 before I can blink my eyes.  She has no idea that is she is getting some fruits and veggies in each muffin.  My second pregnancy caused my first daughter to become a picky eater.  Too much eating out will do that to someone, so now I’m trying to get her back on the healthy eating band wagon a little at a time.

IMG_0445I added in some mixed fresh berries and it was a filling snack that held me over til dinner.

Dinner was something unexpected.  This week I meal planned and told myself that no matter what, I was going to stick to it.  Well, last night I realized that I didn’t have a couple of the ingredients I needed for at least two of the meals I was planning so I went in search of a recipe for something that I had the ingredients on hand for.

After a quick check of my Google Reader I found a recipe that looked easy and delicious: Coconut Ginger Curry Rice Bowl From PB Fingers.  Who doesn’t love a one pot meal?  The only problem is that I had run out of brown rice and had to sub with white.  The great thing was that it was done and on the table in less than 30 minutes.

IMG_0447I wish that I had fresh broccoli instead of frozen, but it works in a pinch.  I will be having leftovers of this for lunch.

After getting back on the plant-based bandwagon I am feeling great.  My cravings are going away and the scale even gave me some motivation this morning by showing me a lighter number.  My only concern is that I feel like my breast milk supply has gone down a bit.  I can’t tell if I am just being paranoid or if my little babe is eating more than normal.  I’m monitoring it for the next few days and it is probably in my head.  Other than that I’m feeling great, and only T-4 days until I can start exercising again (hopefully I will get the clear at my 6 week postpartum appointment next Monday).

Have a happy Wednesday!

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by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Breast Feeding, Challenges, Commitment, Diet, Energy, Goals, Good Food, Health, Health Benefits, Link Love, Making It Happen, Meal Planning, Plant Based Diet, Postpartum, Recipes, Weight Watchers, WIAW

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/05/15/wiaw-whole-foods-plant-based-diet/

Weekend Highlights

I love weekends where you feel totally productive and spend NO money.  I failed to mention that I have a 3rd goal for 2013: To finally get rid of the monkey on my back, a.k.a., credit card debt.  Normally, Dustin and I head to the big city of Grand Junction and go window shopping.  Yet, it seems we always return with things that we just can live without.  Weird.

We’ve decided that instead of going out so much, we would make  more of an effort to finish up home projects and cook food at home (although, its been a while since we’ve been eating out regularly).  Few of the things that we asked for from everybody who had our names for Christmas was all the components to make sushi.  A rice cooker (a GOOD rice cooker and not those $20 crap kind), sushi rolling mats, and some fun sushi plates for the finished product.

I am a sushi addict.  Before you get all huffy puffy, I know I’m not suppose to eat raw fish while I’m pregnant so the sushi selection is a little boring for the time being (that, and we’re land locked so it may be a while until I attempt raw on my own).  For now we are making California rolls with crab salad, cooked spicy salmon, and last Friday we attempted to make our own shrimp tempura (which turned out awesome):

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And here is some of the finished product (this is last weeks picture, but you get the point):

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We even had enough left over that we rolled a few rolls for lunch on Saturday.  SO GOOD.

On Saturday, we felt ambitious and decided to do some painting in out kitchen.  I am a slow painter.  I don’t like getting burned out on a project because I try to get it all done in one weekend.  The hub’s and I decided to take our kitchen one wall at a time.  It helps us to be productive on a weekend, but not completely take up our whole weekend with one project.  We are a good team.  Dustin washes the walls and tapes everything and I paint.  It works.

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Here is the before where every wall is practically stark white ^^^^^^^.

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Here is the after with Eddie Bauer Woodsmoke from Lowe’s ^^^^^^.  Next week we may attempt the wall with the refrigerator :/

We had a pretty typical Sunday.  We went to church, I had a great Sunday School lesson with the 10/11-year-old kids, and then got to come home and relax.  It was fabulous.  For dinner I made a recipe I found on Pinterest: Orange chicken and Broccoli, and then I added some Quinoa.

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It was delicious and light.  Click Here for the recipe.  And for those of you who are new to the world of Quinoa I used this tutorial the first time I made it.

Now I have a confession to make.  Ever since I found out that I don’t have Gestational Diabetes I’ve been on a bit of a carb overload (and not the good kind).  One thing that helps me to get motivation and get back on track is watching food documentaries.  One of my favorites is Forks Over Knives.  In case anybody wants to watch this excellent film it is on Netflix with Instaplay.  One of the reason’s I love this film is that it focus’ purely on the health aspect of a plant-based diet.  It gives facts and figures from years of research and it is not argumentative (like some documentaries which are totally biased).  The information doesn’t feel in your face and the Dr’s seem genuinely concerned with their patients health.  If you haven’t had a chance to watch it I highly suggest it!

Now I feel rejuvenated to get back on track with healthy eating, and some other things that I will be blogging about this week!  I hope you all had as wonderful weekend as I did!

What is one of your weekend highlights? 

PS.  I got my Twitter account back up and running so if  you were a follower before jump to my sidebar and follow me again (my handle is shrinkingcarrie). Thanks!

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by Shrinking Carrie on January 14, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Budget, Energy, Gestational Diabetes, Goals, Indulgence, Plant Based Diet, Pregnancy

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 14, 2013

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2013/01/14/weekend-highlights/

Will I Ever Learn?

Sweat it Out:
50 minute hilly walk burning 500 calories
triceps/biceps/shoulders/lats weights

Every time I say “this is the last time ever”, I mean it.  And then a new day comes along and my resolve goes out the window.  Motivation is fleeting and so is trusting yourself when you say with matter-of-fact “this really is the last time!”.

The past 3 days I have been on a bit of a detox.  From what?  Oh, I’m sure if you’ve been reading my blog for some time you will already know that I have an addictive personality, and that caffeine is one of my BIGGEST vices.

Some of you may be thinking “caffeine is not that big of a deal, you could be addicted to something much worse than harmless old caffeine”.  I try to tell myself this too.  The only thing is that I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that caffeine is slowly going to killing me.  Dramatic much?

The thing is, being the independent person that I was brought up to be, I hate the fact that if I go half a day without a drop of caffeine I get headaches.  If I go a full day of having no caffeine I start to get body aches.  I don’t think those are signs that caffeine is good for your body.

I went cold turkey like this last year and it worked for quite some time.  Then they came up with Dr. Pepper 10.  Damn you soda makers!  The hub’s and I had a love affair with this drink for quite sometime and after I got up to 3 cans a day (that was nothing compared to how I use to drink Diet Coke back in the day) I knew I was falling back into old patterns.

These 3 cans wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t gone back to an even worse habit of starting my day off with 2 Excedrine every morning.

So now I have been taking Excedrine daily, and then sprinkling in extra Diet DP 10′s throughout the day.  I’m a mess.  I wish I could say that it was helping me lose weight, but I didn’t see a drop in the scale one bit even though I felt like these things were curbing my appetite.

So what have I done?

Quit Cold Turkey.

This concerns the hub’s.  I told him if I don’t do it all at once I will never get off the stuff and I will feel awful forever (once again, so dramatic!).  The past 3 days I have had a constant headache, irritability, and I am so tired I fight every time Hanna goes down for a nap to not put myself down for one as well.

The only thing I can think of to help myself stay off the juice is by rewarding myself with something after a period of time with none of the junk that I get myself roped back into every few months.

I’m proposing a 90 day caffeine cleanse, and vow to have no form of caffeine enter into my body.  I’m trying to talk my hub’s into letting me get the Jillian Michaels 90-day Body Revolution if I complete the cleanse (get it, 90 days of “soberness”, and then 90 days of body revolution), but he is leery of how much money I will be spending on my prize.  Don’t worry guys, I’ll wear him down.

Or I may just buy this shirt for my reward.

7 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on July 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Addiction, Caffeine, Challenges, Commitment, Daily Struggles, Diet, Energy

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on July 11, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/07/11/will-i-ever-learn/

Shhh…. Don’t Tell Him That It’s Healthy

I’m Back!  I had SO much fun being at girls camp last week, but to say I’m happy to be home and trying to get back into my routine would be an understatement.

One thing that I am trying to do this week is DETOX.  I failed to mention last week that the theme of our camp was “Candy Land”.  There was candy everywhere!  Anyone who knows me knows that I have a MAJOR sweet tooth.  Chocolate and ice cream are two of my biggest problem foods. When I got home on Saturday I felt sluggish, dirty, and tired, and I’m sure the crappy eating was one of the bigger issues for having those feelings.

On Sunday I sat down and made a diet detox plan for the week and I am forcing myself to stick with it so that I will feel better.  Even after only two days of getting some real greens in me and no sugar I feel about 80% better.

I also splurged this week and had Kombucha make a come back!

My body is in some serious need of getting the bad out and the good in.

I also made a Sam’s Club run this week and stocked up on fresh fruit.  I may have gone a little crazy and I now cant fit anything in my fridge, it is PACKED.

This morning while reading blogs I came across a recipe from my favorite Vegan website Oh She Glows I may be a little obsessed with her recipes.  It was for a jam, and coincidentally I had just ran out of jam, and had all of the ingredients on hand, shocker.

Try this recipe now: Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam

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Photo Credit is of course to Angela over at Oh She Glows since she is a FAR better photographer than I, and I don’t want to disrespect her recipe!

The hub’s loves jams and jellies so when I told him that I found an easy jam recipe he was in full support of me using some of our overly stocked fruit to make this Magical Blueberry Vanilla Chia Seed Jam.  The even better thing is that it is actually a HEALTHY jam.  Why I never thought of Chia seeds for a jam recipe is beyond me.  I have been learning so much about plant-based cooking that one day I might just venture out and start trying to create some of my own recipes.  But until then Oh She Glows is my top go to for delicious & quick vegan meals.

But don’t tell my husband that it’s healthy, k?

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on June 26, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Blogs to Read, Candy, Challenges, Diet, Energy, Kombucha, Link Love, Meal Planning, Plant Based Diet, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on June 26, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/06/26/shhh-dont-tell-him-that-its-healthy/

Running Day 1

I use the term “running” very loosely considering it was more like a very slow jog.  Back in the day (early 20′s), I could run 5 miles a day at 6 mph.  My cool down was a brisk walk at 4 mph.

Yesterday I was “running” at 4.2 mph.  Oh how the mighty have fallen.  I know that seems kind of downer, but trust me, yesterday was pretty monumental for me.  I actually STARTED my workout with a runner’s high, and it was a great warm-up for the 25 minutes on the elliptical I did after.  It left me a pretty sweaty mess:

And that folks is an award-winning zit right there.

What I Felt Like During the run

To my lungs the run felt effortless.  In fact, I was barely breathing when I was done with the 6 minute intervals of walking and running.  I was kind of surprised.  On the second minute of running I decided to kick it up a notch and upped it to 4.5.  My lungs felt fine and I still was not getting my heart rate up very much, but then my left knee started to get a dull pinch in it so I put it back down to a 4.  The pain was in my left knee, which is strange because usually there is a small pain in my right leg (the leg I fell on, and injured myself with when I was 21).

The only thing I can say is that I am still very overweight and for right now listening to my body is best.  If I have to keep the pace lower so that my aches and pains subside I will do just that.  The weight will start to come off, and my lungs and body will sync up perfectly, I have no doubt.  I will not quit this running program just because I can’t go as fast as I want to go.  It will come with time.

On the Diet Front

For the first time in a week and a half I have seen a loss on the scale.  I changed a few things in my diet and I think it has made a difference.  I’ve added some more protein and I think it has been the missing puzzle piece.  I’ve started eating chicken and eggs again (mostly egg whites).  It seems like it’s the only way I can get my protein high enough without going over on my  carbs and calories.

I truly believe that there is no one way for people to eat.  I think that many people thrive in different kind of diets, and you have to pick the one for you.  Even on the weeks that I was eating perfectly I was not seeing losses, and felt like I was depriving myself of foods that could help me in my weight loss, and now I can say that I have honestly done something long enough to see how it affects my body, and adding meat back into my diet has not affected my energy levels at all.  Which is great!

So there you have it.  My first day running, although a little frustrating, was a success!  The thing that keeps me going is knowing that I will improve.  I have nowhere to go but up!

 

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Commitment, Diet, Energy, Making It Happen, Running, Workout

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on May 15, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/05/15/running-day-1/

Truth Tuesday

The topic today is from Krystle and inspired by a status update that she left on Facebook:

I am accepting the challenge of coming clean with myself and to you fine readers today!  Here are a few things I am facing right now that I am coming clean with (BTW, if you haven’t checked out Krystle’s blog Skinny Jeans Dreams yet, you should get over there right now!  She is inspiring through her 100 pound weight loss with Weight Watchers, and a very positive person!).

Truth #1: I didn’t workout yesterday, even after I had my grand goals that I set on Sunday.  I actually had good reasoning for this.  I am trying to stay within a 1500 calorie intake (I know that seems low, but if you knew my metabolism you would know that I have to keep my calories low in order to lose weight.  Trust me, I’ve tried all sorts of ways to lose weight and this is the only way that works for me).  I feel like when I am trying to get my eating back on track I have to not do to many calorie burning activities or else I just crave food all day long, and it can derail me pretty quickly.  So I took my first day of the Vegan kick-start to just focus on eating foods that are healthy for my body.

Truth #2: On my first time round on the Vegan kickstart I used Chicken Stock a few times (gasp!).  But I am being truthful when I say that I am using vegetable stock this time around.  I want to really reap the benefits of this diet and be as aware as possible about the things that are going in my body.

Truth #3: I’m scared, and this move has been hard on me.  I had a rough day yesterday, and I could have stayed in bed all day long.  For me this is not healthy behavior.  When I moved to Colorado from Utah 6 years ago I didn’t skip a beat.  We moved because I got a job as Store Manager of the Pier 1 Imports, and it kept me busy, like REALLY busy.  I had no time to worry what was going on in my personal life.

This move has been different for me because I have moved to a small town, where I have no job, and I don’t know anybody.  Work was a great way for me to gain a social life, but I am ashamed to say that I am scared to get out and meet people.  My hub’s even found out about a group from my church that meets every morning so their kids can play together, and I am scared  (or insecure?) to go meet with them even though I know that it would be good for Hanna and me.  We are going to dinner at one of the girls homes this weekend, and I am hoping that it will help me gain the confidence I need to just do it.

Ahhhhh.  It feels so good to let the truth out!  Today I am catching up on my Kick-ass in April exercises and going for a walk with the little one.  Also, I am happy to report that even though I wasn’t feeling in the best mood yesterday, I am still feeling the benefits of a plant-based diet today.  I feel lighter and have more energy.  I’m ready to have a productive day!

Have a truth you’d like to share?

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by Shrinking Carrie on April 3, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Blogs to Read, Energy, Plant Based Diet, Truth Tuesday

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on April 3, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/04/03/truth-tuesday/

Not Too Shabby

Sweat it Out:
Weightlifting 45 Minutes
Elliptical 45 Minutes

First off, I have gotten a lot of great comments lately!  Normally I have tried to respond to each and every one, but I have been so busy lately that the blog has taken a backseat for a little while.  But I wanted to say thank you anyway for the responses I have gotten on some of my posts as of late.  I really appreciate you guys!

Today I started The New Rules of Lifting for Women for round 2.  I literally JUMPED out of bed this morning, I was so ready to get myself back on track after this past horrible week (which is now in the past and forgotten).  Here is what my workout looked like:

  • Barbell Squats: 3 sets of 12 (70#).  When I started the program back in August 2011 I could only squat around 30 pounds.  I had a major lack of muscles, especially for someone who has been naturally strong her whole life.  Pregnancy did a number on my muscle atrophy.  I also figured out an easier way to use the squat machine where I wasn’t having to smash my neck into the bar.  I’m already feeling my muscles, and I will most definitely be sore tomorrow.
  • Seated Row: 3 sets of 12 (60#).  All I could think about while doing these was how it was helping the fat that sits on my bra line.  I have already seen a big difference since I started losing weight and I can’t wait until it is a little smoother.  I do realize that I am going to have extra skin and I have already seen it start to form on the insides of my arms.  I’m ok with it.  I’m embracing it.
  • Push-up’s: 3 sets of 15. I have lost some muscle on this exercise and I am not where I was 3 weeks ago.  This is what I get for not doing any weights lately.
  • Step-ups: 3 sets of 12 (40#).  I felt strong on this workout.  They were challenging, but I wasn’t hating them like I was a few weeks ago.  I think my muscles were just happy to be being used.
  • Prone Jack Knife: 3 Sets of 15.  I haven’t worked my stomach muscles out in WEEKS!!!  The last stage of NROLFW doesn’t have any ab moves in the workouts so it has been a while since I have done any abs.  I am happy to report that I can still complete this move, and I’m feeling it already!
  • Planks: 3 60 second holds.  Loving it.  Me and my abs have a love/hate relationship right now.
  • Tricep pull down: 3 sets of 12 (50#).  This move is not in the program, but I added it in any way because I felt like my tri’s need some love.  I may add in a few of my own moves to each workout since the first phase is pretty short and sweet.

All-in-all, I had an awesome day at the gym and I think my muscles were ok with the 3 week rest that I gave it, but now they are ready to WORK again!

I forgot to mention that I did get on the scale today, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.  It just shows that things can sometimes seem worse than they really are. I am glad I didn’t derail myself to far off the mark!

Now I am off to go look at appliances (for the second time) for our new house!  I LOVE shopping for home stuff! Happy Monday/Presidents day!

 

4 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on February 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Energy, Motivation, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, Working Out

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on February 20, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/02/20/not-too-shabby/

Where’s the Motivation?

I’m sure I’m not the only one nodding their head when I say it is tough to get back into your healthy routine after being sick and having a lot of stress going on.  Where’s the motivation?  Here is my testimony on motivation:  It always comes back, you just have to be patient through the times that it’s not there.

Yesterday it wasn’t there.  We put an offer on a house, and the stress of it made me fidgety.  I kind of walked around the house like I didn’t know what to do with myself, and then ended up organizing all of my misc. 3 ring binders, sheet protectors, and tab dividers (I know I have mentioned before how much I LOVE office supplies).

So why didn’t I just go to the gym you ask?  I was lethargic from all of the horrible foods I was eating to get myself “feeling better”.  I wasn’t looking forward to having a sluggish workout that would be challenging at an easier level.

This week I need to focus on getting the checks and balances back where my body needs to be.  Dairy has been clear and present these last few days and my body is mad at me!

The thing is, I know that my life is going to get hectic this next couple of months so I really need to be on my game.  I need to keep up the momentum I have going.  I have had such a wonderful beginning to 2012, and I only want it to continue.  I am happy with the change of lifestyle that my diet has brought on, and it keeps me motivated to know that if I eat good I can sustain that level of energy I feel every morning when I jump out of bed.

I am blessed in the fact that the gym is not a hard thing for me to do everyday.  As a stay at home mom I have the time to go to the gym without a whole lot of distraction.  The area that is hard for me is eating.  I especially have a hard time when my life gets crazy and stressful.  I kind of shut down, and have no desire to cook healthy and opt for the convenience of fast food.

I will say that since the beginning of the year I have had my eyes opened, and I find it hard to justify convenient foods anymore.  They really aren’t convenient.  I have decided that journaling is more important than ever in these hectic times.  I’m taking a page out of Aimee and Marion’s book and making my food journaling public.

I’ll make sure to keep these post’s interesting and they won’t be everyday, just 2-3 posts a week including a What I ate Wednesday post.  Today I am notivated, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. I am arming myself with the tools to get through the un-motivated times, and with that comes success!

 

8 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on February 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Challenges, Diet, Distractions, Energy, Health, Motivation, Planning

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on February 7, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/02/07/wheres-the-motivation/

The Verdict.

Sweat it Out:
Weights 45 Minutes
Elliptical 45 Minutes

This last week was less than stellar eating wise.  I’m not going to re-cap what I ate because doing that will only make me feel frustrated and defeated, and that is not what I need at the beginning of a new week.  I am VERY motivated this week. I have tasted success and it feels so good that I have to keep going.

Yesterday was the LAST day of the 21-day PCRM Vegan Kick-start challenge!  I finished, and I only had a couple days where I fell off the wagon.  Since December 26th I have lost 13.2 pounds! I have had major energy, I’ve been sleeping better and my head feels clear.  It is hard for me to deny the way that I have felt these past 3 weeks.  So what have I decided to do?  Do I want to continue on with this lifestyle?  Do I want to keep putting my husband through plant based hell?

Yes.  Yes I do.  In some form.

I mentioned how baby steps are the only way to make an impact on my way of life.  A BIG baby step was participating in the challenge.  But I am not going to deny that it is going to take some time to perfect it.

My next step is to replace the word “Vegan” with “Plant Based Diet”.  I was not a fan of the looks I got when I told people that I was doing a Vegan cleanse.  To me a Vegan is someone who is 100% dedicated to that lifestyle.  They are interested in Animal Rights, and use NO animal products (i.e. leather and such), and also benefit from the healthiness that the lifestyle brings.  Don’t get me wrong, I love animal rights, and know the animal cruelty that comes along with the slaughter of animals for big food industries is wrong, and I have researched it in the past.  The other side is that I think God put certain animals on this earth for us to eat…….sparingly.  That means that if we are eating meat the way God intended, there wouldn’t be a high demand and they wouldn’t have to slaughter millions of animals so that I can eat meat or dairy products 3 times a day like most Americans.  (steps off soapbox)

No more dairy.  I noticed the biggest difference when I quit dairy & eggs.  I didn’t think I ate that much dairy until I started trying to eliminate it.  Come to find out I was eating multiple forms of dairy, multiple times a day.  Besides there are some great cheese substitutes.  I made a Mac & Cheeze recipe yesterday that was BETTER than the dairy form.  And it was packed with protein.

No more red meat.  I enjoy myself a steak every now and again, but I don’t want the fat and cholesterol that comes with it.

Meat 1-2 servings a week.  I love fish and I love chicken, so I have decided that on the weekends we will have a MAX of 2 servings of meat.  For now.  In order for my hub’s to be on board for the rest of the week, I have to compromise with meat.  I may end up just making it for him, and me not eating it.

Bottom line.  I will listen to my body and eat what it craves.  It does not crave dairy, but every now and again it wants meat.  If there must be a label put on the way I am eating it would be a Flexatarian.   

New Rules of Lifting for Women:

I am happy to report that I am 2 workouts away from completing the final phase of NROLFW.  This last phase has been a killer!  Every workout is circuit style and has higher reps and more sets.  I wish that I had documented the last half of the workouts better, because I don’t have anything to compare it to.

I will promise that this next go around (start again next week) will have better results and better documentation.  I can’t wait to see what this program can do for me once I pair it with my new way of eating.

Musings….

I’m thinking of doing bi-monthly or monthly weigh in’s instead of the weekly weigh in’s like I have been doing.  I find myself getting a little frustrated with the scale and I’m thinking that doing it on the day I do measurements would help me out. I though about this because I haven’t had a weight change this week, but my body feels different.  My hub’s and I even noticed that my face is looking thinner. Thoughts?

I will being doing progress photo’s and measurements next week, as I have decided that I am going to do one more meatless/dairy-less week and see where it gets me.

What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

 

 

6 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 23, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Diet, Energy, Health Benefits, Nutrition, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 23, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/23/the-verdict/

Addict No More, and a Weigh In!

Sweat it Out:
Weights 45 minutes
Elliptical 20 minutes

Before Christmas I started the Sweet Tooth Challenge where I made a list of the things I was not going to consume for the entire month of December.  I did very well and I am happy to say that I didn’t give in to temptation only but a couple of times.  What were the temptations?  Soda.

Last month I confessed my addiction to caffeine and vowed that I would get myself off of the stuff.  I did good with the soda, but then came the Excedrine.  I was just plain tired.  Everyday.  All day.  I wasn’t eating very good, I wasn’t counting calories, I was basically just going through the motions (which would explain why I didn’t lose any weight in December).  I had cut out the energy drinks, but after 2 weeks of sluggish workouts and just not feeling myself, I caved and took some Excedrine.  Then I started taking it every morning before the gym, and even on the days that I wasn’t working out.

Just to clarify Excedrine is a HEADACHE medicine and should not be consumed daily.  All I could think of in my head was that how am I going to live without caffeine?  I obviously couldn’t go more than a few days without it, and I was worried.  I am not a stressor.  I am an act on it or move on type of girl, and I don’t like to just stew about things.  If I have a problem, I find a solution.  If I can’t find a solution, then I give into whatever it is and let the problem solve itself.  It’s the manager in me.  But I could not for the life of me figure out the answer to my issue.

I started the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Challenge on January 2, and was still doing the Excedrine every morning.  I did this throughout the entire 1st week, and by Saturday I started to feel sick to my stomach and nervous, a feeling that the pills had never given me before.  On Sunday the 8th I decided that I wasn’t going to take the pills and let the consequences play out.

I was expecting a major headache in the afternoon, because I have detoxed off caffeine before and this is the cycle.  I get a headache it won’t go away for a few days and I feel sluggish so I find some way to get caffeine into my body stat.

A different thing happened on that Sunday, and I almost didn’t even notice it. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I remembered I hadn’t taken any pills and I didn’t have a headache, and most importantly, I didn’t feel sluggish or lazy all day.  Last week I had amazing workouts, and a TON of energy!  I have realized that eating vegan had rid me of my addiction to caffeine!!!

I sleep better at night, and I am a fan of not having to rely on something for energy everyday!  With all the great results I have been having, it’s hard to deny that my body is having a positive response to the vegan lifestyle.  I’m not making any major decisions about this diet until the finish next week where I will do a Pro & Con Post, but it is definitely looking more pro than con!

Weigh In

Starting Weight: 282.8 Pounds

Last Week’s Weight: 254.4 Pounds

This Week’s Weight: 251.6 Pounds

Total Week’s Loss: -2.8 Pounds

Over All Loss: -31.2 Pounds!

I am extremely happy with this weeks results, and I have heard that the longer you eat vegan the better you will feel!  I am actually happy that the loss wasn’t bigger because it just proves that I am losing fat and not muscle, plus it is easier to keep it off when you lose it slower.  I could not be happier about how this challenge is working out!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a very special guest post from one of my blogging buddies who recently turned to a Vegan lifestyle and the positive results that she has gotten from it!

Happy Monday!

3 Comments
by Shrinking Carrie on January 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 21-Day Vegan Kickstart, Caffeine, Diet, Energy, Health Benefits, PCRM, Sweet Tooth Challenge, Vegan

Posted by Shrinking Carrie on January 16, 2012

http://shrinkingcarrie.com/2012/01/16/addict-no-more-and-a-weigh-in/

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