WEEK 2 DAY 7!!! and ending thoughts

So sunday was my last day of my 2 week vegan challenge.  Not a lot happened sunday.  I decided since I had 2 rest days this week that I would workout too. so after work I did the cassey and val ab challenge a couple times, then I did the bootyful challenge, along with the bikini blaster arms!  I also did some HULA HOOPING!!!  I am quite good at hula hooping so I thought I would see if I could do it through a whole episode of Frazier, and I totally did!  22 minutes of nonstop hula hoop!! go me!  so that was kind of my last day!

Now here's some things I noticed.  I noticed that I was eating more carbs, I also noticed I was eating a lot more fruit, which can be very sugary.  I gained a couple of pounds, which I have heard can be due to my body getting used to the extra intake of soy. I'm not sure what to attribute it to, but I know that I didn't like it.  If the couple of pounds had been from muscle I wouldn't really mind but I don't think it was.  I was not feeling as good and clean and in shape and I had a hard time with it.  I did get to eat out a couple of times, thanks to Destihl for making me a dish and i ate steamed veggies and a portabello cap at the stadium last week.  but obviously my options were even more limited than when I normally eat out and try to be healthy.  I'm glad that I went through this experience because it gave me a lot of insight and definitely way more respect(i already had a lot but dang!) for those of you who are vegan 24/7/365!  It takes a lot of time to prep nice meals and lots of planning ahead and damn if i didn't spend a shit ton of money(probably because it is a small area and so some items are either unavailable or hella expensive) not to mention healthy food seems to cost more.  I know some of you will argue with me about that, but let's be honest here, when a double cheeseburger is a dollar and a salad is $6, there's not much arguing there.  grocery stores aren't much better.  fresh fruit and produce are way more expensive than a can!  not that I want anything from a can, fruit and produce are most always bought fresh here : )  But as for the time issue.  I spent a lot of time up later than I wanted trying to prepare my meals for the next day, and by the second week I was very tired of spending so much time doing that!  I work 2 jobs and have a family with a 5 year old that has his own schedule so it's very hard to give up that extra time I had to take for my meal prep.  I don't really know what else to say other than props to you all who do this as a lifestyle, but for me, it's not a commitment I'm ready to make right now and I didn't feel any different than when I was just eating clean.  So it's over and I'm so happy to get back to my regular meals!  Thanks to everyone who read my updates, makes me feel better to know I'm not just talking to myself ; P  Also side note I found hilarious, I had anywhere from 4-7 views per post, except for the post that talked about body waxing...that post had 33 views!! lmao...sorry i found that interesting!!!  So thank you again for coming on this journey with me!!!!

WEEK 2 DAY 5 & 6

Friday and Saturday! aaah the weekend again..the time to dread all of the eating decisions you make or don't make and the most likely time to give in to temptation!  It was a hard weekend, very busy, lots of things to do and get done, less time to exercise and make food! 

Friday I was feeling a bit sluggish because it was my second day of not working out, due to time and the fact that my laptop was still "in surgery"  Never you fear, my laptop is fixed now, YAY!!!  Friday I started off my day with some vegan french toast and strawberries

For my midmorning snack I had some almonds and soy yogurt

For lunch I had a baby spinach salad with strawberries and sunflower seeds and for my midafternoon snack I had a bowl of granola with some unsweetened almond milk.  For dinner, we went out as a family to Destihl.  This is a cool place to go, it's a restaurant but also a brewery!  very neat, and they have plenty of options that change when it comes to beer and the best part?  They have different sizes!! so you can try a flavor or if you want a little something but don't want the calories of a full 12 ounces, they have 4 oz cups!!!
We went here because I have been here with a couple of my vegan friends and i remember them having a few options along with something the chef whipped up special.  Now I was really worried when I asked what their vegan options were and they said, the veggie burger without the bun and that's it.  Our waiter asked the manager who, was kind of rude.  he came over and said that they change chefs a lot and not every chef is equip with the knowledge of how to make a dish like that(which I told him I completely understand) along with the fact that they can't just whip up a dish special for one person.  Now I had told the waiter, and I told the manager that I realized that and didn't want to cause any inconvenience I just remembered how accommodating the menu was to my vegan friends on my last visit and that's why we chose to go there.  The waiter talked to the chef who had no problem making me something(yay!)  I guess it was just the tone the manager had with me, as if he wished to knock me down a peg or two for thinking I was special.  I was more than gracious and thankful to the waiter and told him to pass that along the the chef, I don't feel like I asked for special treatment, the waiter suggested he ask the chef and I said that would be great if he didn't mind.  anyway, here is the tasty dinner I had!













Here's a picture of my little handsome man at our family dinner.  he got a huge big pizza to himself and then he got a rootbeer float for dessert!!! 

we had a nice time friday evening!!  Now onto saturday.....all I can really tell you is that it was a crazy busy day!! i didn't take any food pictures, but i did get my laptop back later friday evening so I got a goooooood bikini blaster-a-thon workout in!  I was sweating like a prostitute at sunday service!!! woo! but I felt great and back on schedule again!  That's really about all for saturday.  we went to see one of our favorite local bands that evening and had a blast!  i think that's all for those days!! so tomorrow will be my last post and I will talk about finishing up my challenge and my thoughts on the whole thing : )

WEEK 2 DAY 3 & 4

I apologize that I haven't updated for the last couple of days, but my computer has been on the fritz : /  in fact, I may be having to get a new computer....boo!  even little crappy ones are expensive!!  So no pictures of these days, they have been crazy.  I've worked a ton this week and am pretty much spent.  In fact yesterday was so crazy that I barely ate all day and by dinner I was pretty much on the verge of scrapping the vegan and just eating a damn pizza!  But I pulled myself out of it and reminded myself that I only had a few days left of the challenge and I can go back to my chicken and whatnot.  Since my computer is crapped out, I didn't get to do my bikini blaster day : (  in fact I didn't workout at all yesterday, which has put me in a foul mood!  So that's pretty much been my last 2 days.  Trying not to get discouraged and keep myself motivated.  If it wasn't for my stinking computer everything would be going smoothly!  so fingers crossed for a miracle!

WEEK 2 DAY 2 and a look at body waxing ; )

And what a day it was!  So busy!  Got up and took connor to the sitter, went to effingham to see my girl Elaine.  got my monthly pedicure and finally broke down and got the torture of a brazilian over with.  I've been doing my own bikini for a while, but damn if I haven't worked hard to look good in a bikini this year to let it be ruined by body hair.  I do bikini and brazilian waxing so I know what I'm in for....basically.  btw, because everyone asks me...no I don't mind doing these waxes.  in fact, if I could do bikini waxes all day, I would totally go for it.  They take like 5-10 minutes and are super easy to do.  brazilians take longer and aren't my favorite, but still a good service to offer. but back to the story...So the only person I trust to be doing that would be Elaine.  Here's a pic of us in cosmetology school(seems like forever ago...and man do I miss my blonde hair!)

haha, I just realized i have that exact shirt on right now.  I'm awesome : P  So anyway, yea I will definitely keep up with it because it will be too uncomfortable to have to start over, but I was not sore or anything, which surprised me! Maybe it was all the tylenol I was taking today but the bits of pain during the process seemed to be the only pain.  So yea, hope you were ready for that personal look into my life ; )  anyway, basically today was crazy busy, for some reason youtube wasn't playing sound earlier and so I didn't get my workout in.  I looked at some houses with a realtor then came home, made my food for tonight and decided that I am so worn down I needed a nap....so i laid down for 30 minutes....didn't help much.  I was NOT feeling well and definitely not wanting to go to work tonight.  It is what I like to call my "fat week"  which is where i give in to my cravings of salt or chocolate here and there because well...I just keep hoping it will please my uterus into giving me a break. 

I was so just blah today that there are no pictures of food, but I can give you a rundown.  I had overnight oats for breakfast. Strawberries and almonds for a snack.  tvp, mushrooms, and sweet potato for lunch(which i only ate a little of and then ate a cookie....or 3*hangs head in shame*).  for afternoon snack I had asparagus soup, which was not as good as the last time I made it.  I think it needs more vegetable stock...I was just out of it today and not feeling like cooking at all so who knows what I did differently.  and I had a falafle salad with baby spinach, onion, and grape tomatoes.  now let me just tell you that apparently falafels are not settling well with me.  I had this problem saturday but wasn't sure what it was, but since that was my last meal today, it helped me pinpoint it.  my stomach just doesn't like them I guess : ( which stinks because they are good.   Now , tired from work and just emotional and irritated, I kicked my ass into gear and worked out!! yay me!!!! like 9:45 at night, and I skipped my bikini blaster 1 workout, but I got in the bootyful challenge, some abs, obliques, and muffintops, and of course my stretching.  it wasn't a full hour, but YAY ME for trying!!!  I'm so proud that even that late and after such a long day and being worn out and not feeling well that something inside me just took over and made me do it!!!  maybe it was my ass reminding me of the cookies but it's done, and so is my update for the day.  I have a long day again tomorrow, followed by a long rest of the week so I'm going to have some sleepytime tea followed by how i met your mother and then bed!!! goodnight all!

WEEK 2 DAY 1 and will I continue?!?!?!

Breakfast this morning was a little unclear on the meal plan, I wasn't sure exactly if anything was mixed together or not, it was just alist of ingredients(oats, protein powder, psyhllium husk, banana, strawberries).  so I mixed the oats, powder, husk and water and then added in sliced banana and strawberries. not too shabby.  For my morning snack I had protein pancakes with some peanut butter(still had trouble getting these to cook normally, they just want to stick and be weird.

I did a great total body workout today, did most of the bikini blasters and some other stuff.  my calves are still sore from leg day on saturday but I pushed through.  for lunch I had edemame and quinoa salad.  Then I took my son to his swim lesson at the Y and got in some weights and cardio before going to work.  I had carrots and mini peppers with hummus for a snack.  For dinner I had smoked apple and sage grain sausages with sweet potato and apple mash. 

got my workout calendar from the blogilates newsletter today. woot woot! so now I don't have to make up my own.  I'll give it a go and see how I like it! 

So for the past couple of days I haven't really felt great.  I've felt bloated, I've gained a couple pounds, and was just feeling very unsure of how well this vegan diet was for me.  Well I dont really know what was going on, maybe just having rough days, but I was feeling great today.  I got 2 good workouts in and maybe that's part of the difference.  So for now, I will continue on with the challenge.  Hopefully the past couple days were a fluke and the rest of this week will be just as great as today!  So off to bed I go!!!  goodnight all!

WEEK 1 DAY 7 and reflecting on week 1.

So final day of week 1!  Sunday my husband and I usually like to go out to breakfast at our regular spot, but not this week(or next).  Little sad, but I'll survive!  So I'll go through my day and then I'm going to reflect a little on this week and how I'm feeling. For breakfast I had vegan french toast

Then we went out to see my mom and stepdad and help them unload some stuff into the house they are renting while their new home is being rennovated and added onto.  for my midmorning snack I had half a grapefruit and some almonds.  For lunch I had some asparagus and tofu stir fry and a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

for my snack I had an apple and some almonds and for dinner we fired up the grill and I had some vegan grain smoked apple sage sausage with some mustard and baby spinach, some bell peppers, and strawberries.  delicious!!















So week 1 is over, how am i feeling?  well, i shouldn't say "fatter" but that seems to be the word I'm feeling right now.  I have gained a few pounds this week and I'm feeling like my belly is distented and not nice and tight or toned.  I'm not really getting it...maybe it's all the fruit?  or you know, my best guess is all the carbs!  holy cow it seems like there's carbs in everything that I eat when there is no meat, dairy, or eggs in a diet.  I know that I am by no means round, but that's what I'm feeling like right now, especially in the mid section : (  I don't feel like this diet has been very clean.  I've been following most everything on the meal plan aside from a few times where I makeshifted a meal, but I just feel bogged down and heavy.  i do enjoy the foods and I'm sure that some of the recipes will continue to get thrown into my diet now and again, but I just don't like the way I'm feeling right now.  I don't feel healthy and I don't feel fit.  I'm pretty sure that a few of the layers of fat I ate so clean to get rid of are now back on.  I am going to eat through tomorrow, but if I am still feeling this way then I'm not sure if I will continue onto finish the 2 weeks.  When I wasn't restricting whole food groups and just eating clean, I felt like I was getting somewhere, i felt like everything was working together and i felt good about it.  This is a very sad realization because I was so excited thinking that this would be a great opportunity and challenge for me but sometimes it just isn't that way I guess. 

WEEK 1 DAY 6

Alright so sorry I'm not getting this posted until now but saturdays are usually busy : ) So I started off with the vegan green monster smoothie oats.....it's like the overnight oats I had earlier this week.  It wasn't too bad but man I had a huge problem with the mashed banana.  It isn't pleasant but it doesn't usually bother me as badly as it did yesterday. It was just too slimy and was making me gag. 

For my morning snack I had peach soy yogurt..mmmm!

















For my lunch I had a baby spinach, falafel, and hummus salad.  I ate it on the way to my son's tball game and so I was in a huge hurry.  I think it tasted ok, lol.  I ate it pretty quickly in the car.

So hip hip hooray for tball!  It was a little cool out yesterday, but the kids still had fun.  here's a couple of pictures of my little monkey on the field and then us after the game

After the tball game I did some awesome leg work!  so awesome that by the end of it only stopped because my legs wouldn't support me anymore lol.  i was in the middle of my lunges when my legs gave out and I fell over!  Now that's a good workout!!! I'm not extremely sore today but i know I had a good workout.  so after my workout(and a shower) I had my afternoon snack of peanut butter toast(I was out of bananas so I couldn't put any on my toast, boo)

so my girls at the salon and I went to dinner and a movie last night(chernobyl diaries is awful, dont go see it! lol)  we had dinner and so I had a portabello burger with no bun and some steamed veggies.  It's slim pickin's for sure.  I was still hungry and both of my coworkers got amazing looking desserts, but I resisted don't worry! 

  

so busy day, but still good!