Death of The Vegan Diet, Lifting, and Loving Your Body.

I recently checked out this book from the library.


And by recently, I mean 2 days ago. Most of you know I'm training for a half-marathon that will take place October 27th. What most of you probably don't know is that I've been out of running for this week, and I was struggling with running a few weeks prior to my ER visit. I've been having serious abdominal pain concurrent with frightening neck pain, both on my left side. I was told to follow up with a Sports Medicine doctor, which quite frankly made me feel athletic despite the fact I couldn't run more than a half a mile, or a mile if I'm pushing it, without doubling over in pain. My goals for the half quickly shifted from running the whole time, with a quick-ish pace to simply running the whole time, to FINISHING. I was disappointed. Really disappointed. My dad is coming out to run the race with me, and I'm really excited about that. Running has brought us a better connection and strengthened our relationship.

Back to the book. I love lifting. My training program looked something like this:

Monday: Medium run, Abs, Glutes.
Tuesday: Light run, Arms
Wednesday: Medium run, Abs, Glutes
Thursday: No run, Legs, Back
Friday: Cross train (time increases each week.), Abs, Glutes
Saturday: Long run
Sunday: Off

Needless to say, I was killing myself in the gym. And I loved it. It was my "me time", and I loved seeing my body change. I got to my smallest weight and size EVER. I could honestly say I liked how my body looked. However, with the vegan diet, I was hardly getting enough protein, and not nearly as many calories as I needed. I think it really added to my muscle damage.

Last night as I was reading my new book, I came across the anatomy chapters. (Ok, I've never actually taken an anatomy class so I was FASCINATED!!!) I learned the different directions of muscles, how they're connected, and the best part: I learned why my lower abdominal muscles and my neck have been giving me so much grief!!

I'm going to try to start running again this week, after having a week and a half off the vegan experiment and a week off of running, I'm feeling better. The first couple weeks of the diet, I was feeling great. I loved it. After that I noticed how exhausted I was 24/7. I was grouchy most of the time (as Ross will attest, I'm sure), and I had no idea the damage I was doing to my body. Maybe a vegan diet would be great for a 7-10 day cleanse, But I definitely won't be trying that ever again.

While we were at the library, I wanted to find a basic book on nutrition, not a diet book, or a cleanse book, just old school nutrition. I guess I was looking for something like a textbook. I was horrified and appalled at how many books I found about diets to be skinny I found. There must have been over a hundred different diet ideas.

I've always had a problem with body image, and obviously it's an even bigger problem in America. I developed a routine where I would wake up in the morning, go to the bathroom, undress, and weigh myself. Every morning. Sometimes Claire would run in and laugh and proceed to step on the scale right after me. She just likes the flashing lights, but I realized I didn't want her ever to think about her body the way I did mine. About a month or two ago, I stopped weighing myself in front of Claire. And recently I've stopped weighing myself so often, and I'm starting to not care at all what that number reads. Claire still likes to play with the scale occasionally when she goes into our bathroom, but she just pushes the button, watches it flash a few times until it reads "E".

After we got married, Ross and I were talking about bodies. (Remember this post?) He was explaining why he loved to exercise. It wasn't for the outward appearance at all. It was simply because our bodies are a gift from God. So why wouldn't we want to give our bodies the best care and get them in the best shape that we could? Why wouldn't we take extra care of that gift? And I love that. That's how I want to teach my children. I don't want to teach them that they need to be skinny to be beautiful, or that there is anything wrong with their bodies. I just want them to know that our body is a gift from Heavenly Father and we should take care of that gift because bodies are important.

I just remembered that conversation yesterday and got to reflecting on that. Of course I want to look good, who doesn't? But I think more importantly, I want to take care of my body. I want to fuel it correctly, and get it in the best shape that I can. So here's my new plan:

Hopefully running tonight goes well and I can get back on track. If not, hopefully it'll just be a couple more days of eating what I need to and recovering. I'll be lifting 3 days a week, still running 4 days a week, eating a lot more calories, and taking more time to rest and recover. Hopefully it'll go well and I'll be back to running in no time.

Madison, Wisconsin.

I actually have a lot to blog about and catch up on, but I'll start with the most exciting bit of news we received yesterday.

Ladies and Gents, we will be moving to Madison, WI at the end of the year!


About a week and a half ago, Ross had a fly-out interview with Epic. (pictures found here)It's a really cool campus, and each building has a theme. Ross' favorite is the moat and drawbridge one. I'm excited for Ross to start so I can check out the campus!

Ross got the call yesterday afternoon. I went to go eavesdrop and when I asked Ross if it was good or bad news, he gave me a thumbs up. I wanted to run around screaming and tell everyone I knew, but Ross was still on the phone and I wanted him to share the news first.

When Ross got off the phone I went to give him a big hug and ended up passing out for a second. (I had donated blood only an hour earlier.) Everyone laughed like crazy, it was super funny. I guess it looked like I fainted on purpose, but I remember standing up, feeling dizzy, and then I was on the floor.

Anyway, so Ross will begin the first Monday of January doing internal finance. I've been looking at homes and apartments to rent and it's just been fun and exciting. We've been looking at what there is to do in that area. I love that it is right on the lakes. That'll be so fun with the girls in the summer! The next thing to figure out is when we want all of our stuff moved, how to do Christmas in Oregon with our families, and where to live! It's just been really fun and exciting.

Last night we celebrated by going to the mall and getting Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and then to the game store to get one of our favorites, Kill Doctor Lucky. We have a couple of Ross' siblings staying with us and we all stayed up late having a pizza/game night. Not a fancy way to celebrate, but it was perfectly laid back and so much fun!

Like I said, I have about a thousand things to blog about, and I'll have to catch up later!

August.

It's only the beginning of August, and it's been a BUSY month so far. Ross was out of town for a couple days last week. Thanksgiving Point started the 2 buck Tuesdays deal, which we LOVE. So I took the girls to the farm last Tuesday. I was thinking Claire would love the animals, and being able to pet and feed them. However, right when we got outside, a big cow took to Claire immediately. He came over right up to her and kept mooing at her. We'll just say it terrified Claire and she lost all interest in seeing more animals. I still wanted to look, so I ended up carrying both girls walking around to see all of the animals. They had free tractor rides and horse drawn rides. Those ended up being her favorite. I can't even count how many times we went on the rides, but Claire loved it. All in all it was a good day.



Ross' mom and brother Wesley arrived Tuesday night, and Ross returned LATE Tuesday night. Or maybe I should say Weds morning. I picked him up, and we didn't get home until 4 AM. It was pretty brutal. Thursday morning Ross' Dad and two sisters arrived and the graduation festivities began! We had a barbecue outside our house with lots of cousins, and family. There was a lot of great food, and we had fun visiting. It made it so much more real and we're excited for December when Ross actually graduates.





Ross' youngest brother will be staying with us for a couple weeks, and his oldest sister will be attending BYU in the fall, so she'll be staying with us as well! (Until move in day) It's a party at the Loveland's and Claire's loving it! We are too. It'll be a fun way to end summer.

Veganism Observations.

I guess I'm about halfway through my *mostly* vegan experiment. I definitely haven't been a gung ho vegan, especially with family visiting, but I've noticed some pretty drastic differences.

Immediately after Aoife was born, I got a gym membership. Ross and I got to talking and I told him my big goal (the one I thought would be unattainable) is to weigh 125. My more reasonable goal was 130. I am now just 2 pounds away from my BIG goal. (While I'm not posting my actual weight, I'm pretty sure y'all can do the math.)

My main purpose for doing this experiment wasn't for the scale numbers, but let me tell you, it's a big perk. There are visible differences in my body, and I'm starting to see the potential of what my body can do. And I like it. NOTE: I am training for a half marathon, and I'm sure the running and strength training are contributing factors.

I was on sleep aid, anxiety, and depression prescriptions. (Oh, the unspoken joys of motherhood.) I still take the one for depression, but I rarely take the other two. I've been falling asleep faster, sleeping better, and all around feeling a lot better. Frustrated kids don't stress me out nearly as much as before and I'm really enjoying being a mom. I'm loving singing songs over and over again to Claire and playing with these two. We've been exploring and having a blast together. My house is cleaner than usual, and with new recipes to try, I'm ENJOYING cooking for my family. It's no longer something I view as "my job", but a new found hobby.

Yesterday, I ventured off to Good Earth Natural Foods. It's a small store, but I was like a kid in a candy shop. They had vegan, whole wheat, whole grain, gluten free, super healthy cake mixes, cereals, amazingly fresh produce, and even a bulk section! As small as the store is, I could have spent all day in there. I'm excited to shop there more and find new things to try. They even had a beauty section. (It looked like fun, but I was on a mission to get coconut oil to bake cookies.)

I'm about halfway through, and I'm finding a mostly plant based diet helps me feel better. I'm not eating nearly as often as I was before, but I still pig out! I feel fuller longer, and have more energy than before. I honestly think this is a lifestyle I want to adopt beyond the 30 days. Again, not completely vegan, but mostly plant based. I'd be ok with incorporating meat into my diet, but sparingly. It's been fun discovering new recipes that don't leave me wanting. I don't feel like I'm depriving myself in any way. (Though I did have a delicious ice cream sandwich last night.) WE'll see if I still feel this way in a couple weeks!

Pinterest.

Pinterest has ruined me. I already had a deep love for a clean organized home, but after discovering Pinterest, I've had to make our home more clean, crafty, creative, organized, and full of memories.

Back in July I made the note card calendar, where each day you write something that happened that day and you reuse it each year and add to it. I loved that idea. I'm excited for 5, 10, 20 years from now where we'll have a history of our family happenings. Imagine how long it'll be when Ross and I die! (Not to be depressing, but I think it'd be neat to find of my grandparents, or parents.)

I added some shelves above the laundry area, and above the toilet in the front bathroom. Yes, we have a linen closet, but not everything would fit, and Claire loves to open the door and pull it out. Now I'm able to stack our sheets and towels where Claire can't wreck havoc, and our linen closet it clean and organized and holds all of our extra things.

I'm really bad at baby books. I didn't even buy one for Aoife. It's been so hard to keep up with Claire's. (Do not ask what a stay at home mom does.) So instead (And I'm so proud to say this is my own idea and not something I saw on Pnterest) I got the girls some really pretty floral binders and filled them with page protectors, and photo sheets. Each month on the day they were born, I write them a letter. Right now they're so young and they change so quickly, I figured I could cover all the changes they've gone through each month and funny stories I'd like to remember. I can also put important papers or certificates in there as well as pictures as they grow.

All in all, I've turned into a cleaning psycho, constantly thinking of how I could redecorate, organize, or little crafts I can do. Bless your heart, Pinterest. Bless your heart.

Day 2 Observations.

It's only the second day of my plant-based diet, and I'm already noticing differences. Last night we had veggie enchiladas. The veggie mixture was delicious, and actually reminded me a little bit of my absolute favorite fajita burritos from Chipotle. The only problem we ran across was the enchilada sauce. While the cookbook I'm using has an enchilada sauce, I chose to make it easy and use a can. (Which was an option given in the book, not cheating!) The sauce was SPICY!!! So so so spicy! Next time I'll use the brand I know and trust and I think it'll actually be a really good dish.

Yesterday we went grocery shopping. Ross was getting food he wanted for his lunches, and down the snack aisle, I found a few snacks that I could eat, and they're super tasty as well!

Today I decided to try a vegan chocolate chip cookie. It was FAB and tasted like a normal sugar cookie. The difference is, this one is sugar free, non processed, healthy(er), and super filling so I don't feel the need to binge.



Chocolate chip Cookies:

2 1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour (I got from Winco)
1/2 T baking soda (oops, just realized i only used 1/2 t)
1 t fine sea salt (got from Winco as well.)
1 1/2 C evaporated cane sugar (used a sweetener instead)
1 1/4 C refined coconut oil (Used canola, though I'm sure olive would work fine, too)
1/4 C ice water
1 T molasses (I used mild flavor molasses. I haven't ever cooked with molasses before and wanted to make sure it wouldn't be nasty.)
1/2 T pure vanilla extract
10-12 oz vegan chocolate chips (Used Baker's chocolate for baking and chopped up 6 of the packets, so you'll only need 1 box)
1 C chopped walnuts (optional) (didin't use them, but I'll bet it'd be super tasty.

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with parchment. (I used foil)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In mixer, combine sugar and oil until creamy. (About 3 min)
Add the water, molasses, and vanila until well combined. With the mixre, add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 additions, mixung until each addition is almost fully incorporated. (I didn't do the flour mixture, I just dumped those 3 things in and mixed it.)
Add the chocolate chips and walnuts, mixing until just combined.

Arrange 2-T sixed balls on prepared backing sheets. (I just grabbed some dough and rolled it into a ball)

Bake for 13-15 minutes until the edges are slightly browned, and the centers are set. Thoroughly cool on a cooling rack. (Cooling is IMPORTANT!! I don't think the cookies stay together really well until they're cooled.)


There's the recipe if you want to try. Anyway, I've noticed a difference already, just on day 2. During my meals, I eat a lot. The meals are low calorie and contain absolutely no processed foods, so I can eat to my heart's content guilt-free. And i actually stay full for longer. I don't feel the need or want to snack all day. I eat until I'm satisfied, and am pretty much full until the next meal rolls around. (Though I do have a couple snacks a day. One between breakfast and lunch, and the other between lunch and dinner.)

Last night I had a kick butt workout. And I killed it. I felt great. I'm not sure if it was the veggie enchiladas, or me wanting to push myself harder after a terrible workout the night before. Either way, it was awesome. I did my run and lifted weights alongside the boy's club and felt great. My shirt was a few shades darker when I left the gym.

I even fell asleep quicker than I do most nights. Since putting Aoife on REAL gripe water, she's sleeping better at night, and I'm getting more good sleep in, though I still use a prescribed sleep aid to help with the sleeplessness. Around 6:30, Claire was awake, and he said he'd take the baby, too, so I could sleep a while longer if I let him run tonight. DUH! Yes I'll allow you to run!

After breakfast this morning, I wasn't dragging or hating the fact that the sun was up. I was energized and ready to be productive. I feel like I'm enjoying my two sweet babes more, getting more done, and just all around I'm feeling good. Right now I think I could adopt a mostly vegan life style. It's so much easier than I thought it would be and I'm loving all of the fresh foods, as well as the desserts I can stuff my face with without feeling guilty.