Week Three on the Books...Going for Four!

**Wrote this last but didn't have time to add links so here goes...**

So last week I had a big challenge in my new Vegan lifestyle...a girls weekend!

Not so hard for those who's girlfriends are vegan too but in this case, mine are not. What's the easiest way to make it easy for me to not stress the small stuff? Plan ahead!

I spent the better part of Wednesday prepping and packing foods that would be easy to eat and grab in-between our outings aka shennigans. lol When I was getting ready in the hotel each morning I would snack on my tasty treats of a lentil loaf pie, lentil-pear salad, fresh berries and celery, gluten-free muffins and various others. This made for great success!! Before the girls would go out to eat, I stocked up on my own foods so I didn't have to find something that fit my restrictions at a restaurant. When I would choose to eat with them, I choose options like a fresh fruit bowl which was a very safe bet.

My mom is doing well in her commitment on the vegan thing. She remains committed and is open to adjustments in the eating as long as she doesn't have to eat any of the complex flavors I have been making (the bean salads, etc.) Her palate is so conditioned for the basic flavors that I am transferring her diet to all raw foods for the next two weeks. She hasn't quite gotten the point the resistance training is NECESSARY for her weight loss so her commitment to early am training with me sometimes gets brushed off in having to go to work early or getting home late at night from a movie...which of course, is not working and her clothes are not fitting as they should. BUT at least she's moving so that's a plus. I'd rather her exercise for health than for vanity at this point so we can focus on getting her cholesterol and blood pressure in check.

It's a process.

As I have now done a ton of research into the ratios of foods I need for training as a vegan I began my intense workouts again today with P90X2. It felt amazing to train with that energy and fire again. Though I must say, there is definitely something to be said about being a vegan and training this way. Can't quite put my finger on it but I do notice a difference in energy! In addition, my body is happy to have more carbs to play with :)

The standard rice, steamed veggies and bland chicken are NO MORE!!! Today my meal consisted of baked yam, lentil-pear salad, fresh spinach, a handful of roasted pistachios and apple juice. Now that's what I call flavor! Plus, I have lost another 2 pounds and am down to 142.5. I am in awe of this weight loss while eating SO many carbs.

Overall I'd say my cravings are still pretty much gone with the exception of something random like a really salty food. Today of all things I had a craving for something I haven't eaten in years and actually grosses me out to think about...fried bologna. The crispy texture on the edges and salty flavor is what my palate seems to want at this time so I will probably be able to find that in a meat substitute if it lasts for longer than today.

This is one journey I am enjoying :)

A New Chapter...

Starting over? Nah. Not really. It's more like weeding out the gunk of the last decade and doing a spiritual spring cleaning to live more efficiently and effectively!

In the last few weeks I have become one with my journey. Cliche...maybe. The truth is, until we are able to surrender to the path, we are not capable of seeing our true potential.

When I wrote my first book last month I conquered a challenge that had plagued me for over 8 years. Knowing full well that I was the only one standing in my way, I somehow took pride in the reality that I was simply "too busy" to sit down and complete it. I had started and stopped many times over but after three weeks of bombarding myself with webinars and teleseminars about how easy it really is I stopped making excuses and devoted four straight days to writing my book from start to finish.

Now, the crazy part of this story was when I trashed it. Literally. A rad business mentor of mine always said to me "write your first book for the trash" and so...I did. About a week later I sat down for two days straight and rewrote it! Amazing how things just flow when the mental gook is out of the way!!

The book writing and editing process was an excellent reminder of just how easy things can be when I set my mind to making them happen. Allowing the book to flow through me brought me back to the mindset of joy in taking giant leaps of faith. When I live my life by the seat of my pants, I always happily land on my feet.

This is why, in less than 24 hours, I was able to make a quick decision to move back to the LA area.

So now, after three weeks of crazy packing and driving back and forth between the desert and LA, I have settled for the summer in my old home town to take care of my family and build my business here.

Listening to the universal messages about my need to be here were a struggle for me as I kept trying to put it off until later this year. While I knew I wanted to be back near the ocean, I had no idea my my family would need me this much!!!

My life's journey has been filled with adventure, intrigue and a whole lot of love thus far. This new chapter in my life provides me with a renewed sense of my place in the family, my role as a daughter and best friend to my mom as well as a loving support system to my aging adopted-grandmother, who celebrated her 94th birthday last week. An overall experience that will afford me great opportunities for growth and spiritual expansion. 

Surrendering to this journey has brought me to a very big decision- carnivore or vegan? The reason: my mom's cholesterol, having always been high, was just measured at 398!! As she has always been one for the natural remedy I have committed to be her personal nutrition coach and trainer. Knowing that there are other factors at play here the only solution is to go 100% Vegan in her diet.

Since I haven't done the vegan thing in over 8 years I'm not sure how my body will respond and have no clue how my training will be affected BUT because of her health I am committed to this journey with her for a minimum of three months until she returns to the doctor for her next test. We are doing NO soy and gluten-free as well so I will be challenged to create new works of art in the kitchen :) If all goes well, I will look at continuing this way of life for the rest of my life!

Let's watch what happens!!! Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting my food experiments on my food blog at Body Everlasting Goes Vegan and will keep this blog here to share stories of my new journey and training as a Vegan.

Namaste.

Excuses...excuses...

When I first started working out I was so disgusted with my body that I feared going into the tiny fitness center at the complex I lived in because I was afraid someone would see me from their bedroom window and think I was some fat cow. Plus, when I would do heavy cardio my face would turn as red as a beet and feel like I had flames shooting from my eyes. Not one of my best looks but I wanted a 6-pack SO bad that I fought the fear and pushed myself. Making a vision board helped me to stay focused on my goal and reminded me each morning to not turn on the TV but to go straight to the gym. Before the vision board I had every excuse in the book to not workout but with clarity in my goal I came in alignment with what I wanted and let nothing stand in my way!
I hear many of these same excuses from people resisting physical activity so I have listed some excuses here with explanations, rebuttles and basic no-nonsense hits to tackle your most challenging objections!! What you read may be harsh but if you want results you have go to stop digging yourself into a hole...

-I DON'T LIKE TO EXERCISE- okay, really?!?! How do you know? Have you tried every type of physical activity there is? If not, then it's time you tried something new!
-I DON'T LIKE TO SWEAT- sweat is a necessary part of having a human body. For many of you women who experience hormonal sweating I can imagine this to be quite uncomfortable. But, sweat releases toxins from your body that are blocked up and with out sweating your body may very well be a toxic waste dump. Is that better than sweating? I think not!
-GYM'S ARE FOR BODYBUILDERS- in this day and age people of every age and fitness level go to gyms for every type of training from weights to Zumba to swimming. There is something for everyone! Plus, when you show up consistently you begin to make friends and feel like a welcome part of the community.
-I FEEL INTIMIDATED IN A GYM- when I first started at Gold's back in 2004 I had clients who would ask me to train them ONLY in the women's gym, secluded from the big "manly" machines. Fear of judgement, failure and rejection all played a huge part in this. Two things- A-tour a few gyms before settling in on one to know how the vibe will be B-if you can not find a gym in your area consider doing a workout program from home. If you are afraid of judgement, sweating off your make-up or just looking dorky in the gym, work out at home. Explore Home Workout Programs Here
-I FEAR INJURY- well, first of all let me say, if you fear something you will make it happen by law of attraction so wipe that thought from your brain. If you are concerned about whether or not you are performing an exercise correctly then maybe it's time you seek help from a personal trainer or fitness professional. Be sure to interview them on their techniques and be confident that they truly will focus on your form. I can't begin to tell you how many trainers I've seen who can not practically apply the knowledge they learned from the books that certified them, so do your research!
-BUT MY BODY HURTS AFTER I WORK OUT- this one is tricky but here goes...when you do any sort of resistance training or weight bearing exercise, microscopic tears happen in your muscle fibers which causes slight swelling in the muscle groups you worked. In addition, as a bi-product of energy production, lactic acid develops which is the burning sensation you feel toward the end of a set. Lactic acid remains in the muscle if your diet is poor and you do not consume enough alkaline foods to neutralize those acids. The recovery period following your workout should be a min of 48 hours until the next time you work the muscle again. To stave off any additional cramping you can do a short set of cardio such as walking on the treadmill immediately after your session to promote circulation and detoxification.
-BUT I DON'T HAVE THE TIME- I ask you this, how much time do you spend in front of the TV, spend in a social setting or searching random Epic Meal Time videos on YouTube? Do you TIVO your favorite shows, meet friends for happy hour during the week or just waste your time away stressing about how hard your life is? Well, I'm here to tell you that you will have the time if you make the time. You know as well as I do that when you want something bad enough, you will do anything to have it. How bad do you want better health, unlimited energy or 6-pack abs? You have to want it so bad that you can see it as if it's already happened. Miraculously you will start finding time in your day. Working out at home is a simple way to make sure you fit it in before work.
-BUT I CAN'T AFFORD IT- Walking is free. Push-ups, sit-ups and squats...all free too! There is a plethora of information online about how to work out with out equipment. Check out YouTube for videos on Calisthenics, yoga, tai chi, kickboxing and more. It's a wealth of information all free to you.
-I DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY- if this is the case, a few things could be happening. You may be a caffeine freak at which case your adrenals are shot and we need to get to work asap! You may be struggling with your nutrition and not feeding your body the fuel it needs to do all you ask of it. There may be some serious stress in your life that causes you to feel overwhelmed at which case your emotional energy is what's drained. You may try using physical activity to get out your aggression or stress. Getting to the gym or pushing play on the DVD player can be half the battle. I can speak from experience in saying that I may feel horrible going into a workout, but half way through, the adrenaline kicks in and I feel like I can conquer the world.
-BUT I'VE TRIED WORKING OUT AND IT DIDN'T WORK- then you didn't do it right or the balance between diet and exercise was not right. Truth is, when you do the research to find out what works right for your body type, personality and your level of time commitment the results will come. You can not follow along with the workout program of a genetically skinny person and expect the same results if you are trying lose weight. If you are not thinking of yourself as an individual with specific needs, if you started a new program and didn't give it 110%, if you didn't take the time to understand how your body works...then you are cheating yourself.
Here's the bottom line: Respect yourself enough to do some research on what you need.
...If you don't know enough and don't plan on being a personal trainer yourself, hire one, purchase a home workout program or check out YouTube.
It's much more simple than you are making it so get over it and start somewhere! For more information on how to get started contact me at alida@bodyeverlasting.com