Day 21-26: Time flies when you're crazy!

Day 21:  03-22-2013
Day 22:  03-23-2013
Day 23:  03-24-2013
Day 24:  03-25-2013
Day 25:  03-26-2013
Day 26:  03-27-2013





Life has been a whirlwind of stress and crazy.  I cannot believe that I have not posted in the last 6 days.  More important, though, is the fact that I have NOT resorted to stress eating.  I blame the running.  The running has kept my focus well away from the stress and the food.  That and my new found aversion to all things animal hasn't hurt.  Sometimes just finding the right place to focus your energies can quite literally mean the difference between life and death.  Let's face it, the typical american is slowly eating themselves to death on a daily basis.  It's amazing how even switching one meal a day to plant based fair can change your outlook and stress levels.  There is something in getting enough nutrients in your body that improves your well being.

On a side not, I have discovered how easy it is to claim the "vegan" lifestyle and still eat like crap.  I have been surprised how many bits of junk food out there don't contain animal products.   However, those other foods are highly processed extractions that don't provide any nutritional benefit.  Nutrient density is the key.  That is why when I tell others about my eating habits, I simply state that I enjoy plant based whole foods.  Whole being the key word. I will expound when queried, otherwise I don't say much else about it.  I don't want to be that "crazy hippie vegan".  I live a life filled with labels.  I work with kids who have more labels than I have years experience.  Labels are not always the answer.  Sometimes they make the problems worse.       

Anyways, I think that so much of our way of life in the west is actually based around boredom.  Sure, we call it leisure time, but too much of that and we don't know what to do.  So we look for ways to fulfill that need and eating gives us something to do.  I know I do it all the time.  Its normal for me to be sitting down to watch a movie and have a "need" for something to munch on.  Sometimes veggies fill that need, sometimes they don't.  I am constantly in search of healthy alternatives to help me break the cycle.  For example, I have found a recipe for roasted chickpeas that is delightful and super healthy.

I am going to go back to my busy life now.  I think it helps the more I post, but sometimes I just don't have much to say.  I imagine I should focus on posting every other day or something.  More as the thoughts come to me.

My overall update will be coming on day 30.  I will post a picture of me when I started side by side in the same clothing 30 days later.  I will also post an official weight change.  I am already starting to see a difference in my physical, emotional, and intellectual self.  I want to keep this going.


Stats for Days 21-22:

Foods:
Varied plant based meals including tons of complex carbs, plant proteins in every form, whole grains, and fruits/veggies across the color spectrum.

Movement:
Lots of intervals (love'm) and a few days on the elliptical (weather/time).

Day 19-20: Be water, my friend!

Day 19:  03-20-2013
Day 20:  03-21-2013

Looks like another multi-post.  Earlier this week it was a three-for, tonight it is just a two-for.  This whole spring break business has got my schedule all out of whack.  Just as I was getting into a routine with my workouts and my food intake, this crazy week long "recess" goes and messes everything up.  And that's when it occurred to me.  Life is not a serious of schedules and routines.  Sure they are nice and they help us stay focused and get things done and such.  But it's the fact that life happens regardless of our schedules and plans that has messed me up in the past.  Life is what happens while stressing about schedules and routines.

The realization that in any given situation I am the only one I can change or control.  It is up to me to find or make the time to complete the things I need done for my family, my job, my health, etc.  This epiphany has been huge this week.  Maybe even bigger than the decision to become a vegan.  An even bigger realization is that there is no way I can do this alone.  This is only possible with the support of the people most closely effected by routines and there subsequent changes:  my family.   I am spoiled with a wife who has supported me throughout this process, kids who think its pretty cool, and extended family that hasn't called my crazy yet (this last one is huge).  

Mostly though, it has been my wife and her flexibility that has carried me this far.  She has muscled through my declaration of veganism with grace and poise.  You see, she is a fierce carnivore.  This has been more difficult than I could imagine.  More for her and my kids than for me.  Almost over night, she had to become the primary chef for dinners in the house.  That has been tough considering that she has also been sick this week. A few nights my family has ended up eating my vegan fair, which surprisingly hasn't gone terribly wrong with my kids.  Even under the weather, she has found a way to let me get out and move.  She has been amazing.

Flexibility is key.  Flexibility from and with my family.  Flexibility with my workout times.  Flexibility will make or break anyone trying to do anything.  If you are too flexible, you tie yourself into a metaphorical knot.  If you are constantly pushing aside your workouts or food requirements you will get nowhere fast.  If you become the "yes" man, you never get your own needs met.  It's one of the many ways we sabotage ourselves and our health.  On the flipside, if you become too rigid then end up alienating those around to the point where you just break.  And again, you end up sabotaging yourself and your health.  Being too rigid increases the stress load exponentially.  And when stressed, others feel it.  Flexibility is key.  Bend but do not break.  I leave tonight pondering the depths in this quote...

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.
                                                                                                                   Bruce Lee 

In other news.  Covert flexibility is required with kids.  Turns out I just have to be clever if I want the kids to eat beans.  Like blending chickpeas into the tomato sauce (which made for a delightfully creamy "spaghetti" sauce).  I figured out that chickpeas also blend really well into garlic herb mashed potatoes.  I don't think they've realized that they have inadvertently eaten vegan meals for the last three nights.


Day 19 Stats:

Food:
Breakfast:  Smoothie (various fruits, flax, spinach, cinnamon, and a water base)
Lunch:  Broccoli Potato Soup
Dinner:  Multicolored Salad with a homemade dijon dressing
Snack:  An entire bag of corn chips (oops)

Movement:
Workout: Rest day



Day 20 Stats:

Food:
Breakfast:  Smoothie (various fruits, flax, spinach, cinnamon, and a water base)
Lunch:  Broccoli Potato Soup and Avacado Chickpea Dip with tortilla chips
Dinner:  Multicolored Salad with a homemade dijon dressing
Snack:  Lightly salted rice cake with mustard (oddly tasty)

Movement:
Workouit: Run
Type: Intervals for 1 mile, constant for 2 miles.
Time:  32:10
Distance: 3.11 miles

Day 16-18: Coming Out of the Closet...

Day 16: 03-17-2013
Day 17: 03-18-2013
Day 18: 03-19-2013

Ladies and Gentleman...

I



AM




VEGAN!




I have not come to this decision lightly, although I have gotten here quickly.  It is in, in fact, the reason I have not posted for 3 days.  I have been thinking, wondering, considering.   Many people know that I have been flirting with vegetarianism for some time, going so far as to label myself a flexitarian.  For those of you who don't know, I will define:

• Vegetarian:  someone who eats plant based food AND animal byproducts, but not the animal itself.  Usually for health reasons.

• Flexitarian:  Primarily a vegetarian who is flexible when the need arrives.  They understand that sometimes a meat dish is the only option.  Also usually for health reasons.

• Vegan:  Someone who ONLY eats plant based foods AND does not purchase or support any animal products including clothing.  This is usually for a combination of health and ethical reasons.

I know many of my friends are going to question me on this.  Especially when you consider my allergy to all things labeled as tree nuts (a staple in most vegan diets).   I know I am going to get the protein argument thrown at me.  I am still researching this, but preliminary research implies that our american dependence on "protein" is not necessarily the way it is supposed to be.  But that will be a topic for another post as I learn and grow through this process.  I know the burning question will be why?  Why at 35 am I making this decision?  How did I get to this conclusion?

10 minutes.  Ten minutes is all it took to kick my butt into the rabbit hole kicking and screaming, almost literally.  And boy is that rabbit hole deep.  As part of this process I have watching a lot of documentaries on health and lifestyle changes, one of the most powerful being "Forks Over Knives" (click to see their website).  Well, while I was trying to put my daughter to sleep last week I decided I would check out the Netflix.  Based on previous docs that I had watched, it suggested a documentary called "Vegucated".  In short, it follows three Meat & Cheese loving New Yorkers on a 6 week excursion into veganism.   Admittedly, the first 25 minutes or so are fairly benign, typical reality doc fair.  And then, well then it get's real.  The participants go to a presentation on the food industry in the US.  They begin talking about many of the practices found in the animal product industry.  Just a voice over.  Nothing too bad.  But then they showed video.  Of real people doing real things to real animals.  And it was cruel.  Awful.  Disgusting.  I got trapped holding a sleeping baby for 10 minutes.  And it was among the most vomitous 10 minutes of my life.  I had no idea that so many people could be so cruel.  I know there are wicked people out there.  I just didn't expect this.  Anyone who has ever been around animals (family pets and such) knows that animals feel three major emotions:  happiness, fear and pain.  And I saw fear and pain.  A lot of fear and pain.  I won't be cruel to anyone who reads this and get more graphic than this.  I am not at crusader level yet.  I am making a personal choice for me.  And I can't be this cruel to a living creature.  I can't support an industry that is this cruel.  Ignorance is bliss people.  And I am no longer ignorant. 

I can not say with any certainty that this is not just a season of my life.  I mean, I am not ethically opposed to the idea of animals as a part of a balanced diet.  I just thing the animals that get eaten can be treated so much better.  I know it's hard to understand without knowing all the details, but I just can't bring myself to relive those images yet.  I have a hard enough time living in a family that is not about to forgo animal products anytime soon.  But we do agree that the products they buy should come from ethically treated animals.  I do not envy the increase in my grocery bill, but I truly believe it will be worth it in the end.

So how did get here as a country?  Lord knows we probably throw away more food than many countries produce.  Most people live in blissful ignorance of the facts.  We have our ideals and that gets most people through the day.  For the most part Old MacDonald doesn't exist down on the farm anymore.  Think about.   At any given moment I can walk into one of 20 or so grocery stores that are fully stocked with   animal products.  And I live in one city of thousands.  Do the math.  That is a lot of animals needed for a lot of products.  From food to clothing and toiletries.   And we throw a lot away because it doesn't last.

Ultimately for me this means a consistently better diet.  One less person in the chain of events that spurs this industry on and maybe over time six less people or more.  I am not going to throw out the things I already own, then the cruelty would have truly been without purpose.  I will, however, make more informed purchases in the future.  I will be a better steward of my life, my health and my world.

If you want to know more or want to see it for yourself I recommend you give Food, Inc or Vegucated.  They make pretty convincing arguments for the ethical treatment of animals.  I also recommend you give Forks Over Knives a try.  They make some pretty compelling arguments for health related topics.  Or just read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.


Recent Activities:

Lots of running.  Lots of vegetables and fruit, grains and beans.  I made a delicious broccoli potato soup.

And I binge ate an entire bag of black bean and garlic corn chips (I felt awful afterwords and I have learned that I am not ready for junk food).

Day 15: Just the Stats

Day 15: 03-16-2013

No deep, or shallow, thoughts tonight. I'm spending time with friends.

Stats for day 14:

Food
Breakfast: fruit smoothie + spinach
Lunch: split pea soup
Dinner: vegan fajitas
Snack:

Movement:
Type: run
Workout: intervals
Distance: 4.11 miles
Time: 42:10

Day 14: 233.8

Day 14:  03-15-2013 



Goal! Goal! Goal! Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaal!  I woke up this morning to a few unpleasant things, but they were made all better when I stepped on the scale.  Today, I have officially begun "The Dwindling!".    I am saying goodbye to the fat guy.  Or at least the fairly chubby guy.  My accursed broad shoulder have always made my appearance deceiving when it comes to weight.  As of today, I am down a total of 12.2 pounds in the last 14 days.

I know it seems like a lot, but I am not starving myself.  I am eating roughly 2000 calories a day, give or take.   The thing is, almost all of the 2000 calories are coming from a variety of whole plant based foods.  Brown rice, beans, fruits, vegetables, roots, and grains.  I am also running like mad.   I have yet to complete the 4 mile circuit I have chosen for my baseline track, but still.  I don't think hitting 4 miles doing run/walk intervals is too shabby.

What next?  How do I keep from getting stale?  My plan is to increase my running interval by 15 seconds every time I hit a weight goal.   That means 1 minute walking rest for every 2:45 second steady run.  My hope is that as time goes by I will be going further between rests until I no longer need them.  I am also going to add in 2 days a week in the complex gym for a few minutes after my run.  Just to balance out the workout.  Add some push-ups, sit-ups, and a few machine weights into the mix.  Just to tone, balance, and keep my metabolism amped.  I would like to eventually swap out a running day for some sort of alternative workout.  Something like kickboxing, or yoga, or pilates, or something.


Today was a good day.  Oh yeah, and it was 80 degrees and the first day of Spring Break!  What a glorious way to begin.  My next goal:  225 pounds.  This will net another 15 second increase on my intervals.

14 days down and tomorrow to go...

Day 14 stats:

Food
Breakfast:  Fruit Smoothie + raw spinach (not as a bad as it sounds)
Lunch:  Vegan Bean and Rice "Spaghetti"
Dinner:  The Ginormous Salad with a new experimental dressing
Snacks:  Dairy Free Whole Wheat Biscuits

Movement:
Type:  Run
Workout:  Intervals
Time:  42:10 min
Distance:  3.91 miles

Type:  Machine Weights
Workout:  3 sets x 15 reps
Focus:  Chest and back
Time:  15 min.

Day 13: Setting Goals

Day 13:  03-14-2013

I stepped on the scale this morning just for giggles and discovered that I am much closer to my first goal than I thought.  Time kinda flies when you stay busy and start to feel well.  This got me contemplating the idea of goals.  Setting goals for myself is relatively new.  I have goals for my students and children, but I've never really set goals for me.  I really needed to move beyond the "get fit" or "get healthy" nonsense.   Those are goals.  I mean, what does get fit or get healthy even mean.

Have you ever tried aiming at target when you couldn't even find it?  Me neither, so I set about determining some very specific, measurable things that I wanted to accomplish for myself.  What I discovered is that my goals were huge.  I started this blog at 246.  I want to weigh 185.  Huge.  I started not being able to finish a consecutive mile.  I want to run a 1/2 marathon.  Huge.  I want to complete the p90x program.  I can barely do 3 push-ups.  Huge.  And no more sleep apnea!  Huge.

I found this to be quite overwhelming.  I can quit.  Not bother.  Surrender.  Take the easy way out.  Or I can manage my goals a little bit at a time.  I can take steps to the top rather than expect to leap there.  I broke my goals up into three categories that I felt would help me reach my ultimate target:  food goals, movement goals, and weight goals.

My weight  goals have been set in 10 pound increments.  First up:  235.  I should be hitting that in the next day or two based on this mornings flirtation with the scale.

My food goals were quite simple.  Replace one meal a day with a salad.  Done. I've been consistent for almost two weeks now.  I even ate my salad for lunch today while the rest of my staff enjoyed boss pizza.  I also aim for at least 70% of my dinner calories come from whole plant based foods.  Very often, it's closer to 90%.  I am feeling so much better after a mere 13 days.

My movement goal was a little bit different.  I set it at a minimum.  I have a busy schedule.  I teach.  I have 4 kids.  I have a life time of excuses.  I figure if I have a reasonable minimum workout schedule then I will be able to be flexible without feeling like I am about to quit.  My initial goal was to achieve a minimum of 30 minutes of intense movement  4 days a week.  I have honestly been moving 40 minutes a day, 6 days a week.  I have had to force myself to take Wednesday's off lest I overdo it.    

I look forward to posting tomorrow in hopes that my food and movement goals (both met today) will make my weight goal happen tomorrow before my spring break actually begins.

13 days of madness gone,
blindly forward,
I no longer stumble on...



Today's Stats:

Food:
Breakfast:  Smoothie of Awesomeness
Lunch:  Amazing Salad of Greatness
Dinner:  A sort of goulash made with brown rice, black beans, olives, bell peppers, tomato sauce and seasoning.
Snack:  Fuji Apple

Movement:
Workout:   Walk/Run Intervalsun
Type:  walk 1 minute, run 2:30 min
Time:  42:00 min
Distance:  4.01 miles

Day 12: Rest

Day 12:  03-14-2013

Today was a day of rest.  So I am giving my mind a break, too.  Besides, I watched a documentary today that I want to process through.  I am just not ready yet.  It was...interesting and repulsive at the same time.  More to come in the next few days as I try to put my mind back together.

Day 12 passed by with little fanfare and nothing of note.

Here are my Day 12 stats:

Food:
Breakfast:  The Usual Smoothie
Lunch:  Signature Ginormous Salad (no meat)
Dinner:  Brown Rice and Broccoli Stir Fry (chicken added)
Snack:  Fuji Apple

Movement:
Type:  Rest
Workout: None
Distance:  None
Time:  All Day