Nutrition and Workout Update

As many of you know, my doctor has put me on a 1300 calorie a day diet. I am so not excited about it but am getting more and more used to it every day. In case you are wondering why we have taken such drastic measures, we are trying to find out if my thyroid is acting up again or if it's just a case of my not realizing how much I'm eating. I have Hashimoto's (hypothyroidism) for those of you who do not know my story, you can read all about it HERE. After two weeks at 1300 calories, I have lost a total of 3 lbs. the last I checked. I only weigh myself on Mondays so I won't have an update until then. The goal was to have me lose 6 lbs. by next Tuesday. It will be a big goal but I hope I can do it.








Here is my menu:

7:30           Green Smoothie
9:30           Pure Bar
12:00         Green Smoothie
2:00           Carrots and Raw Hummus
4:00           Chocolate Raw Protein Smoothie
6:00           Salad w/ lots of veggies and my Tahini Dressing

Yep, pretty boring. The doctor wanted me to get more protein in because of all the weight lifting I am doing. I am to drink 3 protein drinks a day. To do this, I added the Raw protein to make a chocolate shake and I add hemp protein to my green smoothies. I am keeping track of my protein intake and I am getting around 70-80 grams a day. This is a far cry from the 130 I used to eat when I was non-vegan and I was averaging about 25 grams on my Raw diet before I added the extra smoothies.

When I go back to see the doctor next Tuesday I'll be able to tell if all of this extra protein was worth it. She will be taking my body fat and cell hydration levels again. She will also check if my basal metabolic rate is up because of the extra protein. I hope it's been worth it. I also hope she lets me add more calories in so I can have some variety. You can only drink so many of your calories before your jaw gets bored and wants to chew something. At this point, I REALLY want to chew something!

The good news is I don't have to put a lot of thought into my meals right now. The bad news is my creativity in the kitchen is yearning to get out again and it can't : ( My beloved kale chips, oh how I miss you, sniff, sniff.......

My workouts this month:

4/26- 4DS Bootcamp
4/27- Yoga
4/28- 4DS Kickbox
4/29- Yoga
4/30- 4DS Lower Impact Step
5/01- 4DS Higher Intensity Step

5/03- Muscle Endurance
5/04- CTX Leaner Legs
5/05- Drill Max
5/06- Walking around Sea World
5/07- Muscle Endurance
5/08- Yoga

5/10- Cardio & Weights
5/11- Yoga (High Intensity)
5/12- Butts & Guts
5/13- Yoga (High Intensity)
5/14- Low Impact Circuit
5/15- Yoga

5/17- Gym Style: Chest & Triceps
5/18- Gym Style: Legs
5/19- Gym Style: Back, Shoulders & Biceps
5/20- Kick Max
5/21- Yoga
5/22- Low Max 

Regardless of what the scale says, I do feel much better. That was the goal for this eating plan this month so I'm happy. I am very competitive so I really want to meet the goal the doctor set for me. I only have 10 more lbs. to lose so the road won't be that long. I am losing below my normal weight so I have a cushion of 5 lbs. or so.

Nicole

Me Update

So I thought I would fill all of you in on what's been going on with me. I have been steadily gaining weight over the last 3 months. Why? I'm not quite sure yet. It could be my nutrition, it could be my stress, it could be my thyroid or a mix of all of these. I have not been too happy about gaining weight because I have worked so hard to lose it. I was so happy to maintain my weight for 6 months because up to that point I had never maintained a steady weight for more than a month. I think the fact that I had kept it steady for so long was what made the gaining of weight so hard for me. It was making me very angry so I went to see my doctor.

My doctor suggested I go on a 1300 calorie diet. Yep, a diet! I am not too excited because I HATE counting calories. My goal is to lose 15 pounds by the end of June. I can do it! My main goal with my diet is to add more protein, reduce my intake of nuts and seeds and increase my vegetable consumption. I eat quite a few veggies and fruits already but I want to be eating more veggies than fruit.

Now for those of you who think I'm crazy to be at 1300 calories a day, the doctor and I are eliminating the reasons for my weight gain. If I reduce my calories to 1300, I will lose weight. However, if I don't we'll know something bigger is going on with my body. She said all of my numbers look fabulous. My B levels are great, my cholesterol is 126, my kidneys, liver and blood all look great. My body fat however, is a whopping 25%. I kid you not I was sick about that. My doctor has me eating 3 green smoothies a day now to up my protein intake. My muscle mass has gone down as well which she thinks is because of the lack of protein.Green smoothies, here I come!

My goal is to have my body fat reduced to under 20%, my muscle mass up 10%  and my weight down a total of 15 lbs. Do you think I can do it? I do!

Stay tuned : )

Nicole

Way Out of my Comfort Zone

Okay, I can't even believe I am posting this but I promised you all long ago that I would post some before & after photos of myself. Well, I have been sticking at this weight for a few months now so I thought I would show you the changes that have been made from eating Raw, organic, vegan cuisine. Here goes nothing!



Ugh, is it over yet? I am short of breath and my palms are sweaty! Did I really look like that. It's actually good for me to see these side-by-side. Makes the difference a little bit more noticeable.

For those of you who don't know my story, please click HERE. I am not trying to be Miss Fitness or anything, just a better wife and mom : )

Thanks for entertaining me,

Nicole

Fitness/Nutrition Journal Update

Well, it's been awhile since I checked in with everyone regarding my personal workouts and food intake so I thought I would share some of it with you today.

My daily food has been pretty boring but it's working for me. Here is my daily food as it is the same everyday.

8:00 a.m.- Green Juice (I make this with Health Force Nutrtionals Vitamineral Greens and whatever green veggies I have in my fridge that day. It's usually a mixture of kale, spinach, chard, celery, cucumbers, field greens, parsley, etc.)

Post Workout- Green Smoothie (Thai coconut water & coconut meat, hemp protein powder, maca powder, Health Force Nutritionals Earth Powder, frozen blueberries, cherries or strawberries, 3-4 cups of greens, i.e. spinach, chard or kale.)

Lunch- melon of some sort or blueberries (I usually try to eat fruit and greens until 3 pm or so.)

Mid Afternoon- Blueberries or other yummy fruit:)

Early Dinner-Lettuce wraps with avocado and veggies or a big salad (I have stopped eating after 6 pm and find that I sleep better and feel better all around)

Snacks- I rarely snack but if there are kale chips lying around, watch out! If I am out and about I will bring a Pure Bar with me. I would say those are the only snacks aside from fruit and greens that I eat. My digestion gets a bit wacky if I try to throw to many foods in the tank at the same time. This is a side effect of the missing gallbladder and Hashimoto's, ugghhh.


As for my workouts, this month I did a strength and flexibility rotation. I really enjoyed it as it allowed me to fit yoga in twice a week. I usually only fit it in once because I like to separate my strength and cradio. this month I added in a few strength/cardio circuits and it seemed to work just great. Nothing like good time management:)

Here is a sample week:

Monday- Muscle Endurance: Upper Body Split (45 minutes)
Tuesday- Muscle Endurance: Lower Body Split (39 minutes)
Bootcamp: Lower Body Only (10 minutes)
Legs & Glutes: Floorwork Only (10 minutes)
Wednesday- Yoga Dance Fusion (50 minutes)
Thursday- Kitchen Sink Conditioning (71 minutes)
Friday- Power Yoga 4 Happiness (52 minutes)
Saturday- Turbo Sculpt (40 minutes)

As you can see I like to keep my workouts at about an hour a day. I never workout on Sundays which I think my body has adapted to. I would love to make it a varying day but alas it is the schedule I have to work with!

My next rotation is going to be another heavy weight rotation. I get addicted to lifting weights so I have to give my body a break every other month or so. I am currently running a 4 week on, 1 week "active rest" rotation. I would recommend that for just about everyone.
If you would like more help creating your own rotation go to Cathe's Workout Manager for ideas.

I hope that gives you all an idea of how I live day to day. It's working for me now and I am feeling all together better for it. I have lost 20 lb.s since becoming Raw and I am guessing will lose about 10 more before I add in more Raw foods. Yes, I had that much to lose! I am hovering at 145 which is a comfortable size 8 semi-comfortable 6. When I get to my desired size I will put up some before and after pictures if anyone is interested.

Nicole