This is what is new with me!!! During the month of May I challenged myself to workout 5-6 days a week for an hour a day. I have been stuck in a weight plateau since I competed two years ago and was ready for a change and to tighten up my body. For those of you who have competed know what a mind game it is to gain weight and not be as ripped, tight and lean as you once were. I truly believe it borders on the verge (if not is) body dysmorphia. All you see in your mind is the body you had on stage. Any sign of growth (bulge/ cellulite) is amplified in the mirror. It is sad, and a struggle to mentally grow to accept your new body. Learning to love yourself has been a long road for me. Here I am preaching to other women to love their bodies, and love themselves, and I am struggling with it terribly. Placing my worth in God and not in the opinion of others (I may or may not be making up in my own mind) to create my value and worth is something I have to work on daily!!! Throughout the month I did not change my diet, I continued to eat healthy and allow myself to enjoy life as well. I lost 1 pound, with all that working out. It goes to show DIET is the most important. And the scale does not measure muscle growth and development. During the month of June I became a vegan (for 2 weeks) and then a vegetarian for the remaining 2 weeks and I lost 4 pounds. My nephew decided to become a vegan after watching a documentary on cruelty to animals and inspired me change my thinking about meat and in turn challenged me to live more consciously. The first two weeks I felt amazing, eating more fresh veggies than I normally do to obtain the calories needed to maintain my workouts and life. The third week my energy plummeted. I was so lethargic I could hardly do household chores, I felt like I was in my 1st trimester of pregnancy. I know that when the body is detoxing it can have similar effects, and this was probably what I was experiencing, along with the ebb and flow of my female cycle. I continued to take my B12 vitamins, (due to low B count I have experienced for months) and I supplemented with a Vegan B12, Iron, and vitamins. My energy returned and I began to feel normal again. On July 4th I finished my month of not eating meat. I had a organic grass-fed burger and it was AMAZING. I normally do not ever eat burgers so I listened to my body and ate it. Since returning to meat I have only had the burger and a organic chicken breast. Living daily, filling my plate with beautiful colored vegetables and fruits is the way I want to live. I grilled large mushrooms for myself when I fed my family burgers and I was totally fine with it! Vegan lasagna was delicious and I never felt deprived. It was not hard to reduce meat consumption within my families meals as well. Where do I go from here? I do not know!!! Over the next few months I want to focus on totally eliminating packaged foods from my diet. The environmental impact from packaging foods is high. I want to do my part to reduce and get rid of these foods I do not want in my body in the first place. I will continue to not eat meat with very few exceptions. I want to create new vegan friendly recipes I enjoy, and learn to take it a step further. Has anyone heard of athletes becoming Paleo Vegans? Just a few of my struggles and plans for the next few months. I would love to hear about what is going on with you!!!
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:26:13 +0000
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