Saturday stats -- vegan athletes and protein needs
Alright, lets get the bad news out of the way right away. That TOM will
soon be upon me, so I'm up in weight this week. Some months, like the
last one, I just didn't lose anything, and other months, like this one, I
gain a bit. I wish I didn't have to deal with that every month,
because it is really discouraging, but there's no point wishing on
things you can't change, so it's better to just accept it and move on.
I'm 113.4 kg (250 lb) this week, which is up 0.6 kg (1.32 lb) from last
week. I know it will pass in a week or so, but it still sucks big time.
As I said in my previous post, though I did well at the first official
weigh and measure since I started training a month ago -- other than
that pesky body fat percentage going up slightly, and dropping in muscle
mass. The head trainer sent me a text message during the week to come
in and talk to him about it. So I did -- he is concerned about my vegan
diet. He says I need to reduce my carbs and eat more protein,
preferably animal protein. Of course I told him that's just not going
to happen. So then he said to use a protein powder, but I'm not sure
how that will fit into my daily calories as he doesn't want me to use it
as a meal replacement. I work hard to keep my carbs at or below 60% of
my calories, but it's hard to do that without taking in too much fat.
He's not concerned about fat, just getting those carbs way down. You
can't convince him the body needs healthy (not processed) carbs -- in
fact I know he's got some of the other girls basically eating a modified
Atkins diet -- modified only in that it's probably lower in fat. He's
really not supportive of the vegan diet, but of course ultimately it's
up to me what I put in my mouth. Still I'd like to ensure I'm eating
the right balance for optimal health, so I've been doing some online
research.
Of course there are vegan bodybuilders and athletes out there -- and I
did find a site with suggested calorie / carb / protein / fat levels for
women, but it assumes you're a bodybuilder, and the recommended calorie
intake was WAY above where I should be. And it didn't really suggest
WHAT to eat. Then I came upon Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life.
This looked interesting, and more along the lines of what I was looking
for, so I've ordered a copy. I'm anxious to get that (though I'm
already in the middle of two books, so I'd better get reading! LOL).
It shouldn't be this hard. We shouldn't have to count calories and
obsess about food choices! Other than domesticated animals that live
with humans, animals don't get overweight! They just eat what nature
intended and stay a normal body weight. Maybe that's it -- eat what
nature intended. I'm eating almost totally vegan and low-fat as well,
but not always whole foods. I rarely eat bread, but I do have
wholegrain cereal and tortillas. And at this time of the month, I also
tend to give in to other binge-worthy treats that I know I shouldn't
have (like last night) but I'm working on that. I don't know about you
guys, but evenings are really the biggest challenge for me. That's when
I tend to crave things I know I shouldn't have, and though I usually
don't give in, some days I do. It's an ongoing struggle. I'm not
perfect, but I'm doing the best I can most of the time.
I'm also finding more time to meditate and focus on positive
affirmations. I know from experience that they work -- just change any
negative thoughts that creep in from time to time to positive
affirmations instead, and repeat them often. It really does need to be
about improving in body, mind AND spirit. Hope you've all had a great
week!
