Found a resource!

A bit of internet trawling led me to a vegan Ironman triathlete and his books, Thrive: A Guide to Optimal Health and Performance through Plant-based Whole Foods and The Thrive Diet, by Brendan Brazier.

I ordered Thrive when I found a used copy online for £4.00, but The Thrive Diet is expensive (it's only just come out this year) and so I will read the first book and if I like it I will spring for the second.

As soon as I've read it, I will fully update you on any new information I encounter!

There's no such thing as loose skin?!

I already knew this, but I guess I just needed to read it over and over again to get it into my head.

There's no such thing as loose skin, at least in the way that I was using the term. What I have is rolls of skin with subcutaneous fat, ie, fat rolls. They are not as thick as they used to be and they're not as solid, but they're still fat rolls. You can tell the difference between skin and fat rolls by pinching up skin on the back of your hand. See how thin that is? That's skin. Now grab that "loose skin" on your belly. How thick is that? Guess what--that ain't just skin. That's fat. If you've got loose skin, what that really means is you've just got more fat to lose, so I'm reading. Well, hell. I knew that!  I was just hoping that someone would tell me what I wanted to hear. But since when at any point in this weight loss journey has anyone ever told me what I wanted to hear? (Except those bastards trying to get my money--Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers and Slim Fast, etc, etc.) I'm just glad a few  people (not all) keep telling me what I need to hear: the truth.

The truth is, I need to modify my lifestyle yet again. I need to eat more like a healthy bodybuilder and less like a chocolate-snarfing library assistant (which is what I am). I need to increase my lean body mass and cut the fat.

That's it then. I need to read about bodybuilding--natural vegan bodybuilding, obviously--instead of basic nutrition and weight loss. I'm done with weight loss. I want to move up to the next level in this.

I found a before-and-after photo that says it all. My body looks so much like the before photo on the left that she might have lobbed the head off a photo of me and stuck her own on!  Well, to be honest, I have better body tone than her before picture, but the small chest and little bit of flab on the belly look like mine. And her results on the right are precisely what I'm after. I have no intention of taking any weird supplements or trying to get results in 12 weeks. It's just the photos I was amazed by.
Have a look.

Okay then. I'm through telling myself I have "loose skin". I'm off to find some reading material on leaning out and building muscle. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Belly fat and residual flab

I was watching myself in the mirror yesterday as I was doing Super Cardio Sculpt. I often do this both to check my form and as motivation. Sometimes I think I look really good, other times I just pick on flaws. I think it depends on the workout (the type of moves I'm doing) and the outfit I'm wearing at the time. During weightlifting things look pretty good, but during cardio, when everything is moving, it can be a terror to behold. I have loose skin all across my midsection and a layer of belly fat covering my abdominal muscles precisely where a six-pack ought to be, and honestly there is a six-pack under there because I can feel it, I just can't see it because of this stupid layer of fat. The loose skin is my fault. If I hadn't spent the previous 25 years of my life weighing at or over 200 lbs, I wouldn't have extra skin there. The stretch marks are my fault, too, for being fat and never exercising and not eating right. I can live with the stretch marks and even a bit of loose skin, if only it were EMPTY loose skin. To be honest, I think I would need to lose another 15 or 20 pounds to get this last layer of fat gone.

My arms are taking on a nice shape from the weightlifting, but you can only see a modest shapeliness to them because they too are coated in a layer of fat, particularly the backs of my upper arms. Yes, I've got Oprah bingo wings. They aren't as big as the used to be, but they're there, hanging under my arms when I proudly flex my biceps at myself. Biceps on top, bingo wings on the bottom, the arms of a formerly fat fitness fanatic.

Then there are my upper thighs. I've done some damage to those through my years of fatness, I think. It's almost like scarring on the inner thighs. They just look like they used to be fat, the fat has sort of shrunk down, and the skin has done its best to catch up but can't quite make it. I noticed this when doing kickboxing moves standing sideways to the mirror. (I was actually checking to see if my panties were showing during that side kick move, and actually yes they were, but it was the thighs themselves that were more frightening!)

Anyway, I wish there was something I could do to tighten things up and to get rid of that last bit of fat. I mean, something magical, not kicking up my exercise and cleaning up my diet more. *sigh*

Right, off to work. Tonight it's Get Ripped with Jari Love!

Movie time!

Simon Pegg, one of my favourite comedic actors, has a new film coming out here in September. I don't know when it will be released in the US. Basically, he dumped his girlfriend at the altar years ago and now decides he made a mistake and to win her back he's going to run a marathon. This teaser trailer is hilarious, with lots of Rocky references:

Run, Fatboy, Run

Can't wait for this one!

Speaking of Rocky, we bought 'The Heavyweight Collection' DVD set containing the Definitive Special Edition Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V and Rocky Balboa. Last week, we watched one per night. I can see why Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three, including Best Picture. It is absolutely stellar. After Rocky II there's a sharp downward slide, bottoming out with Rocky IV and all its 80s pop video excess. It's really just one long training sequence with some pretty bad pop music caterwauling through it, topped off with jingoistic flag-waving and Rocky's semi-coherent can't-we-all-get-along speech at the end. But even though the critics seem to have hated it, I thought Rocky V did a good job reviving some of the old Rocky spirit, even though the street fight at the end was unsatisfying and Tommy Gunn's incredible mullet haircut was distracting. And of course Rocky Balboa is a perfect tribute and wonderful farewell to a great guy.

Take you back....doo doo doot doo...take you back....

____________________

Right, home from work now. I subbed Nancy Tucker's Super Cardio Sculpt for Allie's Maximum Cardio Burn. I just couldn't face all those stars in the cheerleader segment of MCB. Still Nancy's smooth style is deceptive. I think I actually sweat more and get my heart rate higher in Super Cardio Sculpt. Love Nancy--so sorry she left the Firm, but she's got her own studio now and I do hope she films some of her own workouts!

Now--must figure out what we're eating for dinner tonight!

Rollah Coastah--of pounds--uh say what!

Rollah coastah--ooh ooh oooh oooh ooooh...

Enough with the 70s funk. I'm in a big enough funk of my own! Wouldn't you know I'm up two pounds. So mysterious, weight, isn't it. Such a big mystery. Couldn't have anything to do with all the potatoes (and chocolate biscuits in the break room) I've been eating lately.

Tell me this. Why is it that when I know I'm up a pound or two, the fat roll around my middle when I sit down seems so much bigger. I mean, what is up with that?

So, time to take action. Today is a nut free day. Wheat only once during the day. (I've already had my toast this morning). The rest of the day will be different grains. I had my share of the chocolate biscuits for the entire week all in one day yesterday, so that's a no go area. (Must think of wretched child slaves gathering cocao on some Ivory Coast plantation when I look at them. Picture the sores on his back and the miserable dirt-floor hut he lives in with his already-old-at-25 mum. Gosh, how can I ever let myself forget these images??? NO CHOCOLATE THAT ISN'T FAIR TRADE! EVER! Remember that, self!!) Lots of water. Must flush out those extra pounds forthwith!

_________________

It's 7.03 I've just finished Jari Love's Get Ripped Slim & Lean and my rhomboids are already sore so I know I'm going to feel like a truck ran over me by tomorrow. I made it through the work day and only ate one biscuit. That's better than yesterday at least!

Just do it

Yesterday after work, I did not want to workout. I'd had to work from 9 to 4 on a Saturday and I wanted to buy a giant chocolate bar and watch DVDs because I 'deserved it'. This happens to me so often. I don't want to, I don't want to, I just don't want to.

But what did I do to 'deserve' skipping a workout? What makes me think cheating myself out of fitness is a reward? Don't I deserve to be healthy? To look good? To have a top-shelf booty?!

I really, really did not want to do a work out. I talked to myself about overtraining, about listening to my body and taking a rest day when I need one, but you know what? I was only making excuses. I was talking myself out of doing the right thing.

Going against all my inclinations, I put on my exercise clothes anyway, dragged out the Step and Cathe's Low Max, moved the sofa out of the way and I did that workout. You know why? It's not about how you feel on the day. It's about a bigger picture than the way you feel at the moment. When I finished that workout, I looked at myself in the mirror, dripping with sweat, I checked myself out from all angles and I felt as triumphant as some kind of ancient warrior. How would I have felt if I'd sat on my butt and eaten a chocolate bar?

This morning it was Jari Love's Get Ripped to the Core. Everyday is a new day. Everyday you start over. Everyday you face the choice: am I going to work out, am I going to do what I know is right for my body and health? Or am I going to lie to myself yet again about why I 'deserve' to mistreat myself, to sabotage my own well-being and to perpetuate an endless cycle of self-loathing.

You have to keep pressing through, you have to keep challenging yourself, and you have to set your emotions aside.

 
Nike was right. You have to just do it.

Barbecued gluten ribs

Oh my gosh, I just made this dish and ate two of the ribs for my lunch! I meant to leave it for dinner tonight and reheat, but I couldn't wait to taste and it is so yummy! The original recipe is from Fat Free Vegan, but I changed some of the technique and it turned out great!

Barbecued Gluten Rybs

1 cup wheat gluten
2 tsp smoky paprika
4 Tbs nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cup water
2 Tbs peanut butter
1 Tbs tamari shoyu
1 tsp liquid smoke
a few Tbs unrefined, cold-pressed sunflower seed oil
bottled barbecue sauce (I used spicy woodsmoke)

Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients and add to the dry. Knead the dough until all liquid is absorbed. Leave on counter under upside down bowl to rest about 15 minutes. Knead again. Rest again. Use rolling pin to roll out to fit into an 8x8 casserole dish. You will probably have to pull and stretch it a bit as well. Pour sunflower oil over dough and turn to coat. Press the dough into the dish to make it fit the dish and to absorb the oil as you press down. Score the dough into 10-12 pieces. (The original recipe says 16, but that looked awfully small to me).  Cover dish with foil and bake 25 minutes at 350 F (180 C). Remove foil and spoon barbecue sauce over all, turning carefully to coat. Return to oven and bake until sauce is bubbling and caramelising on edges.

Very tasty!

The Coffee Thing

"Why I decided to stop worshipping the bean and love the barley"

Murse Pete asked me why I've switched to Whole Earth No Caf rather than typical decaffeinated coffee, what advantages it has and how it tastes. Thanks, Pete, for giving me something to blog about!

 

HEALTH EFFECTS

The only non-industry sponsored study that I know of indicates that decaf coffee raises bad cholesterol. That's not a good thing!

The process of removing caffeine is chemical-laden. Chemicals--who needs 'em! I mean, don't we get enough just walking around breathing?! And guess what, the 'Swiss Water No Chemical' process some people rapsodize about uses a lot of water. And coffee is already a thirsty venture.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

One of the many reasons I became a vegan is to reduce my impact on the alarming depletion of our natural resources. To sustain a modern Western lifestyle, the entire planet is going dry. If you don't believe me, read When the Rivers Run Dry: Water--The Defining Crisis of the 21st Century by Fred Pearce.  You probably don't know this, but coffee growth and production requires more water than any other food crop. Basically, it takes 140 liters of water to produce enough coffee beans to make one cup of brewed coffee. If you aren't familiar with this concept of virtual water, here's a quick introduction. I became a vegetarian, amongst many other reasons,  when I realized (through the enlightening comparisons used by John Robbins in his wonderful books) that I would save the planet more water, literally, by not eating a quarter-pound beef burger than I would save by not showering for an entire six months. Think that one over! But a fat lot of good it would do me to stop eating beef then suck down cup after cup of coffee.

SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN REASONS

There's been a lot of talk lately about fair trade coffee. Okay, fair trade might sometimes work, but there may be a bigger issue here. Did it ever occur to you that if coffee farmers, their underpaid workers and sometimes even slaves, weren't using up their land and precious resources to provide your fat, coddled, flabby, overindulged Western butt with coffee, sugar and chocolate, they could use that land and those resources to actually feed themselves? Fair trade or otherwise, I'm still putting my self-indulgence above their basic human rights if my cup of coffee or my cheap Hershey bar or that spoonful of sugar  means other human beings are forced to grow these useless crops and then go hungry. (If you don't think they are forced to by economic and political pressures, you are being shockingly naive).

About the alternate. Whole Earth No Caf is the first product I've tried as a coffee substitute. It tastes bitter and makes a passable substitute for coffee, particularly if sweetened with a touch of agave nectar. It doesn't have the coffee aroma, though. The grains used to make the beverage are grown in Italy, which is a lot closer to me than Ethiopia, so that helps with the whole carbon footprint thing. It's organic--no chemicals. I have no data on its virtual water value, but hope since it's a company with a conscience it would be relatively low, at least lower than coffee I hope! There are other grain beverages I intend to try after this container is used up.

The reason the No Caf product is openly touted as vegetarian/ vegan is that in order to be vegan friendly, there has to be no animal products at all in any aspect of processing. Ever wondered why refined sugar isn't marked as a vegan product? It's because charred animal bones are used in the refining process. Just because something originally grows out of the ground doesn't mean some animals haven't died to get it to your plate. You must be vigilant, and believe me, there are vegans and vegetarians out there who are very informed and who will not buy a product if they suspect it isn't REALLY animal-cruelty or animal-anything free!

I'm knackered now, the sweat from my workout is dried and I can only hope this doesn't disappear when I try to post it.

Back down

For the last two days I've weighed in the low 134 range.

Ashley, other spreads are definitely out, just because I want to avoid highly processed foods and vegetable/seed oils in general where I can. The nut butters are whole, organic, with no added ingredients.

I would love to try macadamia nut butter! Must search that one out!

Oh the vagaries of fate

135.0 this morning. What a world!