Day 1 as a Vegan

We are snowed in, with nothing to do but think about what I'm going to eat next.  I'll be honest, today has been very tough.  I've eaten nothing but carbs all day long!  I kept track of a lot of the nutritional values of the foods I've consumed today and I think I'll actually gain weight if I continue as a vegan!  Maybe being snowed in has something to do with it, but I have been hungry most of the day.  I can't say the food has been terrible, in fact I've actually liked everything I've eaten, but just having to be so particular about everything I put in my mouth is a pain. 

I am feeling much better than I expected today - even without having coffee this morning and having to get up at 3:30 A.M. and seeing what looked like a replay of the Metrodome. 

This is what was left after I slashed through the canopy to release the pressure applied by approximately 250 pounds of snow.

The Food:

Breakfast:  bagel with tomato and some oatmeal with raisins.  Nothing exciting...
Lunch:  Blackbean veggie burger with alfalfa sprouts, avocado and tomato on a Pepperidge Farm Deli Flat bun.  DELICIOUS!  And some yellow corn tortilla chips to go with the homemade guacamole.
Snack:  Cream of Wheat with maple syrup.
Dinner:  Raw zucchini spaghetti with marinara sauce over Boca Chik'n patties.  This tasted just like chicken parm with crispy noodles.  I could do this again!

This is what the zucchini noodles look like when making them.

Looks like spaghetti...right?

Workout:  Today was a rest day, so I don't know how I'll feel after working out as a vegan.

Notes:  I've consumed about 2500 calories so far today and only about 75g of protein.  I really want to stay under 2000 calories and get at least 140g of protein, especially on a workout day.

I weighed in at 229 pounds last night and my goal is to lose 24 lbs over the next five weeks.  If my calorie consumption is this high, that may be a huge challenge.  As mentioned before, I am feeling pretty good for having been woken up at 3:30 a.m. by the collapse of my gazebo and not having any coffee.  This has been a nice surprise because I really expected to have a headache all day long while detoxing.

One last bite...

Tomorrow is the day that I will officially begin "going vegan."  My goal here is to try and stick to the vegan diet (no meats, no eggs, no dairy products, or anything from animals).  I will keep my blog updated with how I am feeling each day and how I felt during my workouts.  I'll also post any vital information that I find for anyone else that is interested in becoming vegan but worried about staying healthy in regards to vitamins, protein and good fats.  I'll also post any new recipes that I think other will enjoy.

The last couple of days I've ramped up my workouts just a little from what I have been doing.  Yesterday I did a 6-mile run and today I tried running in my new Vibram's FiveFingers.  I absolutely love how these "shoes" feel!

If you decide to purchase a pair of these bad boys, I suggest you ease into them.  Wear them around for a few days to get used to them and don't go off running 5 miles in them on the first day!  Your calves will melt if you do!  I ran 1.35 miles today in 5fingers and felt pretty good.  I ran mostly in the grass between the sidewalk and road because if you are not used to running up on the front of your foot, which is the way you are supposed to run (regardless of what the big shoe companies tell you - read Born To Run), you will bang your heels pretty bad because your calves can handle the work.... yet.  After I finished this run, I ran switched shoes and ran another 3.25 miles.  Still running a little behind pace, but I'm getting closer to where I want to be.  I'm guessing I'll have a few days off since we are getting about 7" of snow tonight.

On a different note, I went out guns blazing before going vegan...

Soooo Hungry!

I'm not sure if it is because of the increased amount of exercise or because I believe I'll be starving all the time after Monday, but I am HUNGRY!  Yesterday we had a Trader Joe's Supreme Pizza for dinner, which was awesome by the way.  And tonight, some vegetable marinara sauce on Whole Wheat pasta.  I have been hungry all day and still after eating dinner, I've been munching on veggie straws and sesame coated almonds.  Still hungry.

Exercise:
Yesterday, Ashley and I went to spin class at our gym.  I wore my Garmin so I could keep up with with my heart rate (posted below).   I left after about 45 minutes to try and get in a small "brick" workout before Ashley finished up on the bike.  I hit the treadmill and ran 2 miles at a 7:45/mile pace.  I felt pretty good after the first half mile, and thought I could have definitely run for another mile or two before feeling fatigued, but Ashley had already gotten the kids and it was approaching Avery's bedtime.

Looking at the graph of my HR over this workout, it doesn't look like I pushed myself very hard.  I don't know why, but it is very difficult for me to get my HR above 160 for an extended period of time.  My resting HR is about 55 - 58 BPM.  The average during this workout was 149 BPM, and the highest it got was 166 BPM.  I've got to really exert myself to try and break 170 next week!

Today, I did a brick workout with a short bike and short sprints.  Here are the details:

Bike:  3.17 miles @ 14:01 - I really just wanted to try out my new Shimano's and Look clipless pedals.  This is the first time I've rode with this type of equipment.  I used to just wear my running shoes and have the regular generic pedals.  I was trying a lot of getting in and out of the binding while riding so I was not concentrating on speed so much.  At first, my main concern was that I was not going to be able to get my feet out of the pedals and that I would fall.  Getting out was quite easy - much easier than I expected.  However, getting snapped in was where I had troubles.  Lots of time to practice before the Cartersville Duathon in April...

Sprint Workout:
Jog 0.5 miles at 8:30 - 8:45 pace for warm up.
4 x 0.25 miles between a 6:00 and 6:30 pace.
Jog 1.0 mile at a 8:45 pace.
4 x 0.25 miles between a 6:00 and 6:30 pace.
Jog 1.5 miles at a 8:45 pace for cool down.
Total of 5 miles running.

Ease in or cold turkey?

So what is the best way to become a vegan?  Is it better to do it very slowly and eat fewer animal products each week, or just rip off the Band-Aid and throw all the butter and meats away?  We'll I guess I'm doing a bit of both.  This week I'm not really eating a lot of meats or other animal products, but I haven't really been watching what I eating that closely either.  On Monday, whatever easing I've been doing, will be over, and I will go straight up hard core vegan.  I'm going to cut out caffeine as well junk foods like the 3 Musketeers I ate today.

Okay... so it was really like six of the "Fun Size" bars.

Knowing that I will have to substitute Carob for Chocolate is really scary!  I was stuffing my face with the bag of 3 Musketeers one of my students (whose dad works for Mars) gave me before break.  But we did have a healthy dinner.  Ashley, made some Vegan Chili.  I anticipate this will become one of the staples in our vegan diet as it is quite delicious, so I will post the recipe for anyone that would like to try it.

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Vegan (and mostly Organic) Chili Recipe:
What you'll need -
1 Onion
1 Green Pepper
about a cup of frozen corn
1 can of Kidney beans
1 can of Pinto beans (you can add or substitute Black beans if you prefer)
28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 to 2 cups of your favorite salsa (recommend not using Hot)
1/2 cup of pre-cooked brown rice (cooked is about 1 cup)

Chili powder (to taste)
Cumin (to taste)
* We used Trader Joe's organic beans and tomatoes

Add a little bit of olive oil to pot and saute onions and peppers for 1 minute on medium heat.
Add beans and corn - cook for about 1 minute.
Add in a little chili powder and cumin.
Then dump in the crushed tomatoes and however much salsa you like.
You can add more chili power and cumin for taste.
If it's too think, add a little water.
Let the chili simmer until it is cooked through - about 10 minutes.
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If you like something crunchy to go along with your chili, there are plenty of vegan/vegetarian chips out there.  I like Trader Joe's Veggie and Flaxseed Tortilla Chips.

Aren't those chips just so colorful?!

Hills Workout:

1.5 mile jog at about an 8-min mile pace

4 x 0.25 mile Hill Sprint

1 mile jog at about 8-min mile pace

Catching up...

I have been out of town in Highlands, NC (with lots of snow) over the New Year without internet, so I will catch everyone up on my progress.  We decided to postpone going vegan until after my wife's birthday which is this Saturday - so one more week of free eating.  However, I did do a trial run of the vegan diet for about 36 hours this past weekend.  Here's what I ate during the trial run:

Saturday, January 1 -

Breakfast - One and a half banana/oat/walnut waffles & veggie hash browns (no coffee!)
Lunch - Veggie chili over brown rice
Snack - Veggie Sticks
Dinner - Mashed Potatoes with a nut-based gravy, collard greens, and black-eyed peas
Dessert - Rice Dream Vanilla Pie (which looks like an ice cream sandwich)

I got hungry again and ate an apple and some Cream of Wheat made with Almond milk.

Earlier in the day, my wife and I went for a jog in the 36 degree rainy weather with ice and puddles all over the roads - ran somewhere around 8:45/mile for 3.25 miles.  Felt pretty good on the jog, just very water logged due to the rain and stepping in puddles.  Later in the day, I did start to feel a headache which may or may not be due to not having any coffee or other source of caffeine.  It did go away before I went to bed though.

Sunday, January 2 -
We were heading home from Highlands so it was a quick breakfast before packing the car.  We had some more Cream of Wheat, which I sweetened with some pure maple syrup and a cup of Trader Joe's Ruby Red Chai sweetened with honey.

Sadly, this was the last time I would eat vegan for the weekend.  We were not prepared to begin and starving on our drive home with no food in the car... so....

...we stopped for Zaxby's.

It was delicious, and by far the best I've ever had.  However, I was a little disappointed that the previous 36 hours were all for naught, but I was starving and we were not prepared to begin going vegan at home anyways.  We are in the process of preparing a menu for next week as we officially begin the vegan diet on Monday, January 10, 2011. 

While we have not been eating totally vegan today and yesterday, I can't say we have been totally unhealthy.  Last night we had chicken and veggie fajitas and tonight we had Veggie burgers.  I did have some sort of omelet casserole with bacon in it this morning at school, prepared by one of the clubs for the teachers.

Exercise update - Today we started a spin class to help us kick start the exercise regimen for the year.  My wife, Ashley, has signed up for the Iron Girl Triathlon (her first - I'm so proud!) and is really motivated to get in shape to be able to complete it.  Since we don't really have access to a pool, and she does have to ride 19 miles anyways, the spin class will help with cardio and getting used to sitting in the saddle for an extended amount of time.  Our spin class lasted for approximately an hour and was the first time I've done this since we lived in Texas about seven years ago!  My calves were crankin'!  As the group began their cool down and stretch, I ran out to the treadmill to try and get in a quick run before we had to go.  I got in an 8-minute mile before getting pulled out the door.  My wife had already got the kids from the childcare and was ready to go!  I'll post a few more times this week, but probably not everyday, until we go completely vegan.  I am also trying to get an appointment for a physical, so I can compare my stats now to what they are in a few months down the line.  I think that will be cool to see.