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.