kzooyogi Member

Rest is absolutely required! You don't want to burn yourself out, and pushing yourself through workouts when you're to the point of exhaustion is only going to hurt you in the long run. Remember that it likely took years to put on the excess weight, so you need to allow yourself ample time to take it off as well. It looks…

Plan out your meals a week at at time. With your plan in hand, come up with a grocery list of only things that you need to prepare your planned meals. If some of those ingredients don't last long (mung bean sprouts come to mind), hold off on buying them until the day before/day of the meal in which they're required, then…

I'm 5'8", 138-140 lbs and maintain on 2,500 calories per day. I try to walk 30 minutes 5 days/week (on my lunch break, provided the weather cooperates), lift heavy 3x/week (StrongLifts 5x5), and do yoga 5-6x/week (60-75 minutes each). I tried doing it all on 2,300 calories per day and found myself absolutely starving all…

If you're up for trying some new plant-based options: I mash them up and put it between two slices of bread with a slice of tomato, salt, pepper, and oregano, then spread vegan butter on the slices of bread and fry it up to make a vegan-friendly grilled cheese. Also delicious to use in place of the cheese for quesadillas!

I have an injury to what I presume is my left lat muscle. It has been a trigger point for several weeks, especially coming down from an overhead press, but I continued to add weight anyway as it was only bothering me during the movement and not any other time. Because I tried working around it, I tweaked it in a way that…

This is probably the biggest difference I've ever seen with a 24 lb loss! Looks like you lost about 50! Amazing work!

I've been vegan for about 2 1/2 years. Consider mine another vote for Minimalist Baker. She's amazing and all of her recipes are either really quick to make, use fewer than 10 ingredients, or are one-bowl wonders. It will help you expand your horizons and stop leaning so heavily on cheese as a filler.

A couple of things come to mind here: - Is your calorie goal too low? It's easy to stick with for several days in a row, but if it's at such a low number that it's not sustainable for you, that may be what's triggering the binges. Better to up your daily calorie allotment and eat at a level you can maintain for the long…

Exercise helps, as does cutting back on animal products (plant-based foods don't contain cholesterol). Additionally, eating more plant-based foods means getting more fiber, which helps to lower cholesterol by binding to bile acids and thereby eliminating them from the body through the stool instead of being reabsorbed into…

Welcome to the plant-based world! I think you'll like it here. Bloating is very common on a plant-based diet as you're likely eating much more fiber than you had been previously. There are lots of vegan probiotics you can take as a supplement to help to combat this (I take Rainbow Light ProbioActive that I get on Amazon).…

Tofu, tempeh, and seitan are all great non-meat, high protein options!

TVP Seitan Tempeh Tofu (learn and experiment with different ways to cook it so you don't get bored!) Chia seeds Hemp seeds Nutritional yeast Good Karma Flax Milk + Protein Vega protein powder - if you haven't tried Vega Clean Protein, you may find that one doesn't have the discernable texture you don't like. I mix one…

When I first tried yoga, I hated it. Holding my body up in downward facing dog was such a struggle. You have to give your body time to get used to the poses, and don't hold any expectations for it. It might start to feel easier after a few days, then one day you'll go in and feel like a bag of bricks trying to hold…

Dark leafy greens, and the tap water in my old house :) I'd also recommend maybe just taking a daily multivitamin? That will help bump you up as well. I'm vegan, so dark leafy greens and beans are basically my iron source. I range from getting only 50% of the RDA to well over 100% depending on what I eat, but always take a…

That's because an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and the doc won't get paid if their patients eat healthy things like fruits.

Another vote for StrongLifts. Free app, tells you exactly how much to lift, and you increase by a small amount every time, thereby getting stronger every time.

Quinoa and black beans are my go-to! I don't do edamame very often, but do enjoy tossing it in with an Asian-themed salad every now and then! What sucks for me is that I also have a fairly sensitive stomach, so sometimes I need to cool it on the legumes, even though I love them. Ever eaten more than one Fiber One bar?…

Definitely couldn't hurt, especially if your diet lacks protein naturally. I love Vega Clean Protein - vanilla flavor.

Turmeric isn't magic for weight loss or metabolism, but IS great for your gut flora and as an overall natural anti-inflammatory. You can make a tincture with turmeric, coconut water, black pepper, ginger, and any other spices you like and take a shot of that every day. Just be sure that when you're eating/drinking it, you…

Thanks. I'll have to consider that. I do eat lots of whole/sprouted grain toast. Not sure if Ezekiel muffins are vegan friendly - I'll look into it!

What would you suggest increasing it to? Since I'm having a hard time hitting it now, I'm not sure increasing it would help, but I can certainly try. I've just never been too concerned about it (until now). My best friend is registered dietitian and assures me that the RDA for protein set by the USDA is actually much…

Either that or a yogi! I'm allowed to say that because I'm a vegan yogi :wink:

I love 2 slices of sprouted grain toast with 1T of peanut butter on each, then I slice up a banana and put the slices on top, finished with 1/4 tsp of chia seeds and 1/2 tsp of hemp seeds on each slice.

I was hoping someone would say this. I was thinking that, too, but wanted to hear it from someone else :)

Thanks for looking! Yes - I'm almost always under the protein suggestions. It had never affected me before, but now that I'm lifting I guess it couldn't hurt to up my protein shake to two scoops. I always drink a protein shake right after lifting and the morning after as well, in hopes that that will help to curb cravings.…

Photogenic!

I love this recipe when I need a good dose of protein: http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Tofu-Scramble-Kale-Sweet-Potatoes-35566619 I add in a vegan breakfast sausage that I get from The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis, MN, but you could also add in a package of Gimme Lean breakfast sausage. The way I make it, it comes…

I'm vegan and rarely eat fast food, but whenever I see fast food commercials I look up what they're advertising on MFP just for fun and can hardly believe my eyes :neutral: Even vegan food can rack up the calories - I love a good hefty scoop of Ben & Jerry's non-dairy PB & Cookies ice cream... 280 calories in a measly half…

As others have said, experiences vary A LOT depending on each individual's story. The first time I came to MFP to lose weight, I ended up losing a total of 45 pounds and didn't notice a visible difference until I had lost about 20 (although my clothes were getting too big, fast!). The second time around, I just needed to…

I tried finding it with a calculator, but ended up setting my own number after weeks of continued, unintended weight loss. When I got close to my goal, I added 100 calories every 10 days until I started to see my weight stabilize. Then I changed my workout routine to add in a heavy lifting program, so I'm back to trying to…