Vegan Bodybuilding...NOT an oxymoron!

I have recently had a spiked interest in bodybuilders, specifically vegan bodybuilders. Robert Cheeke is a trailblazer in this field and has (literally) written the book on Vegan Body Building and Fitness. He also started the ever-growing website: www.veganbodybuilding.com. Take one look at this site, and you will know that it is very possible to gain definite muscle on a plant-based diet.

"BUT WHERE DO THEY GET THEIR PROTEIN???!?" You ask???

Well, where do you get YOUR protein? How many grams of protein do YOU eat? How does it stack against the WHO (World Health Oranization) recommendations?

Have you ever heard of someone being "protein deficient"?

WHO recommends getting NO MORE than 15% of your total calories from protein daily. I usually get at or below 10%. And the only possible way to actually be deficient in protein is to be deficient in calories AKA starving. That makes sense, since everything, yes contains some protein. (Bananas? 7%. Oranges? 6%. Dates? 2%. Watermelon? 5%. Mangoes? 6%. Tomatoes? 8%. Celery? 4%.)

We are so unbelievably hardwired in our society that meat=protein=muscles. In reality, NONE of these words are synonymous. We don't need as much protein as we think to be healthy. Protein supports muscles growth, AFTER the muscles have been stressed and torn under pressure (weight training), but we still don't need to overdose on the macro-nutrient. And meat? Totally unnecessary. But don't take my word for it! Try going meat-less for a week, google vegan recipes, try them out yourself, get your own results.

The real answer to the question, "What builds muscles?" is training. Training builds muscles. Food fuels and heals muscles. Strength training, literally pulling your muscle fibers apart and challenging them to lift, push, or pull an abnormal amount of weight until it adapts, and then pushing that limit again, is what literally makes one have muscles.

This makes perfect sense. You can eat an extremely high protein diet and watch TV all day and it will change nothing in your body (except possibly give you kidney stones). Having said that, you can also weight train like crazy, push yourself to the limits consistently, be a complete "gym rat" and you will probably have a chiseled physique no matter what diet you follow. That is simply because: training builds muscle. As long as you are eating enough calories, if you are also training like crazy, you will gain muscle. Those could be plant calories, supplement calories, meat calories, grain calories, whatever. Those calories will also determine the health on the INSIDE of your body however (blood pressure, cholesterol), which you hopefully also care about. If you do care about your inner health, namely digestion, lymph system, clarity of mind, nervous system, and overall stamina, then you will (like me) be interested in vegan bodybuilding. It is the perfect connection of inner and outer health.

22 DAYS!

22 days until...my first marathon!! I signed up for it last November after feeling particularly unmotivated to get off the couch and move. It has been sort of a bucket-list thing for me; I know I will either walk away from it thinking, "Wow, that was a great experience, I'm so glad I did it but I will NEVER do it again!" or, "Wow, that was incredible! Sign me up again!" I am hoping I react closer to the latter. I have a desire to like running, and when I AM actually on a run, I am loving it. The hardest part is by far taking the first step. (What a cheesy metaphor for life!)
Really though, I can tramp around all day in my work out clothes, vibrams, decked out with a headband and everything, but until I actually START running, I am just a girl walking around in spandex. No matter how good it feels to run, or to be done with a run, I have yet to genuinely look forward to the act of running. There are countless benefits: fresh air, exercise, getting in touch with your surroundings, moving your lymph-nodes, improving your circulation and blood flow, getting your digestion on track, improving your PRs, challenging your mind and body, not to mention being in a splendid environment for personal meditation. There are lots of reasons to run, one of which is competition (against yourself and/or others around you). Every day you compete against your self, your mile time, your distance etc. Race day is a chance to challenge how fast your feet can take you and how it compares to the people around you.
I don't plan on winning my marathon. I will be happy with a sub 5:00 time, I will be ecstatic with a sub 4:00 time. But most of all, I will be happy if I cross the finish line invigorated, feeling NOT satisfied with whatever time I get and determined to run 26.2 miles again, but faster. That will be determined by my attitude about the race, post run.
In practice for the big day, I just signed up for a 10K (about 6.2 miles) race with my sister-in-law Sarah a week from tomorrow. I am excited to be running next to someone I know and I think the "race-day adrenaline" will help me get even more excited for June 9th.
I always remind myself that there are people doing crazier things out there. There was a lady last year in the news who ran one of the many marathons under her belt 9 months pregnant, and after she crossed the finish line, went straight to the hospital to deliver her baby. Michael Arnstein (a huge role-model for me, and fellow raw vegan: check out www.thefruitarian.com) ran the Leadville 100 race in just under 18 hours...INSANITY. Then there are the Olympics coming up, where I can't help but think about the sprinters and endurance runners alike, and what they have put their bodies through to carry themselves so dang fast. Most amazing of all is Dr. Ruth Heidrich who cured herself of breast cancer with fruits and vegetables and now in her 70s, has finished the Ironman 6 times, and ran over 60 marathons, and is still competing! So is me running one marathon really that crazy?? I don't think so.

Breaking in my feet to Vibrams

These are my latest shoe adventure: Vibram FiveFingers (VFFs.) After much research, reviews, and online searching, I finally bought me a pair of these funky looking shoes, that is, if you can even call them shoes, I think of them more as my "tires." Anyone who has tried them on will tell you, it feels like you are walking barefoot. You feel whatever surface you are on without having to worry about stepping on sharp objects and actually hurting your foot.
The most common question I get (and the one that I was most concerned about) is, "Is that enough cushion for you? Doesn't it hurt to run on hard surfaces?" The question, honestly, is YES and NO. Yes it is quite enough cushion, I never worry about the impact. No, it does not hurt to run on hard surfaces.
If you try, right now, to run barefoot across the room you are in, you will notice right away that you naturally run striking the ball of your foot FIRST, followed by your heel. Try it. Now try running barefoot striking heel first. You won't be able to do it and will probably laugh trying to (you can't help but look funny). That is the idea behind minimalist running: returning to our natural form.
If you pick up a VFF shoe, you will notice it feels like tire rubber. It is extremely light and flexible. I joke that I don't need to break them in, they need to break ME in. When you adjust to this shoe, you start using muscles you never knew you had! (Did you know you have over 40 bones in one foot? Crazy!)
I have had my black and pink KomodoSport LS VFFs now for just over a month and have LOVED the transition.
I am running the Utah Valley Marathon on June 9th (less than a month!) and am hoping to run in these shoes! It is a bit ambitious, seeing as I will only have been wearing them for 2 months. If I don't run the whole 26.2 miles in these, then I plan on running most of it in them and switching halfway through. Regardless, these shoes have improved my running. You can't help but improve your stride, take shorter, quicker steps, and stand a little straighter when using this footwear. I love that they are also so versatile; I use them to work out, run in, I sometimes wear them to work, and they are perfectly water safe and can be used as an aquatic shoe.
My review of these shoes thus far is a 10 out of 10. Yes, I even like the design. Don't be fooled by the funky toes, look up your local running store that carries them on www.vibramfivefingers.com and try on a pair before you judge!

What me eat!

http://youtu.be/FLqjLn0W5K0

Whenever anyone asks me about what I'm eating (only happens about 20+ times a day), I just want to refer them to this video. Please watch!

What most people don't realize (or choose not to believe) is that there is NO vitamin, mineral, or vital nutrient, nada zip zilch that is in ANY animal product that is not more bio-available and abundant, more easily assimilated, not to mention not packaged in fat, cholesterol, puss, guts, hormones, antibiotics, than ANY plant product. (The ONLY vitamin in question is b12, which is not an issue with availability, but rather a person's absorption. More than 1/3 of people are thought to be b12 deficient, so it is obviously not a vegan problem.)

The ONLY problem people have with eating their fruits and veggies is eating ENOUGH. An apple a day is not enough! "Naturally flavored" drinks do not count! Chocolate covered anything is not real fruit!

Real fruit is intact in its natural state. It has all of it's fiber and water, all of its vitamins and minerals, it comes dirty (from the ground), it grew naturally from the sunshine, and its bright colors are meant to attract you. It is perfectly designed to be eaten, thereby passing its seeds through you, and when it comes out the other end, in a perfect fertilized package to grow again. The ease of eating fruit blows my mind. 1. Pick it up 2. Put it in your mouth. How much easier can it get??

Whether you're vegan, raw, vegetarian, omnivore, whether you're a family, friend, or co-worker reading this, whether you're active, sick, healthy, fit, or tired of feeling tired, whatever your situation is: I ask you to eat a piece of fruit today! Splurge on your favorite item. Savor the sweet juiciness. Eat it fresh, eat it ripe. Enjoy the new season of summer upon us! There is NO end to the variety of fruits and vegetables available to us. Try something new! Do it today! And feel confident that you are making the right choice for your body.

Mike's Pina Colada

I bought a young Thai coconut a few days ago in the hope of making Megan Elizabeth's latest smoothie recipe (seen on www.meganelizabeth.com). We cracked it open on Sunday, however Michael had been waiting to use the coconut for a recipe of his own...Pina Coladas! We had two perfectly ripe pineapples chillin' by the window, and even though I was hoping to get my use out of the coconut, I couldn't help but get excited after seeing Michael so thrilled! After taking a whiff of the water, he said decisively that he didn't want to use that stuff, so I drained it and put it aside (turns out I would be able to make my cherry-vanilla-coconut smoothie after all). He carefully scraped out the coconut meat and washed it while I diced the pineapple.
1 pineapple
meat from 1 young thai coconut
6 khadrawi dates
small handful of coconut flakes (for added texture and flavor)
1 cup of water
1 cup of ice
 ....blended in the Vitamix....and there ya go! A perfectly refreshing drink! After taking some satisfying gulps, Michael confessed that we should have used the real coconut water. "Next time!" I said (because the coconut water was the missing ingredient for MY smoothie). I preferred my drink with one banana blended in with it to make it slightly less tangy. Michael eats loads of bananas in his green smoothies so he wasn't interested in altering the pineapple flavor. Next time I also plan on putting maybe a dash of vanilla in it...hmm we shall see.

Anniversaries

Monday is our first wedding anniversary. A lot has happened in the last year: we both finished school, we both started (and ended) new jobs, we went from an apartment to a house, Provo to Saratoga Springs, and for me, vegetarian to raw vegan.
May 16th marks the one year anniversary for me when I decided, cold turkey, to be raw vegan. Transitioning to a new diet or lifestyle does take time, and I realize that I am part of a minority of people who are able to do something so drastic essentially overnight. I do not recommend doing it overnight to 90% of people, simply because 90% of people will fail. Although I have been committed 100% (honestly) to the raw vegan diet since last May, I would not say that it was without its failures, and I would not say that it was without its transitions.

In April of 2010 I became a (selective) vegetarian. I overhauled my diet to cut out ALL red meat and occasionally (once/month or less) indulged in fish or chicken. It was purely for health reasons. (Read my About Me for a more in depth explanation.) In the spring of 2011 I discovered and read more about the raw food diet (eating food that has not been heated about 115 degrees F) and decided that after I got back from our honeymoon, I was on board. I knew enough about the diet that I wanted to do it 100%; the benefits of uncooked food, getting the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals, cutting out all animal products, it all makes sense to me. The problem was that I still was fighting food addictions (chocolate, sweets, rich foods) which contradicted my new plans to eat a plant based diet. To bridge the gap between my old food habits and my  new food goals, I started eating what is commonly known as the "gourmet raw diet."

If you look back at when I started this blog (right when I started eating raw), you can tell that I was elated with excitement about recreating my "old" foods in the raw....raw cake, raw pies, raw pizza, raw burgers, raw breads, raw chocolate etc. The problem with my "perfect" diet was that I was getting over 70% of my calories from fat. I was replacing animal products with a plethora of nuts and seeds and I was making disastrous food combinations: a perfect formula for weight gain and indigestion. Sure, I got some satisfaction from eating raw, but it didn't take long for me to feel heavy, uncomfortable, and not myself. Something wasn't right. Despite not feeling great, I still was very convinced that the raw food diet was right, and the problem was with how I was doing it.

That was when I met Lara. Lara is a strong-willed, opinionated woman who, like me was not feeling complete with her raw foods diet. She, like me, had committed 100% to gourmet raw and had delighted in recreating "old" foods, and had fallen off the wagon when she realized it wasn't sustaining her. She, like me, knew that the problem lay in how she was doing it, not in the food. She then gave me the greatest insight into life and health: the 80-10-10 Diet by Dr. Doug Graham. This way of eating (80% carbs, 10% fat, 10% protein) is the ideal combination of calo-nutrients. It is a delicious, fool-proof way of eating. It is the way we are all designed to eat.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It has given me a fearless way of approaching food, it has given me the confidence to make food decisions that only nourish me. It is essentially a Fruitarian diet, with lots of vegetables and greens, and minimal nuts, seeds, and avocados.
Even though May marks my 1 year anniversary to my commitment to eat raw, I think of September 7th, 2011, the day that I committed to 80-10-10 all the way, as a much more outstanding anniversary. Every physical ailment that has ever plagued me has been lifted and my life has improved in other measurable ways. I think clearer, my nails are stronger, my face doesn't break out, I feel lighter, I have more energy, I feel more positive, I am definitely more spiritual, and feel more aligned than ever before that what I am doing is having a positive effect on the environment, on people around me, and to the animals that we share our world with. My digestion is near perfect; I can literally feel how clean I am on the inside. The most amazing thing about this way of eating however, has been my recovery time. After a work out, I feel the usual muscle fatigue, but after eating sugary sweet juicy fruit and staying hydrated, I am ready in 24 hours for another perfect workout.
I know that I have written in past posts about awesome dehydrated recipes that I have made, and they no doubt were tasty, BUT a pizza is a pizza is a pizza. A burger is a burger is a burger. It doesn't matter if it's meaty, cooked, vegetarian, raw, whatever. You can't make a non-health food a health food, it doesn't work like that.
Nearly all fruit has the perfect ratio of carbohydrates (energy, glucose), protein, and fat. It is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. There really is NOTHING in animal products that you cannot get in more bio-available  forms of plant foods. The trick is in eating ENOUGH. Since September I have trained myself to look at 5 mangoes as a meal. I usually start my day with one fruit (eat one fruit til I'm full), eat another fruit for lunch, snack on dates in between, and make a huge salad for dinner. That is how I have been eating since September 7th. Tomatoes and peaches were in season then which was glorious. Then I used bananas and dates as my staple through the winter. Now it is Spring and I am enjoying mangoes, berries, and pineapple. There are infinite kinds of fruit, and no two mangoes are the same! Every bite is a delicious adventure. And the best part? I am not giving up anything. I am indulging every day in ripe, sugary sweet fruit, I feel light and full of energy, my digestion and recovery are near perfect, I get creative with my dressings, I eat what is in season, and I eat real food. Food that can be eaten as is, without cooking, spicing, or processing. Food that has an expiration date in less than a month. It is simple. It is beautiful.