VeganX , Goes primal?!

So my husband and I have been wanna be vegans for several months now. I say wannabe because we can never quite go all the way, at least not for more than a week. It's hard to convert a family to a vegan diet and eat that way ALL the time. Vegan diets are time intensive for the cook and are certainly not convenient if you are cooking everything but yet always on the go. And then there's the carbs! I know, I know vegan food has different carbs that should not have the same as effects as the processed stuff. But I am stuck at 24% body fat despite crazy, long, intense workouts, and I think the rice, pasta, and oatmeal may have something to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I still love my vegan food and I still applaud the current research that is being done. But I wanna look good this summer and I want all my hard work and restrictive eating to pay off.
So, how does one do that? Well I have been researching the Paleo style of eating and Mark Sisson's "The Primal Blueprint" and there are a lot of interesting points to consider. I am fascinated with these books and amazed at how a concept so opposite of the Forks Over Knives approach can be so equally convincing. But are they truly soo opposite? Yes FOK is vegan, and Primal Blueprinter's eat meat - BUT they both refuse processed food, Primal Blueprint even a little more so than FOK and Engine 2.  The Primal Blueprint (from here on abbreviated PB) excludes ALL processed food, including grains and anything else in a bag, or box, or engineered in a lab (I mean made in a factory ;) ). FOK and Engine 2 allow bread, pastas, and other grains as long as they are "whole".
SO what is the problem with whole grains you ask? Well, nothing probably. And that's especially true if your an endurance athlete and love to run for miles on end. Personally I love a good 5 mile run. But then comes the powerful hunger after the run is done. I'm talking all out, ravenous, stomach turning inside out, give me carbs NOW hunger. This always happens to me during running season, and I have always wondered what is the point of all the running if I come home and eat everything in site?
And why am I always tired - make that exhausted? I should be wild with energy. I'm fit, I watch what eat, but then why do I need to sleep for 14 hours a day and still feel tired. Well, Mark says I'm a victim of what he calls "Chronic Cardio". According to his fitness plan anyone who logs miles and miles each week or spends countless hours on the stair-climber will experience this. Considering Mark is a former ironman, this concept peaked my interest in PB. He should know about this right?
I won't get into the details of "Chronic Cardio", it is explained well enough in his book and on his website, http://www.marksdailyapple.com . But his fitness plan addresses the issues of avoiding fatigue, creating core fitness, and burning body fat to get lean and toned without bulk. And P90X fits in here too, as long as you avoid doubles. Truth be told, I don't really love running, especially after a P90X workout. I just love the idea that it will make me skinny. However, I am addicted to the endorphines running creates so I will have to hope my sprint day(s) (Turbofire HIITs) will still provide that. Anyway, download the Primal Blueprint Fitness Guide from the website to get all the details on conquering chronic cardio.
So back to the diet. As I mentioned, I am stuck at 24% body fat. I have been at that percentage for three years now. And I have reached a point with weightloss where I am not going to really "lose weight" anymore. I just need to shed the fluff that's covering the muscles. To do this I need to eliminate a lot of the carbs I am eating, at least for a bit. So, assuming the vegan diet, I am left with veg and some fruit, maybe some beans once in a while. That means my caloric intake will plummet. I can eat bowls of greens everyday and the calories would be sparse. Adding in more fruit is an option but that adds more sugar/ carbs - not the goal. So, seeing as how I don't want to live on vegan protein shakes, I will have to add something in to make up for the lost grain calories. I am thinking eggs and SOME Primal meat i,e. grass-fed, hormone free, etc. (see http://www.eatwild.com/index.html for farms in your area).  I would like to essentially combine the concepts of FOK and The Primal Blueprint to form the best processed-food-free plan I can muster. This combining of concepts is still a work in progressbut includes LOTS of veg, a little fruit, SOME eggs or whey protein ,and occasionally A BIT of meat (yikes!). It will take a lot of trial and error and I'm not sure how it end. And who knows I may nix this whole idea all together if I don't feel better. Only time will tell. But let's hope it ends with a tight tushy and svelte abs!

What a week!

Many of you know that the past week was very challenging for me and for my family. Thank you to everyone who offered support and prayers. That being said, my rest week came a week early. I had not worked out since Tuesday and my nutrition was a disaster. Normally I would be very discouraged today and feel like giving up. But this time is different. Maybe it is the circumstances, but this time I am more resolved than ever to make it to the end.
I went for a 5.16 mile run today and worked my core and I will restart P90X tomorrow. I'll go ahead and do week three of phase 1 and may even add in one more week before I move on to Phase 2, just to get solidly back on track. It will depend on how I feel. I did one Chalean Extreme workout last Monday and while it will always be my first BB love, there is something about this P90X. I did Chest and Back last Tuesday and  I am getting noticeably stronger each week. I can't stop now right?
I'm strangely excited to get back to my veggie-filled diet. We watched a very interesting movie last night called Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. I think a prolonged fast is an extreme way to get started on the path to healthy eating but this film is really good. It shows exactly what the standard american diet is doing to a lot of people and really exposes what very obese people go through as a result of their diet.  Here's the link to Hulu where you can watch for free:  Fat Sick and Nearly Dead movie link just in case it doesn't play below.

I have workout A D D!

I swear I have the shortest attention span when it comes to workouts. I love them all, but I can't do them all at once! Anyway I am re-evaluating P90X because I don't think there is enough leg work for me. I am used to three days of lower body training and lots of running or plyo and I'm just not getting that with P90X. We'll see what happens as the week goes on . . .

Time for some Cardio!

So it's been a few days since I've posted anything. I've been busy working long hours so I just haven't had time. I have been working out though :) Yesterday I worked a 12 at the hospital and I totally blew it on the diet. I am such a stress eater! But I'm back at it today and it was time for some serious cardio to burn off some of the added carbs I ate at work. Here's a bit of my Insanity Workout ( I look so goofy!)

You can do P90X Pull-ups!

"The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises" taught me a cool trick for doing assisted pull-ups! I cannot do even one pull-up on my own, but author Adam Campbell suggests using superbands for assistance.
I've never really been good at using a chair to assist with pull-ups during my P90X workouts. I always end up using my legs to push me up instead of pulling up with my arms. If your like me, you probably don't want to invest in a big, bulky pull-up machine so superbands are the way to go. Superbandsare flat resistance bands that are looped and basically look like giant rubber bands.
Steps for doing assisted pull-ups:
1. Loop the end of your band around you P90X pull-up bar and through the other end of the band securing close to the bar.
2. Place your hands in position for the type of pull-up you'll be doing and then place your knees (or feet of you have a long band)in the bottom of the superband.
3. Proceed with pull-up exercise.

Now your doing pull-ups! And eventually, with some practice, you'll be doing them on your own!

Week 2!

It's Monday and I've made it to week 2! I've decided to start doing my workouts in the morning to make sure I get them done so this video includes a makeup free face and gross hair. I'll post and old article I wrote about using resistance bands to assist with pull-ups and here's the link to the sodastream website so you can check that out if you want. http://www.sodastreamusa.com/

P90X Days 4-6

It's Saturday today and I am playing catch up! Thursday is my Friday and I was beat so I decided that I would take my rest day that day. Unfortunately my rest day spilled over into Friday and I didn't workout again :( . But that is how life works and no one is perfect. I just picked up where I left off today and did Legs and Back and some TurboFire (my sub for Kenpo X). Tomorrow I will do some yoga and then the schedule starts over again on Monday.  I have to be honest, I am not looking forward to Chest and Back again. I cannot do a pull-up to save my life and it's very defeating to pull with all my might and not move one bit! Gotta keep trying though and figure out a way to get it done. More videos next week!

Here's a youtube video that Chris told me about the other day. It's a very interesting look at obesity and the future of some many kids in Amercia . . .