Bloated.....AND Broccoli for Breakfast??

Got my protein in the mail Tuesday afternoon. They are both delicious! The workouts have not been that bad. Today was probably the most difficult, but leg day usually is. I did 200 lunges, 80 squats, 48 leg extensions, 48 leg curls, 48 extensions on the leg press, 96 calf raises and one hour of cardio. The diet? It is bland and IT WILL get old, but it hasn't so far. The only issue I had at first was the option of having veggies at every meal.....including breakfast. I am vegan so there is no veggies-in-my-eggs option. The worst? The bloating! I am bloated 24/7! I am drinking almost 100 oz of water a day and I feel like I am going to explode! By the 4th meal I feel like I am forcing the shake in. This is supposed to only last for about a week and then my body will adjust.
The best part? My new story about having to explain my diet. So NOW I also get to explain that, not only am I vegan, but I can only eat the food on this regimen for the next 14 weeks. No excuses. No cheats. No substitutions. My new boss wanted to take all of the new employees out to dinner last night and I was asked in front of everyone why I declined. So I explained the competition, which was followed by "Well what CAN you eat?". When I gave the list, one of the new nurses said "That sounds obsessive! That is TOO extreme."
I don't like that term.
Am I obsessive? No.
Do I have a goal that I want more than anything? Yes.
Did I pay my trainer a pretty penny to kick my ass and tell me what to eat? Sure did.
Seems silly to pay all that money, not to stick to his advice.
When I went to the gym today, the guy behind the desk that I see everyday said "Good afternoon Ms. Dedication". I like that better. :)

Operation Shred

I received my training schedule and diet from my trainer this afternoon. Yippee!!! Starting "Operation Shred" tomorrow. So far, my regimen will consist of 45 minutes of lifting and 1 hour of cardio 6 days a week. The diet is a "starter" diet that we will adjust as needed. Because I am vegan, he has found some alternative protein sources that I will be using at each meal. I am eating every 3 hours and will be eating 5 times a day. Worst part? I have to drink more than 80 oz of H2O a day. I am usually lucky to get in 32 oz. I will be interrupting work quite a bit the next few weeks with my frequent potty breaks. I can't wait to get started! Chris has even signed up to work out with me. This consists of waking up at 4:30 am. We will see how long he can tolerate that. Poor thing. My last meal? Vegan mac n cheese, a vegan chocolate chip cookie and I made homemade vegan brownies. That is a lot of crap, but it will be the last crap for the next 14 weeks. My first competition is an NGA comp at Bountiful High on September 10th. Can't wait to get started! I want my abs to look like this:

Vegan Banana Bread

I had two recipes and some of the ingredients for each, so I improvised. It turned out really well! YUM!

Vegan Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas

1/3 c canola oil

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

zest and lemon juice of 2 lemons

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 bag of vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree the bananas. Add the oil and vanilla and blend until smooth

In large bowel combine everything else. Fold in the banana mixture, stirring just until it is mixed.

Pop that bad boy in the oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Hello. My name is Summer and I am a Vegan Health-Nut.

I feel compelled to write again about my choice to be vegan. No, take that a step further. I feel compelled to write about the reactions I get from people in regards to my eating choices. I was talking with my friend, Melissa, earlier this month. She competes in figure competitions (my idol) and we got on the subject of people's reactions when your response is "No, thank you." when offered something you choose not to eat. "It is hilarious how people get so offended!" She said. The funniest part is HOW MANY people become offended.
I have often found that when I tell people "no thanks" at work functions, the immediate response is peer pressure! "Oh, come on! Look at how skinny you are, you can have one brownie!" or "How about this, instead? Aren't you hungry?" or "Are you sure?"
My response: "No, it's ok. No thanks." It is most often at this point that people become offended. "Are you dieting?" or "Why not?" or "I made this for this potluck so everyone could have some!"
I choose NOT to tell people that I am vegan, because I have found that a TON of people intially tag you with a snotty-too-good-stamp. When I wasn't vegan, but I was also still a health nut, I received many of the same responses ESPECIALLY when I informed people that I never eat fast food. The best question before I was vegan was always "Why?"
Why do I choose to be healthy? hmmmm......I dunno.
Eating healthy is a choice. I don't judge you for eating your whopper or brownie or whatever so STOP IT with the judgemental looks and attitudes. I feel like an alcoholic coming out of the closet everytime I am forced to tell people I can't have something since I am vegan or I am lifting or I am getting ready to compete.
I have never felt pressured in my life to smoke a cigarette, but I have often felt cornered by coworkers when it comes to eating something they have prepared for everyone to eat that doesn't fit into my diet regimen.
I also find other assumtions quite amusing, like "She can't, she is vegan or something." or "She doesn't hang out because she is training." Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit.
I am happy to explain to anyone what being vegan is like. Honestly, it's not that big of a deal. It isn't very hard for me because I naturally don't eat a ton of meat. I do spend time at the gym each day, but it equates to about 2 hours. There are 24 hours in a day, so it is obviously silly to assume that I am unable to participate in something simply because I go to the gym.
On the flip side, there are those that have wonderful and warm responses and do not pass judgement. To you folks, my response is thank you for being adults. I recently started a new job and all of the staff there have been nothing but nice when I have said "No thanks."
I am off my soapbox. :)
I met with my trainer again this afternoon. I went to the NPC show on Saturday and all of his contestants placed and one took the overall! YAY! I can't wait. Sending my pic to him tonight and the diet and training workouts start on Sunday. I haven't been so excited since I signed up to run my first full marathon!

Vegan Brownies with Tofu Frosting

Is this healthy? No. I start training next week. I found a new trainer that has a ton of experience training vegan figure competitors. I will be competing in September and October! So, in the meantime, here is some sugar for my sweet tooth since I won't be having any more for the next 16 weeks.

Vegan Brownies:
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 c canola oil
3/4 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 c vegan chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 sweetened shredded coconut (optional)
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square pan and set aside. In large bowl mix dry ingredients.
Add wet and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased pan and bake for 35 - 40 min or until toothpick comes out clean.



Tofu Chocolate Frosting:

1 package silken tofu (approx. 12 oz) patted dry

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp powdered sugar

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until very smooth.

Finished Product:

 I went to the NPC at Cottonwood highschool last night and was blown away. More motivation for the September and October shows. More updates and news to follow. I should be getting my meal plan from my trainer sometime this week!



Baba Ganooj!

Mazza. A little cafe on 9th and 9th. Middle Eastern Food. Best part? Vegan options! Delicious. I ordered the Baba Ganooj, mostly because I hoped that the food tasted as fun as it is to say. I also ordered Fattoosh, only because it rhymes with Baba Ganooj AND it has the word "fat" in it. Here is the Fattoosh.

Yummmmmmy! Chris took me out to dinner to congratulate me on my new job that starts on Thursday. We ended with dessert at City Cakes and Cafe which is 100% vegan and amazingly dangerous. I could eat all of their goodies in one sitting!

http://www.citycakescafe.com/

I have also tried the vegan version of cream cheese, Tofutti. It is delicious on yummy bagels. Here is a picture of it on my desk at work:

On another note, I met with the trainer last week who has given me an estimate on training for the October Fitness Comp. My body fat was measured, SUPER FUN (sarcasm). I think I had a constipated look on my face the whole time at the thought of someone pinching my fat and measuring it. Attractive? Yes. Luckily I was less than 20% so I am able to train to compete in October. I am meeting with another trainer this week to make my decision on a trainer for the fall show.....dun dun dun. I will keep you posted on who is the winner! When I say "you", I mean all 4 of you that read this. Thanks for staying true to being fans on my bloggy. So exciting.