I'm Still Here!

This is when I am VERY thankful that I don't really have a fan base. Everyone would have thought I quit! As I say to myself whenever I see the rude trainer glaring at me in the mornings, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here every day."

I'm officially six weeks out now, and I'm equal parts excited, nervous and terrified! My suit is done and will be mailed today, so I could be trying it on as soon as tomorrow or so. It looks absolutely gorgeous from the pictures:



I had a rough weekend because it seemed like my eating was out of control. I blame it on that time of the month (and I should get a gold medal for not missing the gym anyway!), but I was eating a ton of Brazil nuts (I read that they boost selenium and testosterone and thought "why not?"), coconut oil and fake honey on popcorn and five-minute carrot cakes for one with coconut whip cream and vegan cream cheese toppings. I figured that would be my last "hurrah" before getting very strict from this week on out. It'll basically be down to spinach smoothies, protein shakes, veggies and fake meat. I think I can do it! I'm already down to 125.8 lbs and about 12.8% body fat, so that feels better than any dessert would taste :)

Thank goodness I have more going on in my life than just training and cooking food. I finished my first semester of teaching at Greenville Tech on Friday. It was more rewarding and pure fun that I ever could have imagined starting the first day. My students were appreciative of everything I helped them with, and it was great getting to know each student's individual personality. Several of them remind me of myself 5-10 years ago :) I believed in some of them so much that I helped two of them ALREADY get training jobs at my gym! One of them is my awesome student trainer! I'm excited to see them wear the blue shirt soon :)

I also applied for a blogger position with Meat Free Athlete to be the "bodybuilder" (although I'd be happy with the "food lover" position, too. I would love the exposure and the chance to write! I was also hoping to join the Plant Built team for this year, but they aren't accepting athletes until next year :(

This week I'm going to focus on work and also try to take some down time to "check in with myself." It seems like it's been far too long since I've sat down and written out the things that I want out of life right now.

Playing Catch Up!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. It's a good thing this blog isn't popular enough to be letting down a bunch of fans ;) I was in Williamsburg, VA, on Spring Break vacation with my parents this week, and some good things have been happening :)

The thing that I'm the most excited about is finding a new guy (I know I'm in beast mode/training mode, but I have to have a life too, you know?!) It's been a very interesting journey with him already. It started out so innocently: it was the Sunday I was wearing the "powered by beets" shirt, and I walked right by a cutie on the bike, locked eyes with him, and filled my water for the fifth or so time. I was drenched and couldn't wait to be home, but not before letting him know that he was a total cutie. One of my pet peeves is when you compliment a man in the gym and he immediately snaps, "I'm married." Hey buddy, that's great, but all I was saying is that I appreciate the hard work you've been doing, not trying to wreck your home. For this guy, I opened with, "I don't care if you're single or not, but I just wanted to tell you that you are cute." He chuckled and said, "You're cute, too." We shook hands and traded names (Eric and Erin, how convenient), and I put his number in my phone.

That wasn't even two weeks ago, and it seems that we are both intrigued and smitten :)

He is such a novelty to me because I've almost only online dated for the last few years, and it's different to meet a person "in real life." I didn't know his age, job, interests, or even height (he as on the bike the whole time), and it was up to me to figure him out at my own pace. I didn't even see him until the following (last) Saturday, when we decided our first date should be a daytrip to the Biltmore - he'd never been! I asked if he was going to hit the gym with me before we headed out, and that's when he revealed...

His 28-year-old body has been plagued by rheumatoid arthritis for about a year :( He met me at the bottom of my stairs and limped his way up. His main trouble spots are feet, ankles and thumbs. He's just taller than me (I'm 5'4.25", but he didn't realize my saying, "Wow, you're shorter than I thought" was a HUGE compliment. It's obvious to outsiders that he has some type of problem based on his limping, but we were able to do everything we wanted that day. Even my feet hurt after that much walking, so I had to give him major credit. The most endearing part was the conversation at dinner about if I was cool with dating a person with RA. I was flattered that he wanted my opinion, and my answer required no thought: "It wouldn't change how I feel." I then explained that because I've had so many people have a "problem" with my lifestyle, I'd be a hypocrite for not wanting to take a chance with him. He was also brave enough to share this delicious meal with me at Rosetta's Kitchen - pulled Portobello BBQ, vegan chili, coconut curry over rice, and sweet potato fries:



We also shared an excellent goodnight kiss; the kind that makes you feel a little wobbly and fluttery and a lot excited about the future...

I couldn't wait to see him again, so he met me in the gym (Easter Sunday) right when it opened at noon. I expected him to be in a lot of pain, but he was walking just fine in ankle supports. He was practically glowing (I call it an "Erin high," ha) and was just so adorable that I had to give him a peck right when he came up to me (also a plus, because one of my "biggest fans" was close by.) He was wearing ankle supports that allowed him to walk in a way that made me forget he was limping the day before. He’s not quite ready for the two-hour sessions I do on the weekends, but I enjoyed having someone to occasionally glance over at and smile to while he was there. I had an amazing workout, and then I decided I couldn't wait a week to see him again. A few hours later, but a couple hours before my parents came for my week trip, I went to his place, which is a convenient 2.8 miles away.

My anxiety over the vacation had been building for probably a week, so I wore myself out with prepping food in advance. I came up with the most amazing breakfast tofu scramble, and it will probably become a breakfast staple:



I forgot to pack the tahini that Mom brought, but I also whipped up my first beet hummus – pretty good, but I’m sure the tahini was the key:



I was excited about some of the food options that I found for Williamsburg, and we decided on the restaurant Food for Thought for our first night. I’m glad we did, because the menu was more veggie-friendly than the pamphlet I viewed while we checked into the Wyndham condo. I was able to substitute two vegan chik’n breasts for regular ones and get them Jamaican jerk and cilantro lime style with veggies, and Mom got a humongous stuffed acorn squash. Yum:



The next night we had more vegan pizza, which we also had the night my parents came into town. Sunday night was Brixx Wood Fired pizza, which was a veggie mix including artichoke and soy cheese on whole wheat crust. Tuesday night was a buy one, get one for $5 extra large pizza deal at Z Pizza, and Mom and I shared a Berkeley Vegan with faux sausage, zucchini, other veggies and soy cheese on whole wheat crust. Mom even admitted that my pizza was better than Dad’s American, which included ham and sausage. I had to make a “sacrifice” that I hated by tossing the crusts (outside so the animals could get them, and we saw a crow the next day with a huge crust hanging from its beak), but I made up for it with a delicious side of baked kale with sliced almonds and nutritional yeast:



I was incredibly pleased with the fitness center and the amount of traffic in it. I almost didn’t get to do cardio a couple times, but I practically had free reign over the weights. I used nice Life Fitness equipment that I had used once before in Gainesville, GA, and it’s the kind that uses a row of buttons that you push in for resistance. I think it uses more of a resistance band system than weight plates, and it’s smooth and user friendly. It also almost wasn’t a match for me! The levels went from 1-12, and I “maxed out” the lat pulldown, overhead press, chest press and preacher curl. Booyah! I got to have an encouraging private body image moment with myself on Friday morning. I was the first person in, and I was wearing a spaghetti strap racerback top with built-in shelf bra, so most of my upper back was visible. I looked SHREDDED in the mirrors that were arranged so I could view my lats. I hadn’t seen my back like that in a while, and it was just the motivation that I needed. I know that I could have eaten a lot better this week, and I’m starting to feel a little heavy…

I navigated through other obstacles as a vegan but came out as a winner! Mom allowed me to stock her purse with Good ‘N Natural bars while we toured Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens, but I also found a salad and vegan chili at a burger place called Retro’s in Williamsburg:



and a vegetarian combo of cabbage, baked potato and salad at Busch Gardens:



The ultimate meal was at The Yardhouse in Virginia Beach. We had a great time checking out the beach and the boardwalk, and we made it there about 5:30, while happy hour prices were still good. Check out this part of the menu!



And the spread of food: vegan jerk chicken nuggets, tofu mushroom lettuce wraps, vegan orange peel chicken and vegan BBQ chicken salad. One of the best restaurant meals I’ve had in a long time, probably since Valentine’s Day’s romantic vegan four-course event.
We’re heading home today, and I’m very very ready to be in complete control of my diet and exercise again. Mom tortured me by buying clearance Easter candy that I couldn’t eat and having bread products and stuff that I try to avoid most of the time. I’m proud of the work I put into the fitness center, but now I have a better understanding of how temptation can bring even the strongest person to her knees…

I’m equally excited about seeing Eric tonight and introducing him to my parents (which doesn’t happen much, that’s for sure) over dinner at Swad, an entirely meatless Indian restaurant that was recommended by a reporter from The Greenville News. I found her on Twitter, answered some interview questions and will be getting my picture taken this week to be featured in a story. Score one for the V Team!

Tomorrow will include a workout and Spinning with Eric, a performance by the Acrocats kitties and the Asheville Aerial Arts team in Asheville and probably a delicious vegan meal up there  My morning time will consist of trying to unpack and prep for my week as well as trying to establish some sort of normalcy. How could I forget, I’m most excited to pick up my baby Jezabel – a miss her A LOT after a week!

Sponsor Me!

This is the picture I took yesterday after receiving it from the Meat Free Athlete company. This is also the picture I posted on Twitter last night. Within FIVE MINUTES, I had been told I was looking great by the MFA founder, a vegan cook who published five books AND an athlete sponsored by Vega (my dream!) I was riding a high all night long feeling like a mini celebrity, and it carried over to today. I kept thinking to myself, "SPONSORSHIP!!!!" and as feeling so great in my Nike outfit that I also thought, "Nike paid me to wear those clothes, and I need to do them justice!" It's amazing how far a few mind games can go...

I wish I could say everything was perfect right now, but one unfortunate thing has put a damper on me. I'm thankful that I can always turn anger into fuel and put a positive spin on things. The female trainer (we might as well just call her "nemesis" from now on...) as standing near a machine I wanted to use. Her foot was on the pad, but honestly, that doesn't mean that she was using it. I came up from behind and said, "Can I get in here?" She ignored me, although I KNOW she heard me. A second time, and then she whipped her head around and snapped, "I'm working here." Wow, ooooookay, way to prove the rumors about her poor attitude correct. So sad that she's a graduate from the program for which I now work.

I had a great rest of the workout after shaking it off because I thought to myself, "Guess what, you may be intimidated by me or not like me, but I'm not going ANYWHERE." I'll be there every day, sometimes twice. No better revenge than success, eh?

I ran into a guy who I hadn't seen in about six weeks, and he couldn't stop commenting on how my arms were "all ripped up" - love it! I told him about the Vega and Plant Fusion proteins I use, and he's totally interested in trying them! I could be an ambassador after all ;)

It's been really great to have people asking about my journey, seeking tips and following me on Twitter. I hope it keeps going! Tonight I had a fantastically clean and simple dinner that makes me feel sad for "plain chicken and broccoli" bodybuilding. Pssh, my food is way better!



Nighty night, time to recover and rebuild!

Got My Toes Wet, and Now I'm Hooked!

Officially 12 weeks out and flying high on motivation and encouragement. I even had two new wonderful things to wear to the gym this morning and kill it :) My first pair of Free trainers and my first of several plant-powered athlete slogan shirts:



The tank was a little bit,but the shoes fit like a dream. No one was brave enough to ask about my shirt, but there were tons of cute guys and I was even able to get a number ;) The guy co-owns a pizza place, so I asked if they served soy cheese. He said, "no, but we'll put it on there if you bring it!" Hmm, we have to start somewhere, I guess!

Yesterday I went to my first posing clinic and learned all the poses. We even practiced during the entire walk and individuals in heels. I was the bravest one by wearing a swimsuit under and staying after to pose in it. The coach seemed to take extra time with me and told me I was looking great. I also announced to the group that I was competing as a vegan, and one of the girls told me afterward that she thought it was awesome :) Here's two of the shots:



I feel comfortable with my core and legs at this point, but my main focus no needs to be on growing my lats and delts so I can have a nice broad V taper. I can only do so much, and the rest will just come down to genetics. I hope my legs give me an advantage, though :)

I went down to Atlanta last night to watch a friend from FL compete in an NPC bikini competition. There were some great competitors, but she only had one person up against her in the tall division, so it was an easy win for her. I was shocked at how SKINNY some of the bikini competitors were, but I was most comforted by seeing a ripped girl about my size (who also didn't have a big V back) win the overall novice figure :) The coolest part was sitting next to a couple who competed and having the guy respond with a "So, what's the difference?" attitude about me competing as a vegan. He meant it in a GREAT way, meaning I had just as much of a shot as anyone else. He even knew a little bit about combining dfferent plant proteins. Way to not be a COMPLETE meathead, or at least an educated, open-minded one! :) I had dinner at Cafe Sunflower, and I had to have a piece of vegan coconut cream cake, which was my first dessert in weeks and probably last one for 12 weeks:



I have also continued with fabulous "vegan champ" food for myself, which includes sweet potatoes, quinoa, spinach, beefless tips, broild avocados, tofu with chili paste, and "green" oatmeal with chai flavored Vega One:



I'm relaxing the rest of the day and going heavy on the legs tomorrow. I'm also getting closer and closer to those full splits!

My Back and Forth Mojo

I've taken a little break because I've been trynig to get myself together. I had no idea that my motivation would flip flop so much. I think I was on the edge of mental burnout, because I am still giving 150% to each workout and meal, but then it was like my motivation was completely drained after the cool down. It's great to be committed to my goal, but I can't let the rest of my life fall apart in the process.

I love sharing my lifestyle and my goals with my students and encouraging them to chase after their own. I am rearranging my eating schedule to where I'll be eating plated dinners at work around 5:30 or 6 on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I brought this in on Tuesday, and I almost had to fight some of them off it. I also loved that they thought there was steak on the kabob (I think some of them mistook both the tempeh and mushrooms for meat, ha!)



I've been so proud of myself for my eating, because I have not put a single thing in my body that wasn't natural or whole since I paid my registration fee. I am definitely getting to that point where my body is craving the good stuff and I'm not tempted by anything. Feels good!

I'm also adding to some of my previous records - I'm now up to 27.5 lb dumbbells in each hand for overhead presses and five wide grip unassisted pullups! One of my students saw me in the gym while I was doing them, and he said, "Wow, I have never seen a woman do pullups like that with so much control!" I also got the compliment of my life that morning: an older woman was being trained, and she walked over to me to say, "You look great! I told my trainer I want to look like you." That alone was awesome, but then she leaned in and said, "You know that tall trainer here? Who would ever want to look like that? Too skinny!"

To whom was she referring? My nemesis, of course! Score!

The other thing that is really weighing me down lately is that I feel like when you stand for something, you often stand alone. There is a pattern of men bailing on me before they even give anything a chance because they have that incredibly stupid closed-minded viewpoint that they can't live without meat (or even worse, are Paleo, ugh.) I'm just tired of people saying I'm so wonderful and blah, blah, blah, yet not wanting to accept everything about me. I was down about it last night, but I took myself back into the gym and hit 45 hard minutes on the elliptical (I had already done an hour of plyo in the morning.)

The one other thing I don't quite know how to handle is when I tell someone "I'm competing as a vegan" and they give me the blankest, "uh-huh" look. Come on, people, it's 2013!!!

My student trainer has been such a lifesaver in this process. He told me I should quit beating myself up over being perfect and just give the best I have. That's all he wants, and THAT, I know I can give. I came in frustrated and with a mental block on Tuesday, but he took me to the point of being completely physically done by the time we ended. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I've felt that way!

I guess all I can really do is keep doing what I'm doing. I'm going to bring in some beefless beef tips today and totally blow my students' minds!

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

I haven't said much about Jezabel, but she's my sweet, wiggly, eight-year-old Cocker. I got dressed up in some St. Patty's swag to take her to the dog park with a girl who I met here.



It was another gorgeous mid-70s day here, but I had to spend some time inside in the gym. I went to Anytime, my "old" gym that I don't go to much anymore. I knew it would be practically deserted, and I was right. I also had to check the scoreboard, and yes, it was confirmed that I won last month's challenge with 57 burpees in three minutes!

I saw something that helped me train harder this morning. It was the story of a pit bull whose ears were clipped with scissors and who tried to chew her own leg off to get out of a chain. I bought the "Rescue" shirt to support her recovery, but I was so angered that I was able to turn that into fuel and increase weight on a couple exercises. I also did the heavy ropes longer than intended. Thinking about the pain that animals endure reminded me that any pain I go through will never be that bad. Poor babies :(

On a much lighter note, the staff member was encouraging when I told him about the competition. Everyone else has an (unsolicited) opinion, but he basically said, "You have the muscularity, you're just trying to lean out now, right? You should do great at that and have fun. If nothing else, it'll make you better." And then...he asked if I had sponsorships and said to tell them if I needed any help. I was already thinking I'll make a pitch to both gyms, but really I want to be part of Team Vega more than anything else!

I was starving when I left, but the scale said 126! I'm on my way to leanness!!! I cam home to a slightly more green than normal lunch, which included guacamole stuffed poblanos. That was after I downed my double-the-beets spinach smoothie. I downed half pre-workout and half post, and I think that'll be my new approach.



Speaking of beets, I purchased a "powered by beets" shirt today, along with some meatfree athlete and dog rescue shirts. I love being a walking slogan :)

I've been thinking a lot about motivation, and it seems to align with some of what I'm reading in Brendan Brazier's Thrive Fitness (autographed copy from eBay, what what!) I have incredibly high intrinsic motivation, but it seems to run out immediately. There's not slow decline - I'm on top of the world and then a total sloth. I try to remind myself that I'm an unstoppable, save the world every day, type A perfectionist and should cut myself some slack once in a while, but...it's hard. The two things I don't want to happen during this journey are 1) injury and 2) burnout. I'm hoping this isn't a bad sign of things to come...

Going to bed early so I can wake up even earlier than normal for heavy leg day before an 8:00 dentist appt.

Spring is in the Air

I finally got to wake up at 7:15, which is definitely considered "sleeping in." Saturday is the one day that I'm glad it's still dark at that time. I was excited to hit the gym because I knew I was going to wear my new favorite slighty dressy/sexy purple satiny Nike spaghetti strap tank. I must say I enjoyed seeing my upper back muscles popping out! :)

The most interesting thing I think about my gym is that the female trainer is seriously threatened by me. She shouldn't be, because I'm one of the most anonymous people in there. I may wear girly clothing, but I mostly talk to no one and read my book while stretching. The most saddening thing is that most of the members have terrible form and that a lot of the staff don't correct it. I have to remind myself that it's not my job and not my problem (unless I wanted to spending my time helping everyone and not getting my own workout...)

I was excited to dive into another Svelte drink immediately post workout:



It was a high of 76 today and the first time I got to wear short sleeves, capris and sandals today. My nickname is Sporty Spice, so naturally my biggest fear about competing is the heels. One of the previous competitors even suggested I got for 5-inchers! I bought these shoes this winter on clearance, so time to rock them!



I went to an olive oil bar for olive oil and vinegar tasting and politely opted out of tasting the dark balsamics on the (nonvegan) ice cream. I'm a sucker for truffle oil, which is very expensive, but I think I just made the absolute best ever pesto with it. Ohhhh my yummy! I also found a pineapple vinegar that I'll be mixing with soy sauce to make a marinade for tempeh veggie kabobs. I swung by the St. Pet-rick's Adoptathon at the animal shelter to drop off a few donations and see the animals. It will probably be one of the organizations for which I try to raise funds :) I bought a couple clearance small belts for my now-looser pants, yay! I also finally ended the dessert tea saga by getting peppermint chocolate Republic of Tea from World Market, and I couldn't resist a big bottle of sugar free white chocolate Torani syrup.

My dinner is random but delicious:



I'm trying to shave my dog (which usually happens in installments) and want to get to bed early, so let's hope some tea will do it. I have two clever mugs, the one on the right for daytime and the one on the left for night time: