My Typical Vegan Breakfast

Now that I'm getting to a vegan lifestyle thanks to Freelee the banana girl, my main goal is to eat high carb and a low fat diet. Her Raw till 4 diet has helped so many people with weight, metabolic damage, and hormonal imbalance. It makes sense that eating whole plant based raw foods is immensely more beneficial than cooked, processed foods. You get the raw nutrients you need in whole, complete form.

I'm now on week 2 of the Raw till 4 program, and I typically drink Freelee's famous banana smoothie for breakfast.

I don't measure my ingredients, so I can't say exactly how many cups, tablespoons, or milliliters of liquid and solids I added. But I will try my best to explain:

5 bananas

about half a cup of coconut sugar (it might be more)

fill up until the banana pile in your blender is covered halfway with coconut milk

fill up the rest with water

Now, I know 5 bananas is low. I need to add more. 5 bananas was all I had at hand this morning, which is why I only added 5, and I'm slowly starting to get into eating more in the morning. I've been so used to eating less, counting calories, and restricting my calories, that I think my stomach is not used to eating so much. I'm slowly increasing my food intake, and I'm hoping I can eat 10 bananas in the morning one day. 

I can tell that I am losing weight. I know that in the very beginning of the program, people do lose weight. But depending on how much damage you did to your body with all the fad diets, there will be a period of weight gain. I am just hoping that I don't break down and quit this diet just because of a few pounds of weight gain. 

Another thing is, people forget that exercise is part of the weight loss journey. I've been biking to places I had to go, and it really helps pump the blood in your body, and even though it's a short bike ride, you still get the muscle training you need when you go uphill. My bike has no gears, so I especially get a good muscle workout when there's an upward hill.

The first step to a healthier future is moving your body. Do whatever it takes to get you moving. If it's cycling, try cycling greater distances to explore places you've never been to. If it's hiking, try going that extra mile to get to the top. Explore new places if you get bored with your typical exercise routine.

I want to recommend a good product line from Cotopaxi. They have the best backpacks you can find to use while you hike, cycle, rock climb, etc. They're very light weight, and have many useful compartments that can conveniently help store workout accessories that you'd take. There's a lot of designs to choose from, so take a moment to check them out. They donate a percentage of every sale they make to different organizations across the globe to advance health and other livelihood initiatives. So you know you're helping a good cause.

Let's keep continuing to work towards our goals whether it be by changing our diets to a healthier choice, or by taking some time to exercise. Hope you enjoyed my post, and I'm hoping to log my progress on here the best I can. 

Some Drastic Changes

Hello, everyone. I want to apologize once again for the long hiatus from writing on my blog. Things have been pretty crazy with me lately. There's nothing to really say why I didn't write on this blog because I really did have the time to just sit down and type away what was going on with my fitness life. But I guess I was afraid to say that I wasn't really exercising as much as before, and also to say that I wasn't really caring about what I was eating either. For the past couple of months, I have been going out to eat at in-n-out, binging on sweets (cakes, cookies, etc.), and riding my bike (the only positive) to places I had to go. For those of you who don't know, I don't own a car. I don't even own a license. I should probably get one for identification purposes, but I'm not financially stable enough to own a car. A bike has been pretty sufficient for me to take me to places I had to go in order to get my groceries, chill, and just get my exercise.

Now, I'm writing on my blog because I have had a change in mindset. A little back story about what has been going on in my life is... I worked as a front desk receptionist in an internal medicine clinic. I had so much stress from dealing with all patients that had a problem with whatever the doctor prescribed, whatever the other staff made a mistake on, and of course, the front desk receptionists had to deal with all the complaints they had for the day. Well, this was my first real job, and I have to say, that I was pretty overwhelmed and just hated every moment of it. I loved the people I worked with, but it was the immense amount of stress I got and the immense amount of responsibility I had that I just couldn't deal with. I understand that life isn't easy, and that this is something that I must learn from and go through in order to succeed in life and pursue whatever I want to achieve. I don't regret working there because I did learn a lot from the experience.

Well, when I decided to quit my job and try to pursue my dreams, one of the physicians there wanted to talk to me about what I wanted to do for my future career. I originally wanted to get into medical school, which was why I applied to work there in the first place. But my life history kept yearning for a different path.  So I told this physician that I wanted to get into naturopathic medicine because I've personally went through hyperthyroidism, got treated from an alternative medicine and naturopathic medicine physician and healed when conventional medicine said that I would be taking pills for the rest of my life. This physician laughs at my story and says that hyperthyroidism comes and goes and it's pretty natural for it to do that. He then suggests that I get into DO school rather than go towards the naturopathic medicine route because he believes that I won't make enough once I get out. I told him that naturopathic medicine is my passion, and this is what I want to do. I get confused to whether I think naturopathic medicine is meant for me after leaving my job, and spend a few months questioning my future.

I don't know about hyperthyroidism enough to know whether it comes and goes like that physician explained. But to me, it was months and years of torture. I felt tired almost every single day. I couldn't concentrate in class. My hands were constantly shaking, so I couldn't even write legibly. My grades were dropping at a very fast rate, and I just couldn't bear to go on. Constant depression and anxiety would flood my brain, and it was all due to problems with my thyroid. I honestly don't think this was a laughing matter, but to doctors that learned about this condition from a textbook, it may seem typical. At that time, this hyperthyroidism didn't look like it was going to leave. My thyroid gland was so swollen, I was told to surgically remove it.

After being cured from my hyperthyroidism, I still had problems with my body. I would gain weight, my brain would be foggy, there would be days when I would feel tired. I blamed it on my diet, so I changed my diet to a healthier option. This was when I first started my blog and posted my diet and exercise routine. I tried caloric restriction, counted my calories, and drank tons of water to keep myself from feeling hungry again. I exercised so much to the point where I didn't even give my body any time to rest. Yes, I lost weight during that time. Yes, it worked like how everybody promised. But the diet routine didn't stay. Restricting my calories just made me binge. I would think about food all the time, especially high fat and high refined sugar foods. Exercising helped my mind clear away the fogginess, but the fogginess came back. After the DietBet success that I had, I tried my best to stay the same weight and even lose more. But I plateaued, the weight stayed the same, and I just got heavier. I thought I was gaining muscle weight during my 30 day Insanity program, but my fat just didn't go away. I would get toned, but my fat stayed. In no way am I saying the Insanity program doesn't work. If high intensity exercise is your thing, go for it. If you can keep up the intensity, go for it. For me, I burnt out quickly, and I slowly caved into my cravings and started to binge all over again.

Here I am, at the weight before I started the DietBet. I gained everything back that I lost. Now I realize that weight loss is not a quick process. If you want long lasting, long term weight loss, do not expect to lose weight fast. Fast weight loss is unhealthy, and it never stays. That being said, I recently got into watching some of Freelee the banana girl's youtube videos. At first I really didn't like the way she criticized everybody's diet. I thought she was being pretentious and snobby because she was skinny and thought she could say whatever she wanted to chubbier people. But then I started to watch some of her other videos, and her message started to get through to me. I remember my alternative medicine physician tell me that red meat is not good for my health. So it made sense that meat can increase the chance of heart disease. It started to make sense that milk is not intended for people to drink because it's originally to get calves bigger in size. I did hear about eggs being avoided for people with high cholesterol. I guess when Freelee explained all of these points, it was just a reminder to what is considered healthy and what is not. You hear so much contradicting information on the internet about what is healthy and what is unhealthy. It's so hard to determine who to listen to. You see how long Freelee has been on this Raw till 4 diet, and you see her results. She's been doing it for years, and she is fit. She does explain that there could be an initial weight gain, but then your weight does start to drop afterwards. A lot of people will be put off by the thought of gaining weight at first, but I like to think in long terms. If it'll help me to keep weight off and be healthy, I don't mind.

So, I've decided to try the Raw till 4 Vegan diet. I have a long way to go to truly become vegan, but this is my first step. I'll be documenting my progress to best I can on here, and let you know how I'm doing.

Just a little blurb before I take off. I got into the vegan diet through Freelee, and through her videos, I got into watching some raw food diet documentaries on youtube. In those documentaries, there were a few naturopathic physicians explaining about what they do, and how they implement raw diet into their patients' lifestyle. It got me thinking, and I truly think naturopathic medicine is where my passion lies. No matter whether I can pay off the debt to my loans after attending naturopathic medicine school, I think it's the right thing to do to chase after my dreams. People may say that I'm chasing after false hope, but this is what I've been passionate about. Words of discouragement sent me into a long journey of struggle to find out what I truly want to do. But in the end, I came back to my original dream.

Start your new health goals with small changes. Doesn't matter how small:

Week 2 of Month 2 - Insanity

Week 2 of Month 2 on Insanity started, and I can seriously feel my muscles wearing out. I can say that I do feel like I am improving little by little, but there is a reason why Insanity is called Insanity. There are times when I want to quit everything during the hardest parts of the video. I still find myself resting throughout the video, and although it does make me feel discouraged that I can't go through a video of Insanity without resting, I am still glad that I don't quit before the entire video ends. Month 2 is meant to be harder than Month 1, but I guess I didn't really expect it to be that much harder. Now that I'm on Week 2 of Month 2, I can definitely say that it's harder than I thought. I do feel like I could've gained better results if I changed my diet to a healthier option. But regardless of what I choose to eat, I still feel healthier and I can feel my body getting stronger.

After this week, I only have 2 more weeks to go before I finish the entire 60 day Insanity workout plan. I don't really know what to expect when I finish the entire program. I would like to think that I'll see good results, but I don't want to have high expectations and then feel disappointed if I don't get the results I wanted. So I don't think I'll be weighing myself to see any changes. I've mentioned earlier before that weight doesn't measure your body's value. A number shouldn't determine how fat or how skinny you are. Yes, weight is used to indicate your BMI, but I honestly believe that if you believe that you are healthy the way you are, then numbers shouldn't matter. I exercise not to become skinnier, but I exercise to get stronger. If I'm able to get stronger, becoming skinnier will seem like a bonus, not a goal. I want to be strong and healthy for once, and exercise is one of my many changes in my lifestyle that will help me reach my goal.

As far as what I will do after I finish Insanity, I honestly don't know. I did mention before that I wanted to restart Insanity so that I can master the videos and reach to the point where I can go through one video without stopping. But I'm not too sure if that'll make things too boring. I do get bored doing the same videos, and to be honest, I'm starting to get bored of the insanity videos already. It's not that I think they're easy. They're very hard for me, and I definitely need to improve. But maybe changing things will help me to stay motivated to exercise since it's something new, and I may look forward to doing new videos due to curiosity. This isn't something set in stone just yet, so do let me know what you think. Should I redo Insanity, or should I start a new workout series?

Insanity Month 2 - Start & New Goals!

I've managed to survive through Month 1 of the Insanity program, along with the following recovery week (1 week worth). The recovery week is there for you to allow your muscles to recover and get stronger through all the wear and tear you gave it through month 1. I do have to say that recovery week was still pretty intense. I did feel very exhausted after each workout video with Shaun T constantly advising that I shouldn't be feeling exhausted. But then again, my diet wasn't the best. It goes to show that the saying "you are what you eat" holds true. Whenever I went out to eat an In-N-Out cheeseburger, I felt very heavy and slow throughout the entire day. On the other hand, eating healthy leafy greens and good quality protein made me feel lighter and more energetic. I've learned that eating healthy is crucial to keeping a consistent fitness lifestyle.

When I first started exercising, my main goal was to become skinnier. I wanted to look like the girls on Instagram who posted pictures of their muscular abs, thin waists, and lean biceps. I wanted to be skinny so that I could fit better in my clothes. But I think that's not the right way to approach fitness. By going through the typical cycle of thinking that I have to exercise everyday, missing one day worth of exercise, feeling an immense amount of guilt for missing a day of exercise, and finally feeling discouraged after criticizing myself for not being consistent, I realized that my exercise routine was unhealthy. Nobody should expect themselves to exercise every single day immediately after living an exercise-free lifestyle. It'd be nice to stay consistent and exercise at least 5 days a week. But if you haven't been exercising for a while, it may be overwhelming in the beginning. One major reason why people give up on an exercise program is because they get tired. Their muscles wear out, and they don't know that they need a day's worth of rest in order to recover. Most exercise programs require a consistent 5-6 day per week exercise routine. For some, that may be too overwhelming. Going slowly to change your lifestyle is key to a long-lasting change.

As of now, my goal is just to live a healthier life. I want to be able to exercise 5 days a week, go through workout videos once a day, eat healthy, and become healthy. With exercise, a healthy diet will be craved. With a healthy diet, a healthy body will be achieved. With a healthy body, I can achieve more goals in my life. Imagine all the possibilities out there if you can have a healthy, strong body. I want to be able to hike an entire trail without stopping or feeling tired. I want to be able to mountain climb one day. I want to be able to learn how to surf one day. I want to be able to explore around the world without feeling as tired than I did before. It's not about being skinnier, or becoming more physically attractive. It's about learning more about myself, and to try and be the best version I can make of myself.

I just finished Max Interval Circuit,  and it was terrible haha! 2/3rds of the way, I did fine. The last 1/3rd was filled with rests and heavy breathing. I was terrible at it, but I still went through the entire video slowly, at my own pace. The key to a healthier exercise routine is to not get encouraged. Go at your own pace, and one day you'll breeze through that same old workout video that you couldn't even finish. I'm planning to go through the 60 day Insanity program one more time after this month. So let's see how much I improve the second time around. Wish me luck, and hope my words encouraged many of you going through the same fitness journey. Stay strong, and good luck! :)

Other People's Success is Your Happiness

Exercise was never something that I liked doing. When I was little, being the fastest was important, being the strongest was important, and being good at tag was the most important of all. But when it came to exercise to be healthy or to lose weight, I hated it! As I grew up, health was emphasized everywhere. Being in sports was what made you look cool, and PE was mandatory. Maybe it was the fact that exercise seemed mandatory that I hated it so much. It was the same feeling I got when my parents would tell me to do the dishes, to do my homework, or to do the laundry. I would do them on my own if nobody told me to, but once someone would tell me to do them, I'd feel this sudden resistance to actually do the task I was told to do. Exercise seemed like a constant nag that I became immune to hearing. But one day I got sick, and that was when I realized that health was important. I wasn't exercising to do other people a favor. It was for me.

Now, it does feel good after you finish that tough workout video. It definitely feels good when you look in the mirror and see improvement unfold in front of your eyes. But even this has a limit when it comes to keeping me stay motivated. Once I reach that nice slim body, I lose motivation and I go back to my unhealthy ways! Looking at improvements gets boring after a while sometimes. But then I found something that REALLY motivated me. It was when I saw improvement unfold amongst my friends and family.

I just finished the last exercise for Week 4 of Insanity, and I have been following the program with my dad. When we first started, he could only finish the 1st set of the warmup section. I expected this because my dad has a hard time doing any type of cardio workout. It's been a while since he actually started a good workout routine, and Insanity is a pretty difficult program. I kept urging him to follow along with me, and now he is able to finish all 3 sets of the warmup section without resting! I know that may sounds like nothing, but knowing my dad, I know this is a big improvement. He has never been the type to consistently follow a workout program till the end, but at this rate, it looks like he will finish Insanity with me. Seeing myself improve has been a big motivation, but seeing my dad improve has been a bigger motivation and inspiration in itself. Helping my family to become healthier has been my strongest push to keep going on my fitness journey. I have never been this excited about fitness ever before. :)

I really think finding a workout buddy really helps to keep a fit lifestyle. Try to find a friend or a family member to workout with you. Maybe you can make it into a game by betting who will last the longest. When you see them improve, you'll know what I mean when it helps you to keep going. :)

Week 3 of Insanity DONE!

Finally finished Week 3 of Insanity's workout calendar along with Day 1 and 2 on Week 4. I have never reached this point on the Insanity program ever. I always gave up after finishing Week 2 of Insanity because I felt my body was getting too exhausted. But I finally was able to keep it up, and now I'm not only done with Week 3, but I'm also moving along Week 4 smoothly. It's only been 3 weeks into the Insanity program, and I have to say that I am seeing results. I woke up this morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed my arms were slimmer, and my stomach seemed flatter than before. It's not perfect, but I can definitely notice a difference. I know that I won't see chiseled abs by the end of this Insanity program. A defined, muscular body is built with consistency and dedication. Diet plays a strong role in making the body of your dreams. I may be consistent with my workouts, but my diet is still in need of improvement. I'm still having a hard time cutting out those cup ramen noodles. I know how bad they are. They probably have lots of MSG, sodium, and preservatives that I don't want in my body. But I want to remind everyone that I feel taking things slow is what's important to a long lasting lifestyle change. I've tried changing my diet immediately on the spot, and it didn't last for me. I think what works best is when I slowly change my diet by replacing one food item with something healthier a day at a time.

I also want to touch up on something I learned by going through the Insanity program. There are times during the week (especially Tuesdays) where your body feels extremely exhausted and the workout videos just seem 10 times harder than before. When I say exhausted, I mean that your muscles feel tired, and they don't seem to be holding your body up in good form properly than before. This is the point when it's very difficult to continue the workout program. I find that when I'm put in this situation, I tend to feel this immense force of disappointment and discouragement. But just don't listen to what you're thinking. You might start to think that it's pointless to go on when the same workouts don't feel easier than before, but it's seriously all just in your head. Sometimes saying out loud, "I can do this!' can block out your thoughts. Change the way your head used to think into a more motivational, and encouraging thought process. It's ok if you have to go through the workout in lower modifications, or if you have to pause for a few seconds to catch your breath. You do get better regardless. I promise that you do get better! :) It might also help if you think of your daily workouts as time slots during your day. Instead of thinking "I have to workout for 40 long minutes?!", try to think "It's only 40 minutes of my day. Let's get it over with now!" Looking at my workouts as small portions of my day helps me to not get as intimidated to start. Hope this helps, and let's make our 2016 goals count!

Fitness Life & the Menstural Cycle - Listen to Your Body

As I was working out today, I realized something that might be helpful to a few women who are trying to lose weight. This post is only focused on the women menstrual cycle, so if there are a few men reading this post, please skip ahead to future posts unless you don't mind, then you're free to read this post.

Let me start off by saying that I've always had terrible cramps. When the time of the month comes around, I have the worst pain to the point where advil doesn't help at all. I've tried everything from a spoonful of molasses diluted in warm water to heat pads on my stomach. Nothing really worked. The biggest problem I had with my cramps was when I worked out. Any type of heavy, strenuous exercise caused me to hyperventilate. I don't know why, but it always happened.

With a consistent workout routine, healthy eating, and drinking lots of water, I found that the cramps are almost nonexistent at this point. I no longer have any cramps, and I no longer hyperventilate when I work out. The only problem I have now is the exhaustion. I feel heavier, dizzy, and just tired. Those workout moves seem 10 times harder than before, and I have to pause a lot more often to catch my breath. But if I compare myself to how I used to hyperventilate, this is a pretty big improvement for me. I still workout on my heaviest days, but I take things down a notch. I make sure I'm resting, taking a breather, pausing, and slowly easing back into my workouts.

Regardless of how important exercise is, I want to emphasize that you must take care of your health. Don't feel bad just because you're going slower than before. Don't feel like you have to push yourself to your limit every single time you workout. The only thing that's most important is that you found the motivation to take some time to workout today. However, if you are still feeling excruciating pain due to your cramps, it's ok to take a rest for that day. Listen to what your body wants more than what you think is best. If you're body is tired, give it a rest. If you're having a very hard time breathing while exercising, go for the lower modifications and take things slowly. As long as you're slowly improving little by little, that's all that matters. And of course, stay hydrated and drink more water than before when you're going through your menstrual cycle. Stay strong, and keep up your goals to a  better and healthier tomorrow, ladies! :)