I got on the scale this morning and it said 249, I have lost a little over 1 pound in the past week. This was a bit surprising, I didn’t think I did that well this week. It’s hard looking back to the first time I dropped below 250 and how exciting it was, I didn’t think I would be here again. But, I am moving forward, I’m gonna keep loosing and continue to be positive.
What I have done for the last three weeks in a row, is go to the gym for three days. That’s right, I have been to the gym at least nine times in the last three weeks. Some people say that you have to do something for three weeks in order to create a habit. Hopefully I can stick with this habit and keep up the good work.
One of the things that has been keeping me going is that I can feel and see my body changing. I can see slightly more definition in my arms and shoulders, this is a great incentive to continue working out.
I will be going to the gym tonight with Michelle for an excellent full body workout and am looking forward to more weight loss next Friday!
I guess it’s time I fess up and explain why I have not been putting any weigh ins on the site in a while. After making a conscious decision to take a break over the Holidays I got home from vacation and I weighed 258, I was ashamed.
I let myself go and I shouldn’t have. Every new day is an opportunity for becoming healthier and I made a lot of poor decisions concerning food over the week and a half that I was back in Maryland visiting family. Initially I was hoping that it was water weight or something like that and that I would be back to under 250 in a week or so, then I would put a weigh in up on A Healthy Vegan. A week went by and I did loose some weight, I went down to 252.4, a pretty big drop in a week. I have no doubt that this weight loss is do to my personal training (Thanks Michelle!).
Then we arrive at today, my “official” weigh in day. I stepped on the scale, sucked in and I had lost a little under 2 pounds since the last Friday. The scale said 250.2, I am disappointed but at least I am still loosing.
I will check in with you next week, I promise.
I posted this photo a couple of days ago letting everyone know that we got our first box of organic produce from Boston Organics and boy are we happy with it so far. Let me tell you a little about the type of box that we are recieving, it’s called the Dogma Box.
According to Boston Organic’s website the Dogma Box “includes produce sourced as close to Boston as possible. This is our only box that includes produce restricted geographically! We source produce close to home and move furhter out until we can provide at least 8 unique items.” Buying local and seasonal vegetables is an excellent way to reduce your toll on the environment. One of the reasons that we like to shop at Whole Foods is that they label where all of their produce is from and we can then decide to purchase those items that have traveled the smallest distance. The further a product travels to the grocery store the more gas and oil has been used to get to my plate. Part of being Vegan for me is reducing my impact on the environment and buying local helps me do that. In addition to all of this produce being local it is also all certified organic.
Currently here in the Boston area we are in the depths of winter so being able to get this organic seasonal produce is pretty amazing. We have been very interested in joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) to get fruit and veggies during the spring and summer from a local farm. Unfortunately CSAs typically have a very large upfront cost, one that we always planned to save up for during the year, but never actually did. Boston Organics has solved that problem for us, the Dogma Box is $29 per week and we pay on a weekly basis. Plus, we are still supporting local farmers. Currently we have the box scheduled to come to my office every other week, if we end up eating all of the veggies in a week we’ll switch it to every week.
This week’s box had a bounty of delicious winter produce:
I used some of the red onions and carrots in last nights dinner, I had 2 apples with lunch today and I am excited to figure out how to use the rest of it. Tonight I am gonna try to make a Butternut Squash Risotto.
One of the exiting things about this particular box from Boston Organics is that it will always be changing a little bit and we will get to taste the seasons as the come and go. According to their website “in the summer time you’ll get a bountiful harvest of everything from lettuce to swiss chard, sweet corn to salad tomatoes. As autumn takes hold the box contents start to include more root vegetables, winter squash and apples, and over the winter you’ll see storage crops like carrots, potatoes or onions. Once spring has sprung, the growing season gets going again and the local box greens up with lots of early season produce.” It is going to be a lot of fun to experiment with all of the different veggies we get.
Kale, carrots, onions, & homemade Vegan sausage over brown rice for dinner tonight. Homemade drop biscuits on the side.
Vegan waffles and homemade sausage for a snow day brunch.
My first Dogma box from Boston Organics!
I am so excited about some things going on in my life right now and I would like to share them with you.
After having officially finished three personal training with nine more to go I am so happy with it. I am proud of myself for keeping up with it and I am so thankful Michelle decided to give this gift to me. Obviously I can’t expect my body to look different after only one week of working out hard. But I can feel a difference in my body and that is great motivation to keep going.
For 2011 I have made the decision to really focus on the kinds of foods I consuming. Too often I choose the easy way out of preparing a meal by going out to eat or having a frozen vegan pizza. While it is possible to have healthy meals out I have the ability to create wonderfully healthy meals at home for much less money. Timing has always been the issue for me, “if I only had enough time” I keep telling myself, well enough of that. One of the things we are doing to help us eat more veggies and whole foods is getting local organic fruit and veggies delivered to my office every other Tuesday. A local company called Boston Organics will be delivering them and I will take them home and I will have to cook them or they will go bad, so it is sort of a way of forcing me into cooking more at home. My first box should be delivered today and I am super excited. I will let you know tomorrow what was delivered.
The last thing that I am excited about is something Michelle and I are doing in February. In the most recent edition of VegNews, a vegan magazine, there is an interview with Kris Carr. Kris made a documentary a couple of years ago called Crazy Sexy Cancer, has released several books and currently runs the website CrazySexyLife.com. She is an amazing individual who has learned first hand about the healing power of foods and nutrition. Anyway, because of that interview we checked out her website and it turns out she is hosting a retreat in Stockbridge, MA which happens to be about two hours from us. It’s called Crazy Sexy Life: An Adventure in Health, Spiritual Wealth, and Happiness. We will be learning about nutrition, meditation, how to lower stress, and we will be eating some amazing wholesome vegan food while we are there. It is a whole weekend! We really can’t wait.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading.
Vegan French toast for brunch today after my workout. Life is about balance right?
Check the amazing Darth Vader spatula I got as a gift from my sister, Wendy, for Christmas!
This is what I looked like after my second personal training session. I was sore all over and wanted nothing more than to just lay in one position for the rest of the night. Even though I was exhausted I was really proud of myself.
Heading to the gym last night I was a bit concerned because there was still a lot of soreness from my previous workout. It didn’t matter though, I even got to the gym early and worked out on the elliptical for half an hour before my actual session. To be honest I was kinda hoping that this 30 minute warm up would mean we could move right into the resistance training, not so much. We started on the treadmill, switching between jogging and walking, I kept pushing myself and was jogging much faster than I thought I would be able to, we did that for 10 minutes to get really warmed up.
I enjoy resistance workouts more than cardio, it’s just more interesting. Yesterday we were doing 3 sets of 15 reps on various different machines to get a full body workout. It always seems that the weight I start with is lighter than it should be, but by that last rep on the last set it becomes clear that it is usually just right. On a couple of the exercises I pushed myself a little further and did an extra rep or two. I am trying to prove to myself and my new trainer that I really want this, that it is finally time. In addition Beth seems to think I have excellent form when working out, which makes me very happy. I have always heard that it is more important to have good form than to do a lot of heave weight.
Today I am much less sore than I was after my first session so I guess my body is getting used to the idea of a Tom that works out. My third day to the gym this week will be Friday and then I am meeting with Beth again on Sunday morning at 7:00AM (I can’t believe it either).
I have already started this new year off with a bang. While I may of drank too much and eaten too much over this past holiday season I am making some very important steps to getting back on track. On the first Monday of 2011 I had an appointment with a personal trainer, my first of 12. These 12 appointments are a gift from my wonderful wife Michelle. For the next 6 weeks I will be getting my butt whipped into better shape 2 times a week, and I will go by myself for a 3rd day that week.
Last night we did a light warm up on the treadmill and then moved quickly onto the free weight and body weight exercises. Bent over rows for back strength, bench press, push ups, sit ups, and squats were all on the roster, among others. To be honest I was a little surprised that I was not stronger. After doing a few of each of the exercises it became clear how out of shape I am. Beth, my new awesome personal trainer, was very encouraging though. She said that most people would be surprised how out of shape they are and that I will get stronger fast.
With one personal training session done I woke up less sore this morning than I expected. My triceps were killing me but the rest of the muscles we worked were not so bad. As the day has gone on that has changed, my muscles are now sore even when doing simple tasks like opening a door or scratching my head. I like the feeling though, (for the most part) it reminds me that I did some work and that it’s good for me.
Lunch
Thanksgiving did a number on me. For quite a few weeks now my weight has remained pretty stable around 243 and I was content with that for a couple of reasons. Today though I weighed in at 248.4, I am not content with this. 248 is dangerously close (I know 243 kinda is too) to my first big goal of 250.
Over the years I have become quite an expert at being able to ignore certain problems; like my weight, eating habits or lack of exercise. Since hitting 250 and congratulating myself I have sort of been ignoring the fact that I still need to loose a serious amount of weight. I feel kind of like a broken record writing this lately, blah, blah, blah I am slacking off; blah, blah, blah I can’t get motivated. In a way this here blog has kind of backfired a little bit. I created it, in part, to have some accountability with friends and family and now I don’t write when I think it will be boring to read. But, this will change.
I have started doing some small things to get back on track with my weight loss and fitness. First of all I have been walking to the T stop from work everyday (unless it is rainy). The walk is a little over a mile and according to an application on my phone a leisurely walk burns almost 150 calories, which I know is not a lot but it adds up write? In addition I have gotten back onto green smoothies for lunch and breakfast.
My big problem lately is hunger. I get home from work and I am so hungry that I go on these binges and it seems as though I can’t stop myself. Sometimes I will do awesome at work, drink lots of water have my smoothie for lunch and then I get home and it all goes out the window. This has been the hardest thing for me to tackle of late.
I am planning on getting my butt to the gym this weekend and I have found that the more I work out the more I am willing to make better food choices so hopefully that will help.
Michelle and I had a chance to get brunch at a brand new vegan place in Teele Square, Somerville this past weekend. It’s called True Bistro and it’s safe to say that we finally have decent upscale vegan dining in the Boston area, thank god.
The decor is simple, but elegant. Black and white are the primary colors that will greet you as you walk in. We were there around noon on a Saturday and at first we thought they were closed because all of the lights were off, but there are huge windows that let in so much light they didn’t need to be on. When we first arrived it was pretty slow but it very quickly filled up and there were soon people waiting to be seated. The wait staff was super friendly and polite. Overall it has the feel of a really nice dining experience, to be honest I felt a little under dressed in a t shirt. They have a vegan beer and wine list that we will surely try when we go back but we didn’t on this visit.
We happened to be there for brunch and while I immediately spotted burgers Michelle pointed out the amazing looking breakfast options. They were also offering Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s but I just went for orange juice. After much contemplation I decided to go with one of their tofu scrambles which included house made seitan sausage, grilled onions, bell pepper, and Daiya mozzarella cheese. On the side was a salad and hash browns. Everything was amazing. I don’t know what kind of tofu they used but it had a creamy texture that melded well with the onions and pepper. The seitan sausage was really tasty as well, it was in pretty big slices and had a distinct flavor. The side salad wasn’t particularly special but it helped mix it up and the potatoes were great, brought back memories of hash browns at a diner but with (a lot) less grease.
I decided to get dessert as well which was coffee cake. It too was delicious, dense, crumbly and topped with a cinnamon sugar.
Overall everything was very impressive and we will definitely be back on multiple occasions. It’s so nice to know that this place is here now, a nice upscale vegan place with good food and drinks. It is even assessable by the T. They are located in Teele Square in Somerville, MA which is just a short walk from Davis Square on the Red Line. So there is nothing stopping you, just go.
The Stats:
1153 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144
617-627-9000
An experiment for thanksgiving, chickpea loaf wrapped in puff pastry.
Vegan kale pizza with Daiya cheese for dinner tonight, amazing.