jumboonthebeach

Please, please, please tell me some people in this BuddySlim community are vegetarian or vegan. I mean HELLO, there is a whole population of people who follow a cruelty-free diet. I joined Buddy Slim an avid meat eater but my weight loss was due to my switch to veganism. Since I adopted my new diet I have been fortunate enough to meet one other member who is vegetarian and recently made the switch to full on vegan.  In addition, I have noticed this website is not diverse in the aspect that not many recipes or forums are posted that are geared towards members of the vegetarian community. I am NOT writing to preach that all meat-eaters should be converted to a vegetarian lifestyle. I’m simply wondering where my fellow veg-heads are! Obviously we are misrepresented. I even looked up “vegan recipes” on Buddy Slim and only a small, SMALL handful of those listed actually were vegan. They were “meat-less” but not vegan. If there are any vegan/vegetarian allies out there, let’s get our recipes up online. There needs to be proper representation of the veggie community. I would love to befriend some of these members as well. A vegetarian has different weight loss issues than a person who eats meat. It’s hard to identify with people, food wise, when you don’t follow the same diet and/or lifestyle. Of course fitness tips and other dieting challenges are ten times easier to share experiences about. Nonetheless why should vegetarians and vegans have less of a voice when it comes to recipes and food? Come on my fellow veg-friends, I know you’re out there! Please, voice your opinions (and delicious recipes).

Righty-o, so I went to Mexico this past August and as suggested, instead of worrying over which foods I should and shouldn’t be eating, I just ate– whatever! I mean you only go out of the country how many times in your life right? My outlook on food unsoiled by my normal and often frequent thoughts of “weight loss,” “diet”, and “calories”, truly let me enjoy my vacation to the fullest. I also got in a healthy dose of exercise between climbing Myan pyramids, bike riding, as well as swimming in cenotes (sinkholes filled with ground water and lots of tiny fish- ew). I even managed to utilize the work out facilities at the hotel I stayed at! I probably exercised more in Mexico than I do at home– pathetic.

Once I got back home, I knew I’d have to focus once more on trying to maintain a healthy weight. The good news, I didn’t gain or lose much weight while I stuffing my face in MX. I stayed at about the same weight. The bad news, I still didn’t have any drive, any motivation, to really fully commit to weight loss. It’s not like I was still eating enchilladas and refried beans everyday but i felt a little lost. Perhaps this is the reason I stayed away from BuddySlim.com for so long. I figured what was the point of me logging on if I’m not losing weight? If I’m not going anywhere? I want to share weight loss success with people… not mope around the site looking for “inspiration.”

Of course there was my job and first year of college… I was concerned about my busy schedule: What would become of my eating habits? Then nearly about a month ago I was browsing through diet books at Books a Million. Two books with red sale stickers caught my eye: Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin and Eat This, Not That: The Supermarket Survival Guide by David Zinczenko. I had heard good things about both and decided to purchase them. I consumed Skinny Bitch like a fat kid would cake. The day after I bought the book I decided to follow the authors’ advice and go vegan, at least for thirty days. I was so desperate for a drastic change, it seemed this was my calling.

So I signed the online pledge on GoVeg.com. 27 days later and here I am, still vegan… and honestly… loving it. In almost a month I lost seven lbs and recently gained three back due to a Halloween Party. Nonetheless I might of lost more if a) I exercised, b) I didn’t eat so much bread, and c) if I watched my portion control. I recently realized I needed to adopt a “MORE PLANT. LESS BREAD” philosophy. Clearly there are such things as overweight vegans just as there are overweight meat-eaters. Who knew? Hahaha!

Oh and contrary to popular belief, a vegan diet can be just as filling and nutritious as a meat-based one. Not only has it been scientifically researched, but take it from me, a former carnivore. I would not have stuck to it if it wasn’t good!

So here I am, back on track, sans animal products, my coach bags (sadly they’re made of leather), and four pounds of fat! I’m ready to share my progress and struggles with fellow dieters and continue losing weight.

By the way, any other fellow vegans/vegetarians out there? After my thirty day trial is up I still plan on continuing the lifestyle. I would love to know your thoughts, advice or tips on striving to be a healthy vegan!

SOOOOO,

I go to Mexico this Friday and I’m fearing the endless opportunities that will arise for me to go astray from my healthy diet. I wouldn’t say I’m on a “diet”, “diet” buuuttt I am trying to eat healthier. You know, eat more veggies, stay away from fast food and deep fried goodness. ‘SAY NO’ TO SODA… and all that jazz… All I see waiting for me in Mexico (aside from the killer festivities) is temptation. What truly upsets me, is the fact that I wanted to lose weight BEFORE I went to Mexico and I’m JUST starting to get on track. I’m finding it so hard to… to just… STICK with a plan. I thought I loved exercise and then the next week I get bored of my cardio and strength training DVDs and stoped working out all together (that’s where I’m at now). As an 18 year old girl, many of you fellow weight loss seekers may be thinking, “you’re young, let the ‘food devil’ take your healthy senses!” Well I disagree! I don’t want to be consumed by my weak will power while on vacation. At the same time I realize it’s not realistic to think I will be on a strict diet while vacationing. I just need some words of wisdom that I can think of before I reach for that 2nd tamale, rather than a fresh fruit. Isn’t there some way, some system, where I won’t GAIN weight, but instead maintain or lose without going crazy? I don’t want to over think this- I just need a simple answer: How can I fraternize with Lucifer without letting him consume me?