Vegan protein & weight loss / building muscle / body " building"

Firstly, I'm not " body building " in the sense that you might think as bodybuilding , I'm trying to rebuild my body,  and gain muscle mass to give me the muscle I lost during illness, to provide me with optimum strength and help my endurance in the gym . 

This week I've been training with the fun yet hard Harvey , gosh he works you good! Gareth is a softie in comparison , but both of them know exactly what they are doing when it comes to personal training, especially when it comes to nutrition. 

( my food - it's not always really protein rich which is a problem - I need to have 2 -3 times the normal amount at the moment ) 

Gareth's been banging on at me for weeks, I know I need to up my protein, but being vegan minus soya makes it tricky , even though I dislike the soya bean these days after researching it, so id never use soya - but that's personal preference . 

So, after a chat with Harvey yesterday , I thought I'd follow his advice and invest in some more protein powder. I like sun warrior , but it's expensive. Especially when you get through a bag a week or two ! 

I was just wondering what protein powder you guys have? 

I'm starting on the reflex one, I will report back to let you know what it's like , it has mixed reviews ! 

Also, what are your tips on getting 100-150g of protein into a vegan diet minus soya on a daily basis ? Tricky one! 

How to loose weight and change your lifestyle. ( I lost 3 stone in 6months )

Weight loss.

I'm going to write this in sections - so anyone who's been asking me to write about my weight loss, can look at it as a reference and start making the changes I did . I get asked a lot through my Facebook page about it, and so it's time I write it all down.... Any questions just leave me a comment below!

( me before the 3 stone weight loss - hiding behind my boys ) 

I've never believed in fad diets, before now I've been on slimming world twice and yes I lost 2 stone each time, but I also put it back on straight after stopping going! The reason is : it's a business and they WANT you to keep going back! It doesn't allow for things such as good oils unless its In fish, They promote carbs with everything and all you can eat potatoes & pasta, I mean come on! Is that something to be promoting? Starving your body of essential things and then chucking loads of carbs into it? I think Not!

( another picture before I changed my life- I remember that day because I'd been in hospital for 3 weeks really poorly and I remember thinking " one day I will make sure I never feel this ill again and I'm able to walk unaided) see the chair in the back? Yes , I was so weak from illness I had to sit or be wheeled .

Before i changed my diet : 

The first thing I did was increase my water intake to 2.5 litres a day, if your not drinking enough water (you can add slices of lemon or lime) your body will be retaining water all over your body and this is known as Water Retention. When I started drinking the amount of water my body needed , I lost around 5lbs in the first week alone. 

After I'd been ill, for almost 18 months, I really wanted to change I joined slimming world as a Vegan minus soya - it was tough! Short story - lost about 1.5 stone ,   Then 6 months after I'd put most back on because the 'diet' wasn't suitable for me, and now I can see why! It's completely a business plan! 

(A brief smile for Seth as he took this at Christmas, this was during my illness - all the medication / time in hospital had made me pile weight on, I felt so ill that I didn't really care to be honest - so sad)

Time for a huge change.... 

I'd been searching around for an answer for so long I felt bitter about being unable to eat what I wanted , no soya or cheese was a real misery for me at mealtimes, but after Christmas '12 I decided to embrace my allergies and be a happy Vegan minus soy! 

Cutting out a drug : SUGARS / Sweetners that are refined or made. 

The first change I made was cutting out refined sugars (Since ive never been a fan of sweetners i didnt need to do that, but id suggest you cut sweetners out completely ) I used to literally crave something mega sweet after I'd eaten a main meal, and throughout the day, it is a drug, a powerful drug at that too! 

I'm shocked more people don't actually realise it , but once you remove it from your diet it changes the way you eat completely ! You taste things with a clean palette, you enjoy things so much more than you did before ! 

I will warn you though, you get withdrawals, I had terrible head aches and sweats - as did Pauly! Giving up things like Chocolate for him were the hardest I think . 

No sugar, happier food! 

So once I'd kicked my sugar habit (I felt so many vile withdrawals that I mentioned!) I noticed that I was tasting things in a whole new way and that I no longer had to have a high of sugar to keep my mood or body happy. 

The one thing i vividly remember is how different Nakd Orange Cacao bars tasted! Completely different! Before they just tasted of one flavour and now? I could taste everything as if it were eating indivual pieces of different food - crazy!

(Me yesterday - 3 stone lighter exactly - still working on my health / weight / fitness )

Eating more raw foods . 

The next thing I did was change my diet to a 80% raw diet , think about this one , before judging it......

You can still have raw chocolate, raw cake, raw everything really if you're willing to put in the time, and effort! If foods are raw they have all the natural enzymes in tact and they are able to fuel your body in a hugely different way . 

( Top; half way through my lifestyle change. Bottom : me at 2.5 stone gone !)

When your thinking about the food you NEED to consume, think about your 'calorie' choice intake, and carb intake too ( when I was at slimming world, they promoted "No calorie counting "  .... " no portion size control" ...... " unlimited carbs on a green diet") 

It was total rubbish! Think about the amount of calories you need to function, but also for you Burn the fat off your own body ... For me it's around 1400 calories a day. I'm not a massively active person, I don't walk 10-20 miles a day, I don't run everyday, I don't burn off the RDA of 2,000 calories. 

Carbs? Again, not being massively active, ( yes I go to work , am on my feet all day running around after patients and then my children ) but I don't Need a ton of carbs. Carbs are everywhere too! From blueberries to brownies - they are there! I eat on average around 100-150g of carbs daily. 

But think about your timing of foods - carbs are a fuel - use them when you need them , not after 7pm , unless you're going on a massive hike or run . 

I'm going to write about everything else in weeks to come, as there is so much to say and different topics ! 

What's the hardest thing for YOU to lose weight? Leave me a comment and I will try and help . 

Laura x

Yesterday - feeling happy climbing mountains - in every sense! You CAN do it! You just need the right information! 

Vegan • Carbs • Diet • "Should I eat carbs if I'm trying to loose weight "

So it's 2:30 am - I woke up 30 mins ago to feed Opeie, started thinking and now I can't get back to sleep ! 

When I wake up in the night I always end up googling recipes , and catching up with a few of my friends food blogs, which Is bad for two reasons - one, I never remember what I've read in the morning after , and two, I always end up so hungry ! ( like now. ) 

I've been thinking about our 'relationship' with carbs for a few months now, that people are scared of the carbs in their food, that people don't eat meals with carbs when trying to loose weight , that celebs in the media talk about having minimal or zero carbs to stay skinny, and then diets like the Atkins . 

Guess what ? It's rubbish. ! I eat loads of carbs ! Carbs are in everything pretty much anyway , from raspberries to chickpeas, to gluten free bread to normal pasta! It's how you use them how it matters , as a fuel source to give you energy ! 

( yes, nuts are "high" in carbs - but also protein, good fats & oils ) 

When people say " I don't have carbs" I find it hard to believe as pretty much everything has carbs on one level of another , you can have a clean carb diet which is better for you ( minimal processed carbs, And less starchy carbs ) but its really about balance ! 

A clean carb diet is just that, carbs from an original source , but I personally believe that some gluten free items should be eaten without fear too , since gluten is one of the main fear factors in carbs - it's the thing that ( can ) make you sluggish , tired, achey, run down , and ultimately have a reaction to such as bloating , and other nasty digestive problems . 

So if you're trying to loose weight or be healthier , don't skip on the carbs , your body really needs them ! You'll have way more energy if you eat them regularly too, I try to eat every 2 hours , which boosts your metabolism . Have a balance within p

Enjoy your food, don't get swept along in the media flurry of food hate. 

Update on loosing weight as a Vegan Mom | Vegan Diet | Weight loss.

Same trousers, different LIFE!   ( yes my legs are in one trouser leg!)

This week, I was told i'd lost 5% of my body fat in the last 5 weeks. Which was really amazing, my visceral fat is below 7% and this is really down to being Vegan, which makes me happy. I've also gained 300g of muscle, which is really great as It's hard trying to build muscle being limited with no soya and being vegan. 

On 18th January 2013 , I decided to change my lifestyle , since then it's been hello raw veg, proteins, and goodness, and good bye processed foods, refined sugars, most gluten and late night snacks . 

I've lost 2 stone , 7.5lbs (21.5lbs) since then . I do have lovely food, but what I now concider " treat" food is so different to what I once did. 

I owe alot of thanks to certain people, my good man Pauly, My friends Christian, Ellie, Jay, Pixie and my friend and brilliant person trainer Gareth Connell at Purity Health and Fitness.

I had a great work out today with Gareth, we always have a right good giggle, and my cheeks ache from laughing so much. He makes it great fun. This next month will be focusing on strength, resistance, weights and mainly arms and core muscles. My core has been shot to bits  (almost after having two sections ) and I want it back. I want stomach muscles, and I want a flat toned belly, so I am going to get it. 

Footnote | 

I've had lots of messaged via my Facebook asking what I did / how I lost weight / how I stay motivated .... 

My long term goal is LONG term health , I really want to know that my body is in the best physical stateut can be in, looking slim / fit is great but it doesn't always mean that you're healthy in side . 

I lost my weight by firstly getting my head in the right place. I think that is key - to REALLY want to loose weight , to REALLY  REALLY be passionate about getting your body in the best health state possible . I did quite a lot of research into things regarding food over the last 3 years - and slowly my bad habits ( BBQ Pringles late at night ) slowly started to be the things that changed the quickest . 

What do you buy each week food wise ? 

I get asked this quite slot because a Raw , vegan, soya free , mostly gluten free diet mind boggles a lot of people , and they think I eat weird food . I mostly eat loads of salads with a 15-20g of protein , vegan cheese, some home made pesto or salad dressings , soups, roast dinners , raw lasagnes , raw pasta ( which I'm going to write a blog on ) for sweet food I make my famous Raw Peanut Butter Cups , and frozen banana lollies , and other sweet treats I like to make . 

I think the main thing is - if you don't buy crap food in , you can't treat your body like a bin . Filling it with junk food . Because its JUST that - junk food ! It's not good for you , and is slowly killing the western world . 

I'm planning on writing a piece on working out with my trainer at some point . So I'll answer those questions then ! 

And remember ....