Something Happened Today…

Something happened today that has evoked a whole bunch of emotions and thoughts. I feel this is something that should be shared and not kept internal for it is a true display of the vast differences in humanity.

Since becoming vegan almost a year ago, I have followed so many vegan YouTubers, Instagrammers, and joined several vegan FB groups. Though these groups have encountered their fair share of trolls sabotaging the pages, what I saw today has troubled me the most.

Personally, I cannot stand to watch the animal cruelty videos. I cannot stand violence. I know I couldn’t sleep, eat, or do anything if I were to sit and watch these videos, so I avoid them. If a YouTuber is playing a clip in their videos, I tilt my computer screen down or skip ahead in the video. I simply cannot handle it.

Today, I refreshed my NewsFeed, and the post that greeted me was the most gruesome picture of a cows head being held by the horns by a human. Blood was everywhere, sprayed all over the walls and poured all over the floor, obviously showing a slaughterhouse. It was violent, it was gruesome, it was gory, and it was unnecessary. While in shock, I first thought somebody must have had an awful story to go with it, but instead, the caption stated, “This makes me want a steak.” My heart broke.

This poor creature, his death being displayed as if his life was a joke. The murderers proud of the work they had done in bringing this living being to his brutal death. It was a scene from a nightmare.

Of course, people had already called out the admin of the group, and people had begun yelling at the poster with a variety of tactics which of course simply entertain the poster. I will never understand how people have fun causing others misery. But as I was sitting here tonight, thinking of how I may have responded in the situation, I don’t believe it would have been as the others. Because as angry as it makes me that somebody would do that to purposely instigate drama, the action speaks loudly about who that person is. Getting angry is only what the person wants. Retaliation is what the person is seeking. That speaks so much about the person’s character.

To me, this picture and comment is heartless. To do it purposely in a vegan group shows such unbelievable ignorance. It’s disrespectful, it’s selfish, and it’s menacing. It paints a terrible picture for this person. The thing is, I often wonder how much heart people actually have left. To me, you would have to be fairly hard-hearted to do something like this, to cause so much pain to so many people. To me, only someone lacking heart could look at such a devastating picture and feel that way. There is no sympathy left. There is no compassion left. Simply stated: heartless.

What is wrong with humanity? How have some of us become this way? Why is violence something we enjoy? Dog fights, cock fights, animal abuse, domestic abuse, violent video games, even as far as the UFC. Young, elementary students are playing adult-rated video games as if it’s no big deal. And yet we wonder where our society gets some of their ideals from. Why are we so disconnected from reality?

To me it all comes down to love. That’s what our purpose should be. We should love one another. We should love and care for the creatures of this earth rather than treating them like objects. Seriously, we have to stop being so selfish. We endanger the lives of so many just to get what we want. I can’t help but shake my head. Maybe if we put ourselves in the shoes of others, in the shoes of the animals, we would for once realize the effect we have. Maybe society would realize the horrors that these fully aware animals and people are living because of us. Maybe, just maybe, then we could live in a much more caring world where violence would finally be realized as an intruder rather than an accepted friend.

Think before you act. Reflect when you’re done. Make changes for the good of all.

Vegan Journey Update

Ok. I have LOVED seeing everyone’s vegan success posts! I fully believe in a vegan lifestyle and have taken much backlash for it. I began my vegan journey in June/July 2015. I had a week’s transition where I was battling cravings for cheese. Who knew I’d hit severe withdrawal over a food.

At first, I was leaning towards a more RawTill4 version, but found also that I had addictions to cooked lunches. So then it was more of a raw breakfast with cooked meals afterwards.

I did alright until the fall when I started teaching again and began buying a lot more pre-made vegan foods and trying more vegan junk foods.

Prior to all of this, I had won a fitness competition at my lowest weight of 129 lbs (I believe… my husband seems to remember a different number in the 120 lbs range). I won free coaching for two months and did fairly well continuing to stick with an extremely low carb, higher protein and moderate fat meal plan but my results stalled and as I started avoiding meals just so I didn’t have to keep eating the same things, my results started to reverse.

I found a group on FB with a coach that designed his own workout plans and diet. Many people have seen results on his plans, so I decided to enter this challenge as well. About half way through, I was tired of being tired. I was tired of being unhappy with my food. I was tired of always restricting. And when I finally asked the coach why I was no longer losing weight, he told me to cut my calories down even more. I think I thought about it for two days before deciding that I’m not doing this anymore and I’m going to “intuitive eat”.

Now, my intuitive eating was not a binging session. I don’t think I’ve ever binged. But I did start eating whatever foods I wanted with no regards to macro counting. Obviously this included more cheese for my cheese addiction. Needless to say, I started gaining weight.

After awhile, I started being so unhappy because I knew something was wrong and that there had to be something better for our bodies than this. With my dissatisfaction, and being vegetarian for many years before entering the bodybuilding/fitness world, I started looking at being vegan. I researched for days, watched YouTube videos by the hour. I finally had found what made sense to me. Hence my journey began in June/July 2015.

Though I’ve enjoyed the success stories, I’ve always wondered what was going wrong. When I first switched to vegan, my weight slowly kept creeping up until I hit my all-time high over Christmas at 196 lbs. Sure, it’s easy to say you shouldn’t worry about the weight, but from winning my competition at 129 lbs to gaining up to 196 lbs, I’m sure you can understand the mental troubles this can give you, especially when your husband thinks your current diet is to blame.

Deep in my heart, I knew this was the right way to eat so I didn’t give up. Sure, I indulged a little in junk over Christmas Break since we went on vacation to Colorado, but I never quit being vegan, and at home I have been cooking more than before and eating as much whole, plant-based foods as possible.

Since Christmas, I just wanted to see the scale move down into the 180s. That’s not a huge fat loss, but enough for some confirmation. Since Christmas, I have found my all-time best routine. I get up at 4 am, go to the gym, do my workout fasted: usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours of weights and 30 minutes of cardio, come home, eat breakfast because I’m usually starving after the gym, take care of my dogs, get stuff ready for my husband, get myself ready for work, go to work (elementary teacher), come home or stay at work after and do what needs to be done. It honestly gives me so much energy for the day. Yes, physically I have felt a difference for sure! No more coffee, never tired except for at night, no stomach issues, etc.

Yesterday in the gym, while doing lateral raises, I thought I noticed a slight difference in my chest/shoulder area. My shoulder muscles are starting to show again like they used to (though there is still fat covering them that needs to go). Then when I was doing shrugs, I noticed the top half of my stomach area (chest down to “love handles”) is actually slim (I carry all my fat in my bottom part of my stomach). For once, I could see/vision myself athletically fit and not stare at myself with criticism. However, I will say that until this point, the scale had barely moved (though I do not check everyday).

This morning, and yes, I know the scale isn’t everything, but what I saw was confirmed. I am back on the 180s side at 189! 7 1/2 months of keeping faith that this is the right way, and I’m finally starting to see results and not just feel them. I am so happy!

I just wanted to share my story for anyone else who may get frustrated that their weight is not coming off. Being active and eating whole foods is honestly the best way to go. You will feel the results first, and that’s what counts. The physical results will come later. I haven’t had a blood test done yet to make sure all of my levels are ok, but that is on my to-do list. All I know is I feel great, my strength and endurance have actually increased in the gym, and I will never eat/live another way again!

Persimmons – My Favourite!

Have you ever had a persimmon before? Did you fall in love with them as much as I did? If you’ve never had a persimmon, you’re missing out!

The first time I ever had a persimmon, I was in a RV of a youth group leader for breakfast. She had this strange, orange fruit that was hard. She sliced it up and told us to give it a try. It was different, but it was good.

Fast forward to today, and I can’t get enough of them! I would even dare say they are my favourite fruit! But enough about me, on to the persimmons.

As the picture shows, there are two types of persimmons: Hachiya and Fuyu.

The one that gets eaten while hard is the Fuyu. It’s smaller in height, and almost does resemble a small pumpkin. The flavour is sweet and very good. Go ahead and eat the peel on this one!

The Hachiya should be eaten when it is almost jelly on the inside. It should be very soft to the touch, and even some black on the peeling is good. The last Hachiya I ate had half of its peel turn black, but the inside was so delicious that I almost cried I didn’t have more. It was so good. And no, I did not eat the peel. Black peel is not my thing.

Seriously people, if you’ve never had a persimmon before, go buy one right now and try it. You won’t regret it! Check out the some of the health benefits below!

The Penalty of Standing Out

I hate the way the world works sometimes. I hate seeing people in pain. I hate watching people getting picked on or bullied. I hate sin and wrong-doings in this world.

When I was going through my university years, completing my education degree, I had a desire to work with special needs children. It wasn’t because I looked forward to the extra work that often comes with special needs children, but because I wanted to make a difference. I knew special needs children were often put down and sometimes stared at as if the were a circus sideshow. I knew I could step up and be the voice of those children, and I knew that I could help those children feel as important as they are. But that’s not what happened.

At first I ended up teaching at a Native School. It took me awhile to learn the different dynamics needed to teach students who come from a history of anger. It was a definite learning curve in understanding the culture, the behaviours, and the thoughts about different things. But one of the things I found is that my classroom was often their safe place. My classroom was the one place they could count on someone being there to love them. I was a safe place for these kids.

Now as much as I loved being in that position, time would have me change again. This time, to a place where I wasn’t such a safe place. These kids did not need me (or at least felt like they didn’t). The attitudes were indifferent, the gratitude was gone. I really struggled at first to see how in the world I could make a difference when my students were convinced they had everything the needed.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t my first year that I figured it out. It was my second and my third that really opened my heart. I realized that maybe I wouldn’t be able to reach all students, even though I try. But there is at least one in each class who needs someone they can trust; someone they can break down their barriers and let them truly see the inside that they keep.

It broke my heart when the first student really let me in their life. The amount of background some of these kids hide is disheartening. It sometimes makes you wonder how they even function. It’s no wonder some of them put up a tough-front at school. Some of them are simply caught in that worldly struggle: the one where they are fighting between being good and doing what they know is right, and doing what the world expects and wants them to do. Absolutely the struggle gets worse as the generations get older. It’s sad in the very least, but it does, unfortunately, exist.

I witnessed something that brought this whole thing up in my mind. A situation that brought up a whole slew of memories.

One of my students is running for class rep in the upcoming school year. She’s an awesome student, wonderful in both academics and her Christianity. Unfortunately, she is one in very few that does not struggle with desires to be popular. She will not swear because others are doing it. She does not talk about inappropriate things because she has no interest. She knows what she believes and she sticks to it. She knows what is right, and that is what she does. And it has made her unpopular in her class.

Today, the vote was completed. And though she almost perfectly fits the description of the position she is running for, more votes were left blank than were voted in favour. My heart sank and my blood boiled a little. If there were legitimately good reasons for not letting her have the position, then I would accept that. But I know it’s because they are upset the one person they wanted to run wasn’t able due to his grades. Whether it’s an expression of bitterness or anger, is it right to decline someone that not only wants the position, but is ready, willing and capable of doing it well?

I don’t know what the right solution is. After all, voting is an expression of your opinion. But my heart aches in knowing that the reasons behind the reactions are wrong. And that bothers me. Someone who perfectly is capable of doing something so well, being held back by unpopularity, is wrong. It takes me right back to my whole philosophy of teaching, and that is that students are capable of more than they are doing, and standing up for those who don’t have as much of a voice.

I grew up in public schools where situations are much worse than I have ever experienced in my years of private school. I have seen “losers” beat up for simply not being good enough for others. I have seen the separation and isolation of those who needed the extra pull-out help and did not think like the others. I have seen students dragged from classrooms because they were acting out in anger about their situations. It’s not pretty.

One year, we did a fundraiser where the boys provided a lunch, and we bid on these “anonymous lunches”. When the bidding was done and every girl had her lunch, then the boys would reveal themselves and we would share lunch with them. I just happened to get one of those classmates that was always taken out for extra help, and who had problems with his anger, reacting from the situations he was in and the way he was treated.

I will forever regret the way I treated him.

I didn’t say anything mean, but that’s simply because I didn’t say anything at all. I was silent the whole time. And now I cannot even go back and apologize for being “snobby” because he was killed in a car accident several years ago (I think I was still in high school). That’s guilt that I have to live with, and guilt that started to change the way I reacted to people.

The one girl that was dragged from our classroom was probably the lowest person in our class. She didn’t always take showers, and she didn’t come from the most well-off family. In fact, I actually don’t know how she was treated at home. But what I do know is that people didn’t like her and daily made fun of her. I will never forget the one day she came up to me and told me that I was her role-model. I didn’t try to be anyone’s role-model, I just tried to talk to her and be nice when others wouldn’t. And look at the difference that made on her life. The simplest of acts I could have done, and it literally changed her world.

Now I’d like to say others followed, but they didn’t. I’d like to say her life changed for the best, but it didn’t. I did manage to get in contact with her again during university, sadly to find out she was pregnant and the baby’s father wanted nothing to do with her as soon as she became pregnant. As a matter of fact, he ran out with another girl and married her very shortly afterwards. And to make matters worse, he called social services claiming she was an unfit mother and had her baby taken away. In no way did her life get better.

I’m sad to say I’ve lost contact with her. My only method of contact no longer seems to work. I do pray for her, that things work out and she’s able to have her baby back in her life. I know she was fighting hard for him. But I pray God’s love surrounds her and God-willing, I will be able to connect with her again.

I truly, truly do hate the world treats people that are different – people that stand out from everybody else. I had the position of popularity and I misused it once. But I promise to do my best to never misuse it again. When a situation arises where someone needs a voice, I wish to be that voice for them, to stand up on their behalf. Just because you don’t think the same as everyone else or do the same things everyone else does is not a reason to be treated so badly. Stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. Make a difference in someone’s life. Even if it’s just one person you’ve helped, you’ve literally just changed a person’s entire world. Do what you can and don’t delay. You never know the good you can leave behind.

Day 18 – “You Got A Problem With Me?”

I have a problem. I brought home that veggie burger last night (and felt the misery of so much grease this morning), and do you think I did “RawTill4”? Absolutely not! I knew that burger was in there, and that’s what I went for. I’ve gotta learn to order only what I can eat that night, and not take things home. It’s not mentally working!

Meals:

Breakfast – Veggie Burger
Lunch – Vanilla Iced Coffee (I know, not much of a lunch…)
Late Snack – 4 Freezies (so hot here!)
Supper – Black Bean Burger, French Fries
Late Night Snack – Blood Orange Kombucha, Vegan Vanilla Cake

I didn’t workout today, but it was a bit of a weird, interesting day.

It was late this evening when we went to Planet Organic. I honestly love that store, and I needed some last minute items to take with me while I’m camping this week with my students.  When we got to the store, there was a very intoxicated man standing outside the doors. As soon as my husband got out of the car, he yelled at him saying something along the lines of, “You got a problem with me?”. Um, no Dude… we just pulled up and we’re going to get groceries. We hadn’t had a problem with you yet… But as we kept walking inside, repeating the word no several times, two bicycle policemen were walking towards him. As we went through the sliding doors, the store manager came over asking if he was still there, and was happy to see the police were there. I’m guessing this guy had been hanging around, causing trouble for awhile. What an extra little “spice” to the night.

Then it comes to me sitting here, eating this vegan vanilla cake. It takes me back to a whole different world…

A couple years ago, I was sitting in my apartment, my husband still unable to work, and living paycheque to paycheque. At times, I had to juggle which bill I could let slide for a month or two. Half of the time, our car didn’t work. It was such a different world. For us, it was such a treat to eat at Tim Hortons or McDonalds, McDonalds being the most frequent because it was the shorter walk from our place. We did what we could with what we had.

One day, we had taken the bus to go shopping down this road, covered with stores on both sides, and that’s when I saw the organic food market. I remember walking through there, not being able to really buy much (much more expensive than a McDonalds-night-out budget), but I so wanted to try this vegan vanilla cake. I had been vegetarian for many years and had heard lots of criticism about vegans and how the lack of dairy made everything taste bad. I so badly wanted to see for myself. Luckily, they sell pieces of the cake for a couple dollars, so I was able to get that and I think one special drink (I believe it was also the first time I tried kombucha). I couldn’t believe how good it was. In fact, I remember sitting at the bus stop, not realizing kombucha was carbonated, had shaken the bottle, opened it, and was quickly covered in what I immediately thought smelled like vinegar. What a smell for the ride home!

Sometimes I think it’s important we look back and see how far we’ve come. My husband is now on his third job in this country, we live in a 3-level townhouse instead of a 1-bedroom apartment, we have 2 working vehicles instead of one that continuously broke down, we have our own washing machine instead of using coin laundry, and I’ve gone vegan, eating as organic as possible. We NEVER eat at McDonalds anymore. So much has changed. It doesn’t mean we’re quite comfortable to where I’d like to be, but we’re in a place where don’t have to worry about bills not being paid, or fun not being had (though still smaller scale). And as I’m sitting here eating this vegan vanilla cake, I can smile and know I’ve come a long way from the first time I was blown away with this delicious treat, and look forward to where I’ll be the next time I have it again.

Winter and Bicycles

What are your thoughts about riding bicycles in the winter? Personally, I’m all for environmentally friendly methods of transportation, but when you live in Canada where the winters are bitterly cold, snowy and icy, I don’t think bicycles are a smart move. Mix that with living in a city where daily accidents already occur to inexperienced or careless winter drivers and the conditions of the roads themselves, you have a toxic combination.

This all stems from something I saw on my way from my chiropractor appointment one day. There is a crossing of two roads where it should be a 4-way stop, but it isn’t. The corners are not the easiest to see ahead because many vehicles line the streets, so most drivers naturally slow down where the roads cross just incase, even though there aren’t any signs or lights telling you to do so.

As I was driving out of this community, going through that same intersection, on the opposite side of the road, I saw an ambulance. However, I only saw one vehicle. Upon looking closer, I also noticed a bicycle and a rider on the ground with the paramedic bent over the rider. Oh my goodness! I didn’t see any blood or anything, but I can’t imagine how scary that must have been.

I don’t know. I just feel like I can barely trust other drivers when I’m driving in my own car, let alone on a defenceless bicycle. I do think bicycling is good for you, but definitely not in winter, and maybe not in a huge city. What do you think?

Week 1 Day 2

Currently I am writing to you as I finish my last meal for the day: greek yogurt with mango and blueberries, and egg whites. And believe it or not, it’s only 11:44! Haven’t hit that midnight mark yet! (Really, that is sad and something I need to work on. I’m not so good at getting to bed when I should…)

So today was a bit of a rough-to-good day. Let me explain what I mean.

I woke up so tired (lack of sleep problem again…). But I got up, managed to do a load of dishes, put away some clean laundry, shower, walk the dogs, feed my animals, throw food in a bag, get out the door and manage to only make it a few minutes late to work. This actually was awful for me because I’m NEVER late. I’m one of those people that hates to be late for anything. Trust me, this won’t be repeated anytime soon.

The day seemed to go alright, of course with lots to do both for work and home. But what I really want to focus on is the affect food can have on you and what a mix of food and stress did to me today.

Most of you have followed my problems with the government and my husband’s permanent residency. Well, today I wrote in many details in an earlier blog post about my experience today. But to summarize, I had a bad phone call with the government. Not in any trouble or anything, but it ended in huge stress and high anxiety. Now, mix that with the fact that I had been so busy I wasn’t watching how long it had been since I had eaten the previous meal. So my blood sugars were low, my anxiety and stress was high, and I almost had a meltdown.

I’m not normally a person to have a meltdown incase you’re wondering. I’m the optimistic problem-solver. But not at that moment. And the thing is, I know it also had to do with the food because immediately after the phone call, I took a few minutes to try and calm myself down, and then decided to forget all work for a few minutes and get my food ready: sweet potato, cottage cheese and cubed turkey. I may not have felt better about the stress for quite some time, but immediately I could tell a difference with the food. It made me feel more capable, more stable, definitely better.

So I continued my day, absolutely ready for a nap after work. There was simply too much stress associated with that phone call and the surrounding situation.

I did some errands after work, came home, and took a nap. I wasn’t ready to get up when my husband woke me up, but after rising and eating, I was feeling alright. Then I got to the gym and started feeling great. Amazing how that happens.

Now as far as the workout, it was great (minus the burpees). I hate burpees. I don’t know what it is about them, but I feel so uncoordinated like my legs are too long and get in my way. And I may have learned that balance while doing these is super important as I put too much pressure on my already injured wrist which caused me to crash to my knees. Oops. But I can assure you that by the last round of burpees, my form had improved incredibly. I’m trying to heal that wrist, not make it worse!

How I felt when I looked at the workout routine for tonight…

The workout again was a circuit style which I have found to be difficult in the gym when you require certain machines. But it is not impossible.

So I’m waiting currently waiting for that frozen mango and some of those frozen blueberries to thaw a little more before I can finish eating my yogurt. Then I will be getting ready for bed and sleeping the remainder of the night away.

Hope you all have an awesome and healthy night!

Unreliable Cardio Machines

So lately I’ve been doing my cardio based on percentages of my maximum heart rate (MHR). It allows me to better judge how much work my body is actually doing. I also do a lot of high intensity interval training (HIIT) which means I speed up and then slow down and usually repeat quite a few times. But I’ve learned, through this process of going by heart rate, that I need to invest in a heart rate monitor, and here’s why:

Last week, I was trying to reach 85% MHR during my faster pace of HIIT. Yes, the cardio machines are supposed to monitor your heart rate. BUT they are SO SLOW at catching up with you. Sometimes, it wouldn’t even find my heart rate and just go blank. A lot of times, when it was lagging behind me, I would naturally push harder to try and make it change faster.

The danger with this is that you can be working with too high a heart rate. Although it’s good to get your blood pumping, it’s not good nor healthy to get your heart pumping too hard for too long.

The good news is, I got in an amazing cardio session from trying so hard. The bad news is, every once in awhile, it would actually start working and I’d see I was working my heart rate around 216 bpm which is way too high. And thus my resolution: I need to buy a heart rate monitor.

Notice how the highest heart rate is only 200 for a 20 year old? Holding on to 216 bpm because the machine didn’t tell me any different was NOT a good idea.

How have you guys found the cardio machines at your gym? Do they keep up with your heart rate or do they mess around like the ones at my gym? Any recommendations on a heart rate monitor? I’ve never bought one before!

You Have To Ask Yourself This!

Hello everyone,

I saw this question last night, and it hit me, bang on! If this question had been posed to me, I would have only had one answer, and still do. Here is the question:

Honestly, if you care about your body at all, and the only change is not getting rid of something but simply replacing it with something better, how could you say no? Normal coffee is dehydrating, acidic, causes a caffeine crash, etc… And yet OG has infused coffee with ganoderma and it completely erases all of these negative things! And not only does it erase them, but it actually ADDS health benefits such as increased energy, better immunity, HYDRATES, lowers blood pressure, etc… The list of health benefits goes on and on. And with OG, you can get paid to drink coffee. No joke. It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done and got paid to do.

So I want you to ask yourself this morning, why would I continue down a path that is not making me any better when there is an opportunity set before me where I don’t have to get rid of anything, I don’t have to change any habits, but I simply change the product in which I drink? Why damage my body when I can benefit it? Why do I sit and drink what the majority of the world drinks when I could be drinking something that only 1% of coffee drinkers worldwide have been drinking and feeling the most amazing of their lives?

The thing is, OG is a newer company, but the results have been astounding. I could tell you stories of people I’ve personally talked to that have been able to remove medications (blood pressure pills, morphine for pain) just because of drinking OG daily. I could tell you stories of the man who was able to get rid of his oxygen tank because of drinking OG products. I could tell you of the energetic people they have become because of OG. I could tell you so many things and give you a million reasons why OG coffee, tea, and other gourmet products are the way to go. And the best part is, coffee has no limits! OG is in 33 countries!!

So ask yourself, what is really stopping me from being in the healthiest state of my life? What is stopping me from trying to get rid of daily medications or pains like the people stated before? Why am I suffering when I could be happier? And why am I not trying this product today?

Message me and I will have your free samples sent out by the end of the week. This is not something you’re going to want to miss. Take the chance, make the change, and see the way your life becomes better!