Weekly Training

Sunday: 75 min Baptiste Vinyasa Flow at Hot Yoga studio
Monday: 50 min cardio (40 min steady state, 10 min intervals treadmill)
Tuesday: 50 min spin class
Wednesday: 30 min cardio, 50 min yoga sculpt
Thursday: 45 min cardio
Friday: 10 min cardio intervals, 30 min yoga
Saturday: 30 min cardio
I'm beat. My workouts tapered off near the end of the week, as you can tell less cardio and missing Saturday yoga. I had to. And I even took yesterday off training entirely (yes 1 whole day with no physical activity, not even yoga). After almost getting into a car accident, putting an almond in my ear instead of my earphones and forgetting my voicemail password I decided to break. When I start making stupid mistakes, and realize that mentally I am not altogether there, it's time for a physical peace agreement. I'm not sure how to approach this coming week, but with only a few weeks left till a tropical getaway, I'm really motivated to continue stepping up my workouts. But I'm no good if I'm mentally cloudy.
Oh what to do? Take it easy this week? Or keep pushing through?

Weekly Nutrition

So it's been a wild few days, but with careful planning I'm totally prepared with a freezer full of pre-made meals, and a fridge full of vegetable crudites. No excuses for sub-par nutrition, even with a 60 hour, 6 day work week as well as graduate classes (right?).
How do I do it? I just commit to it. It's a decision I make and then I make it happen. The pay off is feeling great and having the mental clarity and physical stamina from my clean nutrition to handle the busy schedule.
Meals:
1. Egg whites, spinach and mushrooms
2. Oatmeal or creamy rice
3. Beans and rice, roasted vegetables
4. Raw carrot sticks
5. Home-made soup, salad or roasted vegetables, like rutabagas

The Thrive Diet: Review

If you're looking to spice up your diet, whether you're vegan, an athlete, a vegan athlete or none of the above, get a copy of this book. The author, Brendan Brazier, is a super-athlete who thrives off a vegan diet and has learned through years of experimentation how to use vegetables, seeds and nuts in ways you never dreamed of. All of his recipes are included, and I can guarantee you will love the fuel bites recipe and the innovative (entirely gluten free) "pizza" recipes.

I had to take this book as an exploration of another way of approaching nutrition rather than a prescription for how to plan my meals. It's very strict, but certainly not limited. If you are already in the habit of eating mostly raw, vegan foods this will be easier for you to jump into. I am not, I eat gluten, and dairy-free and eat meat less than once a week and followed the plan pretty easily, with some planning, for one week. But had major stomach issues during the week. It takes time for the body to adjust, just as Brendan mentions in this well-written book.

Pick this up, just to expose yourself to another possibility of nutrition. Whether it is right for you, you must decide based on the question- Are you going to safely and gently incorporate the changes he suggests?

Brendan is quite charismatic and has online support multimedia at http://thrivein30.com/sign-up-now/ which can take you through much of the content of the book using videos hosted by the author himself. For further support, try the community devoted to this diet at www.vegacommunity.com.

He has created a nutrition line, Vega, to supplement the diet he talks about in this book. I have been using his Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer as my post work-out shake for quite a while. It's a great, gluten free, dairy free option for you athletes out there looking to get a combo of protein, carbs and nutrients out of your shakes. Other than that, I have no affiliation with Vega, or Brendan Brazier.