Food Journal 4

Breakfast- standard shredded wheat with ground flax seed and soy milk
Lunch- standard garden salad with vegan oil-free dressing
Dinner- friends came over and wanted to order take-out. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to resist and would be stuck with more salad. Instead, since they chose a great Chinese place, I was able to find something that was probably a little high in sodium, but otherwise safe. Tofu and bean sprouts in a garlic sauce over brown rice (last week that would have sounded disgusting but I loved it).
Dessert- some dark chocolate and frozen grapes.

Exercise Journal 3

Chicago hit 41 degrees today so I ventured out for my first outdoor run. I used mapmyrun.com to plot my course before leaving (I tend to get lost) so I prepped for an exact 5 mile course. The goal was 50 minutes but, since I also used the imapmyrun app on my iphone, I had to sprint the end to barely hit that. It could have been the wind, the cold, or the shock of real pavement but I hope the weather gives me another shot at the same course soon.

Food Journal 3

Typical breakfast: shredded wheat, a banana, ground flax seed, and soy milk.
Snack: an orange
Post work-out snack: a small trail mix of dried mango, strawberries, banana chips and raw almonds
Lunch: minestrone soup
Dinner: Vegan Boca burger with avocado, homemade baked sweet potato fries and onions, a crazy salad. The salad was mixed greens, extra kale, a sliced cucumber and carrot, tomato, the rest of the avocado, kidney and garbanzo beans with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Dessert: frozen grapes (which are amazing!) and a little bit of dark chocolate (72%) with dried cranberries.

Exercise Journal 2

I didn't really do anything yesterday. Work required me to walk about 3.5 miles throughout the an 8 hour shift and I did some light stretching after but that doesn't really count.
Today, I walked three miles outside, mainly to and from the gym. While at the gym I made several trips up and down the stairs. I wasn't in the mood for a full run but I also didn't want to do a full lifting day because I was concerned about the diet aspect. Friends have warned that I will get light-headed because of my diet change. I don't think that will really be an issue because I am still eating large portions of a pretty diverse diet (well, diverse other than meat, oils, dairy, and processed grains).
Anyway, my work-out started with a half-mile jog. Then I went upstairs to the weights. I did 3 sets in rotation of the following warm-up: 20 push-ups, 15 30lb standing cable curls, and 20 crunches.
I then went back downstairs and jogged one mile. Then I went back upstairs for another 3 sets in rotation of: 12 standing barbell curls with 40 lbs (50 on last set), flat bench press with 35 lbs on each side (40 each on last set), and 20 knee to chest things (I don't know what they are called, but it is an ab thing).
Again, back down stairs for another mile run before heading back upstairs. Next 3 set rotation of each: 15 seated curls with 25 lb dumbbells, 15 flat butterfly with 25 lb dumbbells, and 15 standing oblique bends with 1 35 lb dumbbell (this one looks like you are in the "I'm a Little Teapot" pose so it is fun to see big guys do it).
One last mile but I was barely jogging this time and feeling it. Back upstairs for a bicep exhaustion. Basically, I grabbed a 20 lb dumbbell and curled until I couldn't control my form. Then switched arms and repeated. Then switched arms again but dropped to a 15 lb dumbbell and repeated. From there, I walked home so I could still get a cool-down completed with stretching. I am never at the gym for more than an hour and a half so this was pretty typical.

Food Journal 2

Day 2 was actually easier than Day 1, maybe that trend will continue?
Breakfast was shredded wheat, a banana, ground flax seed, and soy milk.
Lunch was left-over stir-fry from dinner.
Snack of dried fruit and pistachios.
Dinner was a cilantro/lime tofu burrito with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapeno, and hot sauce on a whole wheat tortilla.
Dessert was a cup of mango sorbet.

Exercise Journal 1

At the gym by 8:15 AM. Ran for 45 minutes covering 4.3 miles followed by basic ab series and stretching.

Food Journal 1

I woke up this morning ready for a challenge. I hope that continues for at least 27 more days. I started with a snack of a banana, a handful of pistachios and dried cranberries (all raw and unsweetened). Technically, I am supposed to start with a solid breakfast but I was headed to the gym and couldn't handle something heavy. After the gym, I had a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries (see, I'm still doing ok).
Lunch was a very simple WFM pre-packed garden salad. The salad contains a ridiculous amount of greens- it might not look like much until you open it and try to stir in some dressing and then it is some serious business. The salad also includes tomatoes, cucumber slices, A (1) tiny piece of broccoli, shredded carrots, and strips of green and red bell peppers. Unfortunately, there is also a small container of ranch dressing, but that would be like inviting your priest over for Friday night's pot roast. Instead, I got a small container of vegan oil-free balsamic dressing. From this point on, I am just going to call this the WFM garden salad or this will go on forever.
Dinner took longer than I thought. I made a simple stir fry. The brown rice I bought apparently takes FIFTY minutes. Seriously. For rice? I had no idea. The white stuff takes 20. So I ate later than I should but it was good so I was fine. The stir-fry included broccoli, red bell peppers, yellow squash (crooked-neck), zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, onion, and ginger. Serious business. I also added some ginger-teriyaki cubes from Tempeh-tations.
I stopped eat at 9pm after a small snack of dried fruit and a pear.
I'm sure my cholesterol dropped 1000 points already.