30 Days as a Vegetarian - Day 14

Hello! Welcome to Day 14 of "30 Days as a Vegetarian".

Lets see... had another veggie burger at Johnny Rockets again last night. Honestly this is going to be a regular occurrence as I have events downtown near there every Tuesday and Friday.

In the meantime all of the homemade apple pie my girlfriend made disappeared two days ago so I am back to my regular staples of soups, salads, smooothies, etc. I am back to trying to limit my intake of anything sugary or high in carbs - the apple pie was a nice break from the monotony, but I need to watch how often I eat such things.

I think I should take some time to talk about my weightlifting / exercise routine during this 30 day experiment. Here are the exercises I am doing:

Shoveling Snow x However much it Snows***
Jumping Jacks x 200 to 500**
Chin ups x 50 to 100**
Push ups x 50 to 100**
Bicep curls with 15 to 30 lb dumbbells*
Tricep curls above head with one 20 to 30 lb dumbbell*
Lifts above head with 15 to 25 lb dumbbells*
Shoulder Ts with 15 lb dumbbells*
Squats with 15 to 30 lb dumbbells* held at sides
Squat Ts with 15 to 30 lb dumbbells*

* The amount of weight I use varies on the day and how energetic I feel. The number of sets and repetitions also varies on my schedule for that day, and how busy / energetic I feel.

** The number of jumping jacks, chin ups and push ups relates more to how much time I have available that day and not necessarily how energetic I feel, although that is certainly a factor.

*** Honestly, you may consider shoveling snow to be a chore but it is still definitely an exercise as it combines both weight lifting and cardio. I should also note I don't shovel every day however as it has not been snowing every day, although we certainly got lots in the last 2 days.

Back to the topic of vegetarian food I have nothing new to report beyond my weight this morning and waist measurement at widest point:

193.8 lbs and 41 inches.

30 Days as a Vegetarian - Day 12

Hello! Welcome to Day 12 of "30 Days as a Vegetarian".

As you may have already read 2 days ago I am getting bored of my food options so I have been looking for alternative ways to make different kinds of food. What I really need is a "vegetarian recipe book for beginners who suck at cooking".

Yesterday I went to the grocery store again, buying more strawberries and other things... but also:

6 Carrot muffins - 350 calories per muffin.
Apple pie - 320 calories per slice, using 1/8th per slice.
28 Bran cookies - 46.7 calories per cookie.

Now obviously I am not going to be eating everything all at once, or all on the same, etc. But basically I was looking for things that are relatively low in calories, but still taste good and allows me to break away from the hum-drum of eating soups, salads, etc all the time.

One of the things I saw yesterday was the Sugar Cream Pie from the photo below. (I saw it while I was browsing for apple pie.) What is funny is when I read the ingredients it is vegetarian friendly, but most certainly is not healthy for you. Brown sugar is its 2nd most plentiful ingredient and the calories were staggering. It made me feel thankful the apple pie was comparatively low in calories.

However I should note gorging yourself on apple pie is still not good for your waistline.

Another thing I saw at the grocery store was Textured Vegetable Protein.

Wow. Just wow.

I had to read the ingredients and check the calorie info, and it looked interesting, but I struggled to think of something I would actually use it for. I could not think of something to use it in, beyond oatmeal or cereal or mixing with yogurt, and therefore I didn't buy it because I have no clue what it actually tastes like and was unsure what to use it for.

Besides if I feel really low on protein I have whey protein powder I can use.

Personal + Measurement Notes

I cannot wait for this experiment to be over. My girlfriend keeps eating hamburgers, pasta with meat on it, chicken salad and other things in front of me. It looks soooooo tasty...

After seeing me buying pie yesterday my girlfriend decided to make homemade pie, so the store bought pie hasn't even been taken out of the package yet... but the homemade pie will likely disappear later today as there is only about 2.5 slices left.

My weight this morning, before breakfast, was 194.2. The two helpings of apple pie probably did not help... Waist at widest point is still 41 inches. At very least the apple pie is a nice break from the routine and I can hopefully power my way through the next 18 days.

Valentines Day Archery Lessons Gift Vouchers

If you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto or you are looking to give your loved one archery lessons as a Valentines gift, you can purchase a Gift Voucher for archery lessons from Cardio Trek.

You can also get Couples Archery Lessons for you and your loved one.

Weekday Daytime lessons are $60 each for one person or $80 each for couples.

Weekday Evening or Weekend lessons are $80 each for one person or $100 each for couples.

If you are over 65 there is a 5% Seniors Discount.

If you are purchasing 3 or more lessons there is additional discount. See our archery rates for details.

Please Note - Gift Vouchers have an expiry date 18 month after the date of purchase. eg. If the Voucher Number says SEP17, then it expires September 2017.

30 Days as a Vegetarian - Day 10

Welcome to day #10 of  "30 Days as a Vegetarian".

Honestly I am getting bored of my meal options.

When eating out I have been having veggie burgers (which is pretty hit or miss as some vegetarian options are just gawd awful), but at home I have been having:

Salads
Smoothies
Soups
Stews

That and eating carrot sticks, fruit, etc. I think that is why I get so excited about having a veggie burger when eating out, because it is a change from the hum-drum of salads, soups, etc.

Honestly I don't know how to make much more beyond those things without going into grains, cereals, potatoes, etc - things that are going to have a higher calorie count.

Thus I could make a rice / veggie stirfry, but I am trying to limit my rice intake because of the calories involved.

Likewise I could also make cornmeal bread or pancakes, but again same problem - cornmeal is high in calories.

And of course potatoes, which thus far I have been including in stews and mashed potatoes, but have avoided making potato pancakes, potato french fries, etc. The starch in the potatoes is almost as bad as sugar when it comes to packing on the pounds.

Basically a lot of the tastier options are off the table simply because I want to avoid anything that is too high in calories / starch.

The end result is that it is making me feel very restricted in what I can and cannot eat.

And to top it off I am now receiving nasty emails from a vegan (who I have since blocked) who insists that I should not be eating/drinking eggs, milk or other animal products either because "that is still murder" in her opinion. (By her definition, a woman donating her eggs to medical research would be murder too.)

So this morning for breakfast I had a yogurt and a bowl of carrot sticks. As much as I love carrot sticks, it was the yogurt that was the highlight of my breakfast.

In other news my weight this morning (after breakfast) was 193.8 lbs. I have lost almost 4 lbs in 10 days.

Waist at widest point was still 41 inches.

30 Days as a Vegetarian - Day 8

Note: If you are enjoying reading 30 Days as a Vegetarian check out my past posts on the topic.

So I measured my weight yesterday (Day 7) before breakfast and it was 195.0.

And today I measured my weight after lunch (Day 8) and it was 195.9.

The really positive news is my waist measured 41.0 inches both yesterday and today. So things are definitely heading in a positive direction.

So my conclusion from this is that my weight is going to continue to fluctuate on an hourly basis just due to the intake of food and the expulsion of waste, so the process of checking weight is going to be completely arbitrary depending on how recently I ate something or went to the bathroom.

I also have to wonder how much eating out (vegetarian options only) at restaurants effects the weight fluctuations.

For example lets say I have a veggie burger, caesar salad on the side, and water to drink. I have had that exact same meal twice so far in the last 8 days because of an event last Friday and again this past Tuesday. I have no idea what the calories in such a meal is because I keep forgetting to check the calories when I am at the restaurant.

Tonight (Thursday) I am going to another event and this time I will be having some kind of vegetarian dish (possibly another veggie burger since that is my go-to dish), as well as beer because this particular event will involve a little drinking. So I can tell you right now the calorie content of tonight's meal is not going to be helping me.

And due to the length of the event and preparations I have to make earlier today, I am not making as much time to exercise as I normally do today. So I will only be getting a light workout in.

My workout schedule thus far:

Thursday, Day 1 - Light Exercise, Indoors
Friday, Day 2 - Moderate Exercise, Outdoors + Light Exercise Indoors
Saturday, Day 3 - Moderate Exercise, Outdoors
Sunday, Day 4 - Relaxed
Monday, Day 5 - Moderate Exercise, Indoors
Tuesday, Day 6 - Light Exercise, Indoors
Wednesday, Day 7 - Moderate Exercise, Indoors
Thursday, Day 8 (Today) - Light Exercise, Indoors

Back to the restaurants topic however, since the beginning of this health experiment I have been meaning to visit a number of Toronto's vegan / vegetarian / raw vegan restaurants to see what they have to offer.

I should note however that I have been to several before, back when I was dating a vegan woman years ago.

For example I don't really like Fresh. I had their veggie burger years ago and it was so awful I nearly vomited. They put wheatgrass on the burger and a host of other things that don't belong on a burger. I tried taking many of the pieces of unedible garbage off the burger in order to make it more palatable, but even the patty and the bun were horrible. The bun was as hard as a rock and difficult just to bite through, and the patty tasted like they had tossed way too many weird things into a blender together. I ordered the burger at Fresh because everything else on the menu looked ridiculously weird and made of things I knew I would not eat. It was as if the chef making the menu had no clue how to make normal food and/or was deliberately trying to make food that is as weird as possible. (I would like to play dodgeball with their chef and throw his rock-hard burger buns at him. See how he likes them!)

Rawlicious (see rawlicious.ca)in comparison I have been to several times and their food is always good - they have a variety of things anyone can eat as well as a few oddities. Thus you don't feel forced into ordering something weird. Rawlicious also has quite a few desserts, which is not healthy really, but hey, they're in the business of making raw food taste delicious and that is pretty unusual by itself. Everything in their restaurant is not cooked whatsoever. Chopped, stirred, whipped, yes - but all raw.

Here is a list of places I would like to try sometime, if I find the time and courage to try their food:

Grasslands
Hibiscus Cafe
Hogtown Vegan
Kupfert + Kim
Live Raw Food Bar
One Love Vegetarian
Pulp Kitchen
Urban Herbivore
Woodlot

I cannot speak to the quality of any of those places, I am just compiling a list of maybes.

At present what I have been doing is going to "normal restaurants" and then just picking from the vegetarian options available. Which for me usually means going straight for the veggie burger because that is my past favourite. However some places have really bad veggie burgers and some have really good veggie burgers. Johnny Rockets for example makes a great veggie burger, hence why I have gone there twice. Fresh in contrast has a burger so awful it could poison someone. With all the weird things they put on it I wouldn't be surprised if they accidentally put poisonous toadstools or nightshade on there.

Caesar Salad, Veggie Burger + Water at Johnny Rockets

Tonight I will be trying the vegetarian options at 7 West (7 Charles Street West, Toronto) + sampling some of Toronto's beer (likely Millstreet or Steamwhistle). Tomorrow I will be putting in a heavy workout to burn off some of the extra calories from tonight.

Update - The veggie burger at 7 West was horrible. The patty was mushy like meatloaf and when you bit down on the burger, bits of the veggie patty would squeeze out the sides. Tasted awful too. I didn't even finish it. Ended up having a Wellington Dark to wash it down.