Tag Archives: Health

Losing the next 25

Posted on by Sarah Cooley
12

As many of you know, back in February I decided to make a change in my diet in an attempt to lose weight and get healthy. I made the commitment to a vegan diet and it was once of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Since then I’ve lost 25 lbs. I know that’s a huge accomplishment on it’s own, but I don’t really feel like its the end for me. I lost the weight mainly through diet, there was very little exercise. I did a little yoga but that was about it.

While I do feel much better, I’m still at an unhealthy weight for my height. I realized that losing the next 25 lbs is going to be much harder than the first 25. So I decided that I was going to have to shake things up again in order to get the weight off and really get into shape. So a few months ago I started swimming again. I was a competitive swimmer in high school but I hadn’t been back in the water in some time. It was good to start swimming again but I needed to do more if I was really going to kick my body into shape.

Working out alone is hard! When you are on a sports team or you have a personal trainer, you always have someone pushing you to work harder. But when you work out alone it can be difficult to push yourself. I decided that I needed a goal, something to work toward, that would help me push harder in my workouts.

I’ve decided to train for a triathlon (I know it sounds crazy to me too). Just a short one, the sprint distance. It’s a .5 mile swim, a 13 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. I’m not a biker and I’m certainly not a runner, so hopefully this training will be good for me. I’ve been using RunKeeper on my iPhone to keep track of my walks, runs and bike rides. It’s encouraging to see stats on my workouts, and it helps to keep me motivated to push harder.

I’ll keep you updated on my progress as I train. I don’t have an actual race in mind yet, I’m just training to condition myself toward that goal.

Being Vegan

Posted on by Sarah Cooley
1

I got a great question from Ralph on my Formspring.me account about my diet:

Ok, Sarah, I need to get serious about getting healthy and losing weight. I've got 2 beautiful daughters that are the joy of my life & I want to see them grow up, get married, etc. Can you tell me some more (specifically) about your vegan diet?

Ok, so being vegan…

It was a hard choice for me and I usually tell people that it's not always the right choice for everyone.
You can still be vegan and not be healthy (believe it or not). So I set out to address all the issues with my current eating habits, and it's important for you to do this before you decide to change the way you eat.

My main issues were carbs and cheese. This came in many forms. Bagels and cream cheese, pizza, pasta with cheese, cheese and crackers, nachos, and the list goes on. These were some of my favorite foods, my comfort foods. I was already a vegetarian so giving up meat wasn't an issue, but giving up cheese and dairy seemed almost impossible.

Then I decided to really be aware of my intake of white flour and processed foods. Not because they weren't vegan, but because they were bad for me and they would hinder my ability to lose weight.

I eat a lot of dark leafy greens, which is where I get a lot of my iron from, particularly in the green juice I make in the morning. I make sure I get my needed carbs from whole grains like brown rice, barley and whole wheat breads. I get creative with salads, I love adding new things to my salads. And I make sure to eat my legumes for protein. This includes beans, tempeh, tofu, & meat/dairy substitutes.

Here are some great resources: Vegan Food Pyramid, Vegan Health FAQ's

I'm the kind of person who need's hard and fast rules if I'm going to stick to something, so that's why I decided to go vegan. Recently I've hit a bit of a rut in my weight loss, I started eating white flour and I honestly feel like garbage when I do that. I've lost 22 pounds so far, but I've been stuck here for a while.

I've made the commitment to lose 50 pounds and I'm almost half way there, so I can't stop now! I'll keep you updated with my progress, and I hope I've answered your question.

If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them.

Finding time to blog

Posted on by Sarah Cooley
4

So since I got my dream job as the community manager for Postling, everything got really busy, really fast. I’m working a full time job, going to school full time at night, and trying to stay healthy and lose weight!

How does one find time to blog in the midst of all that?!

I’m starting to thing that I really have to start a writing schedule, and make the time to write the blog posts I want to write and make the videos I want to make.

I enjoy producing content, so it’s stressful for me when I don’t have time for that outlet in my life.

But I wanted to give you all an update on my weight loss goals, and staying healthy through all this stress. I’ve officially lost 20 lbs!

When I first started at Postling, it seemed very difficult to stick with my regular eating schedule. When you are suddenly out of your element, you lose control of your food to a certain extent. And if you aren’t the type of person who plans every meal in advance, suddenly not being in your own kitchen can make deciding what to eat very difficult! (especially when you are vegan)

I’m starting to feel like I’ve regained control and even picked up a few great tips on how to eat anywhere and stick to my plan. (more on that in a later blog post)

Stepping on the scale and seeing a lower number than before still feels amazing, and I’m looking forward to losing the next 20 lbs!

My Vegan Story

Posted on by Sarah Cooley
11

So I was asked a question on formspring.me

How long have you been a Vegan?  And what turned you to choose that lifestyle?

So I thought I would tell you guys the story.

More details on the conditions mentioned in this video. (definitions from WebMD)

  • Costochondritis is an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. The condition causes localized chest pain that you can reproduce by pushing on the cartilage in the front of your ribcage. Costochondritis is a relatively harmless condition and usually goes away without treatment. The cause is usually unknown.
  • Fibromyalgia syndrome affects the muscles and soft tissue. Fibromyalgia symptoms include chronic pain in the muscles, fatigue, sleep problems, and painful tender points or trigger points at certain parts of the body. Fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms can be relieved through medications, lifestyle changes, stress management, and other fibromyalgia treatment.

Here is a video from almost a year ago when I first went raw.

The chips were riceworks – Gourmet Brown Rice Crisps

The two documentaries I think EVERYONE should see:

Food Inc

King Corn