Some people are genuinely surprised when I tell them that I don't eat animal products. I guess that may be in part because I have a very aggressive, headstrong and competitive personality and veganism is more often associated with hippy-types. (Don't get me wrong, I do have a hippy side to me sometimes...)
Regardless, I don't think I've expressed my veganism well enough on this blog. That's not to say that I'm going to focus more on my eating habits rather than cycling and traveling. It just means that I like to look at my athletic performance and associate that with my eating habits (especially with my 150-mile bike ride just around the corner). Don't forget to donate...
With that said...
Here's what I did yesterday:
- 2hrs on the bike
- 35 miles
- max speed 28mph
I had to dash off to class soon after I got home from the ride, but it was lovely. I'm a bit sore today but I think yoga might fix everything later tonight.
A slight problem I did have right after my ride was feeling dizzy. That's probably due to my low iron levels, so I bought some stronger iron pills.
I had amazing whole wheat pasta last night with a simple basil sauce and spinach mixed in. And I'm confident that eating full, "clean" meals like that one will make my recovery times shorter and keep my energy high for longer periods of time.
My Vegan History
I started eating vegan back in April of this year. And honestly, I felt like absolute shit when I started. I felt weak, grumpy and generally unhappy. My body was acting like I was draining it of all the necessary nutrients.
And that's true to a certain extent. What I was actually doing was retraining my body. I had to "detox" myself from all the saturated fats, chemicals and sugars that are found in animal products and all processed foods.
After four months of normalizing a vegan diet, I can honestly say that I'm loving it.
Yesterday on my bike ride I felt really good. And I would like to attribute that to eating whole foods that are freshly prepared (by me!).
Off to class for me. Spanish exam awaits...Olé!
--Amanda
It is amazing how eating whole, nutritious foods can have such an impact on your athletic performance, isn't it?!
ReplyDeleteRicky Williams is a close vegan (Miami Dolphins Running Back) and he's not just one of the best in the league, but one of the oldest.
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/18355/ricky-williams-on-fasting-and-religion
@RonnieWow.. I had no idea about this. And I probably should because he's a Dolphins player. Just another case for vegetarianism/veganism!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the link, Ronnie.