Low-Carb Vegan?

Greetings my luvlies!

Updates

So far I've been keeping my promise to lead a healthier lifestyle. This past week I've managed to eat clean for the most part, and I have gotten back into exercising. I'm still not back to where I use to be with the amount of exercise, but its a start! The Fall semester has finally ended which means that I will be posting more regularly. I will also start uploading my routine onto Instagram again.

Low-Carb Veganism

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weakness for carbohydrates. I love rice, pasta, potatoes, and basically anything that is starchy and carb filled. Way back in my senior year of high school I lost a total of 20lbs. Now I know that doesn't seem like a lot for some of you, but it was for me. Ever since then I've only been able to lose 5lbs in the span of a year. So how did I do this? I went on the Atkins diet. Looking back at the Atkins diet, I do not recommend it to anyone! Though it has become more strict, the diet allows you to have unlimited meat, eggs, and fats. I ended up stopping the diet because I physically felt like crap. I was scarfing down bacon, eggs, steak, pork, anything that was greasy and dead I ate.

However, while scrolling through the internet for back exercises I had a bit of a revelation. I read a few articles and most of them mentioned that those with back fat have a problem with processing carbohydrates. I linked this back to all of the previous diets I have been on, and found a connection. Whenever I restricted the amount of carbs I consumed, I lost weight. So why haven't I been doing this all along? A lot of it has to do with hunger and easiness. Anytime I was on a low-carb diet I was extremely bitter because I was hungry all the time. I was even hungry while downing down a ton of calories on Atkins. So either I would binge on the diets, or quit them completely. Carbs are also convenient. They have a longer expiration date, and they tend to be cheaper which is important for college students like me.

I know there is a lot of talk in the vegan world about high carb diets being good for you, but I don't necessarily believe that. Every single body is different. I do personally believe that everyone should develop a plant based diet, but different plant based diets.
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The Plan 

I am starting to do research on cheap, easy, and low-carb vegan recipes. So far all I have been getting are a bunch of quinoa recipes (so expensive), but i know there is hope. A lot of the low-carb vegan articles I have been reading include beans as a substitute for grains. I LOVE beans which is why this is appealing to me. Tofu, tempeh. avocados, and nuts seem to be on the menu too! i am currently trying to tailor the list in a way that is cheap, and hunger proof. In a few days I will post my full meal plan. I will be posting a few links at the bottom of this post about fat storage for the ladies out there who have a similar body type as mine (stubborn fat accumulation mainly in the back, stomach, and arms). I will also be linking some information about low-carb vegan diets. 

Have a luvly day my luvlies!

Fat Storage Articles

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2236546/What-wobbly-bits-say-From-bingo-wings-love-handles-chubby-cheeks-store-fat-holds-key-health--lose-weight.html

http://www.mycottontales.com/the-reason-you-store-fat-in-certain-areas/

Low Carb Vegan Diets

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/weekly-meal-plan-the-low-carb-vegan-menu/

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/vegetarian/a/veganlowcarb.htm

http://ecowatch.com/2015/06/16/low-carb-vegetarian-vegan-diet/

Confessions

Hello my luvlies!

Really, really, really long time no see. Upon waking up to a back that felt a bit too wide this morning, I had a revelation. Most of us hate admitting when we have put on weight, or have put back on the weight we have worked so hard to keep off. With that being said, not admitting to ourselves that we have gained weight is dangerous. It puts us in a state of denial which makes it harder to get back into the groove of things. With that being said, there are a number of reasons why I've put back on weight which I want to address in this article. I have been using these as excuses for a while now, but excuses don't bring about change.

How much weight/inches have I gained
To be honest, I do not have an answer to that question. Those of you who have followed my blog in the past know that I never really rely on the scale or the tape measure to track my progress. As of right now and 4 months ago, I am the same exact weight, actually I am about 3lbs less. How can that be? My exercise routine has been flat out shitty these last couple of months. I will explain that later on in this post, but it has honestly been shitty. I have lost a lot of muscle which reflects positively on the scale, but poorly in my clothes. As far as inches, my measurements have stayed the same. Again, how can this be? I tend to gain weight the fastest in different parts of my back and in my arms. Since these are typically not places that most people measure, they are hard to keep track of. All I know is that I do not feel good about myself. I know that I am far more than how I look, but being healthy has always made me feel good. I miss exercising, and I miss eating healthy.

Birth Control

Throughout the month of September I suffered from constant periods. I had a period that lasted 3 weeks which prompted me to go to my college's nurse practitioner. Because I am bulimic again (I will address this in a future post), we were both worried that I was losing way to much blood. So I was put on an intense birth control regimine to stop my periods and regulate them. By intense I mean that I was instructed to take 3 pills until I stopped bleeding (took 2 days), 2 pills for 5 days, and then 1 for 17 days after that. The pill I was prescribed had a higher dose of hormones which had a negative affect on my body. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy eating, but I rarely ever pig out. However, this birth control caused me to have extreme cravings. When I say intense, I would eat an entire pizza to myself at like 11pm at night. I had an intense craving for cake for an entire week, bought that cake, then ate the whole thing in 4 hours. I could go on and on about how much I ate, but we would be here all day. The point is that I was eating things that I never ate, and in quantities my body was not used to. On top of all of this, I was not exercising whatsoever. No, some of the things I ate were not vegan, which I am not proud of at all, but we all make mistakes.

Stress/College

I have undergone an intense amount of stress during this semester. This includes my academics and my social life. I will not go into detail, but there were several events that caused me to spiral out of control. This usually resulted in me not eating, overeating, and not doing any physical activity whatsoever. Also, anyone who has been to college knows how difficult it can be to eat healthy. I attend college in a very rural area, and without a car, it makes it very difficult for me to go to the grocery store. Also, the food plan that I chose this semester due to money problems was not very reliable. It resulted in me under eating, or eating shit foods.

Binge Eating
I have dealt with binge eating on and off since the age of 8. Over the last two years I have been able to keep it under control, but over the course of the last month I have not been able to. In order to make up for the weight I gained, my eating disorder returned resulting in me under eating, or not eating out at all. Of course my body wasn't having this, so it attacked. I would then go into full blown binges eating everything and anything I could get my hands on. After doing some research on binge eating (there is a video that really helped me), I am now getting it under control.

The Plan
 Because "I" am not happy where my body is right now both inside and out, there are a number of things I want to start doing to take control of the issue now. Here is a list of things I want to do in order to get everything under control.

1. STOP UNDER EATING. Anyone who is a close friend of mine knows that I tend to under eat. I can go 18 hours without eating due to stress and pure laziness. In order to make sure that I am doing this, I have started to use Myfitnesspal again.I have used my fitness pal on and off over the last couple of years and it holds me accountable for what I eat. As I recover it is painful to write down the crap that I have been eating, but it is helping me to get out denial.
2. STOP BINGE EATING: This amazing video  has REALLY helped me to understand my binge eating disorder. Cambria talks about an entirely different approach to binge eating which is extremely helpful. I suggest watching the entire thing, but if you don't have time skip to about ten minutes in.
3. STOP COMPARING MYSELF: When I am at my lowest, I am big on comparing myself to others. Over the last couple of months I have had friends and family members succeed at their weight loss goals. I am happy for them, but this has made me feel down about my own. We all have different bodies, so it is ridiculous to compare our health goals to other people, but it happens. When I was exercising regularly, and eating healthy foods, I was only focused on my goals. I want to get back into that mindset because that is what made me happy.
4. BECOME A STRICT VEGAN AGAIN: Please alert the vegan police. Over the last few months I have only been eating about 95% vegan. I have gotten lazy on reading labels which has caused me to consume some dairy products. I know to some of you this is not a big deal, but to me it is. I LOVE being vegan. Veganism takes away my stomach pains, my cramping, and gives me more energy overall. Right now I'm sitting here with a very angry stomach because of dairy I consumed a few days ago. Yes, my body is that sensitive to dairy. 
5. EXERCISE: Oh exercise how I miss you so! I have always loved exercise. I love pushing myself to the limits, seeing my progress, and just getting out there and moving. However, I have really been slacking in the exercise department. I used to exercise 5 to 7 days a week, and now I exercise maybe once a month. A lot of it has to do with me being ashamed at how many steps back I have taken. I have become ashamed to go to the gym, or take a walk in general. I miss posting exercise motivation pictures and videos to instagram, so I plan on doing that again. It makes me feel good, and I know I am helping others.
6. TIGHT LACING: The one thing I haven't slacked on these past couple of months is tight lacing.I genuinely enjoy the feeling of tight lacing, and it helps me stay on track. If I eat something bad, my corset will let me know. Also, corseting forces me to do abdominal exercises. I have been slacking when it comes to ab exercises, but it is absolutely crucial when tight lacing. My stomach has become a bowl full of jelly because I haven't been exercising, and I hate it.
7. LOVE MY BODY: I am all for self-love, but I have not been practicing what I preach lately. A lot of this has to do with my confidence being lowered due to the unhealthy lifestyle I have been living. It took me years to stop feeding my body crap, stop starving it, and stop nurturing it in general. I have no idea what my body goals are, but all I know is that I want my body to be happy again.

If you want to join me on my journey back to a healthy lifestyle you can follow me on any of the social media links below. I will not be posting to my instagram @kimiluvly as much due to me being at college.

Vegan Food Insta: @kimiluvly

Instagram: @luvlyjourney

Tumblr: @kimiluvly

Peruvian Naturals Organic Maca 800mg Tablets Review

This is the second post in this week's health product review series. If you like any of the products I review you can purchase them all on my amazon review page. If you have any product suggestions, or want me to review your product please contact me!

Why did I buy this product?
Around 2 years ago I was determined to build a bigger booty without exercise. As an older, and more wise adult (kind of), I now know that this is impossible without surgery. So, I ventured onto the oh so lovely internet in order to find answers. After a few days of intense booty building research, I came across something called Maca root. For those of you who are really into fitness, you have probably already heard about Maca. For those of you who do not, allow me to explain. Maca root, or lepidium meyenii. It has a huge reputation for balancing out female hormones. This basically means making sure that your estrogen levels are up to par. Women who are curvier have higher estrogen levels. So, this leads people to believe that if they take maca they will increase their estrogen, increase their curves, and consequently get a bigger booty. This is a popular claim, however there is little scientific research to back up this claim. There are also claims that Maca root improves your energy levels, and any female problems that you may be having. Again, these claims have not been scientifically proven to be accurate. As a quick disclaimer, I only tested out this particular product for 3 months. With that being said, if you try this product out for a longer period of time you may get different results. 

The Good
This Maca Root tablet in particular is very pure and organic. As soon as you open up the bottle it has a strong, earthy odor. This is usually a sign that the supplement is very pure and natural. I used this maca root tablet in particular for about 3 months without any exercise, and I did notice some change. I don't know if it was the placebo affect, but I swore I could see my body shaping itself out. A few people I knew could see it as well without me even telling them that I was taking the supplement. I noticed that my hips were getting a bit bigger and my stomach was getting a bit smaller. However, this could have all been in my head. As far as the energy and overall hormone regulation claims, I did not notice a significant difference. However, around this time I did notice my period started to regulate itself. I have very irregular, and overall terrible periods. During this time period my periods came on at the same time during the 3 month period. Sometimes my body magically regulates itself for a few months, so I am not 100 percent positive that the maca root attributed to the regularity.

The Bad
Even though I did not exercise while taking this supplement, I do believe that its full potential is only released with exercise. With that being said, it has little affect on your body without changing your lifestyle. In my opinion this is not really a negative because it encourages you to live a healthier lifestyle. However, for those of you who can not or do not want to do exercise, this could be a negative. In my opinion Maca Root is something that you have to take for long periods of time to see drastic results. With that being said you could just eat clean, and exercise to see the same results.

The Ugly

In the 3 months that I tested out this product I did not have any complications. With that being said I have nothing "ugly" to say about it. 

Final Thoughts
I do not believe that Maca root is a must have, but I do believe that it can be beneficial to your health. Because it does not damage your body, I suggest at least giving it a shot. Because of this, I am giving this particular product a 7/10. In the near future I will be incorporating maca root into my diet to see how it responds with exercise. I recommend trying this product out for yourself  as a little health experiment and see what results you get!

Stash Premium Green Tea Review

This is the second post in this week's health product review series. If you like any of the products I review you can purchase them all on my amazon review page. If you have any product suggestions, or want me to review your product please contact me!

Why did I buy this?
Initially this green tea was an experiment for my 30 day belly fat challenge. I have always heard in the past that green tea helps to combat belly fat, so I wanted to test it out. 
The Good
I LOVE this tea. If you follow me on any social media, then you know that this tea is my new addiction. I have tried many green teas in the past, but this one has been my favorite by far. I drink 3 or more cups a day, and I have been doing so for the past 2 weeks now. It is able to cleanse your body without having you run to the bathroom every 5 seconds. I usually have to put some form of sweetener in my teas, but not with this one. It has a simple and pure taste to it. This tea has also helped me combat my perpetual bloating. I will do a blog on this in the future, but I bloat very easily, and for long periods of time. The only time I am not bloated is if I have not eaten for 10 or more hours, which really only happens when I wake up. If I drink this tea throughout the day it helps to digest my food, and it gets rid of my never ending food baby!!!

The Bad
I have few negative things to say about this tea. The only negative I can say about this tea potency. If you are a green tea advocate, you know that the potency of green tea is better the second and third time. What I mean by this is that the second and third brew are way stronger than the first. However, this could be a positive because most of the time I only have to use one tea bag per day!

The Ugly
I honestly can not find anything ugly about this tea!

Final Thoughts
No, I am not a sponsor for this tea, but I would be! I've bought all of this tea using my own money and I honestly adore it! Because of how it handles my seemingly perpetual bloating, its pure clean taste, the cost, and overall effectiveness, I am giving this tea a 10/10. This is probably the only time I will give a product a golden 10/10, but Stash Green Tea deserves it!

Camellias 26 Double Steel Boned Corset Heavy Duty Waist Training Shaper Review

This is the first in this week's health product review series. If you like any of the products I review you can purchase them all on my amazon product review store. If you have any product suggestions, or want me to review your product please contact me!

                                                 Why did I buy this?
If you personally know me, then you know that I am an extremist. It's all or nothing when it comes to something that I want. So, what better way to be extreme than do waist training? I initially bought this product to test out waist training (waist training blog post coming soon), and I pulled a newbie mistake and bought an amazon corset. Just a heads up, if you are serious about waist training DO NOT buy an amazon corset. Unfortunately, I got this information after I had already received this corset in the mail.

The Good
If you are really short on money and want to test out waist training, this is the corset for you. This corset has the basic steel boning which is what trains your waist. It is a reasonable price ($39.00), and it ships extremely fast (about 4 days). It is also very sturdy, and durable as well. I have used this on and off for around a month now and it has not broken yet. I also do believe that if you do the waist training process properly that it could shrink your waist.


The Bad 
This corset has terrible flexibility (yes corsets have some flexibility), and it is very tight in the rib region. Any hardcore waist trainer will tell you how important it is for a corset to have space up top and down the bottom. When you tighten a corset you should feel slight pressure in the ribs and hip bone region, but not too much. The tighter I tighten this corset, the more it digs into my rib cage. This is not only uncomfortable, but dangerous.

The Ugly
If you are serious about waist training, you must wear your corset for a minimum of 12 hours a day after breaking it in. Hardcore waist trainers train for up to 23 hours a day. This includes walking around with the corset, and wearing it to sleep. I only wore this corset out in public once, and there is a reason behind that. Like I mentioned before, high quality corsets have more room up top and down the bottom. I have worn this corset to sleep multiple times, and after a while I experienced excruciating pain in the rib cage reason which caused me to stop waist training for a while. With high quality corsets you should be able to sleep in it with minimum discomfort. Also, because this corset is tight in the ribs and hips, if you have excess fat in those regions (like me) it will give you a giant spill over the top, and under the bottom. Even my heavy duty bras could not hide this. I am a pretty confident person, but I did not feel confident walking around looking like a pushed up go-gurt tube all day.

Final Thoughts
This is not the worst corset by far, but it is definitely not the best corset out there. Because of the pain due to the flexibility of the corset I am going to give it a 5 out of 10. If you can afford to dish out a few extra bucks (like $20) I suggest going with higher quality corsets like orchard corsets. From the research that I have done, their corsets are inexpensive and high quality. If you want more accurate information on corsets and waist training check out Lucy's Corsetry it is an amazing blog with tons of info!

Health Product Review Week

Hey there luvlies!
As an Amazon addict, I've ordered a vast amount of health products from amazon.com. Some of you have been wondering what products I have been using for my 30 day belly fat challenge so I thought I would have a little review week. All week I will be reviewing products I have bought from amazon and how they have worked for me. I've even put together an amazon store for those of you who are interested in buying these products. I HATE fake reviews, so my reviews will go over the good, the bad, and the ugly. I will list the products that I will be reviewing below. Feel free to contact me if you have any recommendations you want me try out!

• Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set with Door Anchor, Ankle Strap, Exercise Chart, and Resistance Band Carrying Case
• Stash Tea Premium Green Tea, 100 Count Box of Tea Bags in Foil
• Peruvian Naturals Organic Maca 800mg - 100 Tablets - Hormonal Health Supplement for Men and Women
• Camellias 26 Double Steel Boned Corset Heavy Duty Waist Training Shaper (Black, XXS, 20inch)
• Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Coconut Sugar, Super Saver Pack 48-ounces

Mango Chia Smoothie

In order to keep my breakfasts interesting, I've been trying different combinations. I had chia seeds, almond milk, and a large mango so I put this delicious drink together. Try it out and tell me how you like it!

Ingredients

• 1 cup of almond milk 
• 1 large mango
• 2 tbsp of chia seeds
• 1 tbsp of coconut sugar
• 1 tsp of cinnamon

     Directions

• Place chia seeds in a cup or jar, 1 cup almond milk and stir. Let this sit for around 10 minutes or store in the fridge overnight. Place in a high speed blender with mango, coconut sugar, and cinnamon.
• Enjoy!