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/

30 Belly Fat Plan

For those of you who have been following me on instagram @luvlyjourney or on Tumblr @kimiluvly, you know my belly fat struggle. In order to conquer this struggle from August 10th until September 10th I will be trying multiple belly fat solutions in order to see what works for me. I will  be posting updates onto my blog, Instagram, and Tumblr in order to keep you all updated. This is a layout of my 30 day fitness plan, feel free to join me!

Green Tea

Anybody who has searched weight loss online before has come across the tea fad. For those of you who keep up with my blog, you have already read my "skinny tea" rant. I know that green tea has multiple benefits, but bellyfat loss is the one that is preached the most. So, I have decided to test this out. Everyday I drink 3 or more cups of plain green tea. The tea that I am currently drinking is
Stash Tea Premium Green Tea, 20 Count Tea Bags (Pack of 6). I will write a blog post in the near future on how it has benefited for me. So far it is my favorite green tea!

Water

One day I was scrolling through youtube (like I always do), and I found a belly fat video that was in my recommended videos list. The video basically went over the usual belly fat lost tips, but something stood out to me. The 4th tip in the video was to drink 15 to 20 cups of water every single day. At first I thought this guy was insane and wrote him off. However, weeks later this tip was still in the back of my mind. So, around a week before I decided to embark on this belly fat loss journey I purchased a 40oz water bottle Reduce Hydro Tritan Water Bottle 40oz, Purple. Because of the little markings on the side I find that drinking all of this water is a fun challenge. I treat this bottle like a purse meaning I take it everywhere I go. Right now I am only up to drinking around 12-15 cups of water a day, but it is a huge improvement from my usual 4 cups.

Getting over my fear of Cardio 

As a fellow apple shape, I lose weight in my bottom half first. So I am constantly doing lower body muscle building to balance out my shape. Because of this I was terrified that cardio would eliminate what little butt fat and butt muscle that I have. Yes, this sounds ridiculous to most because it honestly is. So I am 2 weeks into my intense cardio regimen and I am seeing rapid results now. I dedicate about an hour a day to intense interval cardio along with 30 minutes of strength training. So far it is working wonders for me and my butt has not disappeared!

These three things are the main things I have been incorporating into my current routine, but I am experimenting with little things along the way. For daily updates follow my instagram @luvlyjourney and my tumblr @kimiluvly!

Banana Power Smoothie

                                                                                                 Ingredients                                                                  

• 1/2 cup of soaked steel cut oats
• 3 bananas
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1/4 cup of powder peanut butter
• 1tsp of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar

          Directions

• Cut Bananas into small slices
• Combine peanut butter powder, coconut sugar, and cinnamon into a tiny bowl,
• Place all ingredients into a high power blender or food processor
• Pulse first then blend at full speed
• Enjoy 

Curry Potatoes

What you need:
○ 2 Large Peeled Potatoes
○ 1 Large White Onion
○ 1/4 cup of Almond Oil (or any oil you like)
○ 1 cup of baby spinach
○ 1/4 cup of curry
○ 1 tsp of Caraway Seeds
○ 1tsp of Rosemary Leaves
○ 1tbsp of Sea Salt
○ Pinch of Paprika
Directions
○ Slice your peeled potatoes into medium sized slices
○Chop your onion into small pieces
○Put your oil into a pot with baby spinach, and onions, start adding in seasoning
○When onions and baby spinach are halfway cooked add the potatoes and the rest of your seasonings
○add a bit of water to speed up the cooking process
○let everything cook for 30-45 minutes
Enjoy!!!
Note:
Play around with the seasonings, I never use the same seasonings in the same recipe more than once!

Why I HATE "Skinny Teas"

Greetings my lovelies!

The other day my very logical cousin texted me asking my opinion on one these "skinny teas". My cousin has always been the voice of reason when it came to the ridiculous diets I would go on in the past. She would say that they were unhealthy, and she was right. So when she was even considering these “Skinny Teas” I was shocked. In short, I told her to drink regular high quality green tea, and stick to eating right and exercising. These is the second part in my Social Media Health Frustrations. If you’re enjoying these type of posts let me know!  

False Advertising

What most people do not realize is that these tea companies send out their products to famous fitness instagram users to promote their products. 9/10 these fitness instagrammers are already kicking their butts in the gym and eat pretty clean. With this being said, these “skinny teas” are not the cause of their physique.It’s like taking someone with clear skin and having them advertise your acne product. They already have the end result and your product did not help them achieve that result

They have “dieting effects”

Whenever I hear the word diet I feel sick to the stomach. The whole process of eating significantly less, or taking things that constantly flush your system is not healthy. I have been there done that and it is not fun. Most, if not all of these teas suppress your appetite (not healthy), and have diuretic and laxative effects. If you are drinking enough water, and eating a plant based diet you do not need any of these effects. It is not natural let alone healthy. You will end up feeling weak from calorie restriction and will have a f*cked up digestive system from your body constantly flushing itself.

They are EXPENSIVE

Nothing frustrates me more than seeing people spend their money on crappy gimmicky products. People throw their money at anything that promises weight loss. To justify their purchase they look at these before and after pics. Most of the time these before and after pictures are faked and the people in them are being sponsored by the company. If you really want a tea that will help your body I suggest buying a good quality green tea and drinking it throughout the day. You will save money and more importantly save your body!

Social Media Health and Fitness Frustrations

                                                       Greetings my lovelies!

 
Raise your hand if you are a social media addict. I know for a fact that more than half of you who are reading this just raised your hand. I myself will admit that I am a social media addict. My top two vices being Youtube and Instagram. When it comes to fitness I love these sites to bits. They've taught me how to make yummy vegan meals, they taught me how to squat like a boss, and most of the fitness and health people are beyond inspirational. However, as I dive deeper and deeper into my health journey the more I see the dangers of the health and fitness industry in social media I have a number of frustrations, so I have decided to make this a series. Hopefully I can enlighten someone with this series. As always, feel free to comment!

The "I Lost ____ in ____ months" Youtube Gimmick

Yes, I understand the joy that comes with reaching goals, especially health goals. However, in the competitive social media world we live in today, many of these feel like gimmicks. These type of titles are meant to lure us in and you know what? They work! These videos get thousands if not millions of views on Youtube. Don't get me wrong, I used to be a huge sucker for these videos. I believed that if I followed exactly what that youtuber did then I would finally get the results I wanted. However, what many of these youtubers fail to point out is that EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT. Yes, eating a plant based diet, and exercising will do wonders for your body, but results will always vary. If you take ten people of the same weight and put them on the same exact diet for 3 months, at the end of those 3 months you will get a wide range of results. These "alluring" titles make people (especially the youngsters) believe that they will get the same results and if they don't their reactions could be dangerous.

What I would like to see more of
I understand that the social media world is more competitive than ever before. It's a competition of you has the most eye catching title and thumbnail. With that being said, these youtubers have the power to positively affect a lot of people. Instead of unlicensed youtubers giving their unprofessional opinions, I would rather that they explain their journey in order to motivate their subscribers. In my opinion, this is way more effective and far less dangerous.

Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

Somehow I made a vegan smoothie that mimics the taste of a peanut butter ice cream sundae. I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you decide to make it (which I hope you will) tag me on instagram @kimiluvly!

Ingredients

• 3 sliced bananas
• 5 sliced dates
• 1 heaping tbsp. of natural crunchy peanut butter
• a few strawberries (optional)
• cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1 tbsp. of brown sugar
• maple syrup (optional)
• granola (optional)

What you do

1. Blend the bananas with a little bit of water in your blender/food processer
2. Slowly blend in the rest of the ingredients. If the consistency is too thick add some more water. If it is too thin add more banana or oatmeal.
3. You can top this smoothie off with anything you like. I personally chose granola.
4. ENJOY!

This recipe will give you tons of energy and on top of that it tastes heavenly!