Home is Where the Ab Workout Is and Vegan Protein

I guess the saying is “home is where the heart is”, which is true, but why not include some other body parts? I really love doing my workouts at home whenever I can. It saves the time and stress of driving to the gym and parking, etc.  Thanks to my dumbells, my treadmill and my P-90X DVDs, I get to do that every so often.  Some body parts need the gym (like glutes and calves). Some you can hit pretty well at home with very little equipment.  Abs are by far the easiest muscle group to work at home. Getting nice abs involves eating low sodium and low (or no) sugar, cardio, and stressing them out in a very concentrated manner with various forms of crunches and leg lifts.  The latter can be done using your own creativity (on the floor or a bench or the couch or while hanging from something), or by using someone else’s creativity and following along with a DVD, or by using machines and devices at the gym. This workout is a combo of the first 2 options.

After the past few months of focusing on getting massive amounts of protein into my body and not worrying about calories (and not doing any cardio workouts) so that I could bulk up my muscles, I have a little roll of fat around my middle that I am trying to get rid of for summer.  So, I am increasing my cardio and decreasing my calories and avoiding sodium and sugar, as well as doing core work outs more often (I was doing them once a week for a while, but now I’m trying for 3 times a week).  If you have the same issue, join me in the changes I’m making to my diet and workout and share with me how it’s working for you!

Here’s my workout (that I did while watching Oprah, up until the DVD):

• Treadmill: 10 minutes, ramp 10, walking very fast (avg around 4.0)
• Crunches with dumbells: 25 reps/20 lbs (two 10 lb dumbells held at shoulders) X 10
• Treadmill: 20 minutes, level 10 (fast walk for 15 minutes, run for 5 minutes)
• P-90X Ab Ripper DVD

And here’s what I ate to avoid sodium and sugar while still getting lots of vegan protein.  Notice that there are no fake meats (these are high in sodium) and no protein bars (because they are high in sugar).  Also, note that I use the unsweetened soy milk and I recommend it.  It tastes great, turns out you don’t need all that extra sugar.  Also, I haven’t used the creatine or nitric oxide in a few days because I suspected it was making me bloated.:

• Breakfast (40 g protein): smoothie with bananas, frozen peaches, blueberries, strawberries 2+ oz wheat grass (3 g protein), 1 packet frozen acai with added protein (7 g protein), 1.5 cups soy milk (10 g protein), 1 scoop Vega Sport Performance Protein (20 g protein).
• Lunch (44 g protein): Salad with romaine lettuce, spinach (5 g protein), carrots, red cabbage, red grape tomatoes, sauteed high protein tofu cooked with lemon juice, lemon pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder (20 g protein) and sliced roasted almonds on top (5 g protein) with balsamic vinegar as a dressing. With a large glass of soy milk (2 cups=14 g protein)
• Dinner (47 g protein): Soup made with white beans (18 g protein) spinach (15 g protein), onions, red bell peppers, carrots and zucchini. With a large glass of soy milk (2 cups=14 g protein)
• After Workout (36 g protein): smoothie with bananas, strawberries, 2 oz wheat grass (2 g protein), 2 cups soy milk (14 g protein), 1 scoop Vega Sport Performance Protein (20 g protein)
• Before Bed: 1 large mug of chamomile and lavender tea with 1/2 cup soy milk (4 g protein)
• Total 171 grams of protein for the day!