And so...the Phasing Out Begins

Meal 4 (6 pm): broiled salmon filet w/citrus grill seasoning + 1 bag Bird's Eye Steamfresh cauliflower,broccoli,carrots w/shredded parmesan + lemon lime Zevia (my fave)

THIS will be the HARDEST thing to give up...I LOVE SALMON!

Meal 3 (3 pm): 1/2 bag italian blend lettuce w/tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, red onions + heaping 1/4 cup Bush's reduced sodium garbanzo beans + Kretschmar deli turkey + 2 tbsp. Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinagrette + 1 serving EAS Betagen

Meal 2 (12 pm): 3 Wasa Light Rye crisbreads + yellow mustard + Kretschmar all natural honey roasted turkey (no nitrites or nitrates) + spinach, red onions, slice tomato + leftover tomato

Meal 1 (9 am): 3/4 cup egg beaters w/spinach, mushroom, diced onions, diced green & red peppers + 1/4 cup (dry measured) quick oats w/ 1/4 cup fresh blueberries + 1 serving EAS Betagen & 1 1/2 tsp. EAS Glutamine + multivitamin & 2 glucosamine/MSM

It's amazing how out of whack sleeping in for 3 days can make me. I am so happy to be back to waking up at 5:30 a.m. to hit the gym! I had a great High Intensity Interval Training session on the upright stationary bike this morning and had 2 liters of water down by the time I got home. I've been thinking for some time about hiring a trainer to help spot me on some of the heavier exercises on strength training days, so I did that today. Even though I'm a trainer, there are just some things that are better with a spot. I'd rather pay someone to stand there and spot me on a bench press than ask some random stranger at the gym for help...ie...get sucked into unwanted conversation with that person for the next year. I'm not trying to be anti-social here, but I don't go to the gym to chit chat. I'm there to kick some ass...period. So we start tomorrow, and I'll still be doing weight training 3 times per week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as usual.

I was thinking about how many variables are going on with this little experiment. I'm starting to tweak my weight training sessions to go heavier, I just started training for my first 1/2 marathon recently (which will be in Nov.), and I'm going vegetarian. The thought of working out so intensely sans meat is quite daunting I must admit. I guess it's kind of like a security blanket in some ways. Just wait until I tell the trainer tomorrow, "I'd like to build some muscle mass...and by the way...I'm going vegetarian at the same time." ha ha! My eyes are rolling even as I think the words to myself, but I love nothing more than a good challenge, and I'm curious to see if it's still possible to get shredded on a vegetarian diet. If only I felt like forking over the $ for a before and after DEXA scan, then this would really be a great experiment. However, my blogging and account of my own self progress will have to suffice for now.

As promised, I'll be posting my meals along this journey starting today. It should give a pretty good picture of my diet as a meatatarian vs. a vegetarian. I'm still learning the tools on this blog, so bear with me as I learn how to post pics and move stuff around so it's readable. :-D