The Not "Quite" Skinny Enough, Pretty Enough, Talented Enough Actress.

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #7

I started to feel sick last night! I don't know if it was a "detox" from going completely vegan, being around other sick people, or the weather that did it....but 8 zinc/elderberry lozenges, 2 Emergen-c's, and 3 glasses of water with lemon and apple cider vinegar later I feel way better! Feeling like I had a cold coming on also made me WANT to eat more fruit because it's soothing on the throat and I know it's loaded with vitamins! Perhaps my oncoming cold went away quickly because there is no mucus forming dairy in my system? I don't know! Either way, still going well on day 7!

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #6

Six days, no dairy and fish! But also no weightloss. I didn't do the challenge expecting to loose weight because I am still eating in BULK...but with the wedding approaching I'd like to shed a couple of pounds!

Lani Muelrath promotes a LOW FAT plant based whole foods diet. She's had similar weight issues as I, and in her 60's has a strong lean body. In the past I would eat healthy oils/avocado's/nuts in bulk. While these foods are nutritionally good, they won't do anything for the waistline! I've already stopped cooking with oils.....but Peanut Butter remains my POISON! Hopefully I can use this momentum of my vegan challenge to quit the junk...at least temporarily! 

Here is Lani's website! She's really awesome so check it out!: 

http://lanimuelrath.com/about/

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #5

I didn't cheat on my challenge today...but I feel like I did!

Today was wedding menu design day! With our cocktail hour we get a ton of food options. Some I get to choose myself and some are already included. I had pre-chosen as many vegetarian "ish" things that I could....but my event coordinator pointed out that there was not a lot of options for meat eaters. I felt peer pressured into adding more meat! Even though this is MY wedding (and my fiance's) I want my guests to love the food and have an amazing time. At least 75% of my guests eat meat! So in addition to our carving station, cold cuts, sesame chicken, sushi bar....there will be chicken piccata and kielbasa. Kielbasa is pork. That's a pig! Innocent sweet little piggies are going to die for my cocktail hour and I'm feeling like this challenge is so hypocritical!

  

http://modernfarmer.com/2014/03/pigheaded-smart-swine/

 

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #4

Day number four and I haven't had any problems with maintaining a vegan diet. Probably because my diet leading up to this challenge was 90% vegan based on the teachings from different books I've read and different lectures/interviews with nutritionists and doctors I've listened to. But, I was thinking about my childhood/young adult eating habits earlier today and reminded how I've done a 180 positive change nutrition wise since my youth! If I still ate the same way as I did when I was in my teens I'd probably have severe health issues! 

I was living in Los Angeles "attempting" all the fad diets: Slim Fast, Atkins, Grapefruit Diet etc. when a girlfriend turned me onto THIS book:

 

 

This book opened my eyes for the first time to how harmful a typical American diet can be. She writes about the hormones and puss in cows milk. She explains what all the chemicals and additives in canned and other preserved food can do to you. And for the first time I had a better understanding of how much sugar I was ACTUALLY having even though I wasn't eating sweets. Because of her, I started reading labels and I saw how much High Fructose Corn Syrup was added to EVERYTHING! Marilu changed my life. I've read 100's of books and seen many documentaries on the same subject since...but every couple of years I re-read this book because it uses a common sense approach to diet and lifestyle...and while it doesn't advocate a 100% vegan diet it definitely doesn't promote meat!

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #3

I was really nervous about my vegan challenge today because it was my first day at the mercy of other people for food. I went to a friends place to work on a film! Said friend was such a gracious host he prepared a veggie burger on gluten free bread for me! Then later on I grabbed a vegan burrito (pictured below) at this amazing hole in the wall Mexican place next door to his apartment! I expected to go hungry today and instead I have a full belly! Success! 

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #2

One day in and I almost cheated! Almost!

I had these vegan marshmallows at the apartment but Gary ate them all so last week I ran to Whole Foods and picked up some more. They were a different brand but it was lunchtime and Whole Foods was looking like the apocalypse so I kinda just grabbed a box and made a run for it!

Well yesterday I was craving some sugar so I grabbed a marshmallow, took a bite, and just before I was about to swallow I saw the ominous words: GELATIN on the back of the box!!!!

For those of you who don't know...this is what gelatin is: 

"a substance derived from the processing of animal collagen. Commercially, this is most typically obtained from cattle hides and bones and pigskins."

Who woulda thought an innocent sugary white looking marshmallow is made by causing pain and suffering to the animals?

I spit that thing out like it was full of bubonic plague! From now on I will be way more weary of ingredient lists!

For more information on gelatin you can check out: http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2012/06/the-processing-of-gelatin/

30 Day Vegan Challenge: Day #1

I've decided to do a 30 day Vegan challenge and since my blog has been collecting cob webs, I can write about it here as I go!

I've been a Pescetarian for about 6 years now! I started cutting red meat/chicken out of my diet because of health issues I was having and different studies I read showing that animal products can cause inflammation. Throughout the years I've learned a lot about animal cruelty, how the cattle industry is destroying the environment, and about how diets high in animal products lead to heart disease, cancer, and obesity. 

So why haven't I cut fish out of my diet til now?

#1. They say that you shouldn't eat anything you wouldn't kill yourself. I would never kill a chicken, cow, or pig....but I've gone fishing before. Yes I screamed "ew" the whole time I was doing it.....but I did kill my own meal.

2. I love FISH! Especially shellfish! I love sushi! Raw clams, oysters, lox! LOVE IT!

#3. Even though I believe the protein hype is a load of BS, I've read that there are certain strains of amino acids and proteins that you cannot get from plants...so a little bit of fish in the diet is a good thing.

I don't think I will be able to cut fish out of my diet forever, but I just want to see what it will feel like to be without it for 30 days.

As for dairy, eggs, and butter. I don't cook with those products. The only time I eat them is when they're in a recipe someone else has made and I'm too lazy (or hungry) to turn them down. I will have to be extra careful about that for the next 30 days.

Since I consider myself fairly healthy already I don't expect to lose much weight...but I'll let you know if I do! I have the best health barometer built into my butt! Literally! My "sacroiliitis" or inflammation of my sacroiliac joint always acts up when I don't take care of myself. 

So....here goes! Wish me luck!

2012....Rough Start...Great Finish!

I just read my New Years Blog from last year! I am a great believer that if you put things out into the Universe you have a tendency to accomplish them and I wanted to know what...if anything...I had accomplished from last year.

 

Goal #1: Get AFTRA medical insurance. DONE! I did it...but I may lose it for next year unless I earn about $6,000 through AFTRA contracts by late February. Nothing is impossible...but it's kinda sucky I'm in this position. There was a union merge this year that promised to combine SAG/AFTRA and make medical insurance more attainable. So far the merge has had the opposite effect on my career. It's harder to book work. More competition! Hopefully in the New Year things will settle down. People will drop out of the biz (I already know 3 people that bought their AFTRA cards so that they could be SAG that couldn't handle the competition and either moved away or stopped acting.) And I will requalify for insurance!

 

Goal #2: Lose 10 pounds. OK....I lost about 5! That's 5 solid pounds. I also started toning more on a regular basis and I'm beggining to see more definition in my arms. There are things in my diet that I've completely changed. I have not had a drop of coffee in 5 months. I haven't had any chicken or meat either. My workouts are strong but WHITE SUGAR remains my evil enemy! This year I will continue to conquer my sugar cravings and decrease my portions! 120 is my goal weight and I'm about 132 right now. 

 

Goal #3: Take more acting/musical theater/dance classes. I took a few dance classes in the later half of the year. I found a teacher I love in FL who will hopefully be teaching in NYC soon! In the meantime I have a partner in crime with my girlfriend Jenn to take class at BDC. Money was tight this entire year and I never felt comfortable spending the $200 + on an acting class. I hope to have the disposable income this year, and the time, to just sign up for a class. It's hard to feel like an actress when you are so out of practice!

 

Goal #4: Get a commercial agent and start auditioning. Epic failure on this one. I didn't even try! Must continue trying in the New Year.

 

Goal #5: Do a forearm stand center floor in Yoga. I still can only do this one at the wall. I was in FL for 2 months and their were no yoga classes at the gym I went to...but I could have worked on this goal alone. Recently I found a very hands on teacher in NYC and I hope to continue taking her class on a regular basis and get this forearm stand DOWN!

 

Goal #6: Get a performance job on a cruise ship. I put a lot of energy into this goal and went to every single Disney Cruise audition this year. I always felt like a I did a great job (I am a huge critic of myself...so if I say that...I mean it!) Finally, at about my 10th audition the CD pulled me over after the audition and told me "Thanks for coming, you always do a great job, but I have no openings for anyone your height.".......This dream isn't dead yet, but most definitely needs to be refocused. I need to work harder on my dancing....and of course...my body. I also need to continue improving my voice!

Goal #7: Pay off my high interest student loan. I have about $400 left in that loan. I think it was at about $2,000 last year. I keep throwing money at it but it won't go away! At least....even if I make the minimum payments this year....it will be paid off! 

 

So...I sorta accomplished some of my 2012 New Years resolutions. The year started off slow, I didn't work a lot, I had no money, I went brunette...but in September I booked my first equity show in FL. I was able to perform for 2 months in a great production with amazing people. December was filled with auditions, fun background jobs, and a wonderful Christmas with my boyfriend. I'm blonde again, I'm motivated, and I'm ready for 2013!

Bedtime Deepak.

My boyfriend has been performing in Auburn, NY for the past 6 weeks and I am stuck alone in his gorgeous apartment in NYC. It's hard for me to fall asleep without our evening conversations so I have been forced to turn to Deepak Choprah to help woo me into slumber on a positive note. Last night, just before I drifted off, Deepak says (in an old youtube video) something along the lines of: It's not about achieving things, or getting something so you can be happy.....it's about being happy so you can get the things you want. Oh Deepak...you are so right! I feel that my entire life is a battle of not being a sad stack of pancakes! We all have what it takes to be happy right here and right now. This morning I woke up with feelings of depression and inadequacy and I looked around I realized I'm living in Chelsea in my dream apartment and my boyfriend who loves me more than anyone (even though I AM cosntantly a depressing sad stack of pancakes) is coming home on Thursday. What he hell is my problem? I will myself to be happy!

Well Hello GORGEOUS!

Meet my new lover! Zyflamend! For the past three weeks my back has been a hot inflammed mess. There were one or two days in which I could barely get out of bed. In my convalescence I started to watch documentary after documentary on Netflix about health and healing. I also started youtubing videos and reading different articles on line. The main ingredient that was talked about repeatedly as having a huge healing affect on inflammation and all arthritic conditions is Turmeric! So, I limped my way to Whole Foods to grab some suplemments and left with the highly recommended Zyflamend, which contains not only Turmeric but nine other ingredients that reduce inflammation! I've been chowing down on this stuff for about a week now and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! So, the lesson of the day, if you are rocking the inflammation, I would go out and buy yourself a bottle of this bad boy!