sledge_antilles

It wasn't a waste, and I did learn some stuff about taking on too many challenges at once.I'm still figuring out the diet - it's not so much gastro issues as fatigue and some other stuff. But the fatigue...it's crushing. I'm ready to be past all this. Many days I'm a zombie at the moment. (Look how long it took me to respond to this! I've had this tab open since I got the notice you posted, sheesh.)

Alright...as much as I hate to admit it I bombed this challenge. Not what I was hoping for my first challenge back, but I'm trying to have a little bit of grace for myself. Long story short I bit off more than I could chew - too many changes at once without a clear goal in mind for all of them. I'll be reworking them for the new challenge. Quick wrap up: 1) Get back into the gym - Wasn't able to keep this going after the second week. Combination of poor schedule planning and fatigue. 2) Whole30 dietary reset - Made it through the elimination phase and am working on the reintroduction portions right now. 3) Finish grad school application - Didn't finish, but am nearly done. I need to make some portfolio updates, and am waiting on a letter of reference I should have in a week or so. Just about finished. 4) Evening routine reset - This is where it started to fall apart for me and kind of snowballed into letting the other goals slip, too. Need to break this down into much smaller goals that can build up better habits over time. Live and learn. Onward. Stay on target!

Yes, I would be studying to get back into documentary photography, just not as my bread and butter. I had to look up what applied intelligence was. Sounds like a pretty broad base of applications like you said. Have you read Michael Chabon's The Final Solution? So far so good, this week. One gym visit down and plugging along at the rest of my challenge goals.

Funny thing about not using technology in the evenings - you forget to login to social sites... Thanks! There were some rough months in there, for sure. The diet has been the most challenging part of the challenge so far. I've lost a bit of weight, which seems to be a perennial problem. And I'm hungry. A lot. I've tried upping the sweet potato count but it doesn't seem to have an effect yet. I think it's just a matter of transition and change. We'll see how things level out. The symptoms seem to flare up one by one and then die down a day or two later so far. I hope that continues to be the case. I haven't made any more progress on my grad school applications thanks to a surprise job offer that arrived on Monday. I spent the week weighing it and discussing it with some folks and made a decision yesterday. That, and striking a couple deadline-driven tasks from the to do list have opened up my downtime to work on the applications. They're mostly done as it is, just finishing all the little loose ends and details. (And yes, you can totally ask: I would be studying documentary photography. I'm not in that "industry" anymore, whatever that might mean, but I love it. And congrats to you on finishing up soon! What are you studying?) As for the other goals - made it to the gym twice and walked on the treadmill both times. Yesterday I did one set of squats with an empty barbell. And my evening routine isn't too much of a routine yet, but cutting out technology use has opened up more head space, and allowed me to restart my daily journal and get some reading done, too. (Currently working through the complete Sherlock Holmes collection.) So those seem to be on track. Onward. Stay on target!

Long time no see, fellow rebels. I was planning on transitioning to an intermediate lifting program back in September and then life happened and I've been on a yo-yo of okay days and really-not-okay days. The endocrinologist I've seen recently said family history and long-term labs point to a thyroid issue - so I'm trying to rebuild from a pretty low state. Some days are better than others, some have been almost normal, but none have been symptom free yet. So, with that said, and with a hopeful eye cast toward the future: 1) Get back into the gym - I want to re-establish my previous gym habit. At this point I'm not ready to start lifting again (though I really wish I was, and I never thought I'd ever say something like that); I'll probably just stick to walking on the treadmill. Two days a week seems reasonable and doable right now. It feels underwhelming to write that as a goal, but I have to acknowledge to myself that that's where I am right now. I may go try an empty barbell for kicks every once in a while to see how it feels, but I'm not ready to start back into any kind of programming. 2) Whole30 dietary reset - When the challenge starts I'll be in the second week of an autoimmune version of the Whole30 elimination diet experiment. Depending on how I feel at the end of the 30 days I'll either continue with the same restrictions or start trying to reintroduce some of the foods I'm currently avoiding. This goal is malleable and dependent on health/symptoms, etc. But basically the goal is to finish it out strong whenever it needs to finish. I have a wingman IRL doing this with me both for moral support and his own reasons, which has been helpful. I read that the initial phases of the elimination diet can cause flares of symptoms, and that seems to have been the case so far (hello tingly hands...). Here's hoping they fade. 3) Finish grad school application - I want to attend grad school abroad. Time to finish my applications. I want them done before the end of this challenge. 4) Evening routine reset - I need better sleep, and an evening routine would help. Right now the "routine" is to be lazy on a computer or phone. Rather than just cutting out technology I want to replace current habits with older habits I prefer - resetting from the low point I hit recently. So, I'm going to leave my laptop in the car at night and not use my phone for anything but communication beyond 7 p.m. Instead, I'll read for a while (so many books on my bucket list/epic quest!) and pick up my journal again, or one my few writing projects, and write some. No real rules other than no digital tech. allowed. This might be enough for now. If I find it easier than expected I'll add in some time of centering prayer/meditation, too. But right now it will be writing in the journal before hitting the bunk. This might need to be expanded in future challenges based on how this goes, and eventually there will be morning routine challenges, too! I think that's all for now, rebels - thanks for listening. Signing off. Stay on target!

Aright...so I was out for a while (5 months?) as this progressed. I've spent that time in a lot of tired fog bouncing around between doctors (attentive, informed, kind doctors) as well as a couple of trips to the ER for kidney stones - yeehaw! Long story short I had a follow up with an endocrinologist this morning who has been monitoring my thyroid labs and had ordered a test to check for immune system responses to foods. She said that although my antibody tests were negative, family history, my symptoms and the long-term look at my thyroid and other labs since this whole shebang started is consistent with Hashimoto's, so she's operating on that assumption right now. The food testing results showed a severe immune response to egg whites, and a moderate-to-mild response to a bunch of stuff including chicken, cod, gluten, casein, cashews, black beans, coffee and coconut. That list was a little hard to stomach - pun definitely intended. So I'm still processing all of this - wanted to post about it so I can get myself back into the game and start really figuring out how to rebuild. Looking forward to the next challenge to experiment with all this new information. Stay on target!

This has all been informative and very helpful - knew this was the place to turn to! Much obliged to all of you for the thoughtful and in-depth feedback. I don't have the energy to do it right now, but I want to come in later and ask a couple follow up questions to some specific points made. Again, I really appreciate your feedback! Stay on target!

As usual I've written much more than I expected to. Little bit of my current story up front, actual question at the end if you want to skip. I ate a vegan diet for five years. I initially switched to it to be healthier, and to encourage my family to be healthier by having it rub off on them over time. It sort of worked. Not really. All that I really managed to do it seems was give myself some nutrient deficiencies. Low iron storage, low B12, low testosterone, more than likely low protein, and deficient levels of Vitamin D. I was starting to drag the last several months (looking back over some previous posts I made I can read between the lines and see it starting to build over time) and then last month it slammed into me like a truck - heavy/weak limbs, off-balance, dizzy, incredibly tired (two naps a day after a full night's sleep), pins and needles in my arms and legs, weird blood pressure fluctuations, shortness of breath, chest pain. It hasn't been fun. Probably the weirdest one was moments of lost proprioception, so I couldn't tell where I was in space. I would be walking along normally but my brain couldn't tell where my legs were. Or I would put my arm over my head and it would "disappear" from my ability to sense it. Really strange. I'm not out of the woods, yet, but I'm starting to rebuild. Though every day is still a little different in terms of symptoms I think/hope I'm slowly starting to get cumulatively better. Aside from my myriad of supplements (which I mostly plan to discontinue eventually) I've reintroduced eggs and fish into my daily menu, and will probably move to chicken next. A friend explained her essentially paleo diet to me and piqued my interest. And since I knew a lot of NF folks follow this framework I figured this was a good place to ask around. I'm very much a "why?" person - in that I have to understand the reasoning behind something or I have a hard time following through at all. I've spent several days looking through any threads that seemed relevant on this board and it's been quite helpful. I don't need to lose weight - quite the opposite, I've always been skinny, and I was trying to put weight over the last year. I put on about 8 pounds or so but it was incredibly difficult. I was just getting ready to switch to an intermediate lifting program when all these symptoms started. My BMR is ~2400, and I tried to eat 2800-3000 calories a day while I was lifting. It was a real struggle as a vegan, and I only managed to make it work with multiple bagels and peanut butter, and lots of rice-and-bean based bowls. It seems like it will continue to be a struggle using a paleo framework, too. I already didn't eat any refined sugars or too much natural sugar as they've given me migraines since I was a kid. And I think I'm going to leave dairy off the menu, too. My question comes down more to the concept behind paleo/primal, which is, at least in part, as best I understand to train your body to burn fat as its primary energy source. In the posts on this board where people need to increase their calorie intake or are trying to bulk they're encouraged to add more safe starches to their diet, thereby increasing the amount of carbs they eat. Is this counterproductive to training your body to burn fat primarily? Or do you have to increase your fat intake as well in the process, making it more about ratios than anything else? Thanks to the community as always. All y'all are an invaluable resource. Stay on target!

It's never a bad thing for me to be reminded to eat more. But as for programming it feels like I'm due for a change. I'm chalking up more days in the gym that feel like defeat than victory. I'd just like to have a more solid plan in place (and some knowledge to back up why I'm doing what I'm doing) before deciding to switch programs.

Whelp, this turned into a bigger post than I planned. I'm sorry. Didn't realize I had so much to figure out. Fitness Goals Strength (a little size gain would be welcome vanity-wise, as well) and conditioning(? - not sure that's the right word). I volunteer on a tall ship, and a strength increase would be really helpful when trying to haul lines and sails. But, it's the kind of gig where you need that strength all day every day when we're at sea (about two weeks out of the year) because even just trying to stand still uses muscles you forgot existed, let alone climbing and hauling. So much hauling. Exercise Preference I've only begun to use barbells in the last year. Not sure I've found a preference or know all the differences between styles of lifting, yet. Current Physical Stats Male/33/5'11"/149 lbs. (Up ~10 lbs. since starting) Previous Training History No real training to speak of outside of martial arts classes over a decade ago or the occasional game of racquetball. Current Training I've been running Stronglifts (with a few weeks off over the whole period because of flu or vacation) for eight months. Current Diet Daily Calories ~2800 Current Resources/Limitations The globo gym I attend is open when I need it to be. The only real limitation is my ever-fluctuating schedule. But I try to work gym time in even when inconvenient. I've been reading through this board a lot the past few days, so I'll try to give all the info I can remember that's relevant. Forgive me if I forget something. I know I need to post some form check videos, too, in the near future. Current lifts/weak areas - Low-bar squat - 3x5 170 lbs. - I'm weak on beginning the ascent, and then have a hard time keeping my chest rising at the same speed as my hips on the last 1/3 or so of the lift. Also, though I can usually keep it (at least mostly) forced out, my left knee wants to collapse inward when I'm lifting heavier. OHP - 5x5 75 lbs. - After reading through the boards and a bit of Supple Leopard I think I'm pretty much doing this lift incorrectly, so I'll probably deload quite a bit and give it a fresh start. Bench - 3x5 125 lbs. (barely) - Weak coming off the chest, but I also realized the last couple times I was in the gym that I'm losing any tightness in my back after locking out on the first rep of a set. Barbell rows - 5x5 145 lbs. (I'm really starting to hate these). The weights are starting to get too heavy for me to lift with any kind of speed at all. Deadlift - 1x5 230 lbs. - I'm weakest here in my grip. I've lifted heavier but not for full reps because my grip all but gives out on the second or third. I know my numbers aren't all that impressive for someone who's been running SL for eight months. Basically the pattern was: reach a weight that was difficult, fail three times, deload, work my way back up, complete the difficult weight (and maybe the next weight up, too), then almost immediately reach the next weight that was difficult, fail three times, deload, work my way back up (etc.). Right now gym time is taking too long. Between the three main lifts of a workout, one bodyweight (dips or chins), and a couple sets of calf raises I can be in the gym nearly two hours because of the longer rest times. And if I hit a new weight on more than one lift in the same day, I barely have anything in the tank for chins or dips, at which point I have no idea if I'm even benefiting from the few I eke out. Return on investment seems pretty low. I'm ready for a change and am planning to start 5/3/1 soon. I'll probably stick with SL for the next few weeks as I just switched to 3x5 on most of the lifts and want to run that a bit. In the meantime I want to figure out my plan of attack for 5/3/1 because there are so many options and I lack any experience outside the main lifts. At this point I could read until the cows come home and have no better idea how to progress. Questions: Assistance: For assistance work I'd like to use at least one bodyweight exercise. Seems like there's good benefit to the chins and dips and I want to keep that going (and make better progress than I am now). But reading through the boards makes me think that keeping the assistance to bodyweight work probably won't help me address the weak areas in my lifts. Wendler talks about doing all the different variations - wide, narrow, chins, pull ups, etc. Do I just alternate grips every set? I can hit one set of 10 chin ups. After a few minutes rest I can hit another set of eight or nine, and a few minutes later four or five. When Wendler talks about hitting 75 total reps, or 5x10, or whatever the case may be, do you just do as many as you can (up to 10 or 15 per set) within a certain allotted time? In other words would I just add two more sets to my regular pattern and get in as many reps as possible, with the goal of adding every workout? Same goes for dips or other bodyweight exercise? I'm not sure what other lifts to incorporate. Do I just do the Triumvirate plan Wendler lays out (maybe with different options for the leg press and leg curl)? Conditioning: I've been generally avoiding anything but lifting as I have a hard enough time putting on weight as it is. (An illustrative anecdote? I thought you'd never ask! I went on vacation two months ago, lost six pounds, and have still only put three of those back on. Eating has always been a chore, but I'm more conscientious now about making sure to get my calories than when I started. Still, I probably miss my target one day a week and I know that it hampers progress. My buddy says my body is like a furnace compared to him, which makes me laugh). That said, it seems like getting in some conditioning work can only help in the long run, especially with my overall goal. Wendler advocates a Prowler and hill sprints. I don't have access to a Prowler and I *despise* running (though if everyone says I should do it, I guess I'll do it). What conditioning do you like/has worked well for you? App/Tracking: I've been using the SL app to track my progress and it has probably been the difference between my continuing on the program or petering out, as I don't have to do much, if any, planning for the day before heading to the gym. I'm looking at this app for 5/3/1 tracking. It doesn't have any of the assistance schemes built in except BBB, but if I have a plan going in it looks like I can program it to fit my needs. Anyone have experience with this app, or one they like instead? Okay. So that's way more than enough questions for one time. Much obliged for the insight of all you folks farther along down the road than me. Stay on target!

Thanks! I haven't tracked calories very exactly, but I keep a running estimate going throughout the day. Not the most scientific, but it's what I've been doing so far. I try to underestimate so that I end up "forcing" myself to eat more. I might add more specific tracking to a future challenge. Thanks for sharing your experience. Also, I finally posted the rice and beans recipe that I liked the most in the scullery. Catch ya on the flip side.

Here's a vegan version of Cuban style black beans and rice (Moros y Cristianos) that I've been making and enjoying recently. It's usually made with pork - if you want some "meatier" flavor you could try experimenting with some dried mushrooms and/or a splash of soy sauce. Some spicy salsa has been enough to add some punch for me. Yields 8 servings INGREDIENTS: 3 cans (15 ½ ounce) black beans with liquid 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup grated onion 1 cup grated green pepper 2 teaspoons salt 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon dried oregano 2 cups long grain white rice 1 1/2 cups chicken of veggie stock 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil. 2. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic and salt to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Add the herbs and rice and stir for another minute or two. 4. Add the beans and their liquid, then the stock and vinegar. Increase heat to high. Stir well. When it begins to boil, cover pot and reduce to a simmer. 5. Cook covered for 35 minutes. 6. Take the covered pot off of the heat and allow to sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice a bit with a fork. Remove bay leaf. Serve immediately or reheat the next day. I've been topping this with fresh avocado and some spicy green salsa, and it's been really good.

I think it's going well, thanks for asking! I hit a new PR on dips today (13 over three sets), and am up about 10 pounds give or take since the start of January. Been having trouble breaking that 10 pound threshold for some reason (been there for two weeks) but I'm doing my best to just take it in stride and keep lifting and eating. I picked up the ingredients for my last pot of rice and beans for the challenge today. I'll do some prep and portioning tonight when I get home so that I can just drop everything in the pot tomorrow afternoon. Gonna go back to the Moros y Cristianos recipe I used the first week as I generally liked it better. Which reminds me I need to post it in the scullery...

Well played, Manarelle. Well played. I'm going to remember that one. Thanks!

Quick update - Am plugging along. The globo gym I go to recently closed the location I use and grandfathered us into a "higher level" club nearby. I haven't yet used the equipment there, and I'm a little intimidated, as it's much more open and visible than the last location. I'm more comfortable with the free weights in their own section a little less visible to the main group, but that's life. Here's hoping I can ramp up the self-confidence to get going in the new place. I made a pot of red beans and rice, and dropped some quinoa in as well for some more protein, but I don't like this recipe all that much, so I'm going to pass on posting it. I'll look for something better to share soon.

I will definitely do that.

I know I'm posting late in terms of starting (had a couple of events last week and some close friends in town - it was a good, refreshing kind of busy!). Four weeks didn't feel long enough to me, went by in a blink, so I'm experimenting with an eight-week cycle instead, and continuing my last challenge. Even though I'm posting at the end of the week I've been keeping up with the challenge goals since the end of the last cycle. Here's those goals reiterated: Goal 1) Make one pot of rice and beans each week. This is a 'get back to basics' challenge. I eat a vegan diet, and rice and beans in various guises was the bedrock of that for awhile. For whatever reason I've stopped eating a lot of it and my diet as a whole has suffered as it means I cook less and eat more processed food. One pot a week seems reasonable to get back into the habit, and leave me with enough for at least a few meals during the week. Goal 2) Eat two cups of peanuts five days a week. I'm tall and skinny and trying to gain weight. I'll continue to eat three meals a day, and I'm hoping this is a caloric increase enough to help me put on some muscle, as I'm starting to struggle with my lifts and it feels like it's too early in the program to be struggling this much. Goal 3) Add one bodyweight exercise to each workout. I'm currently working through my first go at Stronglifts and becoming a bit more comfortable with the program, so I'm going to add on one bodyweight exercise per alternating workout. Specifically pull ups and dips. I can track progress on the app, but success in this goal is including the exercises rather than hitting any specific numbers. (Note - I was able to do 16 dips total over three sets yesterday. Felt really good, especially considering I probably couldn't have done more than one six months ago.) Goal 4) Avoid Facebook news feed. I'll need to use Facebook to organize some events and communicate with specific groups, but my goal is to avoid the news feed entirely, as it is a hindrance to my day in multiple ways (timesuck, FOMO, etc.). I've hit all those goals this week so far except the pot of rice and beans, which I have to do today. I'm going to look for a new recipe, one that maybe adds quinoa into the mix, too for some more protein and calories overall. I've put on six pounds since the beginning of the last challenge - would be glad to see that trend continue. Keep up the good work, Rebels - Stay on target!

Been running around like crazy last week so I didn't update - but things are plugging along with my challenge, so far so good. I'm going to continue it in the next post/next challenge, as four weeks went by too quickly.

Week three update - plugging along, so far so good. I've been meaning to post the recipe I've been using for my rice and beans every time I check in but I kept forgetting - so here you go if you're at all interested (it's a vegan variation of the Cuban style Moros y Cristianos): Yields 8 servings INGREDIENTS: 3 cans (15 ½ ounce) black beans with liquid4 cloves of garlic, minced2 tablespoons olive oil1 cup grated onion1 cup grated green pepper2 teaspoons salt1 bay leaf1 tablespoon ground cumin1 tablespoon dried oregano2 cups long grain white rice1 1/2 cups chicken of veggie stock2 tablespoons red wine vinegar1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil. 2. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic and salt to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Add the herbs and rice and stir for another minute or two. 4. Add the beans and their liquid, then the stock and vinegar. Increase heat to high. Stir well. When it begins to boil, cover pot and reduce to a simmer. 5. Cook covered for 35 minutes. 6. Take the covered pot off of the heat and allow to sit covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice a bit with a fork. Remove bay leaf. Serve immediately or reheat the next day. (As a side note I've been topping this with fresh avocado and some spicy green salsa, and it's been really good.)

I popped a question in over on the food board for some suggestions before starting this challenge - got some helpful hints which steered my initial choices this time around. As for vegan powders - they're not in my budget right now, but you did start me thinking about how they might be, and how I can possibly incorporate smoothies into the routine. The main problem outside the budget is a lack of fixed schedule with my job - I have no weekly, sometimes even no daily, routines. But maybe a smoothie doesn't have to be an everyday thing... So far so good - hitting the goals as the days go by. I made a second batch of the same rice & beans recipe as it was really good the first time around. I don't know if what I'm doing would be considered "bulking" (is that more intense than gaining weight in terms of timeframe?) but I have put on a few pounds.

So far so good, fellow Rebels - I made my pot of rice and beans on Saturday, have enough leftovers to last at least until tomorrow. I've been eating my peanuts. So. Many. Peanuts. But, I'm getting more used to that, and I know it's only for a short(ish) time that I'll need to keep it up. I've been doing my pull ups and dips with the workouts (I hit a set of 5, then 4, then 3 yesterday with pull ups.) And I've been avoiding my Facebook news feed. I accidentally scrolled down a bit one day before realizing what I was doing. I don't miss it that much yet. Week number one down - on to the next. Stay on target!

Greetings fellow Rebels! I had several ideas for challenges over the holidays and I was going to focus on everything(!) during this first challenge back. But you can't really focus on flexibility, and focus on eating, and focus on cooking, and focus on building a business, and focus on planning adventures, and focus on less screen time, etc...or you're not really focusing, am I right? So I have goals in various categories, but the main gist this go round is food. Both cooking and eating. On a side note, I liked the six week span for previous challenges. I'm not opposed to four, as it may turn out to be better (won't know until I try), but I may end up turning these into eight week challenges. We'll see how it goes. Goal 1) Make one pot of rice and beans each week. This is a 'get back to basics' challenge. I eat a vegan diet, and rice and beans in various guises was the bedrock of that for awhile. For whatever reason I've stopped eating a lot of it and my diet as a whole has suffered as it means I cook less and eat more processed food. One pot a week seems reasonable to get back into the habit, and leave me with enough for at least a few meals during the week. Goal 2) Eat two cups of peanuts five days a week. I'm tall and skinny and trying to gain weight. I'll continue to eat three meals a day, and I'm hoping this is a caloric increase enough to help me put on some muscle, as I'm starting to struggle with my lifts and it feels like it's too early in the program to be struggling this much. Goal 3) Add one bodyweight exercise to each workout. I'm currently in week nine of Stronglifts and becoming a bit more comfortable with the program, so I'm going to add on one bodyweight exercise per alternating workout. Specifically pull ups and dips. I can track progress on the app, but success in this goal is including the exercises rather than hitting any specific numbers. Goal 4) Avoid Facebook news feed. I'll need to use Facebook to organize some events and communicate with specific groups, but my goal is to avoid the news feed entirely, as it is a hindrance to my day in multiple ways (timesuck, FOMO, etc.). Best wishes this go-round folks - Stay on target!

This sent me on a bit of a rabbit trail to learn about mobility work. So much information to sift through and try to figure out what to do - I'm a novice, so it can seem like overload at times. I know it'll be easier to figure out with more experience. That said, how does something like this look for a general mobility routine? http://www.earlytorise.com/workouts-of-the-day/10-minute-mobility-and-recovery-workout/ And I am still interested in yoga, both for an increase in flexibility and for practicing the meditative side of it as well - I'll take a look at the style you recommended. I've looked at the sun salutations and those look plenty difficult for a beginner - I think I'll incorporate them into an upcoming challenge. Thanks for the suggestions everyone - feel free to keep adding if you have more. Stay on target!

Peeking my head around the corner into the heavy lifters area here... I am not now, nor have I ever been, a flexible person. In what I assume is the standard litmus test I've never been able to touch my toes, and I was lucky to hit "0" on the sit and reach test in school back in the day. I started Stronglifts as part of the last six week challenge, and it's more apparent to me than ever that I need to work on my flexibility in conjunction with starting to lift. Browsing this forum it seems like several/many/some of y'all do yoga on your recovery days. Are there any specific (preferably free, online videos) routines you like or can recommend? Yoga is fairly uncharted territory for me and I don't know what to look for, or what questions I should even ask. Much obliged for any pointers in the right direction! Stay on target!

Let's just leave it at intestinal issues. Switching diets alleviated most of the problem. It's not gone, but it's a lot better. I definitely have at least one day a week where I can prep - it just changes all the time as my job has no fixed schedule. I'll definitely look up vegan bodybuilders. I used to eat a lot of rice and beans, but for whatever reason drifted away from it as a main part of my diet. I should probably go back to it as a mainstay. Using different spices when reheating sounds like a great idea. Thanks for the suggestions so far - if anyone has more keep 'em coming Stay on target!