I'm sorry, everyone! I haven't updated this site in a long time, but I swear, I have a good reason. In fact, I have an excellent reason. I opened a CrossFit gym in San Francisco! My new baby is United Barbell, open since August 16th. My business partner Jenny and I have been working long and late, first getting the gym set up, and now coaching and running the business, so there's not been a lot of time for anything else.

Something amazing happened since March, when I posted about following a vegan version of the Paleo diet. People started emailing me, wondering how it went, or talking about their experiences in the CrossFit world as a herbivore. It turns out I am not the only one! Not only are there a few of us tenacious, strong-willed vegans, but a lot of vegetarians too. Hi everyone! Can I just mention how amazing you are? You are all doing so much to break the stereotype of the sickly, pale, weak vegetarian who lives off lettuce leaves. We know that's a load of bollocks anyway. We train hard, we eat a lot of food, and I'm betting that most people would never guess we abstain from animal products.

It's really hard to keep your beliefs intact when everyone you admire is encouraging you sacrifice what you believe for elite performance. I went through a period while I was opening the gym and living off Whole Foods prepared meals where I really thought I might need to add eggs to my diet just to make life easier. Of course my train of thought involved a rescued lady chicken that I'd give a great life to in my back yard in exchange for her ovulations, but still, it was considered.

Luckily, before I acted on this idea, I decided to talk to other vegans and remind myself why I stopped eating animal products in the first place. I'm so grateful I did. It gave me a priority check: what was more important to me: convenient meals, or integrity? I chose to stick to my guns through some pretty challenging times (18 hour work days!) and now that life has calmed down somewhat, it's even easier to keep in mind why I say no to fully adopting the CrossFit diet of choice.

I now realise how important it is to have your homies back you up during a crisis. Veg*n CrossFitters everywhere: you are not alone. I know it is difficult, and I know that everyone is telling you that soy is the devil and that you won't achieve your fitness goals on your current diet. We will get there together. How do we do that? Good question. Join the CrossFit Vegans & Vegetarians group on Facebook. Collate your favourite recipes and post them there. If you find another veg*n CrossFitter, forge elite friendship with them! Swap notes, divide up your research (god knows about 80% of our diet is research!) and get your facts straight. Remind each other why you are the way you are, and help each other thrive.

As for me, I just started another 30 day paleo challenge. My whole gym is doing it. I learned last time that creative meal planning and cooking is the hardest part, so my time off will involve a hell of a lot of time spent in the kitchen. I'll also be leaning heavily on Whole Foods - in particular the sauteed tempeh & greens, and the salad bar with grilled tofu. I also hope to come up with some kick ass recipes. And finally, I plan to reply to everyone who emailed me!

Yours truly warming up the snatch on the platform at United Barbell!

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