Hi from Berlin

Hi there,

my name is Sari and I'm a 27 years old student from Berlin, Germany. I'm a vegetarian for 12 years now and started to go vegan 2 months ago. Since the 1st of January 2008 I'm conducting the Body-for-Life program and posting my results on my blog. (www.sarisaleh.com)

After really good results on the first month I haven't achieved any major results during the second. Therefore I'm looking for advice on vegan bodybuilding. Therefore I'm looking for a serious vegan bodybuilder who would give me first hand information how he manged to get a lean muscular body while sticking to a vegan diet.

If there is anybody out there (maybe even from Berlin) I would be glad to listen to your advice.

Thanks a lot.

Sari

Hi Sari and welcome to the board!

There are quite a few Germans here and I'm sure many of us others can help you too. I myself am new to this sport so I cannot help you that much but if you check the Before and After Photos section you'll see some very inspirational transformations.

It will help a lot if you'll tell us what you have been eating (and how much) and how have you been training. I think it's very easy to gain mass while keeping cut during the first months of training if you just eat a lot (and the right things) and train as much as you can.

Welcome!!

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to our group! Enjoy your time here. We have a very cool community.

All the best and welcome aboard! There are some great vegan bodybuilders from Germany on here so I'm sure you'll find someone who is a great resource soon!

Welcome to the Forum and congrats on going vegan!!

Hello and welcome Sari! You seem like a really nice person, as most people are who are into a plant based diet (not like i'm stereotyping but hey, it's true!)

Anyway, I checked out your blog

After really good results on the first month I haven't achieved any major results during the second.

I beg to differ about the second. While you feel that the weight loss was more substantial during the first month, and that may be true, when looking at pictures of day 66, you notice a big difference in LBM.

In day 66 pics, you have a noticeable build of muscle that is lacking in the pics during day 32, without question. I would not get discouraged, don't let that happen. I also would not go crazy and start overworking yourself either, as you could become burnt out and impede progress.

Results take time. To streamline the bf loss, my best suggestion is always the simple analogy: Calories in vs Calories out. If you eat less, your body will use it's own stores if you eat too much, it will maintain on that or even store more.

I would also make sure to stay away from processed foods whenever possible. Spoil yourself here and there but try to incorporate as much FRESH produce as possible and throw in some quality legumes, nuts and seeds in sparingly as well. To spice it up, here and there add some processed foods but let fresh produce be your bulk.

As far as specifics; Dark Green Leafy Vegetables and lots of them. Use fruit for energy and to replace sugars. legumes, seeds, nuts for protein but don't overdo it on the nuts and seeds as they can pack a ton of calories. Perhaps a protein powder of pea, soy, hemp or algae to add extra protein in without the high calories of nuts and seeds if you want. If you don't know about them, pm me and i'll find the thread I gave on another intro.

Keep on the right path, you're doing well......

Hi everyone and thanks for the warm welcome!

In day 66 pics, you have a noticeable build of muscle that is lacking in the pics during day 32, without question.

Thanks for this comment. I really needed that!

I stick to my training program, which is 3x/week weight lifting (always alternating between upper and lower body) and 3x/week running (20 minutes). Concerning nutrition: I watch my diet by eating about 200g of protein (mainly soy-based [tofu, soy-flour]), 330g of carbohydrate (from fruits, salad and vegetables) and 60g of fat (nuts, olive- and flaxseed oil) everyday. These are 2600 kcal for my 87 kg (174lb) of body weight.

I eat small portions 6 times a day.

Hi Welcome

Welcome aboard fellow German!

If you need professional advice how to get huge you should contact Daywalker. He is on the main page, also, and won natural BB world championchips some time ago.

Concerning your energy intake: IMO if you want to follow the classic BB diet (high protein) you should add some more fruits and veggies to your diet while keeping the other foods at the same level. 2600kcals is not enough concerning your BW. But away: 87kg=191,4pounds...

Welcome, Sari!

But away: 87kg=191,4pounds...

whatever...

Alex asked for more Info on myself, this is me:

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/703/bodyforlifeday74frontyt9.th.jpghttp://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1186/bodyforlifeday74sidewd7.th.jpghttp://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6723/bodyforlifeday74backik5.th.jpg

Welcome to the forum!

Hi Sari! I'm new here too!

I looked at your pics and I agree, I do see some improvement. It does take time, and I realize how hard that can be when a goal is decied upon and action taken...You want results NOW!

While I have never personally done the BFL program, I have read the book and many of the transformational success stories. One thing to keep in mind is that quite a few of the people who made these huge transformations either did more work than is required, (in the form of daily cardio), or took 2-3 times through the program to achieve their results.

And keeping all that in mind, there are a few things you can do to check on how tight your current program is...

off the top of my head...

1. Check for sneaky calories...the ones we actually totally forget about...calories from supplements...creatine or omegas..., soy cream or sugar in your coffee or tea, gum, soda, vitamin waters...anything that passes your lips

2. How clean have your carbs been? Have they been from whole foods like fruits and veggies or from processed sources like breads, pasta and bagels?

3. Are you perhaps sensitive to any food sources you are eating...wheat, preservatives, additives...many can mess with our biochemistry, thus making our bodies unwilling to release extra fat or water weight.

4. Check all labels for hidden sugars and corn syrups...they show up in the weirdest places!

5. Again check labels and see if any of the foods you are eating have an entire paragraph for an ingredient list

6. How is your level of hydration?

7. Check and see how much sodium you are consuming...both in the foods and salt you may be adding either before or after cooking

8. Are you really hitting a "10" on your workouts?? Your legs should be so sore you can barely handle a flight of stairs, and on upper body day you should find it extremely difficult to even stir that protein shake! And as for your cardio...well, you should hit that wall! When you leave the gym you should know deep within you that you gave it absolutely everything you had, you brought it and you left it all on the mat!

I can't think of anything else now...if I do, I'll let ya know!

Hi there and thanks for the answer.

I'll have to check everything you mentioned and keep an ever closer look at the thinks I consume from day to day.

Concerning hitting a 10 I can tell you, that it seems to work only with my upper body. After one of those workouts I feel the ache especially in my upper chest. With the lower body it doesn't seem to work at all. I do my excercises and increase the weight to a point where I cannot lift it anymore, but since I started bfl I never had any muscle ache in my legs. During the last 10 years I did a lot of very intense martial arts that focused alot on my lower body...might be an explanation. I don't mind the legs muscles anyway (thats why I didn't take any before and after pics.)

Sari~

I used to do TKD, so yes, I bet you are right about the martial arts conditioning your legs. Once you are done with your current program, you might want to try a couple of things...first anytime you exercise the large muscle groups, your body releases growth hormone and assuming you are looking to try and optimize strength, speed and endurance in your lower body, I would try and alternate squat days and hamstring days and spit the upper body into push/pull muscles.

So if you wanted to maintain the 3 days a week weight workout, you could go...

Day 1

squats

chest

shoulders

triceps

Day 2

hamstrings

back

biceps

abs and calves could follow which ever day you wanted...then just like BFL, alternate the 2 through the week, beginning the following week with day 2.

Depending on the type of martial arts you do, you may want to spend a some time working in the lower range of reps...4-8 because this is the rep range that typically builds strength. BUT, if you are involved with a martial art that requires leg speed, like TKD, then be careful about spending too much time there. You want to train for your sport. If you need speed, do explosive lifts, full body compound exercises, add plyometrics supersetted between sets...things like this to train your muscles to explode and contract faster.

Another thing you might need to consider is how many days a week you are practicing martial arts. This is a heavy energy demanding sport. If you are working out in the gym doing both HIIT and weights as well as spending a lot of time in the dojo, you might be overtraining. In which case your body would be producing a lot of cortisol and definetly put the breaks on any fat loss efforts.

Good luck!

Hi Sari - I posted a comment on your blog a few weeks ago. I just joined this forum too. It is nice to see a familiar name.