Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hi! I'm a fairly new vegan (was vegetarian for 8 years, had kind of an emotional crisis, went omnivore for a few months, ran back to being vegetarian, and then this past month, changed over to fully vegan). I've also been losing weight. Height wise, I'm 5'4. My healthiest/most slimmed down was 128 - I haven't seen that since about 2006. My heaviest has been around 150 - and I was there just 4 months ago. I'm down to 137, with the goal in place of hitting 128 within the next 3 months. I've recently adjusted that goal, however.

I'd like to build some visibly noticeable muscle tone. Nothing near bodybuilding competition level (I think it's awesome, but not where my goals are - and if I'm honest, I have doubts on my ability to ever achieve that level, anyway lol). But, I'm a little tired of people trying to tell me how unhealthy vegetarian/veganism is - and think that if I can build myself up to a lean and toned figure, that that would speak all on it's own. It's kind of funny when someone out of shape tries to tell someone clearly in shape, that they're the ones leading the unhealthy lifestyle, you know?

I figured coming on over, and checking out this website would be a good place to start. I do have The Body Sculpting Bible for Women - and will be starting in on the routines laid out there (but I'm limited to hand weights only for day-to-day access. I'm hoping through combing through the forums here I can pick up more ideas for workouts that don't require gym equipment - or, alternatively, basic gym equipment that might be affordable to invest in.

Hi there, welcome to the forum. Yeah there are a large number of things you can do without much equipment. Especially if your goal is to be lean and toned, you won't need much weight to do it. One thing that I'd advise investing in is a chin-up bar, since I think it is one of the best ways to work your back muscles. Other than that, most other exercises you can do in the home don't require equipment - squats, push ups, running, ab crunches, lunges, and so on.

Dumbbells are the basic instruments of bodybuilding. Apart from that, you could do jogging. It will work great for the legs. Also, all kinds of outdoors activities.