Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hey. I'm a newbie.. obviously. Just here to learn. 2 years ago I went 811 raw vegan & felt amazing but found it hard to juggle social outings & a busy schedule & ended up going back to SAD. Then last year I went for it again, this time convincing my parents to jump on board due to them wanting to get healthier... they did a 30 day challenge & had amazing results & although they are not vegan or even vegetarian, they have made huge changes in their lifestyle/diets & are reaping the rewards. I also thrived for awhile but once again fell back into old ways. I've been crash dieting (long history of ED's, etc) & I've finally had my full. No energy... sick... tired... moody...guilt... shame.. I just can't live this way anymore. I am vegetarian but I want to transition back to a vegan lifestyle.. it makes sense to me morally & physically. Anyways... that's a little history about me. I want to get healthy... live normally... lose weight... & build muscle! Any tips are much appreciated!

Hello CAD

Hi Tarzan

sup CAD

We have a thread where we take pictures of ourselves wearing as much or as little as we like, the purpose being to show everyone the progress we are making. I have been very interested in the 811 diet thing of course, it would be great to see what progress you have made.

Well... my photo right now would be a before shot since i'm just now jumping back into the vegan lifestyle. I'm not doing 811 this time around... but if you're interested in hearing peoples testimonies on 811 you could browse 30bananasaday.com

So you live in a forest, Tarzan? Fitting.

I welcome 'before' pics the same as any other.

Does anyone here use Garden of Life RAW Meal? I'm trying to decide between that or Vega One.

Sounds good! What's your plan as far as diet and exercise? Weights vs. cardio, protein consumption, etc? Are you looking to lose weight, gain muscle, maintain?

Go with the vega. The raw meal is the worst tasting thing in the world.

Bruce- I'm not really sure to be honest. I want to lose weight & maintain muscle. In the past I've just hit cardio hard & consumed lots of fruits... even though I felt really good doing that, I didn't see the changes in body composition that I had hoped for & grew discouraged. Mostly I just maintained weight & had lots of energy. This time around I'm adding in a meal replacement like Vega to ensure nutrition & I'm not yet sure about what I will do in the way of exercise. This is day 1 of my new plan so I'm still figuring it out. Any suggestions?

Matt- That's what I've been reading in a lot of reviews. The Raw Meal seems to be a bit cheaper w/ the same nutrition but if I can't force it down then I guess it's not worth the few bucks I'd save.

It sounds like fruit may not have worked for you, or maybe you just needed a different exercise routine. You'll see a lot of people claiming that 811 or IF or massive protein is the way to go, but I think it varies by person. You may need to try a few things to find your sweet spot.

If you want to gain muscle, it's traditional to start with mainly weights and just some supplemental cardio for workouts, and lots of protein, whole grains, and veggies for diet.

I don't personally think weight routines need to vary much between men and women, and I think most folks on here agree. In particular, squats, lunges, and deadlifts are terrific. All are compound movements that recruit a ton of muscles, target the thighs, hips, back, and core, and burn a lot of calories. Benches, rows, overhead presses, pullups, etc, are all great upper-body movements.

I recommend checking out some of the training logs. jungleinthefrunk has been kicking particular ass on hers, and it's pretty well-detailed. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=24645

If you feel comfortable, you can post stats, current diet, pics, whatever, and we can help more. Or just if you have more specific questions.

Bruce- Thank you for all the info! The link you provided was great... she sure does log everything & stay active. I exhausted myself just reading it!
I met w/ a trainer 3x's a week last year who killed me in the gym - but I was always so exhausted do to poor nutrition & a really busy work schedule that I didn't get the full benefits of working w/ him. I've finally got my schedule in order... now I'm trying to get my nutrition in order & then next get a solid work out program. I may need to meet w/ a trainer again just because outside of a lunge I have no idea what the rest of it means or looks like. I always stuck w/ the weight machines & just kind of roamed around not sure of how much weights to do, etc.

Thanks again for your response!

Welcome! Great to have you here!

Hope you enjoy the forum and this great community.

All the very best and welcome aboard!

-Robert

Hey CAD I am gonna throw this out for you bodybuilding.com is a great place to check out for exercises. They have videos of how to do each exercise and they have a store where you can order any supplies you need that you can't find at the store