How's it?

What's up everybody?

So my girlfriend and I made the decision to go Vegan (vegetarian mostly) on Valentines day 2009. We were starting to question the way we had been living, and our poor diet was a big problem on that list. I had always been a meat eater despite the fact that I could never have killed any of the animals I consumed. That idea didn't sit right with me and I decided to watch one of those animal cruelty videos on you tube ( factory farming and such ). Never finished the whole film but I was definitely finished with meat. Went out "Moo shoes" in Manhattan that day for some vegan kicks and had dinner at an awesome vegan Thai restaurant ( name escapes me )

Milk and cheese have been the only problems, and we have been guilty of cheating quite a bit. haven't found a place that makes a good vegan pizza around here. Nor can I find a good substitute for steamed milk in a cappuccino... Happy to say as of the past two weeks we have kicked milk and cheese hopefully for the last time!

Anyway, I'm 28 (about 5'9" 145lbs) and originally from Ozone Park in Queens NY, currently live in New Jersey. Have always been pretty skinny except for a little lower belly fat that I can never shake! I have never been able to build muscle successfully. Would train a few months, not see any results and quit. Past few years I have been trying to get serious about getting into better shape. Shortly after going vegan I tried P90X for a while but with that and a vegan junk food diet I actually started to loose weight. Worried I was getting sick, I decided to do a lot of research and really step up my diet with lots of awesome whole foods. Then I decided to do a web search for "Vegan bodybuilding" and was blown away. I must admit i was almost totally programmed that it was not possible to bulk up and build muscle on a vegan diet, at least not very well. And then I started reading about Robert Cheeke and immediately bought the book "Vegan bodybuilding and Fitness". Awesome book, really changed my perspective on things ( Thanks Robert and Julia! ). After looking around the forums a bit I found "Chewy's progress" thread and it really inspired to start the 5X5 beginners program. Only two weeks in but feeling super confident about it. Almost got sucked into the "inner circle" but that's been talked about elsewhere... anyway... figured I would join the forums and say Hi and especially Thank You for helping to get me going.

Welcome!

Thanks for reading my book, I appreciate it. Hope you found some aspects to be helpful.

Was the Thai restaurant in NYC Red Bamboo? I ate there a few weeks ago. I want to say somewhere around 45th and 6th.

5x5 is a nice approach to lifting. I like it quite a bit as well and it has provided some nice results in areas of strength and size gains.

Great to have you here as a part of our online vegan community. All the very best and welcome to the team!

-Robert

Welcome. Getting strong and fit are excellent goals. I do Crossfit, and the coach there always says your never gonna get stronger if you don't go heavy. 3-5 reps worked well for me in strength gains - maybe not bulk.. but I'm not going for that.

Don't worry too much about the pizza.. it is not that healthy anyway, and if you are working out you will want to watch your diet pretty close - eat the right foods for protein and adequate nutrients. I'm sure I read somewhere that a majority of your results are from what you do in the kitchen.. not in the weight room.

Gary Yourofsky... Best Speech you will ever hear - I was a vegetarian before watching it.

Or you can just check out recipe sites like this one http://ohsheglows.com/top-recipes-of-2011/ and it will make you salivate for vegan food. I avoid looking at any dessert recipes.

Nice another NYer. If you are interested my friend and I have been going to vegan meet ups like once a month, they are normally at places that serve drinks and vegan food. Fun meeting other like-minded friendly people in the area.

Welcome to the forum here!

-Dylan