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Tell me if this is even possible or just wishful thinking...


brity235
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I apologize in advance for the disjointed nature of this post. Trying to get the pertinent details down :/

 

I've been a vegan neither for very long nor very consistently up to this point, but the time I have been dedicated to the lifestyle has been the best I've felt my whole life. Nutrition-wise, for the first half of my twenties, I was a hardcore protein-focused calorie counter, and I was arguably "healthy" but I wasn't very happy logging every bite I put into my mouth.

 

After my first child was born 2 years ago when I was 25, she'd have horrible reactions to the dairy I was eating through nursing; since I had always toyed with the idea of veganism anyway, this was more than enough motivation for me to clean up my eating. I threw out the animal products, and I also stopped weighing my food, counting calories and macros, and just ate whole plant-based foods to my heart's content, and lo, my baby was healthy again and (added bonus) well within her first year I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight without even trying, and lab work showed I was healthier than ever as well (more important to me than number on the scale).

 

Fast forward to now, pregnant with #2 and thinking about the (somewhat distant) future of when I get to reclaim my postpartum body. The only time I've lifted weights was during the height of my hyper-vigilant diet documenting days complete with shakes and supplements and an eating style that ultimately stressed me out. My goal is to get strong and get muscles (not one of those ladies terrified of getting "bulky"), but the way I eat now has been so free-for-all and freeing that I can't see it being compatible with the commitment required for reaching the goal. I really feel like I eat "whatever I want" because I want vegetables and fruits and whole grains, and I don't worry about things like, is it the right time of day to be consuming such and such, how much of such and such is enough. I honestly have no idea how many calories I consume in a day...enough to maintain a healthy weight and nurse an infant, enough to maintain a healthy weight after nursing, enough to grow a healthy baby in utero... Can eating solely as my body dictates be conducive to bodybuilding, or do I need to crack down and start counting everything again and maybe even go back to supplement research (but with an obviously vegan slant instead of meat slant as I had once done)?

 

 

 

tl;dr version: I hate food-logging, I love eating according to what my body desires (which is a plant-based diet), I want to get into bodybuilding postpartum but am wondering if I lack the commitment to watch my diet as closely as I see other bodybuilders doing. Can I just be vegan, lift heavy, and see results, or is that wishful thinking?

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I went vegan when I had my almost 2 yr. old daughter who kept having ear infections and the doctors threatened to put tubes in her ears. I did some research and found a connection with dairy. We decided to go off of all dairy. As soon as we did, she healed up and never had an ear infection again. So that is when I became vegan.

 

I think it is great that you eat a healthy vegan diet and that you just listen to your body. I think you will be fine building muscle, besides that it is a much better way to live life.

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