Yes I Can Do This & I'll Show You

[ICanDoThis]

Catch up time:

This is my first blog / journal posting.

Back in the Spring I gave up animal products for Lent. That's what you do. By the end of Lent, I felt great! Not hungry or worn down but energetic and ready to go. So why go back? I didn't eat a lot of meat anyway. Then I joined this website. That was the major change. It's good to draw on the inspiration of everyone here. And, I know about a dozen friends and relatives who are vegetarian or vegan. More support. Recipes too.

So now combining a mostly vegan diet with the focus and planning of the P90X workout, my weight is "up" to 154 and bodyfat percent "down" to just below 14. Ab are starting to show. Ok at 154 lbs and 5' 11", let's just say it right now and get it out of the way, I'm a lightweight.

So just a couple of months of putting it all together I'm on my way to doing exactly what I've been trying to do before - build lean muscle mass! Who f-ing knew! I'm never going back to a meat diet now.

That's the short story. The rest is in the future. Stay tuned.

[shine]

I just started p90x and have some specific to p90x vegan recipes on my blog. http://p90xforvegans.blogspot.com/
Keep up the good work and thanks for being vegan!

[lobsteriffic]

How are your workouts going?

[shine]

How are your workouts going?

I only could peek at your site.... it looks too good! I am trying to stick to the diet, but as soon as i can have carbs I will take a much closer look. thank you for sharing!

My workouts are going good so far. I struggled the first week, and I am sure it will get easier over time. I am excited to start the second week!

How are your workouts going?

[ICanDoThis]

I just started p90x and have some specific to p90x vegan recipes on my blog. http://p90xforvegans.blogspot.com/
Keep up the good work and thanks for being vegan!

Thanks for the link.

[ICanDoThis]

How are your workouts going?

Workouts are going well. I usually do about 3 or 4 days in a row before a long work day or something else breaks the streak. Throughout it all I stay dedicated to the cause.

[ICanDoThis]

How are your workouts going?

I only could peek at your site.... it looks too good! I am trying to stick to the diet, but as soon as i can have carbs I will take a much closer look. thank you for sharing!

My workouts are going good so far. I struggled the first week, and I am sure it will get easier over time. I am excited to start the second week!

How are your workouts going?

They are going as well as they can. It's sometimes hard to balance workouts, fitness and everything else happening in life. I usually get 3 or 4 days in a row before something comes up. But, as their saying goes, "Do your best and forget the rest." So I do. Everyone is different and the important thing is to stay dedicated to my goals.

[ICanDoThis]

I guess for a training blog I just keep adding to this. After a refreshing weekend I'm back in the groove. It's like a tropical jungle here in New York. All of the Northeast from what I hear. So I just keep going. Time to move some cast iron.

And Robert's book is on its way. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[ICanDoThis]

Had a great weekend with family. Did a lot of walking but no "real" workouts. So it felt like I didn't do anything. Sometimes it's good to have a break anyway. I read somewhere that when you hit a bump in the road and crash the thing to do is to "get out and start walking and keep walking." So that's what I'm doing. Ok, maybe not working out for three days isn't really a crash. And part of staying fit is giving your body time to recover. On the bright side, my vegetarian sister gave me a "what took you so long" and an "I told you so."

To our health!

[ICanDoThis]

I know I'll be traveling after work today so I did my workout in the morning. I'm not a morning person. I hate mornings. I'm a night person. But you gotta do what you gotta do. If it's one thing checking in on this website does is keep me motivated to work out. Just do it. So I did. Thanks everyone. Keep the faith.

[Cold Fission]

I see you have the 48kg kettlebell as your av.

Can you press them yet?

I can only press the 32kg kettlebell so far.My PB is a double kb press x 5 reps.

[ICanDoThis]

I see you have the 48kg kettlebell as your av.

Can you press them yet?

I can only press the 32kg kettlebell so far.My PB is a double kb press x 5 reps.

Not yet. It was just a clean photo. When my back feels good I can do the 44 lb.? / 1.5 pood. I do have and use kettlebells and think they're the best thing since cast iron.

Power To The People!

[ICanDoThis]

After a long day and night of shooting, I got home and found a package at my door. Turned out to be Robert's book. Sure I'm excited to read it. Why? Because now I have a blue print on reaching my goals. Just like this site. Here are people doing the same thing as me. So with all this knowledge the only thing to hold anyone back is action, or inaction. The decision to eat the right foods and workout regularly. I should post a before pic or two. More on that later.

Keep The Faith.

[ICanDoThis]

Ran into an ex-girlfriend. She commented on how refreshed I looked and that I didn't look tired like I used to. Hands down it's due to a vegan diet. I can feel it and it's great. I know it's my diet since nothing else has changed to have that kind of effect. Work, exercise, everything else is constant. And it's true that I feel more relaxed now than I did before. No doubt it's attributable to a cleaner diet.

Now it's back to basics. I've decided to simplify my workout. I was doing P90X, which I like and will go back to at some point, but it was time for a retrofit. So now I'm doing one day upper body, one day lower, and one day cardio. The cardio is block-to-block sprinting for 3 miles. Work has gotten busy and the A-B-C format fits in better with my schedule. Whatever works.

New motivation / mission:
Saw some friends and family the last few weeks who didn't previously know I'm vegan. The first comment from a couple of people was the usual, "where do you get your protein?" One person couldn't believe I didn't want any of the 1+ pound prime rib he was aggressively devouring. And still another looked at my plate and said, "That looks good. I should have gotten that."

So now I have to prove you can have an athletic body and be vegan. I know I can point to Robert Cheeke and others here and elsewhere. But I need to show people I know it can be done because I'm more real to them than someone they don't know or have contact with. It's almost a Think Globally, Act Locally situation.

Stay Focused.

Keep The Faith.

[ICanDoThis]

It's been a good week. Worked out every day except Monday, a 14 1/2 hour day. The rest of the week has been long too and I've still kept up my workouts. I should finish strong this week. Somehow something inside keeps kicking in to push me. So I get out of work, warm up, get motivated and go. Part of it is that I have something to prove, that building muscle and an athletic body on a vegan diet can be done. And to show up the ney-sayers.

Another person, independently of the previous post, remarked that I don't look as worn out and tired as I used to. I know it has to be veganism. We last saw each other just as I made a full life commitment to a clean animal free diet back in the Spring.

Keep The Faith!