Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Well, I tried to do this last year but failed miserably so I am going to try it again. I have been working on getting these pounds off for a few years now. It is very frustrating. On a positive note, I went vegan just over a year ago and the first thing that happened was 15 pounds went off within 3 months. It was great and I love the results. But, I have new goals and really need to get this last 20 pounds done and over already.

I figure the best way is to hold myself accountable by tracking it here. I also have a fitday account so I can plug in my macros and track progress to let you all know how it is going. I will post some pix for you as soon as I have them. Cutting back on my food intake has always been a problem. I especially love sugary stuff and chips which have been my downfall. To date, I weigh 150 and have 26% bf. For a woman it's not too bad, for a fitness person it' not too good. Calorie intake goal will be between 1300 and 1500 kcal per day. Give or take to throw my metabolism off a little. I figure I can add a piece of fruit to offset it a little. I also train very hard so it is difficult for me to recover well if I don't eat enough. I have started taking the Vega pre-workout and post-recovery packets on the weekends to help keep my metabolism revved for the morning workouts which seem to drag...

Eating schedule:
Breakfast: Spirulina protein and brown rice
Snack: Rice protein in almond milk
Lunch: Corn tortilla, salad, salsa
Snack: Rice protein in almond milk & one orange
Dinner: Steamed veggies, black beans
Bed snack if needed: airpopped popcorn

Comes up to around 1350 kcal & 75 g protein. Not too shabby for a start and like I said, I will add a piece of fruit or extra protein for staggering purposes to throw off metabolism stagnation. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated!

Wish me luck...

CD

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MA Sports Psychology, NASM CPT

I had a really good beginning to the week. Diet went great and I was able to drop the few pounds of water I held due to all the sugar. I have restarted my supplements but pretty much stick to the basics. My biggest problem is sleeping so I have to really stay on top of things and prevent overtraining. I currently have my training split set at:
Day 1 - Chest
Day 2 - Back
Day 3 - Legs (emphasize high volume)
Day 4 - Shoulders
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - Chest
Day 7 - Legs (emphasize low volume/high rep)
repeat

This type of workout really gets the hypertrophy going. I am able to judge my fatigue in the trained area better and use that as a guide to whether or not I really worked the muscle the way they need to be for size gain which is my goal. It is more difficult to gain size being a woman, but that's ok, I enjoy the process.

Weight today is 151.0
Kcal intake 1350 (give or take a few)
Protein 20%

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MA Sports Psychology, NASM CPT

Hahaha I read your intro paragraph where you were talking about body fat as you have 26% boy friend, oh text talk kills me. Seriously though Sounds like you are on the right track. I've been reading other people's journals to help motivate myself. I have a suggestion for you, the book "Must have been something I ate" by Peggy Kotsopoulos. I read it recently and liked it a lot. It is kind of skewed a little towards women but as a guy I still got a lot out of it. Some of the things I like most about it are that she focuses on healthy things to add to your diet rather than cutting things down or just plain trying to eat less. Also she gives information on the healthy benefits that the foods she suggests have and there are some recipes included as well. My only criticism is that she tries a little hard to sound hip haha maybe that's just how she talks or maybe she is appealing to a younger crowd but her voice doesn't really match her picture. Anyway I thought it was a very beneficial read and I thought about it when I was reading your journal entries.
Good luck!

-Dylan

Thanks Dylan, I will look her up. I am always interested in hearing others suggestions. I still can't believe my bf is so high, I really need to stop caving into my cravings so much. There are a LOT of companies coming out with vegan delectables and it can be soooo frustrating. But, as I said, knowing that I have to post my progress keeps me accountable!

Take care and I will try to get some pix here soon!!!

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MA Sports Psychology, NASM CPT

I actually did pretty well over the weekend and the first part of this week. My weight is now at 148 and I feel pretty good about that. I am keeping my calorie level at around 1300-1500 staggering to keep metabolism up. My training and cardio sessions are still going well but soreness and tightness are lasting a little longer than usual. I have had to increase my SMR techniques to break the knots in my traps and hamstrings. These have always been problem areas for me. I still have around 13 pounds to go, so we will see if I can keep this up without a major meltdown...

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MA Sports Psychology, NASM CPT

So, I took a few days off last week, Friday & Saturday. I was sooo sore and it was becoming difficult to sleep which indicated serious overtraining issues. At my age (47) it seems to come up a lot sooner than it used to. Anyway, I got back on track and as of this morning my weight is 145 so not too much damage done. It was great to have a few days to relax and just eat rather than weighing out everything. I have tried to just take one day off or even just one meal, but that never seems to work out. Once I cave, I have a hard time getting back on track. So I try to hold out as long as possible and then take a few days, seems to work better for now.

My training is better. I noticed some serious stabilization issues during my squats and lunges, so I worked on those last night. Definitely feeling it today in all the right areas so I did a great job!

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MA Sports Psychology, NASM CPT