Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hello! I'm very new to this and I can't find any accurate post about this so I decided to make my own thread. I'm vegan since August 2011 and since September 2010 I have lost 50 pounds. I am currently at 150 pounds at 5 feet 10 inches. I still have some body fat left in my obliques and lumbar area, and very little in my abdominal area. The thing is, I want to gain muscle in my whole body but I also want to loose those love handles. I know for a fact that I can't "spot reduce", but how can I make muscle, defined muscle?!

So I don't know if I should:

1. Do MORE cardio till that fat is obliterated (it's not much fat).

2. Do weights, gain the muscle and THEN do the cardio to burn what's left of the fat.

3. Do both (but how?)

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I eat pretty well and intake about 50 grams of protein per day (with Soy based powders included) the days I exercise, and 30 my rest days.

I'm sorry for my ignorance and newbishness (if that's even a word), but I don't know where else to turn and everywhere I look i get different answers. I appreciate every response given, and I'm open to any suggestions!

Thank you!!!

- Eric

I would increase your protein intake. 50g isn't enough to build or maintain muscle for someone your height and weight. I would triple that amount.

One of the simplest and easiest ways to lose fat is walking. I would choose a good strength training routine such as Starting Strength and combine that with going for regular half-hour brisk walks each morning. You might be surprised at how effective walking is on cutting fat.

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Pictures | Training & eating

Sosso, thank you for your reply!

I usually run 3 miles a day 3 times a week, should I stop that while I do my routine?

That doesn't seem like a huge amount of running, so it's probably not going to hurt. If you keep doing that, don't do the walking that I suggested.

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Pictures | Training & eating

I've read that if you dial in your diet right you would need very little cardio. I don't know how approriate that would be for vegan diet, but with a clean diet I am making significant progress right now, at about 2% bodyfat a month.