Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hello everyone. This is my first post, but I've been lurking here for a few months.

So, I've decided I need to be vegan. At this point, I don't think it's 'want', because really, I just think it's the only ethical way to function these days--but that's my opinion and I wouldn't force it on anyone of course! I was vegetarian for 3 years, but about a year ago, I decided to get in shape. Basically, all the guys I worked out with convinced me of the need to to eat meat (I wish I found this site then.) Well in the last year, I've gained a lot of fat, even when I count calories. I'm congested all the time, I feel so lethargic from when I get out of bed to when I go to sleep. I've been to the docter and she says there isnt a thing wrong with me. I really beleive its the meat/dairy. Before when I was vegitarian, I just kind of 'didnt eat meat', there was no real knowledge behind what I did. Right now I'm fazing out meat, but still eating eggswhites and drinking whey.

I'd very much like to be pointed in the direction of some good resources for becoming a vegan athlete, this could be other websites/books you guys and gals have found educational etc. I want to go into this the right way. My plan is to work myself up to a 90% raw diet. Any help is apreciated and I'm really sorry for how long this post is. Thanks.

Chris

The first vegan site I recommend to anyone is this site, glad you are here!
Anyhow here are various veg sites i've used in my vegan life

http://www.veganfitness.net
www.veganbodybuilding.org
http://www.vegsource.com/--->info
http://www.happycow.net--->find places to eat while traveling
http://vegweb.com
http://www.ivu.org/--->info
http://www.pangeaveg.com/index-store.html--->buy stuff
http://www.thevegetariansite.com/index.htm--->buy stuff
http://www.veganessentials.com--->buy stuff
http://www.vegtv.com/--->watch lectures and get some entertainment

i dont know much about the raw diet but there are many here who do.

Good decision to be vegan, harr. There are lots of experienced people on this forum who can offer loads of advice if you post up questions

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Thanks for the links...very helpful. Does anyone know of any good dietary books for a vegan noobie?

Hmhm, i know some German ones..

"Diet & Health - Scientific Perspectives" by Prof. W. Veith is my favorite.
"Vegan Nutrition" by Dr. Gill Langley.
I haven't read "Thrive" yet, but i will

I'm sure there are a lot of books in the US, Vegan Outreach publishes some as far as i know.

Are you looking for recipes or diet plans or what?

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No one said it would be easy.

Basically I'm looking for all around 'how to be vegan books'...I think I found some at organicathelete.com though, such as that Thrive one you mention.

Hi tacitus,

For a vegan athlete, especially a newbie to veganism, these are essential and you will find both these books invaluable to your newly found vegan health and athetic performance:

Becoming Vegan by Davis and Melina. The most comprehensive "vegan starter" type of book, which is what you asked for above. You can click here for some info on it: www.veganessentials.com then click on "Candles and Books" catgeory, then books category, and you will see it.

Thrive by Brenden Brazier (a vegan athlete)

As far as webistes, please keep these ones saved in your favourites. Again, they are invaluable resources and you can email them and ask them to send you any info you need and they will gladly do so, usually for free! They are great organizations, indeed my favourites:

www.pcrm.org (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine)
www.veganoutreach.org

Check them both out!

The foregoing resources will provide you with your foundation for your new vegan lifestyle -- one of the best choices you can make in your life, trust me.

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People reviled today for their activism will be tomorrow's angels, and people respected today for their power will be tomorrow's demons. History will absolve us and condemn them. ~ Paul Watson

Awesome, good work on making that decision.

Make sure you get your Omega-3s. The best way to do this is either drink flax oil or take Omega Zen-3 tablets (or take both!), and make sure you get this stuff everyday.

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Hey Chris,

Great to hear you are going VEGAN! Right on! CollegeB listed a bunch of great websites for you. There are new books popping up all the time and I think there will be even more in the near future that will be really helpful.

We have a bunch of vegan athletes here, some of us have been vegan for a decade or longer and some have been athletes for a decade or longer.

I always think one of the best ways to go is to:

Learn from those who have already accomplished what you hope to accomplish. That can be applied to become vegan, or becoming an elite athlete, or anything else.

All the best, thanks for sharing the great news!

-Rob

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Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

Yep, good job for making the leap and "joining the club".

Another good way to get Omega 3's are in Walnuts too, just thought I'd add that to the list, since people think it's impossible to get without fish (and flax).

If you're looking to go raw though, I'd just search the internet and look up raw recipes. Most of the stuff I found, I searched by:

"Raw Foodist - Raw (insert food)"

You can find lots of raw versions of stuff, but I personally am experimenting and making more of my own stuff now too, it's a good feeling eat a lot of raw food.

Ed