New to fitness/bodybuilding Vegan for 2 + years

Hi All,

I've been vegan for around 2 1/2 years and this past year began to put on weight due to lack of excercise, too much chips and deserts and not enough whole grains. I'm 34 5'11" and weigh around 172 on latest weigh in. I could stand to lose a little weight but more than that I want to really get into working out and gaining muscle weight. I tend to thin out quickly when I actually work out, so I guess I'm not worried about losing the fat so much as being very skinny.

I'm gonna pick up a copy of Roberts book. Does anybody have advice for a beginner? I went to the store and picked up various samples of vegan protein powders/shakes. Are you supposed to drink that before or after the work out. Right now I have access to my college gym and there aren't any trainers around so I feel awkward. Anybody have a suggestion on what I should start first? Treadmill, swimming or working my arms, shoulders, legs ect.

Thanks for any and all responses!

Dano

I will be looking forward to reading any responses to your questions. I've been vegan for 1.5 years. I have struggled with weight for years and was glad to lose 35 pounds after going vegan. Right now; I've gained back about 10-12 of what I lost (yipes) and I'm just looking for a way to get back in shape. Good luck!

vegandoc

I'm also a relatively new vegan (three years). I lost a ton of weight when I converted, and have kept it off my running and cycling... now I'm actually looking to gain (muscle) weight through bodybuilding. I became inspired to do so when I realized a couple of months ago that, even though I'm fit in terms of cardio endurance, I have almost no body strength (I can't even do a chin-up!). I officially started training yesterday; we'll see how it goes.

Good luck to you as you look to get back in shape!

Hi Dano,

Thank you for joining the forum!

Welcome to the team.

Hope you're enjoying my book and hope you hang around on the forum and enjoy the community.

All the best!

Robert

Hi everyone, thank you Robert and the other posters who took the time to respond.

So I'm here a month later and wanted to report my progress.

1) I've stuck to a work out schedule for the longest time probably in my adult life so that is a huuuge plus.

2) I've gotten a lot better about my diet, although I'm not quite up to the 6-8 meal a day thing...more on that later

3) I have seen results of working out but I must admit I haven't been doing as much muscle and strength training as I would like.

When I go to the gym I mainly stick with the cardio for 15-20 mins and then head over to the machines and work biceps, triceps, chest and shoulders. That's pretty much my routine. The other thing I did that greatly accelerated my progress was signing up for a "Total Body Work Out" class at the gym. Having to be at a specific place and time with a class helped motivate me to continue, even though I got a summer cold that just wouldn't go away, I stuck with it.

So now I'm leaner, muscles are more toned (or maybe I should say they are toned where before they weren't) but I'm still whittling away at the fat around my belly and butt. It is very tenacious that fat.

So about the diet, yeah I have to admit I had basically gone lacto for awhile eating eggs and indian dishes that included dairy. Now that I've been cooking more that is totally out and I'm glad to be fully vegan again. My main concern is that I have to really work on getting these new eating habits to stick. I take a protein powder once a day but I admit that sometimes that kinda takes the place of lunch.

Typical day of eating:

Big breakfast with usually at least 5 different fruits with cereal poured on top. The instructor for my class said I should quit soy milk so now I just pour a little water on it and I'm not kidding it still tastes fine to me. I am trying to work in more steel cut oatmeal in the mornings as well.

by 11 or 12 I'll have a protein powder. Then I'm usually out the door and don't eat till 3 or 4. Sometimes this is a small meal that I will then follow up with a big meal usually with tofu or some kind of soy product. After reading Roberts book I understand that I need to eat a variety of vegan foods but for some reason I tend to just go back and eat the same stuff, guess it's harder to change these habits and teach new ways than it looks.

I remain committed to this, what I believe the healthiest possible lifestyle. I've had to dig deep and really go back to the reason I became vegan in the first place to motivate me. I am very grateful for such a forum as this and I would love to hear what everyone's thoughts are on the topic above. I really want to do this.

Yours,

Dano