Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

This is what I've eaten so far today (it is almost 1pm EST):

Meal 1 Steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon, raw walnuts, and banana
Meal 2 Apple with raw almond butter
Meal 3 Lentil soup, marinated kale and broccoli

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Although I didn't get back to posting the full day's meals, here are my current (off-season) macros per day:

Carbs 300 gm
Protein 150 gm
Fat 60-70 gm

Water: at least 4 liters

You rock, my friend!

You've inspired so many people, so quickly when you showed up on the scene.

Looking forward to seeing your journal. I'm starting my new one now too.

All the best! Thanks for everything!

-Robert

Thanks, Robert! YOU rock! And you're very welcome!!!

I love hearing that I've been an inspiration to people. I just want everyone to know that I'm not any different than anyone else. If I was able to do it, then YOU can, too! Yes, it takes discipline and hard work. But nothing worth having usually comes very easily.

So come on people, let's do this! Let's all become wonderful examples of what being vegan can look like and feel like! : )

Okay, so I didn't post yesterday. It was New Years Eve, and yep, I took it as a rest day. But back to it...

Here's an updated entry for 12/30:

No cardio

I tried something a little different...I did giant sets and supersets with bis, tris, and delts, with a focus on bis and delts:

Warm-up:
3 x 20 external & internal rotations with very light weight to warm up arms and shoulders

Giant set-4 sets, drop sets on the last set:
Machine barbell curls, 15 reps
Dumbbell curls, 15 reps
Side laterals, 15 reps

Giant set-4 sets:
Barbell curls, 10-12 reps
Rear laterals, 15 reps
Arnold presses, 15 reps

Superset-4 sets:
Hammer curls, 15 reps
Front raises, 15 reps

Superset-4 sets:
Cable curls with T-bar, 15 reps
Dumbbell overhead extentions, 15 reps

Last set, 4 sets, with drop sets on the last set:
Close grip dumbbell presses, 12-15 reps

Stretching:
10 minutes

Michelle,

I'm so, so, so happy you're on here!

You're one of the people who really sparked new fire into the Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness lifestyle this past year, much like Derek did on the men's side.

I love it!

Can't wait to collaborate more in the future. Hoping to see you soon!

Keep crushing it!

You are greatly appreciated!

-Robert

Thanks, Robert! I am very happy and grateful to be a part of this. I really appreciate it! And yes, I'm looking forward to collaborating much more in the future!

1/3/12:

Morning weight:
113.4 lbs

Had water with glutamine and BCAAs prior to pre-breakfast (low intensity) cardio: 30 minutes on treadmill

Meal 1 (prior to weight training):
Steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon, hemp seeds, raw agave
An apple

Meal 2 (post-workout):
Immediately followed workout with a green smoothie made with spinach, kale, banana, apple, pea protein powder, glutamine, BCAAs. (For those of you not familiar with making green smoothies, a Vitamix is what you need! It's a high-powered, high-speed blender that does soooooo much more than just blending. It can replace several kitchen appliances, depending on which model you purchase. They are a little expensive, but worth every penny. I purchased a factory refurbished Vitamix about two years ago. And it came with a 7-year warranty. If this is something you're interested in, let me know. I have a friend who may be able to get you a code for free shipping. )

Meal 3:
Lentils, faux "chicken" strips (from Trader Joe's), and brown rice, seasoned with turmeric, curry, cayenne pepper, lemon, and sea salt
Mixed greens salad and homemade dressing made with avocado, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar

Meal 4:
Thai style soup made with chickpeas, sweet potatoes, spinach, coconut milk, curry paste, and vegetable stock
Mixed greens salad with avocado dressing (see Meal 3)

Meal 5:
Homemade raw, high protein "cookies" (lol...I'm still tweaking and experimenting with the recipe, but they were made with oatmeal, protein powder, raw almond butter, dates)
Ginger tea

Meal 6:
Sandwich made with dehydrated eggplant slices as the "bread", avocado "mayo", sprouts, marinated mushrooms, shredded baby bok choy
Kale chips (coated with a mixture of nutritional yeast, Braggs Aminos, apple cider vinegar, cajun seasoning prior to dehydrating)

Meal 7:
Edamame
Miso soup

Before bed:
Water with glutamine

Total macros:
Carbs 297 gm
Protein 152 gm
Fat 69 gm

Total water:
5 liters (about 1.3 gallons)

Weight training: quads, hams, glutes

Warmup:
5 minutes on stationary bike
some deep yoga stretches to warm up and stretch my hip flexors and psoas, as these always get tight when I do legs/glutes.

Barbell squats:
4 x 15, adding weight each set (3 different foot posititions, 5 reps each)
additional drop set with each of the 3 foot positions

Split squats on Smith Machine:
4 x 12 each leg, adding weight each set

Bench step-ups:
with dumbbells, 5 x 12 each leg

Superset: 4 sets, 10 reps each, adding weight each set
Leg press with feet in neutral postion
Leg press with heels at top of platform (no contact from balls of feet and toes)
Leg curls

Stretching:
15 minutes

1/4/12:

Morning weight:
112.6 lbs
I'm almost back to my pre-Holidays weight. It's coming off quickly, despite the fact that my macros haven't changed, which means most of it was water retention. My body is a sponge and retains a lot of water when I'm not eating clean or if I'm even only slightly dehydrated. I didn't deviate from my macro totals at all during the holidays; I factored in everything I ate. The macros the past few days are exactly the same as I ate during the Holidays. The only difference: I've been eating clean and drinking enough water...See what big a difference that can make?! I've lost 1.4 lbs in two days without changing my macro totals at all. And I've only done cardio once in the past week (yesterday).

Training: back and bis (no cardio)

Warmup:
5 min on eliptical

Underhand rows with ez curl bar 5 x 10

Partial dead lifts 6 x 8

Decline db pullovers 5 x 10

Superset: 5 x 10 each
Db rows
Seated cable rows

Ez bar curls 5 x 10

Hammer curls 4 x 15, plus 1 drop set to failure

Stretching:
10 minutes

Nutrition:

I am heading to bed...I have an early day (well, early for me LOL) tomorrow and it's going to be a busy one!...So I'm just going to post my macros, rather than detail each meal.

Carbs: 306 gm
Protein: 150 gm
Fat: 66 gm

Water: 5 liters

1/5/12:

Morning weight:
111.8 lbs

My weight is still dropping and I'm now lower than my pre-Holidays weight. I was supposed to do cardio (intervals) today. But since my weight is lower than it needs to be, NO CARDIO TODAY. From the progress photos I took this morning, it doesn't appear that I've lost any muscle. In fact, it looks like I may have gained a little size. If my weight continues to drop over the next day or two, I will increase my macros slightly. Today is also a scheduled rest day from weight training.

Nutrition:

Meal 1:
Smoothie with brown rice protein, banana, pear, glutamine

Meal 2:
Apple with raw almond butter

Meal 3:
Quinoa and broccoli, curried cawliflower, seitan

Meal 4:
Chocolate "mousse" made with silken tofu, raw cacao, dates

Meal 5:
Broccoli chowder, black beans, avocado slices

Meal 6:
Red beans and rice (throwing in some cajun style meals as we get closer to the BCS Championship game---GEAUX TIGERS!)

Meal 7:
"Ice cream" made with frozen banana, almond milk, vanilla
Water with glutamine

Total macros:
Carbs: 307
Protein: 149
Fat: 70

Water:
4.5 liters

1/6/12:

Morning weight:
112.2 lbs
That's more like it...LOL...up by 0.4 lbs...It is normal and typical for me to flutuate by as much as a pound or two, up or down, from day to day. This is especially true when I'm working night shifts, and I don't weigh until I wake up in the afternoon (as this would be my "morning" after working all night, and sleeping most of the day). But dropping consistently, as I had been for almost a week, is something I only want to see when I'm actually trying to lose weight (body fat). I am working night shifts tonight and tomorrow night, so I expect my weight to be around 114 lbs when I wake up tomorrow afternoon.

Okay...I'm off to it...Very busy day today, training in the afternoon, then working until 7:30am Saturday morning. I will update when I can. Have an awesome day, everyone!

Updated entry for 1/6/12:
I'm going to continue to be a bit behind and less detailed in my entries for the next few days. I began a block of shifts at the hospital on Thursday (evening shift), and then two night shifts on Friday and Saturday (getting off work Sunday morning and sleeping until afternoon). Then it's ON as I'm off until Thursday. I will have lots to catch up on, and of course I will be cheering for my boys in PURPLE & GOLD on Monday night. LSU-BAMA in the Superdome, New Orleans....GEAUX TIGERS!!!

Morning weight:
112.2 lbs

Nutrition:

Total macros:
Carbs 295 gm
Protein 152 gm
Fat 67 gm

Total water:
5 liters

Training:

Currently, my weight training consists of a 3-day split, training major body parts once per week. Then I add an extra day, usually with supersets and giant sets, to train those areas where I'd like to see either more development &/or size.

On Friday, I did a concentration on bis & tris, and threw in a few exercises for rear delts and legs / glutes:

Warmup:
3 x 20 internal and external rotations

Giant set: 5 x 8-12 reps each
Machine curls
Hammer curls
Rope extensions

Giant set: 5 x 8-12 reps each on first two exercises
Incline bench curls
Db skull crushers
Dips (on bench with feet on exercise ball for extra core work) x 20

Diamond push-ups: 3 x 15

Superset: 5 x 12
Rear laterals
Cable rope rows (focus on rear delts)

Superset: 5 x 12
Smith machine squats
Smith machine lunges

Stretching:
10 minutes

1/7/12:

Afternoon weight (upon waking after working a night shift):
113.4 lbs
As expected, my weight is up after working last night. Some days, it can be as much as 2 lbs up after a night shift. I'm also working tonight and, therefore, will weigh tomorrow afternoon when I wake up.

Training:
Today was a cardio-only day: 30 minutes of high intensity stair intervals.

Nutrition:
Total macros:
Carbs 303 gm
Protein 151
Fat 68 gm

Water:
5.5 liters

1/8/12:

Afternoon weight (upon waking after working a night shift):
113.2 lbs

Training:
Rest day

Nutrition:

Total macros:
Carbs 295 gm
Protein 150 gm
Fat 69 gm

Water:
5 liters