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Hello World!


dtougas
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Well, I have been lurking around the site for the past few months, and finally decided to jump in.

 

My name is Damien, I am a Canadian, currently living and working in Lewiston, Maine. I have been a vegan for about the last 5 years. My main reason for doing it was health. As a result of becoming a Vegan, and working through a lot of troubleshooting, I have managed to conquor my eczema, I lost 30 pounds of fat, and have greatly improved my health.

 

I was competitive cycling for about two years, then quit in October of last year. I have always weight trained to some degree for the last 10 years or so, but when I quit cycling, I decided to become much more focused. I love it, and I am starting to see some good results, I have gained about 10 lbs of lean muscle in the last 6 months.

 

I have a wife and three kids, all who are vegan as well. My youngest two have been that way since birth. My wife also followed a vegan diet through her last two pregnancies, and had great results. We are very committed to this lifestyle as a family, and believe that it is the key to optimum health. This January we taught a health course at our church that introduced people to a vegan diet. It was very well recieved, and we plan on doing more in the future. (our family website is at http://www.tougas.net)

 

So, in summary, these are my basic philosophies:

 

Training:

- I am currently following a program similar to what Clarence Bass recommends in his book "Ripped 3", and I love it. It is based on the principle of periodization, and that really grooves with me because I am somewhat of a geek.

- I have recently picked up jump rope for my higher intensity cardio, and I am really enjoying it. It gives great bang for a relatively short period of time.

- I love walking, and try to get out for at least a half an hour every day.

 

Diet:

- We are currently following the recommendations of Dr. John McDougall. It is working great, and we love it.

- All whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, no refined oils or fats.

- No supplements, I like to get everything from my food.

- I am not into high protein. Have you read T. Colin Campbells book The China Study? It has a few things to say about the problems with a high protein diet...

 

Also, as a career, I am a Web Geek (i.e. Internet developer, systems administrator, etc.). I spend many long days in front of a keyboard. I like to attribute my lifestyle to the fact that I have not been having any problems like Carpal Tunnel or anything like that. (If you guys here on veganbodybuilding.com need some help with web stuff, please let me know, I would love to help out!)

 

Anyways, I have probably said enough for now! Don't mean to talk your ear off!!!

 

Talk to you later!

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Damien,

 

Welcome! Thanks for joining us. Since you've been lurking around, you know who I am by now. I can always use web help! My website guy Khan is awesome, but doesn't always have a lot of time and sometimes we don't always get some problems fixed right away. But we can talk about that later.

 

Wow, awesome vegan family! That is what I want to be like someday. I envy you. I am 25 and will hopefully marry in the next few years and then start a family sometime. I love kids more than 99% of people, working with them has been my job off and on for 10 years and no job has EVER been more FUN or REWARDING for me.

 

Anyway, great to have you here, please write anytime and join in with questions/comments too!

 

Take care,

 

Robert

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Welcome to the site. You are very new but yet you are already an inspiration to so many! So many people have so many misconceptions about raising children vegan and going through a pregnancy as a vegan. But you, your wife, and your family are living proof that veganism is the most natural diet for the human species...just as God intended. Thanks for joining the site and more importantly thank you for you and your family in being living examples of how great and natural a vegan diet is!

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Damien!

 

YOU and your family are inspirational to say the least. Your wife went through two pregnancies vegan and everything went well? That is great.

 

I know you said you were primarily vegan for health reasons, but, between you and your family, thanks for saving the lives of over 500 animals a year just be being vegan! Not to mention the environment.

 

thanks so much for deciding to introduce yourself. Please join in on the threads, post comments, question, opinions, or when you just plain feel liek ranting - we are here, and looking forward to getting to know you better.

 

Again, you must be SO PROUD of your vegan family!

 

P.S. Thanks so much for promoting this healthy lifestyle at Church!! I think veganism is the "Garden of Eden " diet!!

 

natalie

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hey just today my dad was asking me "do you know ANYONE who has been a vegan for an extended period of time???"

 

I was like "yes but i only met them online!!!"

 

ANYWAYS you are definitely an inspiration! I've been vegan maybe 2 months, but I plan to stay vegan. its great that your wife went through pregnancies and everything went well! its funny how most people think that wouldnt work! Its great you and your family are living proof that veganism is so darn healthy (instead of unhealthy, which is what everyone i know seems to think)!!!!!!!!!!

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I tell you, nothing was more difficult for us than getting pregnant and having kids on a plant based diet... and it had nothing to do with the actual diet itself.

 

The biggest problem was everyones misconceptions about what we were doing. Everyone was questioning the wisdom of what we were doing. Friends and family thought we were mal-nourishing our kids by not feeding them milk. The doctors were worried because my wife didn't gain tons of fat like all those women who are on the SAD (Standard American Diet). There were many times (especially in the beginning while we were still learning, and didn't have the confidence in what we were doing) where we started second guessing ourselves, and wondering if we were doing the right thing. In the end, we stuck it through, and are very glad we did.

 

My wife's pregnancies were amazing, and problem free. Are children were born a normal birth weight. As they are growing up, they are thriving. They are lean, healthy, and full of energy. I now would consider it mal-nourishment to feed my children anything else.

 

It is, however, important that if you are going to eat a plant based diet, you really need to do it right, especially when pregnancy and children are involved. That means whole plant foods, as unrefinded as possible. If you just eat lots of tofu and white bread, while it might be vegan, it can still leave you as deficient in nutriens as the SAD, only without the animal products.

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