Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hi All,

I was very excited to find a Vegan thread here on the Beachbody Forum.

I have recently (within the last few months) transitioned to a fully Vegan diet, based on Food allergies, the preference of my Digestive System (haha) and Ethics. I'd love to hear any tips people have discovered on putting on extra muscle on a Vegan diet.

I currently use a lot of Vega Products (Pre-workout, Recovery Accelerator, Protein Powder, Protein Bars, and Chlorella) aswell as PlantFusion (great alternative to Vega Protein powder that's half the price. I rotate between the two.) I am a Holistic Health Counselor by trade, so I am heavy into GreenFoods (whole & in supplements) and am not interested in throwing out general Health principals to "get huge" as has been advised by a lot of Standard Diet Body Builders. I have lots of smoothies, with Avocado, Banana, Blueberries, Coconut Oil, etc. I also utilize Goji Berry, Spirulina, Maca & Wheatgrass powders (all raw) aswell as BCAAs, L-Glutamine, Meal Replacement Powders, etc. I think I will start with a Vegan Creatine in the nearby future.

I am currently doing a Modified Version of P90X (subbing out some of the Cardio videos for High Intensity Yoga, burns less calories and works towards my mind-set) in preparation for P90X2 which I will be starting in a few weeks. I'm going to allow the Vegan Diet plan to heavily influence me, as when I first did P90X in 2010 or so I kinda just ate whatever under the guise of "I'm spending over an hour a day working out so I can eat anything" which obviously doesn't work. I did Insanity with my partner the following year and got way WAY too skinny. Either way, I've grown a lot Mentally & physically and have a much better understanding of my body & how it reacts to food & exercise which has pushed me to really commit this time. I have spent a lot of time in the past year in the gym, figuring my body out. I've had good results, but I enjoy the System of the at home videos, and I had saved the necessary funds to have the proper equipment to get the best out of it.

Anyway, can't wait to hear/read what everyone has to say - Even if it's just support. I am pretty much the only Vegan I know, so it get's a little frustrating; especially when trying to go out with friends. Also, I am also one of the most fitness motivated people I know, so I often feel like I'm being forced to pick between a lifestyle I love and friends I love. However, My partner is super supportive, and I know he is already benefiting from a more plant based diet. He always defends my choices, regardless of who questions them. They recently opened a delicious Vegan restaurant one town over, so I've been lurking around there hoping to make friends. Haha.

Anyway, I've begun to ramble.

Best,
Dan

Whoops! As you can see I cross posted this on the BeachBody.com (They make P90X) forum. Pretend the above is addressed to the VBB Forum

Hi Dan, congratulations on making changes to a healthier diet/lifestyle. Sorry to hear about the struggles with your friends. I've personally had luck in going to Chinese and Indian restaurants and just getting rice and steamed vegetables, or something similar. Most of my friends are people from our church though, and though they make fun of me relentlessly if we go out to eat they usually pick a place that accommodates me. Some of them have actually invited us over for dinner and made special dishes just for me.

So, when I go out I obviously eat more cooked food, but when at home I try to stick to mostly raw foods except for adding some brown rice and/or quinoa to my dinner. I don't used any supplements or anything like that. My best results have come just by eating a high calorie diet (4-5000cals/day). Of course there are other factors in muscle building ie training intensity, volume, recovery time, sleep, stress and probably more than any of us know. But for me if I really want to build some extra muscle I just eat a lot more fruits and vegetables. If I want to cut weight I just cut out the brown rice and add a little cardio in. I kind of adhere to the 80/10/10 type diet. High carb, low fat, low proteins, raw foods and vegan. Obviously I don't do it 100%, but that's the gist. So that's what I do. That may not be the best for everyone, but it suits me pretty well.

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

Welcome to the group. Cross-over from other sites is great, love to see that, it means all of us hear are reaching more people. I am interested in learning more about your job as a Holistic Health Counselor, how did you get into that? What did you go to school for? I am currently on a new career path quest and that sounds very interesting.

-Dylan

Oh BTW, I just started doing this, but I've been loving it. I have been learning a lot about "wild edibles/greens". So far I've learned to pick clovers, dandelions, Miner's lettuce and lambs quarters. So I get a lot of my greens that way now. I've heard that it's a lot higher in vitamins and minerals. Not sure on that, but at least picking it and eating it within a day or so is obviously going to make it a lot better. And it's a great price. I eat around 1.5-2 ibs of greens everyday.

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

I'll 2nd that, I would love to hear more about that too.

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

Thanks for your posts! I have the 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Graham (i think that's who wrote it) on my Amazon.com wishlist. I tried doing the 100% Raw Vegan Diet a few years back, and I had difficulty with EXTREME coldness in my body. I always related that to back to an Ayurvedic diagnosis that I was mostly "vata" and should avoid large amounts of raw foods. I do still enjoy a raw greensmoothie most days. I will however try to put more raw foods in my diet for their obvious health benefits.

As for the Holistic Health Counseling, I took a very indepth and interactive Online course from IntegrativeNutrition.com - Very thorough, and offers a Board Certification by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners upon completion. I highly recommend it and you can learn more about it by going to my Website at Live-Shiny.com - They have a huge mindset of Health Counselors recruiting more potenticial HC's to help create a Healthier World. The Man who created the school is just a mind blowing example of the ripple effect of positive change.

Additionally, I really would like to take the Plant Based Nutrition Study from eCornell.com - its the same one Derek Tresize took!

I was cold for a few months too, but it was summer time, and it just didn't bother me so much. For whatever reason it went away after a few months and my weight stabilized. In winter though I'll likely add more cooked foods back in depending on the weather and what I'm doing.

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

The Holistic Health Counseling, I would really like to learn something like that! So, as a counsellor, what would you say about chlorella? I have read here and there that you shouldn't take supplements before talking to a doctor...on the other hand in thrive it is recommended and seem that some people here do take it... and Welcome!

Welcome Dan! New to this forum myself, but not to P90X. I've completed a few X and X2 rounds now, all vegan, and have been super happy with the results. The flexibility available in the routine is one of the best parts of it. Right now I'm on week 5 of the Body Beast program and loving it.

I've got the ecornell course on my wish list as well. I'm currently working to finish up my P90X certification right now though.

Sorry if this is a little off topic, but is that actually you in your avatar?

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

no, I wish,hehe...just some les mills poster

I'm no Doctor, but I think Green foods in general can benefit anyone. Chlorella, Spirulina, Wheat grass, Green smoothies, etc. "Greendrinks" changed my life, my body, and the way I look at food. I would say go for it. Be mindful though that many people have detox symptoms, some break outs, and what not what starting daily consumption of green foods like Chlorophyll as they help you body detoxify and clean out debris.

Hope that helps

Awesome! So glad to hear you had great results. I was torn as to whether I was going to order Body Beast before or After P90X2. I decided to go with X2 first. Do you really like the Body beast program?

Do you make your recovery drink like they recommended for Vegans? I've been doing the following, but I feel like it's a lot of sugar when I look at my meal planner at the end of the day:

1 scoop Plantfusion (22g protein, 120 calories)
1 tsp of each of the following: Maca, Wheat Grass, BCAAs, L-Glutamine & Creatine (all Vegan)
24oz (3 cups) Fruit Juice (a little more than 90g sugar/carbs)

This gives me the 1:4 Protein to Carb Ratio, but it's so much sugar. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.