Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

118.6. feel gross! i guess i need to get used to it.
leg day yesterday, then 20 mins bike level 20, didnt really push myself
35 mins low/medium intensity cardio today
may do 20 mins hiit tonight.

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Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Awwww why do you feel gross? I would kill to be at 118 right now! You are a smart beautiful strong woman

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I do because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said I couldn't.

I don't make excuses... I make results

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you

So what is on the agenda now that competitions are done? and the winter is coming? Going to ease into bulking? or are you into full throttle bulking - as per se the "I feel gross'' comment? LOL!

slowly increasing calories and carbs 6.5 days a week...6 meals all clean...one cheat meal, flexibility to add soy milk between meals...wine on special occasions and holidays. gonna do steady state cardio 3x week for like 45 -60 mins and then 20 mins hiit either bike or treddy depending on what i trained prior about 4 days/week. will try to lower reps and increase weight but also keep some high reps super sets, drop sets, variety, cross training etc to keep it fresh and keep up muscle confusion. keeping intensity and volume high and i dont believe in overtraining, so i will lift 5 days per week with the exception of some weekend days depending on social activities the evening prior.

head judge wrote to me:

Hey Lauren!
Just looked at pics on Facebook and my notes. I had you first by a mile in that class, there are things to improve upon (we ALL have things to improve upon!). One is size. Overall, you just need to get bigger BUT as a natural woman, it won’t be easy! So just work on adding what you can and coming in EVEN LEANER, a lot leaner, and get onstage with killer conditioning—this is what wins Women’s Natural bodybuilding shows.
Posing needs work. Focus on poses that accentuate your lines and when hitting front shots, don’t be afraid to make yourself as big as possible onstage. When you hit a front DB, HIT THE DAMN SHOT!
Overall, you were the best onstage in the class. Next step is getting better! Best of luck! Ad hit me up at anytime or even to look at you going into your next show and provide feedback.

i just feel bloated and fat. sugar cravings driving me to truvia/splenda/too much coffee...ate 1640 calories today...
meal 1; oats, 1/2 scoop pea protein powder, flax, soy milk
meal 2: cous cous, walnuts, 1/2 scoop pea protein powder, soy milk, 4 brusssell
meal 3: soy bean pasta, pb, one cup cabbage, soy milk
meal 4: 2/3 cup chick peas, 1 cup broc, 1 cup cauli
meal 5: 1/7 block of superfirm tofu, 1 cup broc, 1 cup cauli, soy milk
meal 6: 2.5 tb pb, 1/2 scoop pea protein protein powder, cocoa powder, truvia
lots of diet soda and xtend..total 1.5-2 gallons liquid...
eating pretty similiar every day but when not lifting take out chick peas move tofu to meal 4 then meal 5 is pb and some nuts....

still 118 lbs. i know that its a healthy weight for me but i wanted to approach it slowly...i have to get bigger but also be leaner. but do i even want to compete again? i spent so much time and money and i kind of went crazy and obsessive and isolative and cant reverse out of it...although i know it hasnt even been a week. regardless i want to stay fit and sstrong and fit in my new clothes whether i compete again or not...
did shoulders and abs today and 20 mins hiit treddy. did a pull up, narrow grip but overhand, gonna try to do a bunch tomorrow for ab day. tomorrow is the big party for grandpa making vanilla cup cakes with chocolate ganach, and carrot cupcakes with vegan butter cream frosting, rachel rays cilantro pesto, and maybe candied nuts. throwing out my dollar store junkfood but still gonna go crazy on the baked goods....ugh. lol. not sure if i will just make it a full on high carb day and have some fruit prior to working out and have and ezekiel sammy instead of the cous cous...i have to buy a dress for a wedding friday but i dont even want to look at myself in mirror. i guess the good news is that i know what i would need to do to drop weight if i get too fat again but perhaps at the expense of the muscle that i need should i want to compete again...gymheroes.com posted my before and after pics and some people said i looked way too unhealthy and needed to gain 10 lbs...which i did in a matter of 48 hours and feel like i dont have that much wiggle room. however, one of my coworkers pointed out that its pretty insane that im afraid to eat one piece of fruit/day...

having a much easier time sleeping now that im not taking the lipo 6.

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Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

I am coming off a massive binge... I feel ya girl it ain't pretty

_________________
I do because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said I couldn't.

I don't make excuses... I make results

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you

still weight 117.8
increased carbs today with banana and toast and pb in the am - post workout extra pb 2 with second meal
back - deads 135x12x
UNASSISTED CHINS: 5, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 3....something like that....also did one overhand!!!! this will be my project for the coming months - gonna work up to doing weighted chins and pull ups!! well maybe just regular pull ups but weighted chins!!
then assisted wide grip chins - four sets down to 80lbs assistance x8
db rows: 25x12, 30x12, 35x12x3
isolateral rows: 45 each side x15x4
barbell curls 3 drop sets: 40x12, 30x12, 20 x12 - three times...
seated one legged negative ham curls: 45x12, 55x12x4
one leg standing leg curls: 20x15, 25x15x4
15 mins random bike (intervals), then 5 mins 15.0% 3.0mph. mentally torturing myself on how much cardio to do...

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Hey Lauren,

Is is even possible to get bigger and leaner?

First off you deserved to win because you worked really hard and was discipline. As far as competing you have to ask yourself is it even worth it. You are putting your body through a lot of stress. Will it have a long term effect on your health if you continue to to follow a strict diet and training program? For instance your body is probably in survival mode this week because you dropped weight too fast. I'm not sure how safe the precontest salt loading is for a person. Also you don't want to start obsessing about every little food you put in your mouth or if you had a bad training day at the gym.

You can still train hard and diet to get a lean body without competing. Exercise was always suppose to be fun. I heard someone mention on a female bodybuilding documentary that was on cnbc not too long ago if you are obsessive about your weight, go to the mall and look at the women walking around. You will see so many unhealthy looking women which makes you appreciate your body more.


yay you ate fruit LOL

not happy with myself.
up to 123 after all day saturday cookies, candy, chips, fats...
back to 117.6 today. pre-comp diet, training, and cardio until sunday then reassess. likely add about 200 calories a day for the next two weeks...maybe one high carb day on the weekends.
obsessively reading BB articles about cheat days...trying to tell myself its no worse than boston, was a much shorter period.
sunday off, just walked on boardwalk with mom 3 miles
monday - 60 mins am cardio, ten mins HIT, chest and tris, ten more mins hit
today 60 mins am cardio, later biceps, abs, and 2 10 mins splits hit..
you are right about questioning if its worth it...not sure if it was a bucketlist thing or if ill want to do again..

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Thank you very much for continuing to keep us posted!

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http://plantpoweredwoman.wordpress.com/

117.2
just did 10 mins high intensity increasing speed, preacher curls with drop set, incline sit ups with resistance band, and hammer curls superset last night.

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

firm believer of training hard "just because"...and making it a lifetime commitment...its hard. some days, weeks and years are harder...

find your center...you saw what you don't like...pull the pieces out you do like

I wrote many moons ago it will change you forever...it has and did...with that knowledge- You can do ANYTHING...even in the darkest of days. It gives an inner strength and creates discipline and resiliency. I speak from experience.

and...you Are a Gym Hero!

took a week off after reading and getting scared about CNS overtraining, obsessive behavior, hormones etc.
got a comprehensive blood test for metabolic panel, lipid profile, etc., waiting for results.
dont like to see myself in the mirror without a six pack.
weight holding steady between 117-120 depending on diet for the day.
a bit of jogging here and there and sprinting and my leg joints hurt.
work has increased to about 50 hours a week. i will have to be much more efficient in the gym. really not sure if doing more comps is in the cards however i still want to workout and bust my butt.
trying out cross fit. did my first class today. the workout was 6 minutes long and i couldnt stop coughing for 20 mins! i think i am onto something and i am going to give it a try for a few months. with work i can only do it like 3-4 times a week, and then on the days i work long can squeeze in some lifting.. today i went to the gym and just did like 5 sets of chin ups. felt really tired. yesterday my first day back did shoulders and 20 mins cardio, 10 hit and 10 moderate cause i had to take a work phone call.

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Hope you had a good week off. I know it's hard to take time off after getting used to the consistency of training every day, but it can also be a nice break to recover and focus on other things.

Hope you have a great rest of your weekend!

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

Thanks Robert.

I'm still here, still vegan, still training. Only about 20 minutes of HIIT a day and a 5 day split and adding in some crossfit and one or two complete rest days...a bit of intuitive training i guess. afraid to bump up calories but know i need to. Work hours much longer, always super busy, tired, and not motivated to log my workouts. 118 lbs, i wont dare wear a tank top. bleh. the mental recovery process is going to be long. blood work came back with nothing to worry about, will speak to doc to get the numbers cause i find it interesting..

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Have missed hearing about how you are doing! Glad to hear you are still going strong. How is crossfit??

_________________
I do because I can. I can because I want to. I want to because you said I couldn't.

I don't make excuses... I make results

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you