New member - Before and 'so far' pics

[LostChris]

Hi guys, how are ya

I should start by confessing I'm not a vegan (I hope you are all understanding). I am a strict vegetarian for ethical reasons but I do still eat eggs and a bit of cheese (but not milk or butter or things). This website however has still inspired me a lot.

I have(/had) always been a very skinny guy. You know the type that constantly looks like a recovering junkie. Twiglet arms etc. And then when I gave up meat a lot of people started joking about me saying i was weak and pathetic. I work in construction so you know the type I mean. I really wanted to prove them wrong so although I had never worked out before, after stopped eating meat I decided to try and get in real good shape. I began working out at the beginning of this year.

Below is a before (february this year) and after (yesterday) to show my progress so far.



Want to thank Robert and the others on this site for encouraging me actually and its really great see others on here doing the same as me.

Thanks

Chris

[VeganEssentials]

Great progress!

[Justin Morgan]

Wow, you made some progress, AND you really cleaned your room up. Congratulations, both took a lot of work.

[LostChris]

haha thanks man. I was moving house actually so that's why it was a mess.

I have been a bit down the last week or two actually. I'm working out so much and watching my food but seem to have come to a bit of a standstill. I was progressing really good and really happy with my results but now I'm stuck. I think I need more fat in my diet. Anyway I'm off out right now but maybe later I'll post my diet up on the nutrition pages and see if there's any suggestions

[Simi]

Haha!
Had to laugh at the cleaning the room comment!
You look great! I was like you - going from skinny to buff. Got stuck for about at the same weight for ages despite training hard and eating well.
I just made some TINY adjustments and broke past it. I increased the protein in my meal sizes a little bit, but the biggest thing of all was having pre and post work out carbs. I go for a slow burning carb about 1-2 hours before I train, then a fast carb straight after. I love flavored rice cakes, but anything, even sugar/candy is good! Also have protein after workout too. The sugar replaces the glucose that your body has used during the workout, and the protein is used for the muscles. It means the rest of the food you eat goes into rebuilding the muscles, rather than recovering your system.
Keep it up, and be patient. You look fantastic

[Justin Morgan]

My general inclination when I stall on progress is just to take in more calories over all and keep the same ratio of 80% carb, 10% pro, 10% fat based around fruit. I used to fear carbs would make me fat, but if anything I think a high carb/low fat diet has made me much leaner than I once was.
But if you have ever followed Mike Mahler, he follows a high fat and is doing great. If you take a look at the from page of veganbodybulding and see Avi Lehyani he follows a 60/20/20 diet. But the common denominator is that (assuming you have a good training schedule) you have to ingest enough calories to support muscle growth. I wouldn't go crazy on that though. If you're getting 3000 cals per day, kick it up to around 3500 for a week, and see if you start seeing more progress. That's just what's worked for me though, I'm probably not your goal.

[C.O.]

aaaahahahahahah justin's comment about you cleaning up your room floored me! But on a serious note you have definitely made some serious muscle building progress. Excellent work!

-Dylan

[JubNZ]

Good work man! Keep it up, looks like you've plateaued, dont let that stop you, YOU CAN DO IT

[LostChris]

Thanks for all your help chaps.

I think I have now overcome my plateau.

I have, very simply, just started eating MORE. I have tried to up my fats and taking on the carbs tip above, but on the whole all I'm really doing is eating more more more... ! Work is slow for me at the moment so its easy to eat all day but when it gets busier it might be harder so we'll see. I'm also trying to to lift heavier with lower reps rather than high reps and more manageable weights.

I am starting to lose my definition but I'm getting bigger and that's what I really want at this stage in my 'journey'

[LostChris]

And here's an up to date one of me. As you can see i'm losing my definition but i'm definitely getting bigger (nowhere near as big as I want to be though. still a skinny runt )

[Justin Morgan]

I disagree, I don't think it looks like you are losing definition, and I agree that you also look like you're getting bigger. That's great progress Chris.

[carrot topless]

Nice nipples brah

[LostChris]

Nice nipples brah

lol thanks dude. Only real men have tattooed nipples

thanks for the encouragement. Really loving working out at the moment. particularly chest days and bicep days. My right bicep is getting bigger than my left though lol. Hope that evens out soon lol. I'l give it a fortnight or so and post up another pic. I know that doesn't sound like much time but I still notice a difference even if no one else does

Been overdosing a bit on the old PB recently. I think my physique is basically thanks to peanut butter, soy and spinach haha (not together though)

[robert]

Great work! Solid physique.

All the best and keep after it!