Yet another introduction....

Hi, everyone....

I'm 30, 5'6", 133 lbs, happily married for 6 years with 2 dogs.. no kids yet (not for lack of trying).

As for diet: Lacto/ovo born and raised. I married a big meat eater/hunter, and shortly into my marriage I made the switch to vegan. Let's say it did NOT go over well with him (mostly my MIL and FIL). I was beyond ostracized for my choices. The situation became so hot that I finally made a choice to retain my marriage and revert to lacto/ovo, or stay my ground and lose my DH. I don't regret my reversion... but that was then...

As for fitness: Came from an ancestry of herbalists, aromatherapists, very health minded people. I'm a 5th-generation vegetarian! My physique, however, took a really bad turn after I got married. Both DH and I got fat. We live in a region that is cold and dark most of the year, and we hibernated like bears. Finally got to a point where I hated the way i looked. I packed on 30 lbs. We were eating like shit.

So... I smartened up. Turned it around about 2 years ago. Started researching fitness/weightlifting/eating clean/figure competitions, etc.

Now.... my diet is stellar. I have 3 figure competitions arranged for in the spring (supposed to have one this Nov but had to cancel). I've lost the fat, and then some. Built alot of muscle. I look better at 30 than I did at 17. DH is looking pretty sweet, too. He's proud of the changes both of us have made. The gym is a huge part of our lives... and I'm a walking textbook.

I worked as a vet tech for many years, and last year returned to school for Nursing. While doing that, I am also studying for my NSCA-CPT exam, and in the process of obtaining my provincial training cert. My goals are to practice cardiac rehabilitation nursing part time, and personal training and comp prep for athletes and competitors part time. I love sports med, but where we live, that's not an option - yet.

What has brought me here? Being a vegetarian weightlifter and aspiring figure competitor has been hard enough. Even with how I look now, I still get people telling me that I can't build muscle without meat. Whatever.

But honestly? I'm sick of the whey, egg whites, cottage cheese. At first, I thought there was no way that I could live this lifestyle without it. But I'm starting to shift my thinking.

Because my food is 100% in my control now... most times DH doesn't have a clue what I'm eating... being vegan (or darn near 100%) would be very, very possible. I would like to aim for the goal of carving out a vegan on-season diet for myself at the very least right now.

Hopefully you lot are friendly and will accept me!!!!

Some pics: 1st 3 are me in July 2005.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/clsupnorth/Progress%20pics/cindy2004.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/clsupnorth/Progress%20pics/IM000520.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/clsupnorth/Progress%20pics/IM000532.jpg

These are me Sept 2006 (What would have been 10 weeks out from comp)

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/clsupnorth/Progress%20pics/Sept2006CindyCompetitionSuits024.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b201/clsupnorth/Progress%20pics/Sept2006CindyCompetitionSuits005.jpg

I'd say we are a friendly lot. You will get some more reasons to go vegan, so dont be suprised if you find yourself being vegan in a little while. I am amazed at the difference of a year (the pictures).

Welcome. Cheers on taking your diet into your own hands- It is very possible to get all your nutrients, and be vegan. Good work on the progress pics too!

Woweee you look great and I hope to get as great results as you have.

I have been here a little while and it is very very friendly here. Love it. People here are very considerate of each other and their opinions. A very intelligent and warm bunch of people.

I am glad you are here. My boyfriend is a meat eater but actually he loves anything that taste good so although he loves meat sometimes if I cook some good tasting veggies he loves that also. Mostly if he wants to eat meat he will have the vegan dishes as a side if not the main meal.

What are you using as your protein sources now? You look great.

Woweee you look great and I hope to get as great results as you have.

I am glad you are here. My boyfriend is a meat eater but actually he loves anything that taste good so although he loves meat sometimes if I cook some good tasting veggies he loves that also. Mostly if he wants to eat meat he will have the vegan dishes as a side if not the main meal.

 

What are you using as your protein sources now? You look great.

Thank you! My DH has actually really come a long way with the whole 'food' thing. He has recognized that I know what I'm doing, and that I'm very healthy for it. I've had a few very proud moments where I've overheard him defending me to family and friends, telling them that I eat way better than any of them could ever hope to do.

And he's REALLY broadened his horizons... instead of red meat/potatoes, he now eats all sorts of fish/veggies/grains/etc. He's now proud of me, and confident in my choices. Because we basically eat 100% 'clean'... our meals are now mostly protein serving/carb and fats. So I have my lean protein, he has his, and the sides are exactly the same.

My protein sources right now are whey protein powders (really trying minimize this, mostly cause I find it bloating and I like food calories, not liquid calories), eggs and egg whites, cottage cheese... and ALOT of veg meats. I grew up on Worthington/Loma Linda 'meats'... and now that most of their stuff is vegan, I'm happy with it.

Nothing beats a Big Frank.

You should check out some of the vegan protein powders to see if you like those better. If you think you're already getting too much soy protein in your diet they have brown rice, pea, and hemp protein. And then there's the ever so famous vega which is pretty expensive but worth it for a once per lift day thing if you're on a budget.

Your weight loss is crazy so you've obviously found something that works for you health wise. Since your hubbie has come a long ways, maybe he'll understand if you give veganism a try. If not don't risk your marriage or anything over it. That's a bit extreme.

You should check out some of the vegan protein powders to see if you like those better. If you think you're already getting too much soy protein in your diet they have brown rice, pea, and hemp protein. And then there's the ever so famous vega which is pretty expensive but worth it for a once per lift day thing if you're on a budget.

Thank you, yes, I want to look into those more. Maybe start out with one or two, see how I like them. I do want to cut back on the soy, mostly to stay away from the phytoestrogens right now... but there's gotta be something good that I'll like!

Welcome to our group! You will find that we are very friendly, warm and welcoming and we have quite a few competitive vegan bodybuilders, fitness, and figure competitors. Just search around and you'll find them.

Great to have you here. It looks like you have made an awesome transformation!

This is an article I wrote a while back about on-season (pre-contest) diet. It might be helpful in some ways. I'm sure Daywalker and others will have slightly or completely different approaches, but this works well for me:

http://www.realgainz.com/RobertCheeke

Click on "pre-contest diet" on the bottom right.

Enjoy the forum, and welcome aboard!

Welcome clsupnorth

I'm 6'5", whole food vegan and I don't use added proteins in my diet. I see about the same progress that I did when I ate crap a few years ago or when I added protein as a vegan. I also feel better than I ever have both mentally and physically my condition went up and I have more energy.

I hve therefore concluded that extra protein does my body more harm than good. Maybe it's just me...

Hi cls.

Awesome back in your avatar pic

Good luck on your goals and have fun with the progress towards veganism

Hello & Welcome! Any tips on vegan-friendly stuff up there in Alberta? I hope to make it up that way sometime in the next year or so.

Hey clsupnorth

Welcome on the board. When I opened this threat I had a good stare at your avatar. This is a new inspiration and kiss ass pic for me.

You have made awesome progress! Great discipline and choices during all this time!

If you have any questions about becoming vegan or vegan options, I believe everyone here will greatfully provide you with information

Maybe you wanna check out www.veganoutreach.org for some more information as well.

And if you want to read something really cool and very informative, get the book "Skinny Bitch". It has a rough language, but if you bear through that you will discover many many interesting things. It is about nutrition and it helped me a good bit! It is very very informative!!!

Stay with us and let us know of the results of your competitions and please send some pictures of it

~ K-oz

hey,

welcome aboard those pictures are stunning " title="Applause" />

This is an article I wrote a while back about on-season (pre-contest) diet. It might be helpful in some ways.

Thanks, Robert. Actually, I really liked that. I love it when someone lays things out so cleanly like you did. I also bookmarked it, as I'll refer to it when preparing my prep diet.

Daywalker - You like my back ? Thank you! I should actually update that as it's a pic from way back in April. I KNOW my back is bigger than that now.

loveliberate - WTH would you want to come up to AB? J/K. It's a great place. Where I live is pretty remote and northern, so not very vegan-friendly. In fact, I was at a 4-way stop the other night, and the CAR in front of me had a dead deer strapped to the trunk. Hello? Who goes hunting in a Chevrolet Celebrity?

k-oz - Thank you for the link. I appreciate the help and suggestions! As for competitions, right now I plan on FAME Vancouver (Apr), FAME Calgary (May) and either FAME Toronto or IFBB AB Provincials in June. Busy season, but I figure since I'm in shape for it, why not?

Well, ok, I'm convinced... you are all a nice friendly bunch!!!! I believe firmly that anyone can do what they aim towards, especially if they have great support.

As for heading towards veganism, my intermediate goal right now is to plan a prep diet for myself in which the last 6-8 weeks is 100% vegan. Off-season, I will return to vegetarian for now. I think that's a reasonable babystep goal.

It does take some time to convert over for most people so don't worry. I was weird and made the transition in 2 days.

Also, don't be surprised if you don't want to go back to vegetarian after the season. I know i could never eat cheese, milk or eggs again in any form. I don't know if it's because i'm just so used to the way i eat now or i just love all the fat i've lost and muscle i've gained. I think it's also partially ethical reasons about factory farmed animals.

Good luck on the transition and competition season. I'm hopefully going to do a few natural powerlifting competitions this summer. I also might do some OL with my girlfriends dad who used to train OLers. It's nothing like bodybuilding but hey i try.

@clsupnorth: Great to have you here! I also had a few problems with my partner during the transition towords veganism (and she is ovo-lacto!). But to me it comes down to the following: The only person to decide what I put in my mouth is me.

@all the nice members: After www-free weekends I love to take a look at all your postings especially when you welcome new members with so many positive emotions

Welcome to the forums.

Sorry to ask, but I have no clue what these shortcuts mean:

DH

MIL

FIL

WTH

AB

J/K

OL

And what is a NSCA-CPT exam?

Can you educate me

Welcome !

Sorry to ask, but I have no clue what these shortcuts mean:

 

DH

MIL

FIL

WTH

AB

J/K

OL

 

And what is a NSCA-CPT exam?

 

Can you educate me

K-oz, i guess the abbrevations mean this:

DH - either "dear husband" or the initials of cls' dear husband i guess

MIL - Mother in law

FIL - father in law

WTH - Why the hell

AB - Alberta, Canada, where cls is from

J/K - joking

OL - Olympic lifter/lifting/lifts = olympic weightlifting = clean & jerk + snatch.

K-oz, i guess the abbrevations mean this:

That is funny, another German tells me what these english shortcuts mean

Thanks daywalker

Now all makes much more sence

Sorry to ask, but I have no clue what these shortcuts mean:

 

DH

MIL

FIL

WTH

AB

J/K

OL

 

And what is a NSCA-CPT exam?

 

Can you educate me

K-oz, i guess the abbrevations mean this:

DH - either "dear husband" or the initials of cls' dear husband i guess

MIL - Mother in law

FIL - father in law

WTH - Why the hell

AB - Alberta, Canada, where cls is from

J/K - joking

OL - Olympic lifter/lifting/lifts = olympic weightlifting = clean & jerk + snatch.

 

Sorry... I obviously spend WAY too much time on internet forums because of the abbreviation abuse. At least I don't talk like that in real life... yet. K-oz explained them right. DH is definately Dear husband.. j/k I use for just kidding. Saves typing.

K-oz explained them right. DH is definately Dear husband.. j/k I use for just kidding. Saves typing.

But now I know, and it is faster typing. I'll use what I can from now on too

DH and FIL and MIL is not valid for me though

K-oz explained them right. DH is definately Dear husband.. j/k I use for just kidding. Saves typing.

Oh, Daywalker did. All I did was asking

But now I know, and it is faster typing. I'll use what I can from now on too

DH and FIL and MIL is not valid for me though

Cool - I forgot to answer about the NSCA-CPT. It's the National Sports Conditioning Association - Certified Personal Trainer.

http://www.nsca-cc.org/

There are lots of personal trainer certs out there (ACE, IFPA, NSCA, National/regional ones), but the NSCA is the most comprehensive, difficult one around. It's also recognized worldwide. You study for the exam for what seems like forever, and then go write it at specified sitting each year. It's very hard to pass, and it's like 3 hrs long.

My goal is to use my nursing and personal training for cardiac rehabilitation and helping unwell clients to get started being fit/nutritious, but my MAIN goal is to train and prepare competitors. So along with the nursing, studying for the NSCA, I'm also getting my provincial personal training cert. I find that while the NSCA is most prestigious and 'better', many local gyms still want you to have the provincial certification... so I'm doing both.

My hubbie is american, so if I ever want to go live/work in the states, the NSCA is recognized everywhere, whereas my provincial one wouldn't be. So it's a win/win.

Hope that explained it better.

Hey there, welcome to the forum!