Introductions
Introduce yourself! 👋 Tell us about your training history, how long you've been vegan, share some of your goals and interests! 🌱
3,224 topics in this forum
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- 15 replies
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Hi. This is my (late) introduction. I joined this forum in Nov. I'm male, and have been a vegan for 13 years. I was raised in a family that ate reasonably well, so becoming a vegan wasn't hard. It all started with 2 main problems I've always had (no matter what my diet is): intestinal probs and stress(Type-A), the latter getting me to read about nutrition, which got me to go vegan. Eating lighter helps, but I really needed to change my type-A thinking. It was a blessing in disguise, as I now have control over diet AND mind. I've done small fasts, and eaten raw for a week at a time, and I'm going to go 98% raw for August. I love fruit. This forum is the 1st t…
Last reply by loveliberate, -
- 2 replies
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Hi, just thought I'd introduce myself and see if anyone on here more knowledgable than I could give me some advice. Me: 31 going on 32 year old male, about 6' 1.5" and 192lbs. (and it's not all muscle, trust me). Sedentary job. Low activity level. I've been vegan for over 13 years. I used to do 100 push ups in the morning during my undergrad years, and worked out regularly with weights. Then in my late 20's I foolishly traded 100's of push ups for 100's of beers. (Not to mention joints.) Now I'm in bad shape and looking to get back into fighting shape for living, not just existing. Trouble is, when I've tried to reboot my fitness in the past I think I've come a…
Last reply by C.O., -
- 3 replies
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Hi Everyone! I'm a 19 year old male college student in the US who has been a vegan for about eight months now (I started when I was studying abroad last year). I'm always trying to stay healthy and in shape, but have never had any luck in bulking up and building muscle no matter how hard I seem to work. Some people tell me that it's just because it's "not in my genetics," but I refuse to believe that. I'm grateful for any tips, hints, comments, etc. Supplements on a budget, workout routines, meal ideas would also be much appreciated. Thanks!
Last reply by hsorlando, -
- 3 replies
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hey all... i'm so happy to be here... i've been vegan for more than 10 years.. haven't been on top of nutrition or exercise for most of those years. trying to make a change. been working out pretty faithfully for the past few month, 6 days a week.. i've seen great progress however, i'm not seeing any progress in my abs.. my goal is to achieve overall better health, flexibility, strength, and nutrition. and i have the aesthetic goal of achieving flat abs. looking forward to meeting everyone and learning about good vegan nutrition to achieve my goals.
Last reply by Ted Trendy, -
- 15 replies
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Hello! I'm Andrew. I went vegan 2 months ago after being ovo-lacto for several months. I've been a member over at VF the whole time, some of you may recognize the name. I'm aiming for the magical 300/400/500 split by the time i've been vegan for a year. Tommorow i'm starting powercleans tommorow thanks to my colleges kick ass weight room. Majoring in commercial music with an emphasis on recording at Millikin University. Just looking for another place to gather more info, recipes and tips on being a vegan/weightlifter.
Last reply by Honey, -
- 3 replies
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2 months in on a whole foods plant based diet. I went cold tofu from getting my protein from about 1lb of meat or fish, 1/2 dozen or so eggs, and a few whey protein servings per day to beans, lentils, tofu and greens as my main sources. I was eating extremely clean prior to the switch all I had to do was stop eating meat and eggs and eat more of the other stuff I was already eating. Although I have to say that the increased intake of beans and lentils is making me bloated and super gassy Ill be hitting 40 next month and have been training for the last 3 yrs in calisthenics, powerlifting, and some running. Last year I was 198 lbs DL was 475, squat was 375, bench was 250 …
Last reply by Eiji, -
- 3 replies
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Hi everyone, My name is Paul Basenfelder, and I am newly vegan. Before going vegan for health reasons, I was working out with weights twice a week, for about an hour and fifteen minutes a shot (7 exercises, roughly 30 sets). Since giving up animal products and whey protein, I've noticed a sincere loss of energy for getting through my workouts. Perhaps it was all of the BCAA's I was taking, including the L-Glutamine, that were in the whey that supported my energy through workouts, but I'm really struggling to get through them now, whereas before it was pretty easy. I haven't lost too much strength, but it's more so the energy to get through that's breaking me. I'm not tr…
Last reply by Mickhead, -
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Hello everyone, My name is Thomas. I am a 21yr old Vegan. Born and educated in Canada. I have been an athlete my whole life but first walked into a gym last January. I didn't seriously start lifting weights until last summer. I have made good gains since then, but far from where I would like to be eventually. Hoping to find support and some advice on the forum and maybe offer some as well. All the best. -Thomas
Last reply by C.O., -
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Hello, I have been vegetarian for about 10 years now and vegan for 2.5. Best decisions of my life! I'm a 5'4" 25-year-old lady hoping to lose fat, improve endurance, and get stronger. While I admire the pros who compete, I just want to look a little better and make sure I stay healthy for life. Background: I was always a little overweight growing up. I'm from a Mexican-American upbringing so it was a mix of the SAD diet and lots of rice/beans growing up. When I was about 13 my nearly-diabetic father decided to take his health into his own hands and began following (this was during the craze of) the Atkins diet and working out daily. I tried going low carb, but …
Last reply by C.O., -
- 7 replies
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Hi everybody!! My name is Benjamin, and I've just turned vegan 3 weeks ago, after being a vegetarian all my life I've been working out for 8 months now, and has become really fascinated by bodybuilding, so im just bulking up right now, and will probably be starting cutting in april or something... Looking forward to use this fantastic website and meet some nice vegans out there Peace! Benjamin Bendtsen
Last reply by robert, -
- 5 replies
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Hello, my name is Will. I recently met Rob at the latest San Francisco Veg Fest, he signed a copy of Vegan fitness, and surely inspired me in my quest to make a complete body transformation. I have a good amount of lbs to lose, my descent into Veganism was young and was for moral and ethical reasons. In my teens I experimented with as many Vegan foods and dishes as I could find, and now with my love of food am looking to lose a good amount of fat and build muscle definition being that I work in the fashion/makeup/esthetics/ photographic industry, I want to feel like a good example of the work I do. I was reading Body For Life by Bill Phillips and was wondering if one…
Last reply by robert, -
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Hi there, I'm Jack from Sydney Australia. A little about myself... 21, personal trainer, part time university student, musician. Anyway, I've been training for roughly 2 years and have made some great gains. I track my macros, train hard, and am generally optimistic. Just recently I decided that I'd like to try leading a Vegan lifestyle, beginning with diet. I've read and heard of the various benefits, and I'm now curious. Any words of wisdom before I begin this journey? I have no idea where to start. Some links/resources on the topic would be great. I want to avoid soy (where possible), so it would be nice to hear about the non soy protein sources out there. Seitan e…
Last reply by C.O., -
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Hi my name is Rob and I live in Vancouver. Been vegan for 3 years now. I starting working out when I was 18. My major weakness is my wrist joints. I have carpel tunnel and poor circulation in my hands. I can't do any upper body work until my joints completely heal. However I do get regular acupressure treatments from a Chinese doctor that work the best to relax my forearms. I also like to do hot yoga. Anyways, I'd like to join this community and see what everyone else is doing for their routines. Once I make friends with people on this forum I'd like to ad them to my facebook friends too !
Last reply by Lean and Green, -
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Whats crackin, kids? My name is Clay, Im 22, cali native but finishing school in Chicago. I've always been pretty serious about my fitness, or at least, stayin in shape. I surfed and swam everyday up through high school, biked about 40 miles a day for 3 years, backpack for 2 months every summer, etc. etc. When I am in the midwest, during its endless winters, I rely on the gym for my fitness. In the past few weeks I've been making the transistion to vegetarianism and I have never felt better. But I need some support and like minded individuals. All of my friends are pretty committed meat eaters, as was I, and i dont begrudge them that. I guess I'm just lookin fo…
Last reply by LocalBrada, -
- 2 replies
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So 22years of being vegan hasn't made me thin! Neither do I care about thin, I'd like to be fit, I can walk miles and miles but my upper-body and cardiovascular could be much improved, I'm here to find a daily routine for endurance (practicing climbing hill small ones about 1000m) and back and upper body strength. he trouble is conflicting advice and a lack of any training knowledge, at the moment its on the cross trainers for an hour (about 600cal according to the machine) then as many weights as i can on the machines then free weights with just the bar. I'm just returning to the gym as I blew my back out (not due to the exercise), I have no disc between L5 and L4. So it…
Last reply by robert, -
- 5 replies
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I've always been into vegetarianism and veganism. And I've definitely always been into bodybuilding/fitness. Robert Cheeke has inspired me. And it's because of him that I know it's possible to build a lot of muscle as a vegan. As of now, I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. But I am trying vegan nutrition when it comes to my training. I'm glad there's a forum where I can chat and have support from other people going through the same challenge. Well, just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Adrian
Last reply by adrianisgnarly, -
- 4 replies
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I am, and have been for the past decade, ~130lbs. Frankly, that doesn't matter to me too much - what does, is the general physical (not psychological) feeling of being weak. The only exercise I get is running and surfing. I can charge any wave that breaks in southern california - the bigger the better. When it comes to surfing, I've got a killer paddle - but every other muscle group is non-existent. I have no idea wtf I am talking about when it comes to physical fitness, or lifting. That's why I am here. To learn from you, and hopefully do the same for someone else down the line. I spent some time trying to figure it all out myself, when I remembered a classic pi…
Last reply by idratherbebarrelled, -
282lbs. and wants to get Lean!
by Guest shayallen- 22 replies
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Hey I am new to forum and have found all this info very helpful! I have been a vegetarian for 3+ years consuming lots of eggs and dairy until about two weeks ago when I read a book called "Skinny Bastard" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin which shed some light on the eggs and dairy industry. The very next morning I was a vegan! I have a long history of weight training... I played offensive line at Auburn University in the mid 90's so I been into lifting weight form the age of 16 or so. My main goals here is to drop some body fat, I am 6'4" and weigh 282 lbs. My current measurements are chest 50in. biceps 19.5in.( 20in. if I add an extra arm day for 3 or 4 weeks) waist 39 …
Last reply by Tasha, -
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Hello all-- I'm a long-time visitor to veganbodybuilding.com but new to the forums. I was vegan for 3 years but fell off the wagon about a year ago. I've finally committed to going back to the life, I miss it so much! Nothing compares to the energy, clarity and endurance of a plant-based diet. I was a weightlifter in high school, about 5 years ago, but haven't been very disciplined as of late. I build and ride bicycles, but once again it's been about a year since I rode, knowing I was so out of shape. I'm getting myself together because I miss the feeling of being fit. I'm "healthy", with better than average HCL/LCL and blood pressure, BMI of 21, etc, but my numbe…
Last reply by Mini Forklift , -
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Hey guys , I been vegan for 3 months now and am loving it. I am from south Australia. I went vegan to get off the medications and start a journey to heal myself naturally through nutrition. I currently battle undiagnosed nausea for the past 10 years along with chronic back pain. I still train when my back allows me to, and I train hard like it could be my last day to train. I get told I'm crazy and stupid for training with my back how it is, but I do it.. Simply because it's what I love to do. That 1 hour in the gym makes me forget about the negatives and feel like I'm on top of the world. So would just like to say to everyone here!!
Last reply by Mini Forklift , -
- 3 replies
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Hello! My name is Erika, founder of EPower Fitness. I am a personal trainer, nutritional consultant, martial artist (shotokan black belt karate and jujitsu, and a current NPC Bikini Competitor. I am 32 years old and went vegeterian when I was 15. Out of those years I have spent about 6 years ( not all at once, two stints) of that vegan. I am again returning to a vegan diet as I attempt to compete for my NPC bikini division pro card this year.
Last reply by Bonn1997, -
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Hey there! I have been vegan for three years, and have three children. I always lost the weight after my babies quite well until recently. With our third child I can't seem to get the weight off and want to get back into being fit and muscled! Ideally I would be following a raw diet, but with a Canadian budget of less than $100/week for groceries, for five people, well I'm sure you get it. I feel like my body is slowly deteriorating, living off of rice and rice noodles with occasional potatoes and very little veg. I am 100% focused on my familiy, on my children, so it is time to focus on ME a little bit. I'm not overly active, other than fast walking. Yesterday…
Last reply by stcalico, -
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Hello! My name is Jennifer. I am newly vegan, though it is something I have played around with off and on over the past year. I am morbidly obese, I weigh in at 400lbs. I have been trying to eat healthy and get fit for years now and I haven't been able to achieve anything. I just keep gaining. I really hope that this time is it...I am not ever giving up I just continue to have setbacks. My biggest habit I have to break is eating fast food. I am meal planning and getting groceries more often. For years, actually ever since I graduated high school and went off to college on my own I have had a bad fast food habit. Now that I am vegan there is hardly any vegan opti…
Last reply by jennifer-plantfuel, -
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Last reply by robert, -
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Hello, Everyone! My name is Stephan. I'm 41 (almost - birthday is in December) and I'm having some big challenges achieving the fitness and aesthetics on a whole foods plant based diet that I did previously. A little background about myself: I'm a long time Ashtanga Yoga practitioner, an avid swimmer and have lifted weights of and on all my life. I also have the T. Colin Campbell certification in Plant-Based Nutrition for eCornell. I also have a law degree and am pursuing a Masters (Engineering) in Computer Science. I first became vegan (not wfpb) in 2004. That didn't last long, and I regularly ate eggs and fish (but no dairy). I began to eat meat again in 2011.…
Last reply by abluesky,
