veganashtangi Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I've followed a mostly vegetarian diet for most of my life, but only went vegan about half a year ago, shortly before turning 22. I started going to the gym when I was 15 or so, but I became tired of it after about 6 years. The thing is I lost about 30 kilos and my body shape changed quite a bit, but besides that, I made little or any progress. No muscle gain, no improvement in definition or tonification. Nada. I guess it was a result of poor (or lack of) guidance. By the time I turned 21, I came across Pilates and ashtanga yoga, and decided to give them a try. Being bulky had never been my aim, I rather just wanted to stay slim, lean but toned as well. After a short time combining these two with the gym, I quit the latter. It's because of ahimsa (the yogic rule of non-violence) that I decided to make the transition to vegan. It's good to know that there are many regular sporty people and also athletes that choose to follow a cruelty-free lifestyle. I've got the feeling that I'm going to learn a lot from this forum and its members. My physical activity right now consists of 4 or 5 ashtanga practices a week (early in the morning, before breakfast, which is the traditional way) and one or two Pilates workouts a week. I'm 178 cm tall and weigh 65 kgs. I'm aware that I'm quite slender (if not thin), although I don't feel weak at all (I have especially strong chest and abs). My main goal now is to gain some weight, gaining some muscle mass. The thing is I have a pretty hectic schedule, because I'm studying to become a doctor and that's quite time-consuming. Besides, my ashtanga practice leaves me quite sore and it's hard to combine it with another type of physical activity on the same day. I'm currently trying to add some weight-lifting a couple of times a week, mainly to build strength in the thighs and the biceps (the triceps are OK because a sort of "push-up" that is repeated lots of times through the whole ashtanga practice). I think I have a quite balanced diet, but I wonder if there's anything that might help me achieve my goal. Should I take extra protein? Creatine? Do you recommend anything so that I can recover faster? I think this last one is perhaps the most important thing, because if I recover from the ashtanga session faster, I'll have more energy to make progress with the weight-lifting. Sometimes I'm actually drained and I have to skip those afternoon workouts. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Welcome to the group! Thanks for the detialed introduction. I read through it and that is exciting you are working on becoming a doctor. More vegan doctors sounds good to me! We have a number of people here who are into Yoga, so I'm sure you'll get a chance to meet them online soon. As far as recovery, I suggest eating protein, carbs and fats after your workouts. For supplements, the amino acid L-Glutamine is the most important in muscle recovery, so that might be something to think about. I don't think creatine is that important but some people like it. I've had good success without it, but others swear by it, so give it a try if you like. The general rule for gaining a bit of weight is just to consume more calories (quality calories) than you are expending. Focusing on healthy foods will keep you nourished while junk foods just add empty calories and often just get stored as fat....but I'm sure you know that. Feel free to explore the forum and you will learn info and meet new people. Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Hello and welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganGirl2006 Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Hi and welcome to the boards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Welcome to the group! Thanks for the detialed introduction. I read through it and that is exciting you are working on becoming a doctor. More vegan doctors sounds good to me! Thanks for the warm welcome! I wholeheartedly believe that a balanced vegan diet is healthier than a balanced omnivore diet, but some of my mates and even some of my teachers disagree. There are some misconceptions and myths that need to be cleared up, and that'll be one of my top priorities once I become a doctor. Hopefully, that will give me the chance to present the vegan lifestyle as the healthy choice that it is. As far as recovery, I suggest eating protein, carbs and fats after your workouts. For supplements, the amino acid L-Glutamine is the most important in muscle recovery, so that might be something to think about. Thanks for the advice! I didn't know L-Glutamine was so helpful. I'll definitely give a try ASAP. I don't think creatine is that important but some people like it. I've had good success without it, but others swear by it, so give it a try if you like. I already read some comments about creatine upon a search in this forum, but there doesn't seem to be a common agreement about it. I don't plan to use it right now, anyway. I once read it's not very helpful if you don't already have a certain amount of muscle mass, so I think I'll wait until I gain some before taking the step. The general rule for gaining a bit of weight is just to consume more calories (quality calories) than you are expending. Focusing on healthy foods will keep you nourished while junk foods just add empty calories and often just get stored as fat....but I'm sure you know that. I don't eat junk food - never ever. Seriously, if I want a dessert or something, I prepare it myself (I've got some yummy recipes published in my blog - perhap's I'll post them to this forum as well). I'm already working at increasing my carbs and protein intake (good complex carbs and good quality protein, of course). Let's wait and see what the results of this change are. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Hello and welcome! Hi and welcome to the boards! Thanks for your welcome, girls! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Bienvenidos veganashtangi, suerte con todo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Bienvenidos veganashtangi, suerte con todo!! Thank you! That was almost perfect Spanish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raw Ambition Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Namaste! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Namaste! Namaste! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Lo siento tengo que practicar. voy por un nuevo curso a "españa" este verano.. vale a barcelona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Lo siento tengo que practicar. voy por un nuevo curso a "españa" este verano.. vale a barcelona Eso esta un poco lejos de donde yo vivo (that's a bit far from where I live).Vivo en las islas Canarias, en el atlántico (I live in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic).Pasalo bien en Barcelona! (Have a good time in Barcelona!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 si si entiendo. las islas son mas cerca de africa que europa.. conoces vegan@s del peninsula? conosco solo un chico de barcelona y un chica de umbrete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 No pero seguro que en el foro veganforum.com encuentras gente. Vete a donde pone "Europe". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorilla Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Cool. Welcome to the team. I wouldn't bother with Creatine or L-Glutamine supplements: just eat LOTS and LOTS of natural food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Cool. Welcome to the team. I wouldn't bother with Creatine or L-Glutamine supplements: just eat LOTS and LOTS of natural food Thanks for the advice! I think I do eat quite healthily, but might need that extra glutamine anyway. I'll try it and if it doesn't work, I'll give it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorilla Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 That's cool. Most important thing is to train hard: develop mind-muscle connection. I find that yoga really helps with this, too. See you around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raw Ambition Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 I believe supplements are completely bunk if you're eating well and exercising hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Welcome ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 I believe supplements are completely bunk if you're eating well and exercising hard. Well, I share the same view, but I also think that it's quite difficult to tell if you're getting absolutely everything you need from your diet. That's why I'm considering them, because I'm not very sure that I'm fulfilling the requirements. They're never the solution to a poor diet, on that I agree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 Welcome ! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veganashtangi Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hey, I thought you might want to know that I've recently started my own vegan blog. I'll still be keeping the other blog (the ashtanga journal). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrispyQ Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Welcome to VBB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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