Gorilla

Exactly. It's no big deal. It's not a gross thing. Clean, high-fibre food rocks. Nuff said.

Thank you for bringing us all together! Long may we continue to advise, inspire and support each other.

Welcome to the team

Just one more thought: It can be a touchy area when people discuss your lifestyle and say ignorant things about veganism. I've thought a lot about how to deal with this, especially after reading Dale Carnegie's opus. Have a look at this article (you'll probably need to copy and paste the address): http://www.thorogoodpublishing.co.uk/dat/smp/166smp.pdf Dale Carnegie's principles are listed at the bottom.

Sometimes even when I've dealt with a situation in this way it still nags me later on and prays on my mind. That's when keeping a diary helps. I just write down everyting that's on my mind and put everything into perspective. I find that if I concentrate on all the good qualities of the people with whom I have contact and focus on ways to make them feel good about themselves then my own worries become insignificant.

These are just some random thoughts and tips that have helped me. You probably know all this already or you might disagree with it. I read that happy, positive, sociable people are less likely to get ill. (The flip side of course is that if you do too much socialising and don't get enough sleep then your immune system will be over-worked.) I've found that I have been both mentally and physically healthier in the last 18 months, thanks not only to my nutrition and training practices but also to my social practices. People will tease an individual for being different. I've found that the BEST way of dealing with any situation like this is to be SELF-DEPRECATING to the extreme and make the other person feel ultra-important. If someone criticises me in any way, even if it's just a "teasing" situation I always try to take what they say and expand upon it. E.g. If someone teases me for not drinking alcohol or not eating animal products or whatever I say things like, "I know, I'm just not manly enough to drink intoxicating drinks etc" or "I'm just not strong enough to digest animal products", or "I'm not intelligent enough to do it any other way." This probably goes without saying but the WORST thing you can do is to say nothing. This makes you look weak. Most of the time people just want to make contact with you. If you don't say anything you give the impression that you are hurt and feel negative towards them.

Thanks Rob. That clears up some confusion.

But that does answer the question. It's really a chicken and egg question. What comes first: looking good or feeling good? Who knows? All I know is that I look and feel great : )

Looking good is the awesome by-product of healthy eating and training!

Yeah definitely

Once I earn some money I would definitely like to buy a T-shirt. Jay looks amazing in that photo. Really impressive. I should probably ask this in another thread but I just wondered if you could answer this categorically, Rob, or if you don't know or don't wish to speculate. It's just that my friend here saw me looking at this photo of Jay and said that you can't possibly get that big without steroids. I know it's kind of taboo, the "s" word but I told my friend that Jay is at the top of his sport and it's unfair to just assume that he's used steroids. I said that you wouldn't be able to sustain the size that Jay has got if you were on steroids because you would have to take more and more to fight the body's reaction of producing more estrogen, which would get really dangerous because your body would stop producing its own testosterone.

Instinctive training is the only way to fly

Same here but not in a vain way. Just knowing that I am working towards being the best I can be and that my physique is in excellent form gives me a lot of energy and confidence.

Good find, veganerick7. Go for it! It's a really good idea for busy people. I might get myself a tub for emergencies. I saw something like this in my store in England just before I came to Germany last October (Gilian McKeith's Living Food Bars/Powder). I was tempted but it was a bit expensive. I decided I could get all the benefits just from adding fresh sprouted alfalfa seeds and the like to my salads and from mixing ground linseed and hempseed into my muesli. The thing is I don't have a hectic schedule so time-saving/convenience isn't so important for me. I think it would make sense to have a tub of this stuff available but don't think that if you don't buy it you will die (exaggeration but you know what I mean - it's healthy to treat all advertising with a certain amount of scepticism).

No I avoid forcing it. That makes me feel bloated. I just sip water all day long. I try to avoid "feeling thirsty". If I feel thirsty I know I am already dehydrated. That is really bad: headaches, reduced concentration and below optimum performance result. This is just my personal experience.

Me too : )

Das war echt cool! Wow. Du bist der Beste! Mein Vorbild!!

Dips supersetted with military presses will bring you a lot of gains. Word.

I find this too masculine for a woman. Not attractive to me. The girls in your photos are nice though, Rob : )

looking in good shape dude.

You da man Rob. I do the same. Prioritising is cool.

Hey Tarz. Thanks man. Respect to your 8 pack too! Keep it up : )

Awesome pictures Rob. That's really cool. Dorian Yates looks a bit knackered in that photo. Nice work : )

Serge is an awesome role model. Magnificent.