VictorVegan

I made the trip to Whole Foods last night and ended up with: Vegetable broth Hemp milk Rice milk Coconut milk Sesame Ezekiel bread Amaranth Quinoa Pre-cooked polenta Rice noodles Couscous Tofu burgers Soy Swiss cheese Soybean sprouts Baby portobello mushrooms Avocados, radishes, zucchini, red onions Grapes, oranges, pears, apples Later this week, I'll be making a trip to Costco for spinach, bell peppers, beans (black, red kidney, and garbanzo), and other smaller stuff.

Hi all, Hope you all had a great New Year's Eve. I've been at this for about a month, and coming up this week I'm making my first big trip to the grocery store to re-stock my fridge and pantry with essentials. I've got a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe's, and a big Super Stop & Shop (with a pretty good organic section that has some useful stuff) all within easy driving distance. What does your shopping cart look like after a trip to the supermarket? What should I be dead-set, positively sure to grab? I've read some of the stickies in this forum, regarding meals and such, but I was just wondering what an average shopping trip looks like. Thanks.

Zane's not exactly huge either (5'9", 185) but still... http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/9360/fz61ao4.jpghttp://img356.imageshack.us/img356/9265/fz50ms1.jpg http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/fz50ms1.jpg/1/w217.png As the saying goes, it's not the actual size that counts, it's how big you look. Wait... that didn't sound right.

LOL. Nice analogy. And regarding DeMarco, well, "even though" he's 5'4", 150... http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/3291/joe20demarco20side20triuz2.jpg http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/joe20demarco20side20triuz2.jpg/1/w215.png You can't say that's not impressive. According to his profile here, he was vegetarian for several years, then fell back into omnivorism, and then became vegan (and a PETA member) a few years ago. So while one could argue that he built some of his muscle with meat, he has been competing, and winning, as a vegan for several recent years now. In my mind, that's proof positive of solid results.

Could you drop some names (either here on the board or by PM) so I can look into it further? Not trying to be contradictory - I'm genuinely interested in finding pics, because I'm having the most trouble convincing my friends that building muscle mass won't be a problem. I know of the late Roy Hilligenn (looking awesome in my avatar), Joe DeMarco, Alex Dargatz, and our awesome Admin Robert . Any other competitors? I'm always on the lookout for more motivation. Thanks. I believe it has to do with the amino acid profile and the protein efficiency, but I'd have to look into hemp protein more, as I'm not very familiar with it. Basically, the body absorbs whey very quickly and efficiently and puts it to "work" rebuilding muscle tissue. I actually hear very good things about rice protein being an effective supplement, even moreso than hemp. But again, I need to look into it further.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just found it on Google Books and I'll read through it when I can. So, like beforewisdom and other are talking about, it seems like the best way to avoid confusion is to specify that one follows a "vegan diet" when discussing it, rather than labeling themselves a vegan. Kinda like the difference between being a New York Yankee and a New York Yankee fan. (Of course, while a New Yorker, I'm neither a Yankee nor a Yankee fan, but the point remains. )

I think a lot of this also ties in to the reasons behind why someone adopts the lifestyle. If it's due to a concern for the possible mistreatment of animals, as opposed to "just for health", then I can understand avoiding certain clothing and other products. Like HCP mentioned, before I looked into it further, I thought the difference between a "strict vegetarian" and a vegan was that the term "vegan" implied more than just food choices. Nathan, as a vegan, do you avoid all foods from an animal source (honey, butter, etc.)?

Wait... exactly what kind of program were you doing, and exactly what are you doing now? How much do you weigh now, and what are some weights you're using on the basic exercises? Starting Strength is an excellent program. It's "only" 3x5, not counting warm-up sets, but it's plenty. http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_forum/sports_body_training_performance_bodybuilding_beginner/starting_strength_the_guide Something's seriously wrong, then. Either your macronutrients are off (too much fat? too many carbs? too many carbs at the wrong time of day?) or you're "accidentally" eating way more calories than you think you are. 20-30 minutes of cardio a few times per week should be fine for keeping fat gains to a minimum. If you decide to go with Starting Strength, which calls for three days of lifting, do the cardio on your off days. Also, don't pay any attention to the "calories burned" readout on machines. Even if you enter your bodyweight beforehand, they're notoriously inaccurate. Go for time, and monitor your intensity. It should leave you sweating and breathing hard, but not dead tired.

Ha, gee, what a great idea for a topic. Vic Male 6'2", 215

Awesome. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks, appreciated.

Can anyone share some pics, names, or info about vegans that have gotten major size? It seems like most vegan competitors I discover are built solid and ripped, but they're under 200 pounds. I'm 6'2", and I'd still look pretty lanky at that weight. Have any members broken the mythical 200-pound barrier? Thanks.

This will probably win the award for newbiest question in the history of the forum, but that's alright, because I'm a newb to the lifestyle and I can get away with asking it (hopefully without offending anyone). I'm in the process of leaning away from an omnivorous diet, and I'm wondering what are the definitions or "degrees" of vegetarianism and veganism? It seems like different places I look at define the sub-categories differently... Lacto-ovo vegetarian: Allows dairy products (milk, cheese, etc.) and eggs. No animal meat (beef, poultry, pork, fish, etc.) Lacto vegetarian: Allows dairy products. No eggs. No animal meat. Vegan: No dairy products. No eggs. No animal meat. No foods from an animal source (honey, butter, etc.) Am I misunderstanding anything? Are there other "styles"? As a vegan, am I correct in thinking you'd also generally stay away from nutritional supplements that come in gelatin capsules (like a multi-vitamin)?

"They" say that a vegan diet is generally lacking in iron, calcium, B-12, and other micronutrients. But I'm wondering, if someone makes a conscious daily effort to have a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as other sources like beans and mushrooms, is it still necessary to take a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral everyday? What do most of you do? Do you pop a multi each day or do you rely on whole food sources?

Just saying howdy. I'm an omnivore who's recently decided to give the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle a fair chance. I lift weights three or four days per week, with strength and hypertrophy as the primary goals (yeah, I know, how original... 'I lift weights to get big and strong' ... who've thought?) I've never been much into eating red meat (I finally listened to my body and I don't digest it well), but chicken and pork were fairly common staples in my diet. For the last couple of weeks, I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian with no real problems. I'm considering a transition to full vegan in another few weeks. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.