DCNINJA

I am so sorry. I just lost Sam The Cat. I know nothing we say can make it better, but you have my deepest sympathy.

I believe in eating pink meat, but I don't think it harms any animals.

dude first week blows just give it a while. I got mega lean on this fast. By week three I was feeling pretty good. There is a good thread on this on vegetarianbodybuilding.com, Steve Holt's site in the forumns. There was a lacto ovo vegetarian using the diet with good success. He blogged it pretty religiously.

I did the Dan Duchaine predecessor back when I was a carnivore. I am thinking of hitting UD2 also, but like you find vegan options tough. I brown garlic in olive oil with tempeh and mix it with some beans and chili spices as a lower carb alternative. I eat that one alot.

CELL PHONE RANT: Last night some ass clown was in gym in the deadlift area yelling into his f***ing phone abou this dip shit roommate for half an hour while I was trying to lift. Finally when he got off the phone I told him his physique would not look like shit if he came to gym and spent half that energy on actually working out instead of being a blowhard. Not my nicest hour. I live in the DC area where people text constantly while driving in bumper to bumper traffic or chit chat away while oblivious to what is happening around them. So if cell phones cause cancer in chronic users, how come I see so many of them?

Don't get discourage if you do a "colon cleanse" type program, then gain a few pounds. They are good for pushing water, but it comes back. Not sure if it does anything for the colon, etc. Docs have told me no, but anecdotal evidence is contrary. Personally, tried it once with no net results in weight, body fat, or performance. Not trying to discourage you from doing it, just reporting what I did. Sounds like you are doing fantastic. Keep up the great work. Do make sure you are getting at least one gallon of water per day. The weather is turning and dehydration is a bad deal. Keep up the fantastic work.

Robert, are you hitting super high reps these days? I just changed out to a similar rep range after reading some research (that I promptly misplaced) that came down on the side of really changing up rep ranges. I have also been talking to some national level guys who are doing high rep ranges with what appears to be great results. I am really impressed with their results.

I just read it too. This is one of the most amazing transformations I have ever seen. She has truly done a fantastic job of transforming herself.

Four weeks ago.

This looks like a lot of fun. I agree on the vegan women bodybuilder base. Not just because Nikki wants to get compete as a vegan, but because I love to see stereo-types blown away. Women can't be bodybuilders, vegans can't be bodybuilders, etc.

OK, it is getting late on the East Coast, and I am feeling silly. Who would not want to see LNG walking the street and working a corner? There I said it, now go say, "Hi" to brother Green.

MMM, defining could be hard, but I ate an entire container in one day. You know the way you start with a reasonable sensible serving, then a black hole appears, some physics happen, and it like disappears. I have a vague recollection of consuming more of it than I ever thought I would without someone having an intervention. MMMMM, chocolate. Have you looked into bodyopus or any of the Dan Duchaine diet stuff from the 90's? It is pretty high in protein and it is not for the faint of heart. I did it back in my omnivore days, and it was effective, but time consuming, and did not afford cartons of soy ice cream. I am told there is a new varient on his work, UD2 (ultimate diet 2). I have not read the book, but it looks like Dan's stuff, and I am told it is similar. I am thinking of doing it after I start cutting for shows in the fall. There a few lacto-ovo's who have had good luck with it, and I read a blog from a female in Spain who said it worked, but sounds like she had some of the problems I had with it. That being I felt like dying many days. The good news is that I was really tight. The bad news was that I was very grumpy and felt run down at least one day in seven to ten.

Yeah, in some circles being vegan gets you worse looks than being a child molester, terrorist, or investment banker. I wonder what about not eating animals is so threatening to people. My favoite moments are when people tell me I am not getting enough protein. I just want to scream, "Your right, I rent these muscles." LOL

Creatine is one of the few supplements out there that work. Most supplements are a great way to make money, not muscle. If you use it drink more water to avoid cramping.

That is really cool. I had a new one last night. I was in the gym working out, and a guy who is getting ready for his first show ever brought his workout partner over to me and said, "This is the dude, I was telling you about. He just did that show out on the west coast as a vegan." The partner said no way, it cannot be done, the usual lines I had said years ago. I explained that I was a vegan, and that I did in fact compete, and that really we are a minority in the bodybuilding world, but that we are here and doing pretty well for ourselves. He said, "Well, you are definitely cut up as hell. How do I do that?" We talked for twenty minutes, and he said, "You know I am going to try that two days a week." I thought for a minute. During my brief time as a vegan I have seen three people switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet, and now a person who is trying it "part time". I never set out to be an evangelist. Nor am I the sort of guy who shouts about it. I am pretty quiet about what I do, but I am absolutely consistent. I was happy to know these two guys were going to be looking at food differently. That was pretty amazing for me that just by living my values I could open people's minds to the possibility that there is more out there.

Late workout last night. The weekend really threw me off. Something interesting is happening. I had planned on keeping my diet pretty much the same as it had been running up to the last show, only keeping it a little less strict. The plan is to hit a show in NYC on the sixth just for fun. I like to compete and a weekend in NYC seems cool. I lost four pounds over the weekend. MMM, I blew off training all weekend. I also went a little wild and pretty much ate whatever I wanted to include some yummy vegan cookies, and a butt ton of soy ice cream. After hitting my workout and obsessing about being too small I decided to hit the posing room and let the mirror be my guide. I usually don't get too obsessed over weight. My two biggest concerns are what the mirror says, and bodyfat percentages. Everything else is interesting, but not as much as the aforementioned dreaded mirror test. Running through the mandatories I was pretty pleased with my muscle size, definition and hardness. It looked really good. So NYC is on. Then a full few months of trying to put some size back on. I think my diet for these two shows has been too extreme. Given that I took a full weekend of screwing off, not training, and eating more, but lost weight (looks like body fat) I think a re-evaluation of my training frequency and or diet is in order. I will start with an increase in calories. I estimated a LBM of 168 at 180 pounds, I would say at 171 last night I was probably closer to 5% body fat or 161.5 LBM. That is a gut check off the mirror, not anything scientific, but it looks about right. My diet has been a consistent 2000 kcal per day with a bump about every four days to 2400. For bulking I am going to begin at 2400 kcal and evaluate weekly with conitnued bodyfat percentage checks. I do not want to go over 10-12% since October/November is the next round of contests for me. I would rather stay lean and not diet so hard. For this season I let myself hit 202 pre-season. That was a thirty pound shift. Too much for my preference. All of my changes will be minor. I have noticed that with a vegan diet I have less protein, but with added reliance on products like Vega, and Sun Warrior from veganproteins.com I have been able to get my protein levels closer to the ultra-high levels I enjoyed previously. Another reason I believe I have managed such a lean physique is a reliance on green leafy vegetables and fruits for my carbs. I eat almost no rice, potatos, yams, etc. The only traditional carbs I am getting is oatmeal every few days, an occassional wrap, and whatever I get from various beans. The key is that almost all of my carbs are really low GI. I remain convinced this is why I have been able to get to very lean levels with no cardio. The only downside has been that I have depleted too much in my diet and have suffered a larger loss of muscle mass due to what I perceive to be a lack of protein.

What is your height, weight, body fat percentage, and activity level? Assuming you are vegan. What kind of workouts are you currently doing?

I have been thinking a lot about the anti-degeneration that a vegan diet encompasses. We have all known about the benefits of exercise. Eating what most people call clean is likewise a good way to stay youthful. Veganism as a method of anti-degeneration has mostly anecdotal evidence, but the evidence is none the less pretty compelling. I am meeting vegan and vegetarian athletes in their forties and fifties who are achieving phenomenal results. I know of athletes much older who are having exceptional results as well. I have noticed excellent recovery and emotional stability since going veg six months ago.

I guess my number is 41. I am a competitive bodybuilder and martial arts teacher. Most people peg me for much younger than I am. My favorite is when someone five years or more younger than I am says how they wish they were my age so they could get in the kind of shape I am in. Is anyone out there experimenting with different training formats than they were doing say 5 or ten years ago with success? I pretty much train the same as I always have.

I have been keeping pretty tight with diet. I have another show in New York in a few weeks so my goal is to stay lean until then. Nicole is training hard and learning to pose with our friend Rolfini. So now instead of doing my usual lone wolf training where I come in and hit it with head phones and look at no one; I am more social. The good news is they are both fun and both are good enough in the gym to call me on it when I am slacking. I like that. My workouts have been transitioning out of the Pentagon to a private gym down south of DC. I would make the argument that it is the only real hardcore gym in the area. I know some hardk core trainers out there, but this gym is where you meet the athletes. Yesterday I talked to a guy who is getting ready for nationals, about six foot and 255. I like working there because of the atmosphere. A lot of competitors, very encouraging.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Nikki has been bitten by the competition bug. Maybe I should get her to blog. LOL. Thanks again for the shirts. Let me know when you make it out my way. You always have a room here.

FANTASTIC achievement. Great job. Keep it up.

I gained five pounds. Yeah!!!! I thought I would have gained twice that. I was back in the gym tonight working back. The week off was good. I feel as strong as ever. I still took it easy. Some warm up pill ups and 12 work sets. Nothing super heavy or really hard. I want to really focus on hard contraction and getting leaner. I was happy with my physique in Bend, but if I am a little leaner and harder I could really make a we package. I was disappointed to hear a friend here i'm DC had a rough show where she was really unhappy with he physique. I saw the photos and it was amazing to me that her body didn't look like herself. This sport never fails to amaze me. She looked amazig two days out and off the day of the show. It really is a learning ad experiment process.

Just got back from the trip. It was great to compete again. I really enjoyed being back. Bend was beautiful, even though the weather was crazy. I have been eating this week since I can until Monday when I start ramping back up for the next contest. Other than some time with my family meeting with friends I have made on the forum was probably my happiest time. I posted a bunch of photos on my myspace and on my Facebook pages. There are even some funny ones of Robert and I goofing on each other next morning after we replaced some carbs. Thanks again to everyone who has been supportive of me.

This site has been so great. I am just a few days out. I fly in tomorrow for the show. I get to meet with some of my best friends, and some new great friends that I have met here. This is sort of a come back show for me. I have not been on stage in several years. I spent the last two and a half years running around Iraq and Afghanistan, but that is another story. I said once I was done I would compete again within six months. So here goes. Today was posing practice. I was surprised at how full my muscles were even in depletion mode. Rob Kreider and I worked posing for about an hour, and that was it. No massive amounts of cardio, not much other than a light pump and getting it done. I will do a pump workout tomorrow and Friday. Mostly stretching, but some pump. I will also do some yoga. Bikram has been a great fat burner for me, and I am convinced the breathing exercises give me a little bit of an edge in posing. I tried to remember to do photos with Rob today, but I forgot. So I am bad boy. But I am attaching a photo from four weeks ago from a seminar I did in NYC. My carb deplete was the usual pain the first day, then it went to feeling better. I can't wait to push my water and hit the fats and carbs for the big day. I should be about 8 pounds lighter than my last show. But I am better conditioned and leaner. LNG, looking forward to seeing you in PDX. If you change your mind and come out Saturday I have the house until Monday night. You and a guest yours are welcome. I think Robert is staying over on Saturday too. AND thanks again for veganproteins.com. Great products and great service. Thanks again to all of the kind people on the site who have been so supportive of me and all of the other competitors out there. I appreciate it, and so do they.