horsedoc

Yup, basically 811 for the last 6 months. Green smoothies are my mainstay. And on occasion a bit more fat but some days almost none. Dr. Debra

Yeah, I'm not quite 5'1".

Thanks Guys! You are very encouraging. I'd like to put on a little more muscle but I can definitely say that eating low fat raw vegan has been the key to getting lean. Muscle building has always been easy but getting truly lean has been difficult. Now that I'm eating really clean, that old toxic fat has nothing feeding it! Dr. Debra

Hi Guys, I hurriedly took these so hope they came out okay. I'm definitely getting cut but I think have lost a little mass in the last few months. http://i25.tinypic.com/21l7tcl.jpg http://i32.tinypic.com/mtqs75.jpg http://i27.tinypic.com/j1821x.jpg After looking at them online the photos lose definition which is a shame. But at least I entered!

Okay, I just saw the posts on this and will jump in as the resident veterinarian on the list. I do mainly horses now but have done small animals as well for most of my 20+ years as a vet. First off, if you do not have a good level of trust with your veterinarian, find another by asking around. Second, depending on the size of the stone it may or may not dissolve or get small enough to pass. But conventional medical treatment may buy you some time. And as someone else stated if at any time he cannot urinate it is an emergency and potentially life-threatening. Third, from my personal experience the key is high quality wet food. Cats are not meant to eat hard dry processed nuggets. They are meant to eat live kill which contains a lot of water. So when they are not fed high water content food it stresses their urinary tract system. High quality canned food or feeding a real food raw diet is the best thing you can do long-term for your kitty. There are also Chinese herbs, Western herbs, nutritional therapies and acupuncture treatments that can help. You can find a local holistic veterinarian by going here www.holisticvetlist.com. Good luck and keep us posted! Dr. Debra

Hi Guys, Well, I see these need some work. I think I should take pictures more often as they show me where I really am not how I think I look. Very humbling..... I have not been doing any triceps specific exercises just compound exercises for the most part. Plus changing to raw I have definitely lost body fat and now I think I need to add some more muscle. http://i29.tinypic.com/vipu3b.jpg http://i25.tinypic.com/72qauw.jpg Dr. Debra

Don't be a fool. Keith is essentially unkillable. Poison, shock, impact, nothing can kill the man. You'd probably have to behead him and burn the body. I suspect he derives some sort of dark power from bandanas. Like Jimmy Hendrix?

Hi Molly, When I competed I was in rural Montana and was fortunate to have access to a Canadian male bodybuilder who showed me the ropes of posing but that was the 90's! So now here I am in rural SE AZ and feel I would like someone who is experienced to evaluate me and go over posing and competition hints. I was hoping to do Ms. Physique as I can't see doing fitness since I think you have to do some type of routine and too muscular for the figure comp I think. If I come up with someone I will let you know but Phoenix area is much more likely to have a resource. Otherwise I may go to CA for the right person. Keep in touch. Debra

Thanks, I will do that. Debra

Hi Guys, Well I am thinking about entering a Ms. Physique or possibly a natural bodybuilding contest by fall of this year but I need someone who's been there/done that to help out with the details of competition such as posing. And to give honest evaluations and feedback. I am located in SE Arizona but am willing to travel for the right person. I think it would need to be someone who is at least willing to accept my eating lifestyle if not someone who is a vegan or raw vegan. I have done competitive bodybuilding but it was about 15 years ago. And I would like to get a mentor this time. Thanks! Debra

I do basically a low fat raw vegan diet but am new to it. I love green smoothies and they are the backbone of my diet. I feel really good on this and not as good on straight fruit meals. I have also been participating in a gentle 6 week detox. Have dropped down to 102# but feel that I really haven't lost muscle but a lot of trapped fat (=cellulite). So I think being super lean is a great place to pack on more muscle and I usually pack on muscle easily. I definitely feel "cleaner" on this way of eating. Debra

Hi Guys, Well I am thinking about entering a Ms. Physique or possibly a natural bodybuilding contest by fall of this year but I need someone who's been there/done that o help out with the details of competition such as posing. And to give honest evaluations and feedback. I am located in SE Arizona but am willing to travel for the right person. I think it would need to be someone who is at least willing to accept my eating lifestyle if not someone who is a vegan or raw vegan. I have done competitive bodybuilding but it was about 15 years ago. And I would like to get a mentor this time. Thanks! Debra

Hi, I am 49 years young and my goal is to be in the best shape so far on my 50th birthday next February. Thanks for the Kudos. Debra

I just missed the contest but uploaded these anyway. Taken today but I used an old camera and it shows. Next time will use my husband's as it is much better quality. http://i42.tinypic.com/ztx9ir.jpg http://i41.tinypic.com/1zz0spx.jpg http://i44.tinypic.com/jud1tz.jpg http://i41.tinypic.com/dpbk7p.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/2agoxd.jpg

I just received notification of the contest and now I see it closed June 7th, very disappointing May post a photo today anyway. Just for kicks! Debra

Thanks Tuc for the welcome and advice. I am going to try and get my husband to take pictures this weekend. I am fit by most folks standards but would really like to get my legs leaner and my waistline smaller. For me it is really about how I want to look and feel more than weight and BF percentages. That being said, they are good monitors of progress. So I also am going to try and get my husband to do body caliper measurements as well. The biggest thing is figuring out my day to day diet plan, one that I can stay on and enjoy for life. I am following basically the 80/10/10 style of raw and so far and doing pretty well on it but have not been 100% raw every day. Still transitioning and learning. Debra

Well, my quest for health has led me to try Raw Vegan with a lot of green smoothies which I really like so far. I did overdue nuts one day and after eating so low fat I inadvertantly caused a gall bladder cleanse! I have been using FitDay.com to track my calories and it is hard to get enough while keeping the fat grams down. Grains of any type I have never done well on and I can do some nuts/seeds such as almonds, pecans, flax, hemp. I have had a lot more energy and not tired even though I have been getting much less sleep due to hi energy lasting all day! I just finished my 12th consecutive week of intense training so my program recommends strongly taking a week off from hard training and keeping it light and easy before hitting another 12 weeks again. Debra

TrueProtein has the breakdown of each on their site as well. But I am not knowledgeable enough to use the chart to balance them. And I don't know how they taste together either so I was hoping someone else had blended the three and knew how palatable they were. At this point I am even debating whether using a protein powder that has isolated nutrients is the healthiest way to go. Health and vibrancy are more important to my long-term goals than seeing how big I can grow my muscles. And then there is the debate about raw vegan giving the body all the amino acids in a form it can easily use and combine to get its protein requirements........ Debra

I am trying to combine rice/pea/hemp proteins in a supplement via http://www.trueprotein.com and wondering what percent of each to have in the custom mix. Rice and hemp taste fine to me but I have never had the pea protein. And I am wondering what the best ratio is of the three as to complimenting amino acids. Debra

Thank you for sharing this. I am wondering how to figure out how much of each protein source to have in mix. I am blending rice protein, hemp protein and pea protein. Have never had pea protein so I don't know how strong it tastes. And I usually just get vanilla flavor as I will probably only use it in a smoothie or with almond milk. I just started doing a raw vegan diet with green smoothies as the mainstay but am really concerned about the protein levels as in the past I have done best on high protein low carb style diets. I would really appreciate input from someone who has "been there, done that" and learn from their wisdom and experience. Thanks!

I'm in Saint David, which is between Benson and Tombstone.

Hi, I was really glad to find this forum as it describes what the journey I am presently on: Vegan Bodybuilding as part of a Fitness lifestyle. I am new to vegetarianism/veganism but not to bodybuilding. I did competitive bodybuilding in the mid 90's and did very well. But it got too self-focusing and regaining the weight and bodyfat wreaked havoc with me mentally. Since then I have been fairly fit and active and into "bodysculpting" and a holistic lifestyle of fitness. My life motto seems to be "Always looking for a better way". Whether this is in my professional (veterinary medicine) or personal life quest. I have found through the years that I am very sensitive to starchy carbs and gluten and do best on a diet consisting mainly of protein and lots of veggies. And I have eaten clean for years with almost no processed foods. But I still would have Liver Qi Stagnation so something needed to change. Hence it is for health reasons that I have embarked on the new approach to nutrition through vegetarianism. In the past I felt as I could not really handle starches including beans and lentils, rice and pasta that it would be extremely difficult to maintain the lean muscular healthy body I desire on a vegetarian diet. But then I found this website and forum and I am very hopeful it can be done. *I am hoping to get advice on a nutrition plan that does not use much soy to do this.* My Stats: 49 year-old female Height: 5'1" Current Weight: 110 lb. Goal Weight: 105 lb. Current Bodyfat: 15% Goal Bodyfat: 12% Overall Long-Term Goal: Maintain Lean Healthy Fit Energetic Body (In other words Look Good/Feel Good) I use Turbulence Training for my workouts and interval cardio. It is a great program and my body has responded well to it and it is one I can stick with forever. New routine every 4 weeks and 1 week off every 3 months. Great support community but lacking in vegan support and mostly overweight folks looking to lose weight/fat and a few athletes. Don't know that I will ever compete again as I am fairly introverted, but want to be in good enough shape that if I decided to compete I would just need to start pre-contest cutting about 8-10 weeks out. I do best on a somewhat structured plan for nutrition but no weighing of food. Don't mind eating a lot of the same thing. I am a mobile veterinarian so I don't eat much during the day the 3 days of the week I am on the road. But try to stay very hydrated here. I look forward to gleaning from the wisdom of this list and supporting others along my journey. Debra