Matt

Per pound of body weight. 0.5g of protein works for growth/strength for me, but again, I'm a cyclist and not a bodybuilder who works on mass, and I try to increase strength while minimizing mass increase (power to weight ratio is more important to me than mass and huge strength gains). Depending on your fitness goals, this will vary, and everyone is different, so I'm just telling you what works for me and for my specific sport. As a general ballpark, I'd go for 0.5 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight, but for a lot of vegans, that's a lot, and I've found I don't need nearly that much.

Robert, Too bad to hear that. Glad to hear you'll be in Oakland. That's about 1.5 hours north from me, so if you can give me some details I may be able to check it out. You have a link to the competition online so I can get some info? -Matt

I hear you, man. Been through that dozens of times. It's hard sometimes. For me I ultimately decided the best way to convey my message was to simply decline in a nice way the food I was offered. When asked why (which invariably happens around family), I kindly explain that I don't eat animal products. If they insist I explain more, I ask them if they are truly interested, and I tell them if they are interested really learning, rather than getting into a one-sided debate defending their position of meat-eating. If they are interested, I feel it out now and go into detail about my choice, and that way it puts it on them to learn more rather than it sounding like a lecture. That's all fine for me to say, but this took months of patience and actual focused thought by myself to go through scenarios with my relatives in my head along with the actual experiences of talking to them. I was a little ticked for a while, too, but if they exclude your food choices from their meal and you stick to your guns and refrain from anger in front of them (which I'm not saying you did), I find they respect that and get the message and usually ask about what your preferences are next time. I think I got it down now, but it was never easy and is still a frustration at times. Also, holidays in the United States at least have traditionally always been big meat eating day celebrations, so those holiday meals are hard to change, especially for older people. It wouldn't be too difficult to work in some vegan fare I'm sure, but before the next meal, you might just ask the cook (in this case your aunt) to see if she's making anything vegan. This way you are letting her know you are vegan indirectly rather than demanding she have vegan foods available. I realized that after time my relatives were more receptive to it when I didn't make a big deal about it. The important thing to remember is that it's not personal if they have nothing but meat, so I make sure not to take offense as relatives often forget and just make assumptions about the diets of others. Our family (perhaps as some other families) are a bunch of big meat eaters with some overweight diabetics in there. Those people watch their diets during the "regular" year, but still gorge on the bad stuff at holidays, so the mentality is that "anything goes" on holidays in our family, so maybe there's a bit of that in there in your's as well and they don't care what anyone eats assuming everyone will want the bad stuff. It's hard, but the long term payoffs are respect from them, and even the potential that you'll convert one or more to veganism. I like the word "ambassadors"; we as vegans are all ambassadors to the lifestyle and we have to do what we think is right to educate others and for me that's been a slow process taking lots of patience.

Thanks for posting that, Topher. I won't get into a debate here, but it all comes down to where you decide to draw the line. For me the bottom line is bees are exploited for what they produce which makes honey not vegan. Besides, there are plenty of excellent alternatives for sweeteners anyway.

We need some Vega down here in Santa Cruz. We have at least a dozen unique health food stores and local natural foods chains and *no one* down here has heard of Vega. I've been asking it repeatedly to get it on their radar, but still no dice. Any thoughts on how they might get interested in it, Robert?

Well, I guess there's a choice to pick up a product that may or may not be cruelty free, and one that's definitely not. I would choose the former. As far as the bars go (and I'm speaking generally), it's usually more expensive to buy "whole food" products because they aren't based on highly-processed commodity items such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Additionally, they aren't made in large volumes as they aren't generally a staple in most diets and as such cost more to produce and distribute. Those bars that do go mainstream (with one notable exception) have changed their formulas to become more cost effective. PowerBar (non-vegan, incidentally) is a good example of a popular energy bar that moved over to high fructose corn syrup as its base flavoring, all in the name of staying competitive in its market. The exception has been Clif Bars, which are all vegan and it's one company that could be considered mainstream but stuck with its roots, then going all vegan AND organic. Clif's done well, but certainly hasn't grown like other bars because they've stayed true to their core mission. I don't know about Larabar, but the Organic Vegan Food Bars are also very expensive. I'd just assume get my organics from raw fruits directly (and usually it's cheaper anyway), but these bars are going up against food products with highly commoditized processed ingredients which makes them appear disproportionately expensive. I used to be skeptical--and there's good reason to question what you buy--but from my perspective I'd rather eat a processed whole food bar for more money that destroy my engine with corn syrup or candy bars. I know I'm preaching to the choir here...

I think the context is rather vague, and the question is extremely hypothetical. There isn't a clear line there. Is this situation a metaphor related to something actually happening in your life?

Web re-prints are governed by copyright laws very similar to print documents. You need an expressed written permission release from the copyright holder. Copyright laws still apply to the creator of the original material, even if that copyright holder did not expressly register a copyright with the copyright office: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ66.html You can write your own articles and quote other articles and include references to them at the end of your work. This is generally what I do if I write something that claims information from a specific source. If you are quoting something in a forum or discussion area, I think it's generally ok if you post the link. It's sites where you are placing content that attempts to attract visitors and increase traffic that is frowned upon. That implies a profit motive.

Robert, that's really exciting. I'm really happy for you. I'd also love to get into something related to vegan fitness as well--as a job! Congrats on making that happen!

I think he fails to mention that he probably has days of digestive problems when he binges like that. I know I certainly used to...when I binged that was...

I agree with everything Robert says, not that he needs people to agree with him... I'd just wanted to add: find a fun exercise that's low impact and easy to sustain for an extended period, 30-60 minutes minimum per day. Walking, hiking and cycling are good ones, and most people "new" to regular exercise tend to think they have to go as hard as they can to get any benefit. This simply isn't true, and the lower intensity trains the body to burn fat as well. Also, be sure not to fast (some dieters tend to do this off and on) because your body needs to have carbohydrate present to burn fat, but I think modestly decreasing intake is a good suggestion, and avoid simple or processed sugars altogether if possible. I'd focus more on complex carbohydrates that are lower glycemic index and digest more slowly but keep you energized. Robert's suggestion to do some weights is good as well. I'd also suggest low intensity, at least at first. Increasing muscle mass (even a little bit) in the areas you work also burns fat more in those areas, so you get the double benefit of fat burn and strength increase. Best of luck to you, VegalGirl. Let us know how it progresses.

Rock the house, Robert.

Time for a group hug.

Welcome, Courtney. Very interesting background story...glad you decided to go vegan.

Excellent! Another vegan cyclist! Anyway, welcome!

So what you are saying is that I'm not eating right? LOL

Not a pack rat, but I love buying books and also have trouble letting them go. I got shelves and shelves and my wife always wants me to let some go to the local used book store or library. Can't....do....it....

What's with all the wimps around here?

Sounds like a good contest idea: 1. Come up with a logo, which may be used on future T-shirts 2. Come up with a vegan bodybuilding and fitness slogan which may be used on future T-shirts That might be fun...

It's difficult to see this as anything but a publicity stunt. I would take notice (and be the first one to congratulate them) if *every* McDonald's offered some kind of similar, regular vegan fare across all restaurants, but in any case it is likely what they would serve would be highly processed anyway and not ideal, simply because it is not cost-effective for them. Veganism can mean different things to different people, but a healthy vegan diet cannot consist of and significant amount of highly processed foods, IMO. But there's always hope for change...

Sweets, alcohol, and smoking are highly addictive, so likely your brain is trying to find a substitute. This may sound silly, but one thing to try is to carry around a water bottle (with water in it only) and sip from it when you get a craving. This will fill your stomach a bit and help prevent your brain from misinterpreting cravings for actual hunger. I did that for a while and got over the "three day hump" so to speak and forgot all about sugar a week later. Water helps reduce your appetite overall. I'd make sure you get your proper nutrients with regular meals, but if you have those cravings, this is a good way to kill them before they start in between meals. Personally, cheat days never worked for me because they reinforced the behavior I didn't want, but they do work for some individuals.

CLASSIC!

Will is right on. I'd say find what works for you, and take into account how hard you are doing your workouts. Generally speaking, I find that it takes 48 hours to fully recover from an intense workout if my body is in decent shape. When I do strength training in preparation for a cycling season, I go three days per week alternating days. This ensures optimum recovery. Sometimes if I'm ultrasore, I'll take an extra day off (2 days total), and I find that works wonders. I'm a big believer in rest, and I've overtrained a number of times in my early years. But I usually find--if I don't overdo it in the gym--that if I do a workout Monday, Wednesday I'm a little sore still but have full power and the workout actually feels good. That's usually how I gauge it.

Welcome, Sacco. Lots of fun going on in here!

Hey, thanks, Robert. I'll start a topic here at Vegan Bodybuilding once I put some solid ideas together. This weekend I'll have some time to think about it more...(also hoping to finally get the full vegancycling site online)...