emma1488

More pics!!

You look AWESOME! What a great testament to veganism!

Hi! Nice to meet you

Why thank you kind sir! Been struggling with a cold the last week. Getting a bit of cabin fever and am dying to get working out again! This Saturday when I hit the gym I want to smash it and leave myself unable to walk

I would look into the chicken and egg industry. Research how they are treated and watch videos on how they are slaughtered. Look into the seafood industry as well. There are so many wasted animals called 'by catch' when catching different types of seafood. If the compassion for animal life does't to get you as it got to me, think about the environmental effects these industries are having on the planet. Failing that, think about what you are potentially ingesting when you are eating chicken and fish. When I decided to cut out meat I decided to mark every meat free day on a calendar, day by day, week by week it added up. Now I'm almost a whole year without any meat and I would never go back. Hopefully this helps

Oh this was gold! I really want some pad thai now!!!

I wanted to update my photo progress. This is about a month later from my first pics. I can see a very small difference and am very determined to see a much bigger difference over the coming months. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37802197/IMG_4385.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37802197/IMG_4387.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37802197/IMG_4395.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37802197/IMG_4394.jpg Weight is more or less the same but I have dropped a little bit of body fat. I've cut down on my cardio due to time restraints and not feeling very super. My 10km fun run was today, but I didn't end up going as I've been sick in bed the last 2 days and felt I owed it to my body to have a rest. Diet wise, I've decided to start having green smoothies daily in a bid to increase my fruit intake (not a fan of fruit ). So hopefully you'll see a difference in about a months time Until then

I Becks. I'm fairly new to the forum and have been vegetarian almost a whole year. I have been vegan since the beginning of this year and thoroughly enjoy it! Like you, I love animals and that's the main motivation behind becoming vegan, being healthier is an added bonus for me. Firstly, there are many vegan protein powders available. At the moment I am drinking a pea protein which is rather yummy. I'm in Australia and so I've only come across soy and pea protein powders. Though I know there are more out there. There are other ways of getting protein as well, such as tofu, tempeh, seitan and nuts. I don't think you could do a low carb diet on a vegan lifestyle, but that doesn't mean you will have a low protein diet! At the moment I'm in the process of losing a bit of weight and strength training to tone and build muscle. I too am not wanting a fully ripped body builder's body, but from what I gather, you have to work VERY hard to achieve that look. Have you checked out the profiles on the main website? Or had a look at some of the before and after shots on the forum. These are testaments to female vegans being able to look insanely hot and super fit! In regards to eating out, it sucks. I have definitely become very put off by wanting to eat out at restaurants since becoming vegan. I will always check out the menu online or phone up prior to going to see what is available for me. However, most people do not understand 'vegan'. So unless i'm going to a purely vegan restaurant, I make sure I've eaten before I go out. Otherwise I will succumb to devouring a bowl of chips and a bread stick! What sort of cravings are you getting??

Thought I would make a small update with my progress. My bodyfat percentage has dropped from 28.5% to 25.9% over the last few weeks. Haven't really lost much weight. Looking forward to uploading some more progress pics...once it looks like i've made progress that is As i have only just started going to the gym (which will only be once a week), I thought I would record my leg press weight. I did quite a few reps/sets at different weights and ended up with doin 5 reps of 135 kg. This is something that I was impressed at as I haven't been to a gym or done leg press in quite a few years. I look forward to increasing this. Hopefully to 200kg by the end of the year? Edit: Managed to do 5 reps at 150kg on the leg press last sat. I also did 5 reps at 40kg of the lat pull down. Edit (17/9/11): Upped my leg press to 160kg. I did quite a few sets at lower weights, gradually increasing the weight until I reached the 160kg. I did 1 set of 5 at this weight and then my bf convinced me that I could do 10. I did manage to push out 10, but there wasn't a wide range of movement. I think I might try to focus on getting a decent range of movement for a few weeks before I try to up the weight again.

Welcome:) I'm not a guy, so I don't really have much personal experience to give...But from what I've read on here, in order to get big and muscly you have to do 2 basic things. Eat lots and lift heavy. The whole vegan thing should not inhibit your muscle building potential anyway. I mean check out the people on here! They're living proof that being vegan doesn't stop you from being fit, buff and healthy. I'm not too sure about the whole testosterone thing. But I do know that women have a much lower level than men (right?). And there are many women who continue to grow big muscles and can lift astonishing weights... I don't know if that was any help to you. But you have come to the right place. Check out different threads. There's is pretty much one already created for anything you can think of on here.

You look AH-MAE-ZING!!!

Umm, Earnest, I'm stoked you bumped this old thread because it meant that I've seen it! And WOW!!! What an inspiring transformation! This is the good kick up the butt that I need!

OH, i just found your post on myfitnesspal

I wonder if this is helpful? http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm#

I'm also interested in the zig zag method:)

Bogandome, hyperhole...either way. I don't go to a gym as I'm a poorbie uni student (DON'T JUDGE ME!! ). But I've found that I have been working out much more consistently and harder at home than what I was when I was at the gym:)

Well done on going vegan There seems to be a world of nutritional knowledge just on this website and forum.

Heh. C'mon--I'll bet there's some nice places around logan...I hear there's a river... Oh there are some nice places. But we seem to get a pretty bad wrap because of all the bogans that ruin it for everybody I believe we do have a river...i don't think i've ever seen it

Dang, when i read the thread title i was thinking 'mmmm vegemite, nom nom nom'...but then i read your post starling and rethought it...ewwies.... Are you eating your spinach blueduck I've been eating tempeh which is soooo much yummier than tofu. it has the B vitamins and is chockers full of protein. Make sure you're combining your iron rich food with something that has vitamin C in it, as it helps us absorb the iron. Do you take any multivitamins? My multi has some iron in it as well as B12.

Hi Lydia. I wish I was in your situation I'm no expert or even get close to pretending to being one...But I guess to put on weight you just need to start upping your calories with good wholesome foods and start lifting weights to develop your muscles. What does your daily diet roughly look like?

Ergh! The mirror is a little b***h. I am still not noticing much of a difference. I might take some more progress shots in about 2 weeks to see if I can see a difference and add them on here to see if anyone else can see a difference...

Hi guys, I wasn't really sure where to post this thread, so here it is... How many of you use a body fat percentage as a guide to progress? And if so, what do you use? I ask this because I'm feel disheartened with the scales not moving but I can see myself gaining muscle tone. I have used a website that someone else recommended that you enter your measurements and it comes up with what you are...A couple of weeks ago i was 28.5% and now I'm at 27.2%. This is the website I have been using: http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance

Hi, nice to meet you! That reminds me that I have a punching bag that is collecting dust. I should really start using it

Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm a newbie:)

I use a website called Myfitnesspal.com it's also an application on smart phones. It allows you to enter the foods you eat and track your calories. Hope it's what you are looking for:)