Ravi

I am finishing my first week on the high calorie diet, keeping 3000-3200 daily on average (140-160 grams protein and lots of raw stuff and Vega supplements). I do feel great and my body feels denser/stronger. After being on a much lower-calie and mostly raw diet for 2 months....my body sems to be soaking all the nutrients up! We'll see how it nets out after a few weeks. I hear you on the body/type/genetic thing. My bodyfat is around 15% right now (fluctuates between 10-15%). When I was doing ironman as a vegan, I had a 4% bodyfat consistently (measured through bioimpedance and calipers)....and still had this gut I couldnt get rid of! it was absolutely ridiculous but I know that it is just a matter of getting the *right* balance of nutriiton and exercise to get rid of it.

great post. Hey Rob, when you see Brenan...try to convince him to start posting on the forum

You have a good point about the interval training. I was an Ironman Triathelete in a previous life (haven't raced in a few years).....and can attest to the fact that intervals really pack a good punch! I can also attest to the fact that it is possible to get out of shape (relatively speaking) if you ONLY do long distance low intensity cardio. I haven't done any stadium work....but will have to try it out this weekend for a change..great idea! On the fats, I take Udo's Oil, which I am happy with. Have you heard of it? What do you think about it? For me, I have this issue where I am very light (5' 9" and 150-155 lbs) and have a goal of gaining size (want to gain 20 pounds of muscle over the long term) but also have about 10 pounds of fat that I have never been able to lose (have carried it ever since I was a chubby kid...even while ironman training!). In fact, when I was racing ironman 3 years ago, I weighed about 135 pounds and was crazy-lean...but still carried those extra 10 pounds (around my waist!). It was absolutely ridiculous! I went raw (50-80% for two months) and still saw very little improvement in that area (though going Raw showed me many other improvements). After educating myself more and reading this forum, I've decided to try the one thing I have NEVER tried. That is to really increase the calories (go from 2200-2500 avg to 3200-3500 avg) while keeping the quality very high (low glycemic, lots of raw stuff, high protein). My "hope" is that this will help my body activate this final 10 pounds, while also helping me gain size. If it doesn't, well I hope to at least gain some size and then I'll go on a "cutting" phase and see if that works thoughts? ahh...I feel like a mad scientist! but learning every day..... Ravi

Your diet looks prtty darn good. The trick is to be consistent with the qulaity of your calories, and if youa re bulking, the quantity. I just started keeping a food log and was amazed at how I was kidding myself about how much I thought I ate. I am targetting to get 3200-3500 calories a day right now. I also want to have about 30% of this raw (and I want to grow this % but it will take time). Getting this much food in my system is harder for me than I thought (I am 5'9" and 155lbs soaking wet). I eat about 8 times a day, 2 big meals and the rest are 2-400 calorie snacks. I put on fat very easily (was very heavy as a kid, but quite skinny now) so I need to be extra careful about food "quality." I have been doing this for about a week and can really feel the change in my body. I'd recommend you do this for a week and take a good hard look at what you have been eating, and adjust from there. I do eat almonds (soaked) a lot and if you can find them cheap, load up! THey are a great food for gaining weight. I recomend soaking them overnight to help activate some of the enzymes and help digestion. For fruits, I really like banannas and apple. Blueberries are awesome too in season, but are pricey out of season. Of course, you can't go wrong with watermellon either!

wow, that is quite a program! and you are doing a ton of cardio...how has the stadium sprint sessions helped with your leg size and/or definition? Much better than just running/intervals? From a diet perspective, do you take any other fat supplements, like Flax oil? Ravi

what is your height and weight? what are you goals in terms of bodyweight gain/loss?

btw...have you seen this video by Paul Nason? http://sethigherstandards.com/?p=80 he talks about he made more progress in a few months after increasing leafy greens in his raw diet than over 14 years of previously being on a raw diet with a much higher fruit intake. greens were the key (for him it seems).

very interested in seeing how you far with this experiment

INSANITY!!!! somebody stop this madness!

good point! funny enough...I was on a sailing trip & travelling two weeks ago (for a whole week) and pretty much was forced to take time off training. I did a bit of running and lots of push ups...but no weights. I started training again with weights last week and have seen great progress, and my energy levels are back! I am also really increasing my overall caloric intake (and keeping a food diary) so that is probably helping as well. Ravi

ya got some mad beast skillz man!

howz everybody doing in the summer shape up? I hit a bit of a plataeu the past few weeks. excited to see my body kick into high gear for the last few weeks! Ravi

actually, I would love to hear about your diet/nutrition program. Any specific foods you ate to gain lean mass? any changes made in your training or nutrition to get more cut vs. gaining strength? Ravi

also, would you mind sharing some details on your nutrition plan? What is your typical daily menu? Any specific foods you swear by? Thanks. Ravi

so are you gonna stick with the more "aero" studs or go with hoops?

absoulutely outstanding! you two are a total inspiration! I have been flirting with the raw food lifestyle for the past two and a half months (50% raw or so). I am now motivated to step it up and see how my body responds to a more compeltely raw food diet!

nice pics!

just picked up some vega powder from Super Supplements in Seattle (first time I have seen it in the stores up here)...will have to try that out! btw...howz your "wegith gaining" diet going? ya know...the one you started in portland!

expected to hear that from you!

good...still keeping it 50% raw. I've noticed that I feel better when I eat more fruit so I've really increased that and decreased the nuts/seeds a bit. Training wise, I've backed off the static contraction/isometric stuff I was doin. My training partner has been MIA (u need a spotter for that stuff) so I've gone back to higher volume stuff (3 sets x 8-12 reps for each exercise) and my body is responding well.

I have only benched once in he past year (and that happened last week!)....so dont have a good measure of progress for that. For the first 5 weeks of training, I was doing primarily isometirc holds so I don't have a good barometer for improvement that most others would be able to really understand. I recently, however, switched to standard set & rep lifting (3 sets of 8-12 reps) and my body is responding well so I am going to balance the two styles of weight training and see where it gets me. Strength wise I am seeing definite gains. My 1 set max for push ups has gone from 30 to 54 since the beginning of the challenge. My yoga practice has also gotten a TON better. My bodyfat has dropped 5% (with my weight unchanged). That said, I still have a loong way to go to have results that really visually apparent. But I do feel amazing so that certaintly counts for something (even if it wont help me win the challenge!). I attribute a lot of my gains to a major overhaul in my diet (I am 50% raw right now, and the other 50% is damn close ).

awesome progress!!!

if you click on a pic you will see a small "order prints" button in the upper right just above the pic. That should do it!

It all depends on how much training I am doing. When I do lots of cardio (training for marathon or long distance cycling) I'll eat before bed. Right now, I'll have a small protein shake if hungry, or a piece of fruit; but I don't make it a point to eat before bed, and in fact try to avoid it.

With about 7 weeks to go in the Summer Shape up challenge, I'm realizing that I've got quite a way to go to reach my bodyweight goal. Having been on a mostly raw diet has helped my clean out on the inside, and drop some weight, but now is the time to start gaining! What is your favorite vegan food for gaining lean mass? Mine is quinoa (the grain).