GRardB

See, this is why I hate ignorance -_- I got mad at reading those comments. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd ask them how a 16 year old -who eats soy daily and has almost a full-grown beard, deep voice, and broad shoulders - lacks testosterone. I'd also share this link with the dude who claims vegetarianism/veganism has no scientific base. I want Avi Lehyani and Alexander Dargatz to break down these people's doors and just hit them repetitively over their heads with extra firm tofu and soy milk cartons.

For me, triceps because, to me, they are what I lack most in size and they're what make your arms look HUGE

So I've been eating more vegetables and more of a variety of fruits... Should my flatulence be increasing? I'm starting to smell like my dad, if you know what I mean. Could the greens be causing this? If they are, will it go away?

I just took the test, but I had to make myself 20.7 years old (4 years older than I am). They said I was 18.8 years old. Is this good? Haha.

By this, do you mean when you use a juicer, or when you make vegetables/fruits into any kind of liquid? I've never used a juicer. I've always used a blender. Does that affect any of the nutritional goodness?

Alright, so I tried to the first recipe, except without mint leaves because I hate mint flavor -_-. It tasted a little funky, but it wasn't bad and I think it'll help me get used to the flavor of greens, seeing as how I never really liked them. I asked me dad about this. He said that it's a good idea and then reminded me that hummus is a type of bean dip (I love that stuff), which makes me want to try your idea. After reading your reply I remembered that I get garlic from the hummus I eat daily, do you think that's enough/too much? I can't be sure about how much the Abraham's company puts in it, but I think I get enough . As for onions, I think I'll start putting slices in my homemade veggie burgers. I would do the same for tomatoes, but my dad told me that this time of year the grown tomatoes aren't so good, so I'll try a different way to get them (besides my occasional slice of pizza). I actually got some kale today to try Jessifly's recommended smoothie. I also have parsley and cilantro at my house (my dad loves cooking with that stuff). I'll find some way to incorporate these things in my diet and try to switch things up with your list. Thanks a lot, guys, I really appreciate it. It's time I start getting used to my veggies' tastes Gerard

Well I'm glad to see that I'm not lacking much in the fruit section. I'll definitely make an effort to eat more green vegetables. As for the other vegetables, any suggestions on what to get? I'm going grocery shopping with my dad tomorrow morning. Thanks, Gerard

Alright, guys. Here's the deal. I've been bulking since September and pretty soon I'm going to start cutting. I want to add more fruits/vegetables to my diet because of this, and because I'm concerned about my semi-repetitive diet. I definitely get more fruits than vegetables, which concerns me. This is probably because I'm a teenager and like everyone knows, we usually don't eat enough vegetables. As of right now, this is my variety in terms of fruits/veggies: Fruits: Bananas Açai Strawberries Pinapple chunks Apples Cranberries Cherries Raisins Avocados (in veggie sushi) Vegetables: Rice?? Oats?? Beans?? (chickpeas, kidney beans, pink beans, etc.) [Chickpeas also in the form of hummus) Wheat?? (whole wheat bread) Soy?? (usually in the form of soy milk, TVP, and tofu) Potatoes Sea Weed (in veggie sushi) Those are all the ones I can think of off the top of my head. The reason I put the question marks around those items under vegetables is because I'm not sure if they're properly labeled as vegetables since their sort of like the prepared/manipulated/proteinous vegetables that can't really compare with things like carrots, broccoli, etc. (or at least I don't think so). So I'm not getting enough of a variety of vegetables, right? I need some help if you guys don't think so. My dad thinks I should try to make juices (although with a blender rather than a juicer for some, so I don't lose things like fiber). I personally think I should try to eat more raw/unprepared vegetables. Also, should I get a bigger variety in my fruits? I'm thinking that since I can only have so many in my house at once, I can rotate weekly. For example, one week I can have oranges and apples, and the next week I can replace those with clementines and pears (or a different kind of apple). That way, I stay in the family but still change it up. Good idea or no? All help is appreciated. Thanks, Gerard

Damn, I'm the only lacto/ovo so far :-/ I became vegetarian at age 7. I'm 16 now. I used to eat a lot of dairy, but ever since I joined this forum, I stay away from milk and eggs as much as possible. I honestly like it better like this, although it is a challenge. Anyway, I can say I've gained a lot of weight since I was 7, not because of bodybuilding though I'm bigger and stronger than lots of kids my age now, though. I weigh in at around 177lbs at 5'9". Today I maxed out benching and hit 170lbs. I was so happy Sorry for not being 100% vegan, guys. I like my occasional dairy treat

I say something like the dude from the end of this video (I hope those of you who watched the Super Bowl loved this commercial). http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=27485757 Or something like John Cena (minus his nipples lmao). http://upload.moldova.org/movie/actors/j/john_cena/thumbnails/tn2_john_cena_2.jpg

I'd say my shoulders, but that's just my bone size. I was born with broad shoulders. That's in terms of size, they're much weaker than they look in my opinion. In terms of strength, definitely my triceps. They're the opposite of my shoulders. Strong, but look weak (or at least I think so).

This seems like good news to me. Although I just went shopping today and definitely made an effort to take in less sodium. I discovered that my American cheese (which I already knew was horrible) had 310mg of sodium per slice, so I've eliminated that from my diet (yay, one step closer to being full vegan). Also, I made two different kinds of burgers from the recipes on FatFree Vegan. I made the Oat-burgers and the Red Lentil burgers (but I made some adjustments for a lot less sodium). DELICIOUS! I think I'm done with processed veggie burgers. I still don't know what I should be doing about veggie nuggets/wings and sausages 3.

The recipe looks good (I might have to subtract that teaspoon of salt, or at least use less if I make it). Thanks. As for breakfast, I usually have a bowl of cereal or a bowl of oatmeal, occasionally with a peanut butter sandwich as well.

I was actually just going to ask about that. So does drinking a lot of water justify a high-sodium diet, or does it just make it a little better? Thanks for the tips! Question, though: I'm bulking and some of the recipes have low sodium but also low protein. I don't get that much protein for breakfast (gotta rush in the morning), so I rely on my veggie burgers during school to sort of make up for it. Any ideas on how to boost up a 4g protein burger to about 15g (excluding the buns)? Thanks, for the info. I'm definitely going to stop eating so much processed or prepared food. It's hard since I'm 16 and not much of a cook, plus I don't have that much time on my hands, but for my health, I've gotta try. I'm probably going to start making my own hummus (can you believe the kind I buy has 100mg per 2tbsp serving??). Thanks for the advice, guys. I really appreciate it. Gerard

I had a feeling it was a maximum...another reason I hate health class. But I do bring lunch. The veggie burgers are what I bring because I can't bring anything else high in protein (about 30g, I'm trying to get bigger) besides them :-\ Or maybe I can? Any ideas?

Alright, so I'm in this health class in school (junior year in high school), and I hate it. Apparently, soy isn't a complete protein according to our text books, milk is good for you, etc. etc. Stupid stuff. One thing that got me interested was sodium content in foods. My teacher said that lots of processed foods have TONS of sodium. I thought the only high-sodium food I ate was my canned prepared beans (yes, I'm half Hispanic ). But I checked out my veggie burgers and veggie chicken nuggets, and I was surprised to see 500mg per serving of veggie nuggets (which I eat once a day) and 470mg in the burgers (two a day because I have nothing else to eat at school; they don't care about vegetarians or health-conscious people). So my health teacher said the words "you should be getting about 2,400mg a day." I was skeptical about this, because I've read that you shouldn't get MORE than that a day, which meant to me to stay really far away from that, but I think I might be around that value daily. So what should my limit be if I want to be as healthy as possible? Also, does anyone know of any good-tasting, low-sodium veggie nuggets/burgers? Thanks! Gerard

I see...so I guess the headline is just misleading then?

Things like this get me mad...quotes from that article: "When done right" ?? How about when your meal plan including meat isn't done correctly? That won't hurt performance? Things like this get me mad. Also: It's "fine" to be vegan? How about better? I can't speak for vegans, because I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian but I'm closer to vegan than most other vegetarians (I barely eat dairy and almost never eat anything with eggs). Also, harder to get calcium, protein, vitamin D, and iron?? These things are just false. Protein is so easy to get it's not even funny. Calcium and Iron are easy as well. As for vitamin D....correct me and hours of research if I'm wrong, but don't you get most vitamin D from the sun?? I don't think vegans get less sunglight than meat eaters.... Sorry for the rant, I just get so mad at articles like these. As for Tony Gonzalez... He's amazing I have to give him my respect, especially for going vegan for health reasons despite everyone trying to convince him otherwise. Just one thing I'm wondering...What's this?? Fish oils? Peace, Gerard

So I was browsing through the profiles, and I noticed an enormous dude (Avi Lehyani). I checked out his workout, and I was amazed. He only works out four days a week, he says he RARELY does any isolation exercises and does no direct abdominal work. For those of you who haven't been to his profile, this is the workout he posted as his "usual" one. Day 1: Squats or Deadlift Day 2: Rest Day 3: Bench Press(Incline or flat) + Heavy flyes Day 4: Back (cables and free weight) Day 5: Rest Day 6: Shoulders (Military press + Standing -dumbells or barbell- rows) Day 7: Rest To me, this seems crazy! I work out 6 days a week, separating muscles (chest, back, triceps, biceps, etc. and not in that order). I do the exercises he talks about like squats, deadlifts, bench, etc. but for arms, abs, and calves, I do isolation exercises. I've just never really seen anybody with a workout like this look so amazing lol. So I guess my question is: Is it likely that if I use his workout, I can make noticeable gains in size and strength, even in my arms, abs, and calves? I know that seeing him might be proof to some people, but I'm guessing that theres a possibility that genetics play a larger role in this type of exercising? I dunno... I also didn't mean to put him on the spot like this, but man it's just amazing to me Thanks, Gerard

I have some hemp protein, but I can't use it as a regular protein shake, because 30g of hemp is only about 14g of protein. 30g of gemma protein is 25g of protein. Gemma's also a lot cheaper too. I've thought about soy, but not much. I already eat a lot of soy to begin with, so I'd rather have a variety of different proteins. That's one of the reasons I chose gemma. EDIT: Also forgot to mention, the reason I want more protein (the reason I choose gemma) is because I'm currently bulking.

I bought the strawberry-banana flavor from True Protein. In all honestry, it tastes pretty bad and doesn't mix very well. I had to put about 2 cups of water (with two scoops) for it to even be a liquid. With my whey, I could make a shake with two scoops and 1 cup of water with no problem. So far I've tried: 2 cups water 2 scoops Sugar The result: Drinkable, but not very good. Very thick. 1 1/2 cup water 2 scoops ~1 tbsp peanut butter 1 Banana Sugar The result: Too thick to drink. Tasted terrible. Had to throw it out I have no idea what to do! I don't wanna give up on gemma because I know it's better for you than whey. Any advice? Thanks, Gerard

What IS "natural bodybuilding"? To me, that means no supplements, except maybe a protein shake or vitamins, which aren't enhancers. I wouldn't consider people using creatine, nitric oxide, testosterone boosters, etc. as being "natural." Although from what I've seen, "natural" means without steroids, but everything else is okay? I dunno, my friend and I were actually talking about that the other day. Thanks, Gerard

I barely ever get sick (in fact, last time I was sick was probably almost a year ago; the side effects of being healthy ), but when I do, I still go to the gym :-\. Not sure if that's a bad idea, but for some reason when I'm physically active, my sickness seems to go away and I feel great for a few hours. The workouts don't seem to impede my recovery from illness, seeing as how I'm usually better in a day or two. Maybe it's because I'm 16? I dunno.... Anyway, when I skip days at the gym in general, I don't pick up where I left off since I have a 6 day schedule. For example, if I miss Thursday (shoulders), I'll continue on Friday and do biceps instead of doing shoulders, as if I didn't skip Thursday.

Last time I counted was in my Phys Ed. class (we had to do as many as possible). The person counting for me said 40, and he was counting out loud....although, I think he started counting at 1 when I had already done about 2 or 3, but regardless, that's the range I can do consecutively... EDIT: Also, the pushups I do are perfect form. I put my arms right next to my shoulders, and go down until my chest taps the floor (although I don't rest on the floor, obviously). My current weight is ~175.

I was looking for the post regarding the difference between sugar in fruits and refined sugar, but I couldn't find it... In that post, I read that the sugar in fruits is digested more slowly because of the fiber that fruit contains. If that's the case, then if you eat a food high in fiber along with a food with quick carbs (i.e. white bread) will the fiber from the aforementioned food make the carbs in the white bread (or other food) digest slowly? I was thinking about that today and I just had to find out... Thanks, Gerard