GRardB

Long post made short, I eat cottage cheese before I go to bed, because that's what the meat-eating bodybuilders say is good. I know they say meat is good too, but I eat the cottage cheese because they say it keeps you from entering a catabolic state during your sleep since the protein digests slowly. As I've stated before, I want to try to cut out as much dairy from my diet as I can. So my question is: Is there any vegan food (not a supplement) that will digest slowly and that doesn't have tons of carbs that will turn into fat since I'm eating it right before I go to bed? Or is catabolism during sleep not something to worry about? (I'm bulking) Thanks, Gerard

Just curious, why wouldn't one want to train like that all the time if more muscle fibers were recruited? Thanks for all the other replies, btw

Lately I've been timing my rest time between sets (lifting), and man, I never knew that 45-60 seconds was that short. I'm guessing that before I started timing, I would rest about 2-3 minutes between each set. Lately my weight and/or my reps haven't been as high as before. Is it safe to say that it's because of the shortened rest time? I thought so, but just to be on the safe side, I'm asking here lol. Also, is it better to rest more or less for bulking? I always read to wait 45-60 seconds, but I read somewhere that you should wait 4-5 minutes for bulking. Any thoughts? Thanks, Gerard

I'm a vegetarian, but I think it's safe to say that vegans and vegetarians don't have lower testosterone levels than meat eaters. I'm only 16 and have no education in this field, but it seems like the same argument that vegans don't get as much protein. It's just not true. I have much broader shoulders, more hair, and a much deeper voice than most other kids my age, and I know like only 1 or 2 other vegetarians (they're Hindu). I mean...look at all the men in the world that eat meat. A ton of them look like they haven't gone through puberty, as with some vegetarians and vegans probably. I doubt eating meat has anything to do with testosterone levels.... Just my 2 cents.

Man, I'm skipping today (my back day) because my biceps are slightly sore, which isn't much of a problem, but it's also raining so I'd rather not ride my bike to the gym. Do you guys ever have days that they really just can't comfortably go to the gym, so you stay home? I'm on my 6th week of bulking (6 days a week), and this is my third day skipped. The first one was in my first week, when my biceps were sore from my back day. The second was in the third week on leg day when my legs were sore from my Phys. Ed. class. Is it bad to skip days like this, even when it's not often? I mean so far it's only 3 out of the last 32 workouts. It's a lot better than I used to be, when I used to skip at least one day a week. I've got like two questions plus a discussion going on at once. I wonder how this thread is gonna turn out lol.

I'm 5'9" and my electric scale says 165lbs. My gym's scale and my school's scale say 168lbs. Also, my wingspan is longer than my height (I've got semi-wide shoulders I guess, and long arms).

This is possibly the most confusing thing I've ever experienced in all my time lifting.... I stopped lifting for the month of August because I went on vacation with my family. I was sick of not being built, so I decided to start eating like a beast (healthy food though) when I started lifting in September again. I've stuck to my diet and I don't think I've drank anything besides water and *very little* milk for the past 5 weeks. Since I started lifting again, the weight on ALL of my exercises for every muscle has gone up dramatically. Not only that, but three different scales are telling me I weigh about 5-6 pounds more than before, and I know I haven't gotten fatter. This is great and all, but here's my problem: I measured my muscles in August and a few days ago, and they are still the same size (except for my chest, I think). I know I haven't gained 5 pounds of muscle in my chest, so what's the deal? Hopefully somebody can give me an idea of what might be going on, because I have no idea Thanks, vegans , Gerard EDIT: I also forgot to mention that my dad, two of my sisters, and 2 of my friends said I look bigger. I don't think they're "just saying that" because this is the first time anyone's said anything really, and I didn't even ask some of them if I looked bigger. I dunno :-\

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I'm happy to see dudes with pictures of them and their muscles as proof that soy doesn't turn you into a woman lmao. As for hemp protein, does anybody have any recommendations? I take whey (I'm not a vegan) and I like it, but from what I've read, hemp is definitely better and I'm all for taking a plant protein rather than from any kind of animal source. Do they sell hemp protein at Whole Foods Market? That's where I usually shop for my vegetarian stuff, but I order my whey online, so it's not big deal if I need to order hemp. Another question about hemp...I drink my whey protein shake after my workouts and they're about 50g of protein per shake, which I think is important because after a workout, from what I've read, is when your body absorbs nutrients the most. Would something like a 5LB tub of hemp protein last me a month if I'm making 50g protein shakes 6 days a week like my whey protein does? Thanks, Gerard

Many non-vegetarian/non-vegan bodybuilders bash soy protein because they say the phytoestrogens decrease testosterone and increase estrogen. Is this true? Soy is probably my main source of protein and I'd hate to limit my consumption of it to get bigger. I've seen some results in the last month, and some of my friends say the same, but is soy slowing my growth down? I personally believe that soy is amazing and that it can't be bad, but I'm only 16 and have no knowledge in this field. I see dudes like Robert Cheeke and Alexander Dargatz and I think "No, soy must be great," but I've never been one to close my mind to disappointing information. So what do you guys think? Thanks, Gerard

I like using Dumbbells better because it feels safer without a spot and it's harder. The thing is, I don't see why it's so much harder for most people than it is for me :-/ The most I ever did with the bar was 135 (4 times) and with dumbbells I do sets of 55-60 in each hand (6-10 reps). Maybe I'm just weird?

I appreciate all the replies, but I think I may have been a little unclear as to what I was asking for..... I already know HOW to eat for the most part; a lot and clean. The problem is that my knowledge of different types of food isn't so great. A reply with just one healthy meal with a good source of protein and complex carbs, and probably not much fat would be extremely helpful. I really just don't think I can get big off of veggie burgers and cereal :-/ Also, I forgot to mention my height, weight, etc. Hopefully it helps a little I guess? Height: 5'9" Weight: ~163 Body fat %: Not entirely sure. My scale says I'm 18%, but it also says my friend who has visible abs is 19%. My guess is around 14-15%. Thanks again, Gerard

What's up vegansss? This is my first post here so I guess I'll introduce myself a little before I start asking questions. My name is Gerard and I'm 16 years old. I live in New Jersey and I'm entering my Junior year in high school. I'm not a vegan, but a vegetarian. I'm not sure exactly what kind you would call me, because I do eat dairy, and I only eat eggs when they're a very small ingredient in baked food like cookies, brownies, etc., so I guess I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but if someone offered me mayonnaise or scrambled eggs, I would tell them I can't eat them. I became a vegetarian at the age of 7 because my parents became vegetarians, but they didn't force me to become one. Now that I'm older, I understand why they became vegetarians (although my mom's not one anymore). It's my belief, along with my dad and my sister's, that humans are herbivores and we are physically not conditioned to eat much meat like most people do. I've been into bodybuilding for a while, but didn't start lifting seriously until around March of this year. Now to my questions I want to gain lean mass, basically in all body parts, but especially my arms, chest, and calves (my back, shoulders, and thies are big enough in my opinion), although I still work 5-6 days a week (one body part a day). I have noticed results since March, and so have some of my friends, but I feel that my progress is sluggish, and after doing lots of research for a new workout plan, I decided that it wasn't my workouts, but my diet. I decided that my diet contains too much of the same things. Since I concerned about my protein consumption, my daily diet would consist of not much more than some veggie burgers, cereal, rice and beans with veggie chicken nuggets/buffalo wings, and peanut butter sandwiches. At the end of the day, the grams of protein seemed enough, but I think that my repetitive diet was holding me back from getting bigger. I've been on vacation for a month, doing mostly cardio and calisthenics because that's all I can do. In this time, I've been doing tons of research on what I should be eating to get bigger as a vegetarian. One thing I didn't like about my research was that lots of vegans/vegetarians seem to supplement a lot with different kinds of protein, and some take other supplements like weight gainers. I only want to take Whey Protein (no creatine, steroids, testosterone boosters, nitric-oxide, etc.), not only because I don't want to limit my diet to tons of protein shakes and stuff, but because that stuff can get expensive and I want to be considered "natural". If anyone's wondering.... I shop at Whole Foods. The veggie products I eat usually come from Morningstar, Boca, and Yves. I drink mostly water. I only eat whole wheat bread if I can. I take a multivitamin pill. I think I've given enough information for people to help me out (sorry if that was too long a post, lol). So can I get some advice from the pro's? Thanks, Gerard