hi, i' m a 45 year old male actor from berlin, new to this forum. i used to be a vegeterian for 22 years and went all the way vegan allmost five years ago, loving every bit of it. i am vegan because of both health and ethical reasons, including climate and environmental considerations... never being a sports guy at all, i started practicing ashtanga yoga three years ago which lead me to developping a new body consciousness- i wanted more. so, slowly, i started working out a little at home, quickly finding out that i wanted even more- i was hooked. a year ago, i started working out seriousely at a gym, using the help of a trainer who creates my programmes which we change every six to eight weeks... recently, i' ve started to work out on a daily basis, for one and a half hours each day, including maximum strength training (pecs and back) on two of the five weekdays. i must say that i'm quite satisfied with the results, i've gained approx. 14 kg in one year, starting to build serious muscle all over my body, really enjoying it, feeling very well at it. however, my trainer not being vegan, he could not really tell me about nutrition, so i've been working on it myself, not allways being sure wether i do the right thing... i've started to eat considerably more than i used to, it seems to work, although i know i could do better. i do hope to find some great inspirations in here, especially concerning nutrition, supplements (i do take some soy-proteins mixed in coconut water post- workout) etc... thank you for reading this way-too-long post, really look forward to reading all your comments, posts, etc. and to be discussing and chatting with all you guys! all the best and keep the faith! jean.