I'll preface this blog by saying that i'm not a nutritionist and that I think meat and cheese are delicious. Also, I have been known to back-slide from veganism on occasion, (mostly around the holidays)
That said, I am a strict vegan/ raw foodie (most of the time). Nuts, legumes, fruits, some grains and veggies are all I eat. I picked up the vegan lifestyle a little more than 11 years ago.
Before that I was the typical gym rat. Slingin' weight everyday, eating meat with every meal , getting larger and larger every year. At my biggest I was 260 lbs and about 7% body fat. Back then I thought being large and ripped was what fitness was all about.
Like most (fitness minded) guys my age, I grew up worshiping Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Dillette, Kevin Levrone, Lee Haney, Shawn Ray, and Flex Wheeler. We all read the Arnold Schwarzenegger Body Building Encyclopedia and followed it religiously.
Not sure why but around age 23 I started looking around the gym at all the meat-heads and having second thought about where I wanted to take my body. I noticed that once bodybuilders hit 50 and 60 years old they looked awful.
I met a couple who were just breezing through town (hippy types) who made a vegan meal for me. They showed me a few vegan propaganda pamphlets, and dropped some knowledge about the benefits of a cruelty free diet.
I tried it out for a few weeks. I noticed right away that my body seemed to work better, feel lighter and cleaner, but when I notice a drop in my muscle mass I freaked and went back to my omnivorousness diet. This happened several times over the course of a few months. Eventually I decided that feeling awesome and healthy all the time was better than being yolked and feeling sluggish. I was vegan from then on.
I started the same way most vegans start. Replacing meat with meatless products. This lasted a few years until I realized I was just eating chemicals instead of meat. Gradually I worked processed vegan foods out of my diet. Its taken a long time but I've finally gotten to the point where I'm able to stack on muscle, keep the fat off, and have enough energy to get through my crazy ass days.
After 11 years of trial and error with a vegan diet, 22 years of trial and error training my body with every technique under the sun, Here are my conclusions:
1.) Don't eat dairy: Humans are the only species on earth who drink milk after infancy, and the only ones ever to drink the milk of another species. Kinda gross when you think about it.
2.) Train for the body you want: You wanna look like a cave man?? Huge traps shoulder and quads. Then spend your workouts in a gym slinging weight around with the other troglodytes
You want a long lean body? Do everything! Distance running, some form of martial arts, isolation and Olympic lifting, and speed work! Sprint, sprint, sprints!
3.) Get the hell away from American food: Have you looked at the ingredients on a box of cheerios or Velveeta shells and cheese??
Baby steps!
That said, I am a strict vegan/ raw foodie (most of the time). Nuts, legumes, fruits, some grains and veggies are all I eat. I picked up the vegan lifestyle a little more than 11 years ago.
Before that I was the typical gym rat. Slingin' weight everyday, eating meat with every meal , getting larger and larger every year. At my biggest I was 260 lbs and about 7% body fat. Back then I thought being large and ripped was what fitness was all about.
Like most (fitness minded) guys my age, I grew up worshiping Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Dillette, Kevin Levrone, Lee Haney, Shawn Ray, and Flex Wheeler. We all read the Arnold Schwarzenegger Body Building Encyclopedia and followed it religiously.
Not sure why but around age 23 I started looking around the gym at all the meat-heads and having second thought about where I wanted to take my body. I noticed that once bodybuilders hit 50 and 60 years old they looked awful.
I decided that being long, lean, and healthy, was the best way to go.
I met a couple who were just breezing through town (hippy types) who made a vegan meal for me. They showed me a few vegan propaganda pamphlets, and dropped some knowledge about the benefits of a cruelty free diet.
I tried it out for a few weeks. I noticed right away that my body seemed to work better, feel lighter and cleaner, but when I notice a drop in my muscle mass I freaked and went back to my omnivorousness diet. This happened several times over the course of a few months. Eventually I decided that feeling awesome and healthy all the time was better than being yolked and feeling sluggish. I was vegan from then on.
I started the same way most vegans start. Replacing meat with meatless products. This lasted a few years until I realized I was just eating chemicals instead of meat. Gradually I worked processed vegan foods out of my diet. Its taken a long time but I've finally gotten to the point where I'm able to stack on muscle, keep the fat off, and have enough energy to get through my crazy ass days.
After 11 years of trial and error with a vegan diet, 22 years of trial and error training my body with every technique under the sun, Here are my conclusions:
1.) Don't eat dairy: Humans are the only species on earth who drink milk after infancy, and the only ones ever to drink the milk of another species. Kinda gross when you think about it.
2.) Train for the body you want: You wanna look like a cave man?? Huge traps shoulder and quads. Then spend your workouts in a gym slinging weight around with the other troglodytes
3.) Get the hell away from American food: Have you looked at the ingredients on a box of cheerios or Velveeta shells and cheese??
Simple ingredients, fresh fruit, veggies, beans, nuts, (some) whole grains, and lots of water. That's. All. You. Need.
Don't make the changes all at once. Try to gradually phase out bad foods and replace them with good raw foods.
Baby steps!
Happy Training!
