Vegan Bodybuilding - Ask Me Anything

Man, the claws always come out for the vegans!

I'm not vegan but I also try to eat more plant based, and the vegan fake meats are getting really good (beyond burgers are super tasty).

My questions:

- How long have you been vegan?
-
- What are some of your favourite easy, cheap standby meals?

This content has been removed.

Dtilka wrote: »

Whatsup fam!

Wanted to share this for those who want the “keys” to optimal health

High Carb, low fat, plant based diet.

I eat 4K calories a day, around 800 carbs (TONS OF ENERGY!!!!!) .75 grams per lb of body weight of protein (155 grams per day) and less than 60 grams of fat.

I feel FANTASTIC. Best I’ve ever felt in my life. Please feel free to ask any questions if you are interested

How have you determined these are the "keys" to optimal health...?

Dtilka wrote: »

lalalacroix wrote: »

I recently moved to a more plant based diet. I do still eat small amounts of egg, dairy and fish.

The majority of my meals are grains and vegetables. My energy levels are through the roof. I literally almost never sit down and am getting up earlier, naturally. I'm even losing weight easier, but that is probably due to easier calorie adherance due to always feeling full.

My question is about protein. Do you supplement with powders, if so which? Or are you getting it all from foods,?

Great question! When I first started I supplemented with 1 scoop of protein but realized I was going wayyy overboard and didn’t need that much. I recommend .75 grams per lb that you weigh for optimal muscle growth. Anything more is not needed (you will hear people say 1 gram per lb and 1.5 gram per lb but that’s overkill, doesn’t add any other benefits)

just_Tomek wrote: »

I do NONE of that and feel fantastic. Whats wrong with me?

Nothings wrong with you! Do what makes you happy

DX2JX2 wrote: »

Move it over to Instagram, peddler.

Love you too fam!

sardelsa wrote: »

Do you compete?

Nah I don’t but thinking about it! I don’t do much strength training anymore I go for high volume because I want to look ripped I don’t really care for lifting heavy. I do 4 sets of 20 reps each workout. Full body everyday. No bro splits.

Lifting anything over 225 for let’s say bench for example is like taking your Honda for a cruise and gassing the pedal to the floor, you might blow your engine (get injured) then you don’t have a car that works or you have to pay to get it fixed (rehab/surgery)

It’s nice to go for heavy PRs but I don’t recommend it until you have a Lamborghini

If you don't do much strength training, how can you call yourself a bodybuilder?

FYI, I lift, but don't call myself a bodybuilder.. If you don't compete, or lift much anymore, how can you call yourself one?

ColossusCain wrote: »

erickirb wrote: »

Dtilka wrote: »

lalalacroix wrote: »

I recently moved to a more plant based diet. I do still eat small amounts of egg, dairy and fish.

The majority of my meals are grains and vegetables. My energy levels are through the roof. I literally almost never sit down and am getting up earlier, naturally. I'm even losing weight easier, but that is probably due to easier calorie adherance due to always feeling full.

My question is about protein. Do you supplement with powders, if so which? Or are you getting it all from foods,?

Great question! When I first started I supplemented with 1 scoop of protein but realized I was going wayyy overboard and didn’t need that much. I recommend .75 grams per lb that you weigh for optimal muscle growth. Anything more is not needed (you will hear people say 1 gram per lb and 1.5 gram per lb but that’s overkill, doesn’t add any other benefits)

just_Tomek wrote: »

I do NONE of that and feel fantastic. Whats wrong with me?

Nothings wrong with you! Do what makes you happy

DX2JX2 wrote: »

Move it over to Instagram, peddler.

Love you too fam!

sardelsa wrote: »

Do you compete?

Nah I don’t but thinking about it! I don’t do much strength training anymore I go for high volume because I want to look ripped I don’t really care for lifting heavy. I do 4 sets of 20 reps each workout. Full body everyday. No bro splits.

Lifting anything over 225 for let’s say bench for example is like taking your Honda for a cruise and gassing the pedal to the floor, you might blow your engine (get injured) then you don’t have a car that works or you have to pay to get it fixed (rehab/surgery)

It’s nice to go for heavy PRs but I don’t recommend it until you have a Lamborghini

If you don't do much strength training, how can you call yourself a bodybuilder?

FYI, I lift, but don't call myself a bodybuilder, if you don't compete, or lift much anymore, how can you call yourself one?

Hi Erick,


I'm sure I can answer a few of these questions for you. When you asked if he realized he could have been better had he incorporated animal products I guess the question is better than what? Vegan athletes are everywhere and competing at the highest caliber in their respective sports:

Football: https://mercyforanimals.org/10-nfl-players-who-refuse-to-eat-meat

fighters: https://www.livekindly.co/professional-vegan-fighters/

baseball: https://vegnews.com/2018/1/new-york-yankees-pitcher-cc-sabathia-goes-vegan

Basketball: https://www.sbnation.com/2017/10/25/16505120/nba-vegan-vegetarian-tracker-food-trend-wilson-chandler-kyrie-irving-damian-lillard-enes-kanter

bodybuilders: https://www.greatveganathletes.com/category/vegan-bodybuilders/

strongmen: https://barbend.com/strongest-vegans-on-earth/


And a personal favorite of mine, Jordan who started and runs Conscious Muscle: https://consciousmuscle.net/

As for calling himself a bodybuilder, why not? He has a body and he is working at building it up. Quite honestly no one is actually officially recognized as a bodybuilder until they get their official IFBB pro card which most people do not have yet they still use the term. He also stated he wants the more ripped look, this is a class/competition in BodyBuilding, it's also one of the fastest growing, so he is still doing what he would need to do to compete.


Hope that helps answer your questions

I didn't say they weren't everywhere, I am asking how much better could the results have been, even those athletes may be better served eating animal products. It could be that they were successful despite their less than optimal diet!

staticsplit wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

staticsplit wrote: »

Man, the claws always come out for the vegans!

I'm not vegan but I also try to eat more plant based, and the vegan fake meats are getting really good (beyond burgers are super tasty).

My questions:

- How long have you been vegan?
-
- What are some of your favourite easy, cheap standby meals?

No - my claws come out for people who think they have some sort of duty to tell the world why their diet (way of eating) is the. best. ever. If no claws, then massive amounts of eye rolling.

Eih, I get that. I find it no more irritating than the keto people. Agree the 'keys to optimal health' is a bit much, though. It's on its own thread and people do tend to be more dubious about being able to grow muscle on a vegan diet.

I think I probably find the evangelism around veganism more annoying if only because I encounter it significantly more often. The only time I hear people outside of the internet talk about keto is in the context of epilepsy. On the other hand, I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. I was able to talk extensively about different diets related to meat, fish, and lack thereof from a very young age. It isn't unusual for people to either wax poetically about the importance of not eating meat or try to get me to not eat meat. The former happened on Friday actually.

erickirb wrote: »

Do you realize your results probably could have been better had you incorporated animal products?

Do you know of any peer reviewed studies that show that vegans are unable to reach their genetic ceiling?

fuzzylop_ wrote: »

aokoye wrote: »

I think I probably find the evangelism around veganism more annoying if only because I encounter it significantly more often.

I guess everyone's different. I've literally never been evangelized in respect to veganism (including both before and after becoming vegan) and that's something I only encounter on the internet. Low carb, on the other hand, I have seen a ton of advocacy around, whether it's atkins or the current trend of keto. It doesn't bother me too much, but I don't necessarily think vegan evangelism is more common in a general sense.

This is also likely, in part, an issue of location. Hence why I wasn't talking about the world, or even the US at large. And I should note I don't think that all or even most talking about a diet (among other things) is evangelizing. Evangelizing often involves speaking, but obviously not all speaking is evangelizing.

My favorite example of said evangelizing is the waiting room that an former therapist shared. Every surface, that you could reliably stack or lay material on had pro-vegan literature on it, of the PETA like variety (so not something like Vegetarian Times magazines). This included the mantle of an unused fireplace. It was very odd and not at all relevant to the setting (it was a building primarily made up of therapists' offices). I've also seen at least a few small scale protests surrounding foie gras (restaurants here have been vandalized by people protesting their use of it).

Note, I have definitely heard people talk about the atkins diet outside the internet, though not with any frequency lately. Keto, however, I've never heard in person outside of conversations surrounding epilepsy. Paleo on the other hand...