Life Without My Meat, Part 2
Make sure you've first read Life Without My Meat, Part 1 to see the beginning of my vegetarian experiment. We now pick up at the mid-way point...
- - - - -
And Then I Became a Vegan... But Not Really
To say that I spent a month as a vegan isn't very accurate. It's like saying I did the Velocity Diet, but used grilled chicken breasts instead of Metabolic Drive. I trained DC-style, but skipped those annoying rest-pause sets. I spent the night at Pauline Nordin's house, but we just talked.
It's more accurate to say that I adopted a vegan diet. I still covered up with a down comforter at night and I wore my black leather jacket to Fonzie appreciation night at the diner, but I didn't eat anything that came from an animal source. Every sort of meat and dairy was still, literally, off the table, and now things like honey and butter were off limits too.
My Sample Vegan Menu
Breakfast: 1/2 cup amaranth, 1 apple.
Lunch: 2 slices Ezekiel bread, ghetto guacamole (1 fork-smashed avocado, garlic powder, kosher salt).
Afternoon: 3 scoops rice protein in water with 1 orange.
Dinner: 2 cups of vegan "chili" (black beans, red beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers), 1/4 cup quinoa.
Night: 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds.
The exact definition of a "vegan" still causes confusion and arguments, even between vegans and wannabe-vegans. Is somebody a true vegan if they avoid eating animal products, but still wear the wool sweater their Great-Aunt Martha hand-knitted on her deathbed?
What about a lady who avoids animal foods and products, but has a husband who mercilessly grills steaks with the guys every weekend. If there are dead cow parts in her fridge, can she really be a vegan? These are philosophical issues way beyond the scope of my little experiment.
I had a hard enough time just watching what I ate, and that included double-checking my supplements. Rez-V, which I've taken daily for months, comes in a gelatin capsule. I could either drop it altogether or crack open the cap and apply it transdermally. I went the second route, and didn't notice any changes compared to taking them orally.
And yes, Virginia, there are also vegan bodybuilders. Guys like Joe DeMarco and Alex Dargatz maintain vegan lifestyles while building serious muscle.
Joe DeMarco, 2007 NPC lightweight Master's Nationals Champion
My First Workout as a Vegan
Two days after going vegan, I had my first weight training session, and it sucked. I'm used to having Surge Workout Fuel during my training, but since it includes some milk ingredients, it was a no-go for this month.
During the workout, I decided to drink about 20 ounces of water and 20 ounces of coconut water (not coconut milk, huge difference), for some simple sugars. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.
Just like Brawndo, coconut water's got electrolytes. It's lacking significant sodium, but it delivers a pretty high dose of potassium. It tastes great, but I suggest you ease into it and don't chug a whole bunch at once. It's sometimes used as a laxative, probably due to it's relatively-high potassium content.
Immediately after training, I had a rice protein shake, and then a solid food meal a while after that. On a related note, Sun Warrior rice protein mixed in water and stirred with a spoon is like drinking spackle. Not fun. A blender and fruit are mandatory.
Why Didn't I Get Jacked or Ripped?
Back in junior high, I remember Mrs. Berman teaching one crucial rule about science experiments: Only change one variable at a time, otherwise you won't know why you get the results you get.
For the past several months, my training has been mostly full-body workouts done three times a week, lifting fairly heavy for low volume and moderate reps... and then I started this diet experiment. If I also changed my workouts, then I couldn't accurately determine the effects of a vegetarian/vegan diet, now, could I?
I started the journey weighing 217 and I was 205 on my last morning as a vegan. Along the way, my strength continued to increase at its usual rate (the same as it did with my standard omni diet), but I "accidentally" lost 12 pounds of scale weight.
Several people said that my face leaned out; my girlfriend actually said my face looked "hollow." I think it was supposed to be a compliment. My t-shirt and jeans also filled out a bit in the shoulders, arms, and thighs, not the waist.
Add all that up — strength gains, reduced scale weight, and visible/tangible changes — and you get positive physique results. I'm not at all saying it was entirely fat loss, but I didn't whither away as some may've expected.
This physique was "built" with nothing but apples, but I wasn't worried of following suit.
Technically-speaking, since my original goal was to maintain my weight, the overall experiment could be called a "failure." However, despite my bodyweight reduction, I do believe that it's possible to be a vegan and build large muscles.
I'd attribute my unintentional weight loss to "newbie diet errors" and calorie miscalculations, as Dr. Berardi inferred were common. That was "my bad," as the kids say.
To see how it can be done right, we should look at folks who really know what they're doing. Mike Mahler and Robert Dos Remedios have each been vegan for nearly two decades, and they're bigger and stronger now than they were back then.
Joe DeMarco and Alex Dargatz stick to a vegan diet and compete as successful bodybuilders. If they can go through off-season and pre-contest conditions, and still beat omni's to win bodybuilding contests, then with some work and attention, Average Joe can be a vegan and get built.
Plus, when you've got things like peanut butter-banana-coconut milk shakes, guacamole by the bowlful, and that Sir Mix-a-Lot classic (red beans and rice), a vegan bulking cycle can deliver plenty of high quality, mass-building calories.
Why Aren't There More Vegetarian Pro Bodybuilders?
Hell if I know, but riddle me this... why aren't there more tattooed bodybuilders? Sure, there are some, but I can't think of any pro bodybuilders with full sleeve tattoos. I want to see a really impressive physique that showcases some fully detailed, shoulder-to-wrist ink.
Okay, so there's at least one.
Maybe the type of person who lifts weights and gets a full sleeve tattoo isn't going to be interested in competing. Maybe the people who get full sleeve tattoos recognize that it might not be ideal to have their tattoos and compete successfully. Or maybe it's just a freaking coincidence and not a sign that tattooed people are incapable of winning bodybuilding competitions.
The bottom line is that there are vegetarians/vegans who compete in bodybuilding, and there are vegetarians/vegans who weigh more than that imaginary 200-pound "barrier." But if you're wondering why there aren't many who compete in bodybuilding competitions while weighing over 200 pounds, you'll have to ask them yourself, because only they could tell you.
What I Learned Afterwards
My before/after fasting cholesterol levels were, respectively:
Total: 168/155
HDL: 43/34
LDL: 125/121
Triglycerides: 151/124
Cholesterol levels aren't exactly an accurate picture of your inner workings, but it's interesting to see that my "good" levels dropped even though I had plenty of quality fats and fiber. However, the decrease in Triglycerides is a great thing for overall heart health.
Because of two major lab SNAFUs, I wasn't able to get my hormone levels before or after. Those would've been much more relevant, but my doctor is a dope.
Call me hopelessly open-minded, but the nutrition world should be big enough for the low-carbers, vegetarians, dirty bulkers, the 40:30:30 crowd, and everyone else to co-exist. It's a waste of time, energy, and breath to debate the "supreme effectiveness" of one method over another, but people still will.
The bottom-line, take-away idea isn't really anything new: add more diverse foods to your diet and don't over-emphasize any one food group. There's really not much more to it than that.
No, you don't have to be a full-fledged vegetarian to build muscle, just like you don't have to be a full-fledged powerlifter to get strong. But if you steal some of the basic concepts and apply them to your own situation, it's only going to be a good thing.
If nothing else, I now have one more reason to strike up a conversation with vegetarian vixens like Natalie Portman, Alyssa Milano, and Shannon Elizabeth, so how'd'ya like them apples?
- - - - -
And Then I Became a Vegan... But Not Really
To say that I spent a month as a vegan isn't very accurate. It's like saying I did the Velocity Diet, but used grilled chicken breasts instead of Metabolic Drive. I trained DC-style, but skipped those annoying rest-pause sets. I spent the night at Pauline Nordin's house, but we just talked.
It's more accurate to say that I adopted a vegan diet. I still covered up with a down comforter at night and I wore my black leather jacket to Fonzie appreciation night at the diner, but I didn't eat anything that came from an animal source. Every sort of meat and dairy was still, literally, off the table, and now things like honey and butter were off limits too.
My Sample Vegan Menu
Breakfast: 1/2 cup amaranth, 1 apple.
Lunch: 2 slices Ezekiel bread, ghetto guacamole (1 fork-smashed avocado, garlic powder, kosher salt).
Afternoon: 3 scoops rice protein in water with 1 orange.
Dinner: 2 cups of vegan "chili" (black beans, red beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers), 1/4 cup quinoa.
Night: 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds.
The exact definition of a "vegan" still causes confusion and arguments, even between vegans and wannabe-vegans. Is somebody a true vegan if they avoid eating animal products, but still wear the wool sweater their Great-Aunt Martha hand-knitted on her deathbed?
What about a lady who avoids animal foods and products, but has a husband who mercilessly grills steaks with the guys every weekend. If there are dead cow parts in her fridge, can she really be a vegan? These are philosophical issues way beyond the scope of my little experiment.
I had a hard enough time just watching what I ate, and that included double-checking my supplements. Rez-V, which I've taken daily for months, comes in a gelatin capsule. I could either drop it altogether or crack open the cap and apply it transdermally. I went the second route, and didn't notice any changes compared to taking them orally.
And yes, Virginia, there are also vegan bodybuilders. Guys like Joe DeMarco and Alex Dargatz maintain vegan lifestyles while building serious muscle.
My First Workout as a Vegan
Two days after going vegan, I had my first weight training session, and it sucked. I'm used to having Surge Workout Fuel during my training, but since it includes some milk ingredients, it was a no-go for this month.
During the workout, I decided to drink about 20 ounces of water and 20 ounces of coconut water (not coconut milk, huge difference), for some simple sugars. It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.
Just like Brawndo, coconut water's got electrolytes. It's lacking significant sodium, but it delivers a pretty high dose of potassium. It tastes great, but I suggest you ease into it and don't chug a whole bunch at once. It's sometimes used as a laxative, probably due to it's relatively-high potassium content.
Immediately after training, I had a rice protein shake, and then a solid food meal a while after that. On a related note, Sun Warrior rice protein mixed in water and stirred with a spoon is like drinking spackle. Not fun. A blender and fruit are mandatory.
Why Didn't I Get Jacked or Ripped?
Back in junior high, I remember Mrs. Berman teaching one crucial rule about science experiments: Only change one variable at a time, otherwise you won't know why you get the results you get.
For the past several months, my training has been mostly full-body workouts done three times a week, lifting fairly heavy for low volume and moderate reps... and then I started this diet experiment. If I also changed my workouts, then I couldn't accurately determine the effects of a vegetarian/vegan diet, now, could I?
I started the journey weighing 217 and I was 205 on my last morning as a vegan. Along the way, my strength continued to increase at its usual rate (the same as it did with my standard omni diet), but I "accidentally" lost 12 pounds of scale weight.
Several people said that my face leaned out; my girlfriend actually said my face looked "hollow." I think it was supposed to be a compliment. My t-shirt and jeans also filled out a bit in the shoulders, arms, and thighs, not the waist.
Add all that up — strength gains, reduced scale weight, and visible/tangible changes — and you get positive physique results. I'm not at all saying it was entirely fat loss, but I didn't whither away as some may've expected.
Technically-speaking, since my original goal was to maintain my weight, the overall experiment could be called a "failure." However, despite my bodyweight reduction, I do believe that it's possible to be a vegan and build large muscles.
I'd attribute my unintentional weight loss to "newbie diet errors" and calorie miscalculations, as Dr. Berardi inferred were common. That was "my bad," as the kids say.
To see how it can be done right, we should look at folks who really know what they're doing. Mike Mahler and Robert Dos Remedios have each been vegan for nearly two decades, and they're bigger and stronger now than they were back then.
Joe DeMarco and Alex Dargatz stick to a vegan diet and compete as successful bodybuilders. If they can go through off-season and pre-contest conditions, and still beat omni's to win bodybuilding contests, then with some work and attention, Average Joe can be a vegan and get built.
Plus, when you've got things like peanut butter-banana-coconut milk shakes, guacamole by the bowlful, and that Sir Mix-a-Lot classic (red beans and rice), a vegan bulking cycle can deliver plenty of high quality, mass-building calories.
Why Aren't There More Vegetarian Pro Bodybuilders?
Hell if I know, but riddle me this... why aren't there more tattooed bodybuilders? Sure, there are some, but I can't think of any pro bodybuilders with full sleeve tattoos. I want to see a really impressive physique that showcases some fully detailed, shoulder-to-wrist ink.
Maybe the type of person who lifts weights and gets a full sleeve tattoo isn't going to be interested in competing. Maybe the people who get full sleeve tattoos recognize that it might not be ideal to have their tattoos and compete successfully. Or maybe it's just a freaking coincidence and not a sign that tattooed people are incapable of winning bodybuilding competitions.
The bottom line is that there are vegetarians/vegans who compete in bodybuilding, and there are vegetarians/vegans who weigh more than that imaginary 200-pound "barrier." But if you're wondering why there aren't many who compete in bodybuilding competitions while weighing over 200 pounds, you'll have to ask them yourself, because only they could tell you.
What I Learned Afterwards
My before/after fasting cholesterol levels were, respectively:
Total: 168/155
HDL: 43/34
LDL: 125/121
Triglycerides: 151/124
Cholesterol levels aren't exactly an accurate picture of your inner workings, but it's interesting to see that my "good" levels dropped even though I had plenty of quality fats and fiber. However, the decrease in Triglycerides is a great thing for overall heart health.
Because of two major lab SNAFUs, I wasn't able to get my hormone levels before or after. Those would've been much more relevant, but my doctor is a dope.
Call me hopelessly open-minded, but the nutrition world should be big enough for the low-carbers, vegetarians, dirty bulkers, the 40:30:30 crowd, and everyone else to co-exist. It's a waste of time, energy, and breath to debate the "supreme effectiveness" of one method over another, but people still will.
The bottom-line, take-away idea isn't really anything new: add more diverse foods to your diet and don't over-emphasize any one food group. There's really not much more to it than that.
No, you don't have to be a full-fledged vegetarian to build muscle, just like you don't have to be a full-fledged powerlifter to get strong. But if you steal some of the basic concepts and apply them to your own situation, it's only going to be a good thing.
If nothing else, I now have one more reason to strike up a conversation with vegetarian vixens like Natalie Portman, Alyssa Milano, and Shannon Elizabeth, so how'd'ya like them apples?
posted by Chris Colucci at 10:17 AM
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