joeybside75

Hi everyone. I've been looking in from the outside for a long time but it's time to put my head over the parapet. I've been training for about 10 years off and on. I don't like using the term 'bodybuilder' but the day I chose to make a difference to my body by lifting weights and dieting, then I have to accept I became a 'bodybuilder'. I'll hold my hands up and say now that I am not yet a committed vegan. I know i want to be and that i will become one. However at present, I have removed all Red Meat and Diary Products alongside processed foods, refined carbs, refined sugars and starchy carbs. To give you an idea, my diet at the minute looks like this; Upon Waking (0730) 1 Scp MyProtein Strawberry Cream Soy Isolate Breakfast (0800) 50 Oats, 1/2 Unsweetened Almond Milk, 1 Tsp Raw Organic Cacao Powder, 1 Tsp Maca Powder, 1 Tsp Organic Coconut Flour with CLA, L-Carnitine and Green Tea capsule. Pre Workout Meal (1030) 100g Cooked and Drained Freekeh cooked in Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 1/2 Advocado, 1 Cup Raw Spinach, 1/2 cup Peppers, 1/2 cup Cucumber, 5 Good Earth Spinach and Pine Nut Bites, Black Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes. 30 mins pre workout CLA, L-Carnitine and Green Tea capsule. Immediately Pre Workout (1200) 1 Scp MyProtein Chocolate Cream Soy Isolate Immediately Post Workout (1300) 2 Scp MyProtein Chocolate Cream Soy Isolate Post Workout Meal (1330) As per Pre Workout Meal Afternoon Snack (1600) 1 cup Fruit Evening Meal (2000) 100g Hake Fillet, 1 cup Cooked Spinach Pre bed (2230) 1 scp Soy Isolate and 1 tspn of Nut Butter Apart from the obvious, the capsule around the Green Tea supplement isn't Vegan. However from what my diet was, this is a HUGE personal step for me in a month so I won't beat myself up too much. I'm currently lifting 4 times a week minimum working the 5x5 system and working three body parts per session using core lifts with the exception of Squats as I suffered a bad back injury a long time ago meaning I cannot Squat. The killing and exploitation for food and byproducts has bothered me greatly for years but as a self confessed fat bar steward, I've known no other than the standard, western diet and have done little about it. Worse was when I got into training properly and consuming obscene amounts of Whey Protein, Chicken etc, etc. Since the birth of my first born son two years ago, I've thought long and hard about Veganism, my position on the earth and the wanton destruction of nature in the cause of corporatism and the greed of man. As well as my own consciousness, health and well being, I want to be a role model for my son to show him that he does't have to follow the sign posted route and that you don't have to kill animals for food Thanks for reading and I look forward to interacting with lots and lots of you