big_slacker

Hi all, I have been on an internet forum before and do know how to use the search function. It's possible that there is the specific info out there I'm looking for and I just suck at searching so please don't blast me. I've been following what I'd call a mostly plant based diet for over a year. I grew up and was a heavy meat eater until this time (usually over a lb of meat a day ), and have been a lifelong athlete. It caught up with me and I was in my mid 30's feeling ultra drained of energy all the time, started to put on bodyfat and other physical problems. I've turned it around diet wise eliminating dairy completely and almost all meat (I might eat it 1-3 times a month). The ethical thing has been bothering me for a while now, it would really be no big deal for me to completely eliminate meat and I feel like it's the right thing to do. With that said, I feel that a commitment like that would be a great launching point for a health and fitness goal. I've been very lean with a 6 pack in my life but I was in my 20's, lifting a lot, doing tri training and only working 2-3 days a week. I got to single digits by eating a very low carb, high protein meat 'n veggies only style of diet. Obviously this isn't going to be possible as a vegan, at least not without eating a crapload of faux-meat products. So I'm a little lost as to how to accomplish rippedness (heh heh) as a vegan. I'm currently 5'11", 165-170 lbs and est 15% BF using calipers. So fairly lean and ALMOST abs showing. My current diet is something like: BR: Coconut milk, protein powder, 2 bananas Snack: Kale + fruit smoothie and a handful of nuts Lunch: Whole wheat tacos w/lentils, verde and veggies Snack: Lara bar or granola Dinner: Big salad with avocado, pumpkin seeds, cranberry and watermelon (avocado is the 'dressing') Snack: Roasted salted peanuts (yeah I know, probably not the best choice) + fruit I don't really count calories and maybe that's an issue. I also occasionally indulge in some microbrews. In terms of workouts I get in 6-8 hours of mountain bike riding and running a week + 3 strength training sessions. Sorry about the long winded intro and description, I'm an engineer. To sum up I think what I'm doing is great for energy and riding bikes, but if I want to get serious and ripped how should I go about it? Fairly recent pics: