Hi!
I’m Simon… an average guy living an average life. I have always been aware of ‘good health practices’ but like the average guy, I couldn’t be bothered to follow them too closely. The problem is, years of bad eating habits have made me a little sick and overweight. So, I decided to take charge of my health and well-being while I still had a chance seeing that I don’t have any health problems.
And so my journey began.
My stats
- Age 27
- Height: 6’ (I look like 5’11” because I slouch)
- Heaviest: Somewhere over 230 (never worried enough to keep track)
- Starting weight: 230
- Current weight: 218 as of the beginning of June
So… in 1 month from simply cutting out animal products (most of the time) and cycling, I dropped 12 pounds in a month! And thus, I seriously considered going totally Vegan, and set a target weight to which I thought I would feel comfortable at.
Now, Veganism in itself as a lifestyle is controversial enough as most people don’t believe that all the necessary nutrition can be derived from plant sources alone. Funny enough, the huge international community of Vegans continues to expose that fallacy, yet still people persist to try to talk it down.
While pondering my decision and planning for my new lifestyle change I though that if I got to the ‘optimal’ weight for my height, I would look skinny - which I don’t want! …And somehow, I got the bright idea to start weight training. Naturally I called a few friends and asked about their journey in weight training - they laughed when I told them that I am going Vegan! They laughed at me so hard. “How do you expect to get enough protein from plants?!!” Was the refrain.
I know because of research, but most importantly my religious convictions (more on that later) that it is totally possible to build decent muscle while being a Vegan.
And so, here I stand - about to go for 12 weeks to start, monitoring my progress carefully, to see what happens with this new lifestyle change.
For strength training I will start and follow the Stronglifts 5x5 program for at least the first 12 weeks, and for cardio I will continue cycling.
My diet will be Vegan. However, I am a social creature and a gathering with friends eating to me is not always the place to use the iron fist. I may eat occasionally what others eat, depending on what it is… have a slice of cake, or something! For me the important thing is the consistent dietary habits, as opposed to the occasional cheat or compromise, provided that it is kept to a minimum.
And, this all needs to be done on a budget!
Stay tuned!
