Food cost week 1 – £40.19

Weight gain?

From a macro point of view, Vegan food is higher in fat, carbs and lower in protein. I’m currently trying to drop the body fat. I think it’s harder to drop the body fat with a vegan diet, although I think I’ll be in a better place as I do diet due to my metabolism, carbs and fat being higher. I’ve told myself over the years that if I want to do something and give it 100%, I wont fail. Let’s let time pass and we will see how it’s goes.

Do I feel healthier?

My stomach does. I’m not having cramps, bloating or general upset stomachs. I used to suffer with a bad stomach frequently when I had cheese, beer, onions, pizza, chocolate or general junk food. When I had a clean meat diet, I also felt relatively healthy and I now know that what I was eating back then was not healthy.

Do I have more energy?

Yeah, I think so. Nothing special to get excited over and as I’m not dieting as such, I can’t yet comment on this.

What about mentally?

I feel better mentally, but I’m also in the ‘zone’ and this is obviously a bigger factor than the food itself. Knowing I have a goal and I will reach it at all cost, I’ll just deal with whatever crops up. I am hungry now, but as I’ve just ate, I want to wait an hour before eating again. This gives me time to type up this and pass some time away.

What would I like to say?

I would like to say I feel healthier, stronger, fitter, better skin, mentally happy, more energy and so on. I really want to, but at the moment, I can’t say any of this. I could blag my way, but I just need to be honest. Let me get my body fat down and this will be the telling point.

My aches and pains have gone. My hamstring feels a bit better, my delt feels better and that’s good. Although it is a problem that comes and goes.

Is a vegan diet the best thing ever?

Well no. That’s also down to each individual. I really enjoy it and I will talk about it in the same way as I enjoyed talking about my meat and then my vegetarian diet. I wouldn’t advise anyone to go vegan it if you enjoy meat and are bodybuilding. It sort of isn’t logical and makes it much harder, but if you have your morals or a good reason to go vegan, then do so. You may have some very good benefits from it health wise. Again, if you’re eating processed food then it’s not going to be better than eating a good healthy meat diet. I mean, you can live off chips and crisps as they are vegan, but this isn’t a good healthy diet is it!?

Why are you vegan?

It’s easier for me to say it’s for medical reasons, but it isn’t. I do it completely off my own back, no one else in the house is vegan and I cook meat for them. I’m vegan as I have become more spiritual and I have empathy for the animals and I can see the meat/dairy trade is just about making money at all costs. I don’t feel morally happy to support these trades, even if it does mean I lose muscle ‘gains’ I know I’ll make up for this with my mental gains. I find that whole food is much better than refined food, although meat can be from a good source so this is irrelevant. I enjoy my path and I won’t be swayed by others opinions. My body responds better to vegan food and my stomach feels much more settled. My knowledge on nutrition has been expanded and I enjoy the lifestyle.

What about cutting the calories?

When I was on meat and veg during my cutting phase, I found my energy was low and I felt constantly tired. I have to remember that I was dieting and I was strict with my food intake, obviously I’m going to feel rough, it’s part of the journey and what most people struggle with. I need time to see how my vegan diet works for my cutting phase, as I know protein will be harder to get without the extra carbs and fats. Chicken and veg was boring, but it was also high in protein and low on fat and carbs. Time will tell…

This weeks weigh-in…

I’m the same weight as I was last week. I have a had quite a lazy few days though as the snow is quite bad here. I have done cardio twice a day to try and make myself feel a bit better though. Once the snow clears and spring is here, I’ll be doing much more calorie burning in just general daily activities. I feel tighter at the moment, although it’s too early to judge just now. I’ll come back to this…

Recovery?

My sleep has been excellent the last few nights, I’m tired early (I’m programming myself to sleep early and recover better) I’m getting a good night kip now, without the nightmares and upset.

Conclusion…

I feel healthier, fitter and my aches and pains have gone for now. Perhaps this is down to the better diet I have? When I was on meat I felt good on a strict diet and I also had much more strength than I do now. Again, time will tell… I am happy with my diet and a slight strength decrease is fine, but I will still challenge myself to beat all my previous best lifts!…

I seriously do not doubt myself one bit! If I don’t reach my goals now, it’s time for me to take a step back and concentrate solely on long term general heath. Which Is what I’m trying to do now, but the weight lifting side is something I cannot just stop. As sad as it sounds, its my life! Like football or the pub for some, moving those weights gives me something special!

That was a long blog and gave me chance to speak to myself with a honest open mind. Now I need to put it all into production and make things happen… Let’s do it…!