Getting Fit & Weight-Loss Tips from a Vegan Body Builder (part 1)
I'm very excited to introduce Noel - a vegan model and fitness guru! I met Noel on Facebook several months ago and was impressed by his fresh, whole foods perspective. While many body builders push supplements, Noel doesn't. He eat real food and gets real results!
GMP: So Noel, tell us: What made you adopt a plant-based (vegan) diet and how long have you been plant-based?
Noel: I was raised in a society where obesity keeps growing, diabetes keeps growing, and kids are being fed junk food from a young age. I went through that but I am happy and glad to have been awakened. Now my eyes are opened to see things clearly. Like a quote I once heard about the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.): "The one thing an animal diet does best. is kill people". I look at my family and see almost all are over weight or being affected by diseases. I tell myself this only proves to me that the vegan diet is the way we are designed to eat.
If meat is so healthy, why do they keep getting sick? Why do they workout and can't lose weight?
We must first take care of our body through the inside. We need to feed it the right way so it can perform the correct way. But then again the meat eaters say “We are all going to die anyway so might as well enjoy food.” They forget that before we die we suffer. We suffer either from cancer, obesity, cholesterol, diabetes. We don’t just die, NO WAY! There is a great deal of suffering on the way to dying. And that suffering is caused by the meat diet. We suffer and then we die. So I follow a vegan diet to perform at my highest level at all times. I want to be able to move, play sports, and take care of myself. I am a man on a mission. I show people that you can still build muscles on a vegan diet. You can still stay strong and you can become healthier. It is one thing looking good from the outside and being unhealthy on the inside. That doesn't work for me. I don't want that. I want to be both healthy on the inside and on the outside.
GMP: There are so many myths about protein. The most common question any vegan or vegetarian gets is "where do you get your protein?" but this must be especially true for a fitness star like you. What do you tell people?
Since I have so many fitness videos on my youtube page and mostly when people see me working out and see the strength I have, they know I am doing something right. So mainly people ask me for some great recipes for them to try and ask for my help. I have helped many people transition into a vegan diet and they all have achieved great results. It isn't about how much protein you take, it is about how much hard work you put into your workouts. So when they ask me that question i just share this quote with them:
"All good is hard. All evil is easy. Dying, losing, cheating, and mediocrity is easy. Stay away from easy." - Scott Alexander
GMP: As a fitness star and model, you have to keep your body in perfect shape. Do you find that's easier as a vegan? How has this diet helped you?
I find it easy to stay healthy and lean in a vegan diet. Fruits and veggies and daily exercising does your body good. When you stop eating all the other toxins that causes you to become fat and slow everything else falls into place so nicely.
GMP: Many of our meal plan users exercise before or after work, where a meal (i.e. lunch or dinner) is in the near future, but it's just far enough away they'd like a snack to hold them over. What are some of your favorite post-workout and energizing foods?
After my long workouts I eat anything since I train for a long period of time. But bananas are great for recovery and also two bananas provide you enough energy for a 90 min workout.
Check back on Friday for part 2 where Noel gives tips for losing weight (I bet you've never heard these ones before), bulking up (this might surprise you!) and getting fit.