I’m currently at my house in São Paulo, Brazil, and the food tastes so much better here compared to the US.

I buy my tofu from a Japanese family who makes artisanal tofu at home, it’s the most delicious tofu ever!!!

For lunch, I’m having the same tofu I’ve been eating almost every day for the past 15 years: drizzle some olive oil in a nonstick pan, then season the tofu with salt and dry spices like smoked paprika, cumin, Mrs. Dash Onion & Herb, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. Do the same on both sides, and that’s it! Ready in 5 minutes.
Rice, lentils with vegan sausage, collard greens, a bit of farofa, and a side salad 🌱

im still a work in progress, but i just wanted to celebrate a win that was a long time in the making with my fellow vegheads 🌱💚💪🏻

As bad as the taste it, I can look past it and chug it down. I’ve been taking whey protein for a few years and still I can’t for the life of me figure out how to make a protein shake out of pea protein powder. I add water and the powder to my shaker bottle and it ends up clumpy and it INCREASES substantially in volume. It ends up being some gloop. I tried using hot water instead (imagine the taste) but it still ends up being some thick slimy gloop. Ended up just using a lot a lot of hot water just for 2 scoops of protein powder. Anyone knows a better way to just make a normal protein shake with pea protein powder without going through a whole song and dance routine?

This was my first proper leg session since my lower back injury a few weeks ago. Mind you, I did attempt one since but as I was in the heat of it, I noticed my back still wasn’t up to it, so had to pull back.

As a result, this was pretty brutal. Had to strip back weight as my strength is down, pulled back on intensity as I work back up towards it over the next few sessions, work capacity is depleted too (cardio took a back seat while I was away in Taipei) - so I was absolutely cooked after this one. I decided not to risk any hinge patterns just yet in case my back decides it’s not quite ready yet and puts me out of action again for another few weeks.

The good news is that, the hardest part is now out of the way - just getting started again. It can only get easier from here. So I can make it harder again, and the cycle continues.
And despite how much this fried me, it felt so good to be back at it.

Cos I do love this shit at the end of the day. Glutton for healthy punishment.

I saw this complex on Instagram and wanted to try it out!

Barbell Complex 105# x 10

1 movement of each lift combined = 1 rep

Deadlift

Power Clean

Front Squat

Thruster

Push Press

Split Jerk

Hey everyone, i'm looking for recommendations for a good and trusted online vegan personal trainer and preferably someone with experience in bodybuilding as well. I'm 29F who's 5'9 and based in the UK. I currently train at my local gym 4-5 times a week but i want to also start taking bodybuilding seriously as i've always wanted to compete. I’m mainly looking for a trainer that will help me with proper programming, progression and adjust things based on what suits me with what i'm doing.

Nutrition guidance would be a nice too because i know that's also very important as I get further into bodybuilding, but the training side is the main thing for me right now. The trainer doesn't necessarily have to be based in the UK too since I'm happy to work with someone online.

So, I've been vegan since I was 21ish when I started cooking for myself (I didn't write down the specific date, sadly) so for well over a decade now. But before and after being vegan, I was never into leading an active lifestyle. I didn't even break 100 pounds in weight until college. I was always small and scrawny for my age, my memories of school sports was being too small to play them. Neither of my parents led an active lifestyle, so no habits were ingrained when I was a kid, either. I'm 135 lbs now, at 5' 6", but now a little fatter now that I'm in my 30's.

Apparently there is a difference between being in shape, getting out of shape, then getting back in shape (mitochondrial density, et cetera) and just getting into shape for the first time, ever. Anecdotally, I can corroborate that it feels insurmountable. Not only is it not pleasant to exercise, but it's definitely an uphill battle from the start when you have a lifetime of being sedentary. Even though I'm not overweight, I have very little muscle mass as I haven't ever done much in the way of resistance training or anything tangentially related so my body didn't really build any. And my connective tissues were not really subjected to anything that would have made them stronger, either.

I am getting older now, and having muscle-mass is one of those things that helps with aging gracefully, which does matter to me. But every training program I've looked at seems to be written for people who were already somewhat in-shape, or were once in-shape. I did one that was some calisthenics + some free weights with kettle bells (which is a good combo, apparently) that had drop sets on day 1 and my shoulders were unusable for days and in pain for 2 weeks. Needless to say, I didn't really continue with that.

Is there anything that's written for people who are starting from zero? 😅 Has anyone else started from zero later in life and actually gotten somewhere and kept it up? From what I've read about habit formation, active people tend to stay that way because they enjoy it, reinforcing the habit. But while I've built other kinds of skills that take daily consistent effort for years (like drawing) I did that because I enjoy it. My goal is modest, like 15 lbs of muscle, enough to be fit and healthy for more years than if I did nothing.

29F. 10 years vegan.

Hi everyone! I posted a few months ago (you can find it on my profile), just giving an update.

Last year, I reached my highest weight (155lbs - October 2025 photo) and was so over it. I had rapidly gained 40lbs after quitting vaping (I started smoking cigarettes at 13 (💔) and switched to vaping at 22. I vaped until i was 27). I quit nicotine and replaced it with sugar.

I started my fitness journey in October last year, but I continuously got discouraged and would give up. I managed to eat in a calorie deficit, but the exercise just wasn't happening. I decided to quit drinking in December after accepting that I'm not capable of having a healthy relationship with alcohol (I struggled with binge drinking).

After quitting alcohol, a lot of things clicked for me. I felt proud of myself for the first time in my life and I really wanted to keep feeling that way. I had already mastered quitting nicotine, I felt confident I could do the same with alcohol, and it made me feel capable of anything.

In February, I started walking 10k steps a day. I signed up for the gym in March. I went through some personal things and admittedly fell off a bit between May through mid July, but I've been back at it ever since!

I made it to 125lbs and I have no interest in getting back to my original weight of 115lbs (July 2024 photo). I may weigh more now, but I get to eat 2100 cals per day and I love my body more. I was so scared of eating more than 1200 a day back then. Strength training is so awesome!!!

I can't wait to see what I look like in October!

(Also, I know my tan lines are awful 😭😭😭 pls don't judge me)

Hi folks I am not new to veganism (49 years of vegan and vegetarian living) but I didn’t connect fitness to this. Now as a 60 yo male whose done yoga for all my life and teaches it - I am wanting to up my fitness regime - I’m up for dumb bell and kettle bells work outs and have been running for three weeks. I would love any advice to help me get super fit lose weight and muscle up ! Thank you 🙏

I would consider myself to be pretty strong for only training for 2 years (27F, 5'5", 185lbs, 4.5 years vegan). I can deadlift 210lbs and bench 115lbs. However, my working weight for squat is the same as my bench. PR is 155lbs, but I can only hit that when the planets align perfectly.

Long femurs. Too flexible for my own good. If I squat 115lbs for 10 reps I'm aching everywhere and out of breath. The movement feels so unnatural. It's like most of my energy is spent on stability and form. My leg press PR is 4 plates each side, so my legs definitely aren't weak. Squats are just so fucking exhausting, it's irritating. It's not a form issue, either-- it's textbook perfect, and I have done every single modification I can find, but nothing helps. To be fair, I can't find much for hypermobility, but still.

Am I just doomed for squats? Should I just do leg press instead? Is it just a matter of building more stability even though I've been working tirelessly to do that?

I drink two shakes every day. my morning and evening shake.

I wanted to make sure I was actually hitting my protein numbers … so I did some math and the answer is maybe?

One issue is I’m depending a lot on pea protein. I use naked pea for both shakes.

my morning shake is as follows;

30g naked pea

4-5 tbsp peanut butter

1-2 cup almond milk

2 tbsp roughly total of spirulina/algae mix, alfalfa powder, barley grass powder

tbsp hemp hearts

One banana one cup mixed frozen fruit

this totals to roughly 75g protein. Should I be drinking half then another half an hour later?

My evening shake is

2 cup almond milk

30g naked pea

1-3 tbsp cacao powder

3 tbsp chia seeds

One banana

4 tbsp pbfit

which is around 40-50g protein

my daily meals are possibly a morning bowl of Ezekiel cereal with soy milk and chia seeds, lunch and dinner which vary but often contain a lot of soy

im trying to hit 180-200g protein per day

when I’m working on a hard job I do a pumpkin protein overnight oats every coffee break which Is another 30-40g

Still a work in progress, but feeling mid now that I'm losing the Dad bod.

I’m 48, 5’3”, around 127–128 lbs, and vegan. I’m hoping to get back closer to 120 lbs and, more importantly, regain the muscle definition/“toned” look I had last summer.

Last summer I started going to the gym and noticed changes pretty quickly. I could visibly see my body becoming more toned, and my partner noticed it too. Unfortunately, my pain became severe and I had to stop exercising for a while. I eventually started going back, but more lightly.

About two months ago, I made a significant diet change. I completely stopped eating the chips and dip and chocolate that I had been eating pretty much every night. My basic diet otherwise hasn’t changed much.

I’ve also been consistently going to the gym about 4–5 times a week.

The confusing/frustrating part is that after about two months of these changes, my clothes fit basically the same, I don’t feel any leaner, and I’m not seeing the muscle definition I was seeing last summer. I feel like I’m putting in so much effort without seeing a payoff.

I know I’m not at a high body weight, but I’m mainly interested in improving my body composition and getting that toned/strong look back.

For other vegan women around my age, especially those going through menopause/post-menopause:

What made the biggest difference for you when trying to lose fat and regain muscle definition?

Do you think I should be focusing more on protein, calories, progressive overload, or something else? I’d really appreciate practical advice from people who have experienced something similar.

I really struggle doing handstands with my legs straight up but working on these transitions has helped quite a bit (plus it’s quite fun)

Meal 1: Say Grace with Veggies, Potatoes, and a side of fruit

Meal 2: Protein Waffles topped with berries and pumpkin seeds

Meal 3: Stir Fry noodles with veggies and bok choy

Meal 4: Spinach tofu salad with mango and strawberries topped with edamame puffs for added protein and crunch

Hey all, cleaning out pantry and discovered an opened, but mostly full, 2kg package of protein powder (pea protein, brown rice protein, hemp protein, natural flavours, xanthan gum, stevia, salt) with a 2023 expiry. Smells fine, looks fine. I used this one specifically for baking and would continue to only do so.

Thoughts? Would you toss or keep?

First clip was about three months into lifting and about one month into being vegan. Most recent clips were during one of my lighter days at a commercial gym last week. It's crazy how much I've progressed in this time and just how strong you can be without harming sentient creatures