OrganicAthlete: Why did you choose to stop eating animal products? When?

Growing up in Oregon, I lived on a farm and had many farm animals as pets. I always had a love and appreciation for animals and from an early age, I was concerned about their well-being. However, it wasn't until Dec. 8, 1995 that I decided to give up consuming meat. My older sister, Tanya, was organizing Animal Rights Week at my high school. I decided out of respect for her (a vegan since the age of 15) that I would become a vegetarian for the week. I attended lectures, listened to speakers, read literature about animal cruelty and watched videos about factory farms and animal testing, and that week of becoming vegetarian has lasted for the past seven years.

Ten months after becoming vegetarian, I became vegan. Ironically, two years after giving up animal products, it was me who organized Animal Rights Week at my high school in Corvallis, OR. I also became active in an environmental awareness group at school called "Students for Peace through Global Responsibilities (SPGR). I was active in promoting veganism for a long time, and I still am through my fitness company. I have been able to promote vegan bodybuilding on a worldwide stage through articles in FLEX Magazine, Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazine, and my through my website.

I love being vegan and knowing that I am having a positive impact on the environment and society. I have more energy than most people I know and I very rarely ever suffer from any illnesses or fatigue. I eat a vast array of natural and organic foods that keep my body fat percentage low, protein intake high, energy levels high, keeping my bones strong, and allow me to put on quality muscle. I believe that an animal-free diet is one of the best things you can do for your health, and the well-being of our environment.

OA: Describe your current diet.

This is a fun question to answer because eating is my favorite thing to do. I actually answer this question on my website under What Does Robert Eat? As well as a list of vegan foods and sample nutrition programs, directly extracted from my regular diet.

My nutrition program does change quite a bit throughout the year. When I'm in the off-season of bodybuilding (trying to put on mass) I eat a lot of food; high protein, high carbohydrates, high fat, and high calories. I gain a lot of weight in muscle and fat and my strength and size increase dramatically. When I prepare for a bodybuilding competition, I cut down on my carbohydrate and fat intake, and I eliminate junk foods, processed foods and foods that don't have high nutritional value. I keep the protein high and I continue to train with heavy weights, and I also incorporate cardiovascular training into my regimen. This process allows me to drop body fat while maintaining muscle mass so I get ripped and shredded for competition. Bodybuilders tend to understand weight gain and weight loss better than anyone, perhaps even doctors, because we are constantly experimenting on our own bodies to find out witch methods are most effective to achieve the desired results. Do you ever see doctors experimenting on themselves? Not to say that they don't know what they're talking about when they prescribe you something to assist your weight-loss or weight-gain program, but bodybuilders are there in the trenches doing the hard work and seeing results immediately based on their nutritional choices and specific training regimens.

I didn't mean to get off subject, I just fund many things very interesting and like to share my thoughts on what "really" works.

To get back to the topic, I will admit that when I am in regular everyday life, not preparing for a bodybuilding competition, I will eat things like Soy Delicious soy ice cream, vegan cookies, vegan donuts, vegan candies, vegan pastas, vegan breads, etc. They might not have the best nutritional value but at least they are not full of harmful animal fats and by-products and refined sugars. My favorite foods to eat are tofu, potatoes, rice, beans, chickpeas, buts, and fruits, especially pineapples, strawberries, blueberries, oranges and bananas.

I would encourage you to view the nutrition programs on my website, but I will share a typical day's food consumption with you here. This is my nutrition log I happen to have with me. All of the following are vegan foods.

April 11, 2003
7:30 AM banana, oatmeal, cereal with soy milk
10:00 AM banana
11:00 AM baby carrots
12:15PM lentil soup, 3 tofu hotdogs, 18oz cranberry juice, 30oz H20
2:00PM banana
3:30PM 2 tofu hotdogs
4:30PM tofu hotdog, banana, orange, 30oz H20
6:00PM odwalla bar, clif bar, walnuts, 20oz H20
7:15PM package of tofu bologna, orange juice
9:00PM 3 tofu hotdogs, soy protein drink, multivitamin, 50oz H20
11:00PM soy protein drink, cereal, walnuts, 30oz H20
Daily totals: 4,250 calories, 277 grams of protein, 160oz water

This is just one day. To view multiple sample nutrition programs I follow, refer to the nutrition section of the website. Each day is different with a diversity of foods.

OA: What has been your experience as a vegan athlete? Have you noticed any performance or health benefits or problems?

I have been vegan for nearly ten years and a successful athlete over this decade of compassionate athletics. Believe it or not, but I always wanted to be big and muscular when I was younger and in high school and never attained desired results when I ate meat. Of course we have to take into consideration the fact that I was only 15 years old when I stopped consuming meat, but when I switched to a vegan diet, all of sudden I started gaining muscle and weight. It may not make sense, based on the image and reputation vegans have of being weak and skinny, but I gained amazing amounts of muscle over the years that I have been vegan and involved in a weight-training program.

Increasing muscle mass has been very easy for me, and easier for me to gain than my non-vegan training partners. We follow the same workout schdule but have different diets and in many cases, I'd say the majority, I attain superior results.

A performance benefit is directly correlated with an abundance of energy. I have have massive amounts of energy due to a large intake of high water-content foods like fruits and vegetables. This enables me to have more intense workouts and stimulate more muscle growth, with a very fast fat-burning metabolism.

The only problem that comes to mind is that depending on where I am, where my sport takes me geographically, it may be difficult to find familiar vegan foods that I am accustomed to eating.

Another inconvenience, but not necessarily a problem is that when I consume a large amount of fiber, I may feel a bit of a heavy or bloated feeling in my stomach. I have experienced this, and it has hindered a few training sessions or athletic events, but then again this kind of situation happens to many who do not properly combine foods to aid digestion. I just have to know which foods to eat before training, which ones to eat after, and throughout the day, as we all need to recognize, and everything works out just fine.

Aside from the occasional bloating from excess fiber intake and the rare difficulty of locating specific foods I am looking for, I haven't really had any health or performance problems on a vegan diet. Since I am consuming equivelant or higher amounts of protein, carbs, fats, and amino acids than non-vegans, I would not expect to run into any performance problems.

High energy, alertness, fast recovery time, and a brilliant distribution of nutrients to cells by my fine-tuned body systems allow me to achieve high levels of success in athletics and peak performance in training.

OA: Have teammates and other athletes been supportive or critical?

Throughout high school I played five different sports and had many teammates and coaches who I enjoyed working with. I definitely had more supportive teammates than those critical of my diet and lifestyle. One of my best friends in high school was also a vegan athlete and was one of the best at his sport in the state of Oregon. I was never the best in the state at any of the sports I played, but I was well above average in most of them and quite fast when it came to running. I was one of the best all around athletes in my high school of over 1,000 students and was probably ranked #7 in the school in long distance running before my bodybuilding years.

After high school I got into the bodybuilding and fitness industries. Within these industries I received a lot of criticism, including some printed in magazines and websites from other bodybuilders. The criticism is something I expected as a vegan bodybuilder challenging society's norm, but I have handled it well. Aside from the criticism, I have received a tremendous amount of support from fellow vegans, vegan athletes, and non-vegans. Some of the best bodybuilders in the world have given me many encouraging words and have supported my mission to bring a vegan lifestyle into mainstream living in America and around the World.

The criticism from the public motivates me to prove people wrong in their initial negative thoughts toward vegan athletes, and the support fuels my determination to be a successful positive role model for vegans everywhere.

I understand the fact that not everyone will be supportive of a vegan lifestyle, but I am confident that the public will respect the social challenges that vegans go up against daily, staying loyal to their moral cause.

I anticipate growing support for the vegan athletes but I'm not going to expect it. I'll still go into every bodybuilding competition expecting to be criticized and hope for opportunities to share my lifestyle choices with others. Whether I am met with support or criticism from others doesn't matter a whole lot to me. As a person of substance and strong character, I can appropriately handle either situation.

OA: What advice would you give athletes who want to stop eating animal products?
I would strongly encourage athletes to switch over to a vegan lifestyle. The transition may be difficult for some people, especially if they have spent their entire life consuming animal products. Familiar habits can be hard to break, but with goals and determination as a support base, success can easily be attained.

Converting to a vegan diet and lifestyle and be a very rapid or slow process depending on your approach. I stopped eating meat, "Cold Turkey", as they say, and was vegetarian for over six months before giving up all animal products. My advice is to take whatever approach is comfortable for you, but remember the sooner your eliminate animal products from your diet, the healthier you will be.

As an athlete, the amounts of protein, carbs, and fats consumed, and total caloric intake is very important to you. When you switch to a vegan diet, do your best to maintain similar nutrient quantities. Substitute tofu and tempeh for meats and take advantage of other vegan alternatives for common foods such as soymilk, vegan cheese, vegan mayo, and soybean margarine for cooking.

There may be people who try to discourage you along your vegan fitness journey, but don't lose heart or give up hope. Work harder and be determined to succeed in spite of ill attempts from others to bring you down. When you stand up in the face of those who don't believe in you, and accomplish what you set out to do, you are rewarded with respect and further push the vegan movement to acceptance in mainstream media and living.

Here's to great health and happy vegan fitness. Enjoy the transformation to a healthier you!

Robert's Website