Shred It Challenge... Week 6 Update 10 Pounds of Muscle!

Well maybe not 10 pounds, but I definitely have been gaining some weight. Checking the body fat analyzer, my body fat is around 14 (which means around 12 or so), so this would mean I gained muscle. I am over 200 pounds for the first time in over a year.

I never thought I'd be happy to gain weight but this weight is necessary to build muscle. As long as I didn't gain fat, I'm happy! I am focusing on muscle growth and lifting 5 days a week. It can be a grueling schedule but I think the hard work will pay off.

My workout routine consists of a few days of chest and arms, legs and then back and shoulders. I am also doing pushups, working on my pull-ups, ab exercises and 5 minutes of cardio. I don't do much cardio at the gym as I get so many steps in during the day anyway. I still mange to get at least 10,000 sets a day.

I hope to have my body fat checked again in a few weeks professionally so that I can know for sure how much muscle I gained. Although I feel stronger, I still feel my triceps need to grow. But I am happy wit the results so far.

I didn't realize how much I would enjoy being whole food plant based. I have not craved turkey or eggs at all. This is the longest I've ever gone without animal products. Before this, I would do week long vegan challenges, be vegan a few times a week, eat poultry one day and be vegan for two days. But for the past several weeks, I've only had plant based foods like beans, nut butters, sweet potatoes, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, among many other veggies.

I hope to prove that muscle growth can happen as a vegan as many of the body builders in the "Shred It" book have proven.

Here's the latest photo.