Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Today marks 3 months since I last had animal products. I actually started the "Shred It!" challenge on Sept. 3rd, but had chicken on Sept. 6th. Ever since then, I've had no animal products. The purpose of this challenge is to build muscle as a plant based eater, rather than load up my body with too much protein that other bodybuilders do.

I didn't want the health problems that other weight lifters get.. kidney or liver damage from too much protein. Robert Cheeke's book proved that all that extra protein was not needed and that muscle growth can happen with just plants.

To quote my vegan friend Robert Cheeke and the shirt I just bought from his website, "No Meat, No Problem"!

I've been following the Shred It! Challenge for about 10 or 11 weeks now. The 13 week challenge has been helping with my muscle strength but requires no meat.

I just finished week 3 of the Shred It vegan muscle building challenge. This is based on the Shred It book by Robert Cheeke.

Robert Cheeke has been a vegan for over 20 years, and judging by the photo on the cover of his book, you can tell he is not missing the protein that so many other weightlifters think they need.

I love food and have a big appetite. This was part of the reason I was so obese just a few short years ago. Excessive eating of candy, bread and processed foods caused my weight to balloon to over 350 pounds.

I was like many of you... I thought I could exercise my way to a healthier weight. I walked the treadmill, sometimes 40 minutes with knees that were sore from the excess weight. I took swim classes because I heard that swimming was a good way to lose weight. I didn't exercise as consistently then, but still, I did try, only to discover, you just can't lose weight by not changing your eating habits.