Florian is passionate about sharing his journey to becoming vegan. This self described “meathead” chose to change his lifestyle in 2015 and has reached his fitness goals through adopting a plant-based lifestyle. Check out his story, in his own words, below!
The Beginning
“Is this truly it?” – I asked myself.
I’m glad nobody has seen me at that fateful moment. Because at that moment I must’ve looked ridiculous.
Younger, shirtless me was staring eagerly into the bathroom mirror on a sunny afternoon. I remember that moment vividly.
It was in my parents’ house in June of 2015.
“Is this the moment I’m seeing traces of a sixpack for the first time in my life?” – I continued questioning myself.
I had just come back from the pool and my friend made a rather jealous remark on my ‘shreds’. “Your body is looking better than usual.” – he said.
Just 2 months ago I heard distinctly different remarks. “You’re going to be protein deficient!”, “Are you out of your mind Florian? Vegans are skinny!” or “I give you one single month and you’re back to eating chicken and rice out of your Tupperware”.
As I was posing proudly in front of the mirror I asked myself, “Is this the moment I’ve proven them all wrong?”
Over 3 years of regular training and I had never come even close to a sixpack. Yet here I was standing, shredded for the first time while being fuelled solely by plants.
Today I want to tell you one single reason why you’re not seeing results in the gym – and how it can be changed easily.
A New Beginning
If I would have told you that I’d disliked meat before 2015, I would have blatantly lied. I was the definition of a meathead.
In fact I think my blood type was closer to that of a chicken than to a real human back then.
At least 2 pounds of poultry meat I’d inhale into my system on a daily basis. My day started with 6 eggs plus an additional portion of oats and milk. Often blended together so I could digest these inhumane portions.
It came to a point where my mother (I lived at home at that time), refused to cook for me. In hindsight I praise her for that choice. At that time though, it created massive tension.
See, the reason I did this was because I wanted to have a sixpack. A well-defined midsection, literally for as long as I could remember.
Yet, for some weird reason I was not seeing the results that I hoped for. Even worse than that, I also had a lethargic attitude, with little energy and troubling anger issues. I didn’t have any direction in my life. Nor did I feel I wanted to.
If you told me back then that this could be related to my eating habits, I would not have bothered talking with you. Why? Because I was taking my advice from the wrong people.
Be Careful About 'Advice'
“The reason I’m not listening to those researchers, mom, is because they are skinny and their arms look like sticks!”, I’ve rambled angry.
My ridiculous supplement regime and my animal food consumption in truckloads created a thriving breeding grounds for arguments. And here we were yet again.
After my mother tried to kindly show me a newspaper article of researchers stating, that we need less protein than we think, I continued my rant: “Just look at what this big bodybuilders are saying online, I need more protein mom!”
After the argument I sat on my bed – staring at the wall. I wouldn’t admit it back then, but I wondered if the researchers were right. In over three years of training in the gym, multiple failed diets and still without a sixpack – I was almost losing hope.
Only after a couple months of persuading from friends and loved ones, I ditched my full meat diet and gave veganism a shot. Hesitantly, for ethical reasons, I’ve chosen forks over knives.
At this point in time I fully gave up on my sixpack. “Now there’s no chance of me being lean.” – I thought.
See I was ignorant – but not stupid. I’ve done my due diligence. I knew that I’d get enough protein. I knew that I’d be able to follow a nutrient-rich vegan diet. I was familiar with the Cronometer app at that time and I’ve used it to my advantage.
Yet somehow there was a mental rock on my road to a great physique. A mental rock so huge and intimidating that it nearly prohibited me from trying and urged me to throw in the towel.
Two months later of consistent effort in the gym, I’d somehow managed to lift the rock in my mind and jettisoned it into the abyss.
Conclusion - The Truth About Vegan Fitness
In that moment, staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, I realized that most advice that I ever got in my life was from people that weren’t where I wanted to be.
This is important. Only take advice from people that are where you want to be.
This is especially true for the gym but can be applied to everything in our life.
I love my parents, yet I would never take advice from them when it comes to running a coaching business, because they are not where I want to be in that regard.
My best friend is a good conversation partner and would always be there if I needed help – but he doesn’t have the gym results I craved.
What I want to get across is that what often prohibits us from taking action is listening to the wrong advice. We think that achieving a goal is not possible – so we never really try.
I’m here to show you that this is possible and have since that fateful (shirtless) moment in 2015 committed myself to help vegans get in their best shape of their life. I’m doing so with the help of our customized ‘QualityGains’ app – in collaboration with Cronometer.
If you need help with your vegan fitness journey, you can sign up for our service at QualityGains.com (https://qualitygains.com/) .
You can also subscribe to QualityGains on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/qualitygains).
