Rapid vegan muscle building: Update #2 (a.k.a. The End)
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So I’ve officially ended my diet/exercise experiment. If you recall, the goal was to add 20lbs of muscle, in 6 weeks, on a vegan diet, while doing just one hour of exercise per week, as inspired by Tim Ferriss’ report of gaining 32 lbs of muscle in 28 days.
Last Sunday, right before my sixth workout and just about halfway through the experiment, I took all my body measurements and found that I had gained approximately 4 lbs of muscle and 4 lbs of fat. Projecting forward the best case scenario, that meant I was on course to finish the 6 weeks with a 16 lb weight gain, half of which would have been fat. I wasn’t okay with that, so I decided to bail on the experiment.
Well, kinda.
I’ve accepted that there’s no way I’m going to reach my originally stated goal, so from that point of view the experiment is over. Turns out that, at least for me using this method, it’s not possible to put on 20lbs of muscle in six weeks on a vegan diet while doing only one hour of exercise per week. I know, some of you are shocked and amazed 
However, I’m not quite ready to give up on muscle building completely. I learned from my experiment that I quite enjoy the slow weight training, so I’ll continue doing that once a week. My trainer records every exercise I do and it’s obvious that my strength has increased significantly over the past three weeks. I like that. I’ll also be adding back in some regular cardio work, because I’ve really been missing it during the past three weeks.
As regards the diet, I’m abandoning the meal plan altogether. I do intend to consume upwards of 3,000 calories per day, but I won’t be measuring every gram of carbs, fat and protein that I put in my body. After three weeks of carefully planned and measured meals, it’s a welcome relief to be able to eat whatever I feel like again.
What I didn’t learn from all this
Quite a few people — both in person and online — told me before I started this experiment that it was unrealistic and that I was unlikely to succeed. And those people turned out to be right. But the funny thing is that I have no regrets about doing the experiment. I’m not sitting here cursing myself for not listening to those people. And that’s because I now know some things for sure, from direct experience.
There’s that saying that you always regret the things you haven’t done more than the things you have. If I had agreed with the naysayers at the start and accepted that what I was trying to do was impossible, there always would have been a nagging voice in my head saying, But what if they were wrong?
You see, I just had to try it for myself. For me, trying equals succeeding. Well, not just trying, but trying hard. I’ve failed at lots of things in life, but the only failures I feel bad about are the ones where I didn’t give it my all.
Don’t try, you might fail!
So what? No big deal. What’s the point in doing only what you know will succeed? Where would mankind be if people only did what they knew would work? You’ve heard all those stories about Thomas Edison and Michael Jordan and other famous names who attributed much of their success to a willingness to fail. I believe that.
So, you might think I learned a lesson here. And I believe I did learn many things. But one thing I didn’t learn is that you should never try to do what other people think is crazy or impossible. I never want to learn that lesson. I’m terrified of what I’d miss out on if I did.
What crazy or impossible goal do you have? Why don’t you give it a shot? Go all out and see if you can make it happen. Even if there’s only a tiny chance that you’ll succeed, that’s still significantly better than your chance of success (i.e. ZERO) if you don’t try at all.
And if you do try and end up failing, trust me, that feels way better than just accepting defeat without trying at all.
Your vegan diet may have hurt your ability to gain that much muscle, but probably not much. You’d probably have similar results had you been eating steak every three hours. The fact that you gained 4lbs. of muscle in 3 or 4 weeks is quite impressive, and is likely attributed to what is called “noob gains”. In the very beginning of a workout program, the human body will quickly add strength, but over time this levels out. For someone who has been working out for a while, has normal genetics, isn’t a teenager, and is doing it without steroids, *the most muscle you can gain in a YEAR is 5lbs if you’re average, 10lbs. if you’re one of the gifted few*. What I’ve learned is that anyone who claims otherwise is always, ALWAYS selling something. Try it for yourself… google “muscle gain expecations” and see what comes up. Salesman.
And that includes Tim Feriss. I was intrigued by his book, and I generally like his message, and I see nothing wrong with him selling his ideas. But when I saw that muscle gain story of his, I was disgusted and immediately changed my opinion of him. The photos are shot in different light, he has a spray tan in the after photo, all to create a nice illusion that he gained that much muscle. He gained a lot of weight, that’s for sure. Just like anyone who goes on a super-calorie diet.
Congratulations on having the balls to even start this experiment! It took a lot of dedication. I think it’s really cool you went head-on into this, and a huge plus is that you found out you enjoy lifting weights!
Thanks, Corey. I really appreciate the comments you’ve posted here the past few weeks.
I believe you’re right about the “noob gains.” That also factored into my decision to quit. It’s unlikely I would have been able to keep up that level of progress.
I can’t say this experience has changed my opinion of Tim Ferriss much though. I don’t believe he’s always 100% honest with his readers, but he’s helped a lot more people than most. I’ll remain eternally grateful to him for the wake-up call I got from reading The 4-Hour Workweek.
this blog touches on probably the most valuable lesson that i ever learned from my dad. he taught me that ALL people and ALL experiences can be beneficial to you if you pay attention. everything you do and every person you meet can teach you something… even if that is a shining example of what not to do again or how not to act as a person. failure is a tricky thing. i think it’s a person’s attitude that ultimately puts a positive or negative connotation on failure. in my opinion, as long as you have learned something, gained some gem of knowledge at all… you haven’t failed. you may have missed the immediate goal of gaining 20 lbs. of muscle, but you’ve hit the long term goal of living an enlightened life. kudos for determination and mad props for seizing the day.
Thanks, Aslyn.
“he taught me that ALL people and ALL experiences can be beneficial to you if you pay attention. everything you do and every person you meet can teach you something… even if that is a shining example of what not to do again or how not to act as a person.”
I like that a lot, and it’s definitely the way I try to approach all situations. I’m not sure if you’ve ever read Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning, but he summed it up nicely when he wrote, “Between stimulus and response lies man’s greatest power: the power to choose.”
“But one thing I didn’t learn is that you should never try to do what other people think is crazy or impossible.”
This made me think of a quote from Ken Robinson: “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” The link leads to a TED-talk with him, and he talks more about what he mean with that quote about 5.30 in that lecture.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
He has also written a couple of books which might be of interest to you. I’m thinking especially about a book called The Element. The Element according to Robinson is “where natural talent meets personal passion.” A bit “wordy” but inspiring.
Good luck!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Rock on, Matteus. You’re speaking my language
That TED talk by Ken Robinson is one of my favorites.
So, Niall, hello back to CGW Meetup calls?