My name is Lauren Harrison and I am 28 years old. I was opposed to eating meat from a very young age but fully embraced a vegan diet at the beginning of 2011 after a 5 year long period of struggling with my weight due (up to 181 lbs) to very poor eating habits and lack of exercise. My priorities were all wrong. It was at this point that I decided I would become 100% plant based and start working with weights in the gym.
I started getting more and more exposed to ideas about fitness and I was very intrigued by bodybuilding. Most people who I consulted, whether in the industry or not, told me that there was no way I could build any decent muscle mass with my protein-deficient vegan diet. Being as stubborn as I am, I knew I had to prove these people wrong. With the help of my awesome coach, I was able to develop a diet and workout program that supplied me with the proper nutrients and stimulus to build muscle and drop to competition levels of body-fat. I have competed as a female bodybuilder three times and my next competition is on September 14, 2013 – this is the day I will step on the pro stage!
I agree that it was very challenging to become a vegan bodybuilder; not because a plant-based diet is deficient in any way, but because both the food and fitness industries are tailored to omnivores (i.e. whey is the most prevalent protein powder). I can’t just grab a low-carb protein bar if I’m on the run, as most of these contain whey. I have to be very careful to watch out for animal ingredients in supplements and have to shop at several different stores to ensure that I have my meals ready for that week. But I found my path with the help of companies like Ground-Based Nutrition that are helping plant-based athletes thrive and perform by providing quality dairy-free protein products. From over 180lbs at 5’4, I maintain a weight of 120lbs in the off season, can throw around some serious weight in the gym for someone my size, compete at 106 lbs and have more and more people asking me for my secrets.
Ground-Based Nutrition never uses artificial sweeteners, colors, dye, additives, or other synthetic chemicals. Superfood Protein Smoothie is vegan friendly, gluten free, soy free, whey free and dairy free.
Charles Weller
Author