Robert Cheeke is a bodybuilder and a vegan. Bodybuilding has been long  associated with meat-eating because of the belief that meat is the best source  of large amounts of protein, but he has shown that eating plant-based foods can  also work for the sport. What follows is an interview with him.

Why did you decide to stop eating animal-based foods?

I grew up on a farm and developed an appreciation for farm animals similar to  the respect and appreciation someone might have for a dog or a cat. Given this  perspective of farm animals and my closeness to them through my involvement in  4-H, raising them as pets, it seemed fitting to stop eating my animal friends. I  no longer wanted to contribute to animal cruelty and suffering and decided to go  vegan, as a teenager in the agriculture town of Corvallis, OR in the mid  90’s.

How long have you been vegan?

I have been vegan since December 8, 1995 (when I was 15 years old and 120  pounds – By 2003, I was up to 195 pounds and a competitive bodybuilder running veganbodybuilding.com).

What are some of your favorite sources of protein?

I honestly don’t have a single favorite source of protein. I eat a wide  variety of foods based on what I’m in the mood for, where I am on a given day,  what my training and competition schedule is like, and so on.  In general,  I like to eat Thai, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, and Ethiopian foods. These ethnic  foods tend to be comprised of rice, vegetables, beans and legumes, and greens.  Overall, they are incredibly filling, calorie and protein-rich and very tasty.  If I feel like I want additional protein on top of my whole-food based meals,  I’ll use plant-based protein powders such as Vega, which is primarily made up of  hemp, pea and rice protein.

What are some of your favorite vegan foods?

I love fruits more than anything else. I travel regularly and have the  amazing opportunity to pick fruit off the trees and eat the freshest, tastiest  fruit available. Berries in the summer are perhaps my ultimate favorite, but I’m  also a big fan of more traditional fruits available in anywhere America  year-round including bananas, apples, oranges, and grapes.

My second favorite type of food is probably burritos. I eat burritos almost  every day. They are made of up some of my individual favorite foods including  rice, beans, and avocado and all together are calorie-rich, protein dense, and  of course very tasty and filling. Yams and potatoes, quinoa, kale and artichokes  are some of my other favorite whole foods. Thai and Indian dishes, especially  Masaman and Yellow Curry and vegetable samosas and Aloo Matter, are by far my  favorite dinner meals. Avocado rolls are another menu item I indulge in  regularly.

Do you measure the amount of protein you consume daily because of  your bodybuilding?

When I am preparing for competition or in bulking-up phases of my  bodybuilding program I do measure my daily intake of protein. My levels of  consumption are far greater than that of someone who isn’t training for my  specific sport, but I’ve noticed that consumption of 1-1.5 grams of protein per  pound of bodyweight, combined with intense resistance weight training sessions  one or two times a day, allows me to build muscle, get stronger and improve as a  bodybuilder.

When I am not training regularly, I don’t consumer nearly as much protein,  probably less than 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, because I am not creating  tears in muscle and therefore don’t need as much protein to repair, recover and  grow.

You started as a serious distance runner, how did you decide to start  bodybuilding and are there any advantages to began a vegan  also?

I was a 5-sport athlete in high school (soccer, cross country, wrestling,  basketball and track & Field) combined with a few other extra-curricular  sports I did on my own (skateboarding, tennis, dancing) and after high school I  chose to pursue cross country distance running in college. I was an NCAA  collegiate runner at Oregon State University in 1999 and enjoyed it, but knew  that in the back of my mind and in my heart, I always wanted to be a muscular  person. I stopped running and started picking up weights immediately. I gained  30 pounds in my first year of real dedicated training and went on to win  multiple bodybuilding championships and have competed more than 10 times over  the past decade.

A vegan diet/lifestyle is very conducive to success in athletics because  plant-based whole foods provide the best sources of nutrition, coming from their  original forms. The nutritional components we need to thrive are vitamins,  minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and glucose and those all come in their  original and best forms from fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and  legumes. Whether we’re referring to running, swimming, football or bodybuilding,  all athletes and non-athletes alike, can benefit from a plant-based, whole food  vegan diet/lifestyle.

Do you receive messages via your website and YouTube Channel from  people about their conversion to a vegetarian or vegan diet in  some part due to the information about it you have  shared?

I get emails, Facebook messages, Twitter comments and YouTube comments every  day. I am pleased to know a lot of people have found my work and the work of my  fellow vegan athletes to be inspirational and I am happy that collectively we’re  saving a lot of lives and progressing forward in our quest for compassion and  peace.

When you travel how do you maintain your diet and how do choose your  foods when you eat at restaurants that typically don’t cater to  vegans?

In 2011, I traveled about 250 days out of the year. This was for my Vegan  Bodybuilding & Fitness book tour, my work with Vega – a plant-based whole  food nutrition company, and my work with the new documentary film Forks Over Knives. I drove thousands of miles in my car  around the US and Canada and took nearly 50 flights, attending vegetarian,  vegan, health, fitness, and animal rights themed events in all corners of North  America.

As a bodybuilder I learned a decade ago to pack food with me at all times. I  carry fruit, protein and energy bars, protein powder, nuts, and other vegan  snacks and sometimes full entrees everywhere I go. Whether in the car, or on a  plane, I always have lots of food with me.

When I’m stopped in a given city for a few days I seek out various  restaurants and grocery stores. I’m very easy –going and don’t always desire a  vegetarian or vegan restaurant, but seek out ethic food restaurants, grocery  stores and co-ops or even farmer’s markets during the summer. I eat at Mexican,  Thai and Indian food restaurants most often, followed by regular trips to the  grocery store to stock up on produce and snacks. I’ve been to more vegan  restaurants than I can count, and I do like to support vegan businesses where  they exist, primarily in major cities.

Any restaurant is going to have some sort of vegetables, greens, fruits, etc.  and whether the items are listed on the menu or not, I can find suitable food  even if I end up in the least likely veg-friendly restaurant or town.

What has been the best part of becoming a vegan?

The best part of being vegan is knowing I am saving lives and being a role  model for others to do the same. Seeing a rescued animal get a second chance at  life is priceless and heart-warming.

Are other bodybuilders curious about your diet when you meet  them?

Vegan Bodybuilding is becoming a lot more mainstream than it used to be. When  I started veganbodybuilding.com in 2002, I was the only vegan athlete  I knew of. Now we have over 5,000 members on our website and we’re discovering  new vegan athletes all the time from professional and elite levels of our major  sports to weekend warriors and everyone in between. Vegan athletes aren’t quite  as mysterious as they used to be so I don’t have to answer the protein question  quite as much as I did 10-15 years ago. In general, other bodybuilders are  curious as to what I eat since mainstream bodybuilding culture still embraces  meat, eggs and whey protein as their primary sources.

If I can share my story of going from 120-pound non-vegan to a 195-pound  champion vegan bodybuilder, and share the stories of many others who have had  similar or greater results, and have a positive influence on people, I am  thrilled to do so. I plan to get back on the competitive bodybuilding stage in  2012 after  taking a couple of years off for my busy book tour.

Courtesy of care2.com