Barry
Lovelace, The Vegan Fitness Nut!
Christi Q: How
long have you been vegan?
Barry
A: Almost nine years.
Christi
Q: What made you decide to go
Vegan?
Barry
A: Well, I tried going vegan
about 18 years ago, but
admittedly my wife was not the
best cook back then. She tried
TPV when I said I would give it a
shot, and just let me say, it
wasn’t happening. So I did
not try again until about 9 years
later.
My
wife and daughter were vegan for
quite a few years and I knew that
it was a great choice, but I just
was not ready. Coming from a meat
and potatoes family I could not
imagine life without meat and
dairy.
My
wife never pushed it on our son
or me. All she would say is,
‘When you are ready to know
the reasons let me know’.
So
one night I said, ‘Ok, tell
me why’.
She
simply gave me John Robbins book,
‘Diet For a New
America’. I didn’t even
read 3 sentences when I put the
book down and said, ‘I am
ready’. Reading about the
cruelty the animals suffer made
me cry and cry. I have always
loved animals, but like many
people never made the connection
that the food we eat is an
animal.
Even
at a very young age I never
understood how my family could go
and ‘spot’ deer, look
then in the face, laugh and say
‘See you in hunting
season’. Then talk about how
beautiful they were. This I will
never understand. They talk about
how beautiful they are yet they
kill them with a smile THEN have
their heads chopped off to hang
on their wall for display.
OK..sorry
for the rant.
I
immediately went vegan the next
day and never turned back.
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Christi Q: What tips
would you offer for those just starting
on their path to veganism?
Barry
A: To become vegan or research this
lifestyle has become very easy theses
days.
One of the
best ways is to join a forum. There are a
few vegetarian/vegan forums. I highly
recommend Veggieboards (www.veggieboards.com). They have almost
25,000 members and over 1.5 million
posts. There is plenty of information to
help aid in becoming vegan. Also, www.farmsanctuary.com is a fabulous,
fabulous website for great information as
well.
Real quick
on forums – there is
‘always’ somebody in a forum
that likes to ‘troll’. This
basically means they are there to cause
problems and harass you. This goes for
all forums. These people you just need to
ignore.
Christi
Q: I understand that fitness is a very
important part of your life; explain why
it is so important to you.
Barry
A: Well….that is a very good
question.
First, I
absolutely LOVE IT! It comes very natural
to me.
Our lives
are supposed to be joyous and vibrant
with lots of energy. I cannot imagine
someone feeling this way without taking
care of his or her overall health.
Our bodies
are the most sophisticated machine on
earth therefore we must take care of it.
When we take care of our bodies, it will
in turn take care of us.
For me,
it’s all about the heart. Take care
of your heart and everything else falls
into place. How do you take care of your
heart? By consuming foods rich in
nutrients and that contain NO ANIMAL
products. When was the last time you
heard a doctor tell a patient to
‘eat tons of red meat’ and
‘limit your broccoli and
spinach’?
Christi
Q: What tips would you offer those who
are wanting to lose weight and get more
physically fit?
Barry
A: This is a hard one to try to
convey to the general population.
There are
billions of dollars spent on
marketing/advertising promising to
‘lose weight fast’ and
‘too good to be true’ diets.
That is just what they are, too good to
be true.
To lose
weight find a dietician, nutritionist or
weight management consultant that will
promote losing 1-1/2 to 2 pounds per
week. This is the best way to lose weight
and keep it off. Anytime you lose weight
quickly you are guaranteed to gain it
back plus a few extra pounds.
In order
to become more physically fit ask your
family and friends for a referral and
most importantly take your time. Please
do not start working out 5-6 days a week
when you haven’t worked out in years
or you have never worked out. You will
only set yourself up for failure. Start
out 3 days per week for approximately
30minutes of casual exercise per day.
Why did I
mention asking family and friends for a
reference? With so many personal trainers
out there and so many gyms many of us do
not know which way to turn. Ask someone
who feels comfortable where he or she is
at and who has experience with a personal
trainer. I HIGHLY recommend using a
personal trainer if you are just starting
out, but again use one that someone you
know has hired.
For women,
you cannot go wrong with resistance
training. It is HIGHLY recommended due to
the fact that it aids in the prevention
of osteoporosis.
Christi
Q: Explain your basic guidelines for
nutrition
Barry
A: Well, I am vegan and would love if
everyone chose a vegan lifestyle, but I
am also a realist.
With that
mentioned I highly recommend a diet
consisting of whole grains, lots of
greens, limited processed foods, limited
or no dairy, limited or no red meat, nuts
and nut butters. Organic is also highly
recommended.
Many of my
clients and friends have eliminated red
meat and dairy from their diets and
choose white meat instead.
Back to my
clients – approximately 95% of all
my clients have eliminated ALL dairy and
have seen fabulous results almost
immediately in the way they feel and
look.
Christi
Q: How does being vegan make you feel?
Barry
A: Wow..I thought the other questions
were easy!
Being
vegan makes me feel -YOUNG &
ENERGIZED! Plain and simple it is by far
the best thing I could have done for me,
my family and of course the animals.
You can
reach Barry at barry@wegetufit.com. Please be sure to
visit www.revealingmysecret.com to see
Barry’s success story.
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