A Trip Through My Plant Based Journey by Brandon Lwowski

     Few deep breaths, head begins to get heavy, tilting to one side, eyes begin rolling back. Quick jolt, open my eyes and blink them rapidly, straightening my head as quickly as possible. This process repeats itself over and over again until I fall into a deep sleep, breathing like an obese man who just climbed a flight of stairs. It always seems that when you reach this point that there is always a dream, whether its good, bad, amazing, or terrifying, but you wake up never remembering the details, remembering just the mood of the dream.  I, myself, had a  lifestyle change, a complete 180 degree turn, an aspiration for a better life. I can't put my finger on the exact moment that his happened but, I imagine my self in Charles Dickson novel "A Christmas Carol" where my soul, my emotions, my being gets pulled out of my body. While in this dream I obtain the ability to watch myself from a third person perspective and see what got me to this point. What steps did I take to arrive at this point in my life and why am I vegan? I use Scrooge as an example because I imagine myself being flown around by a vegan ghost, my vegan self, exposing the changes that I made the last few years.

     The first stop would be the days of the global gym. I was diagnosed with a sleeping disorder which was only curable with a healthy diet and weight loss. Magazines, internet, billboards all tainted my mind on what was considered "healthy." Every Muscle and Fitness I read, every forum on bodybuilding.com that I came across promoted a high protein diet full of steaks, chicken, and of course bacon. Without doing my own researched, I dived head first into this type of diet, eating pounds and pounds of animal flesh because I thought it was the way to go. I thought it would get me ripped and strong as a gorilla. At this point I was not aware of the fact that gorillas were vegetarian. Not once did I think about how that meat arrived on my plate and even If I did know, I was probably to ignorant to even care. I didn't care about how the animals were treated, I didn't care where the meat came from, factory or farm. If it was meat and full of protein, I would shove it in my mouth. Besides, they are just animals right, they were brought to this earth by god for us to eat. 

    Every meal, I would pile the meat on my plate without a single drop of remorse. I was selfish. All I cared about was, "this taste good" and "Protein, Protein, Protein." My vegan ghost pulls me from that moment and fast forwards 1 year to the moment when a good friend of mine introduced me to crossfit. I loved every part of crossfit, I was getting healthier, I was losing weight, and I was feeling good. Crossfit introduced me to a paleo style diet. This was my first glimpse into the true meat industry and started to care where I got my meat from and how it was killed. I began buying only organic, and so-called "humane" meat. I no longer wanted to eat animals that were mistreated, misfed, and what major fast food industries considered real beef. If the cavemen ate meat then that is what I must do to become caveman strong, right? I started reading labels and eating only meat that was organic and free range, trying to make myself feel better for eating these murdered animals. Once again, media and popularity had me convinced that killing animals for food was the best option for becoming healthy. 

    After showing me the first 2 major events that changed the way I thought about food, my ghost takes me to the moment I first changed vegetarian. My wife convinced me to be open to the idea of becoming vegetarian. I promised that I would give it a try and see how it makes me feel for 30 days. I read two books on a plane trip to Hawaii. "Thrive" and "Spartan Up" changed how I viewed nutrition for ever. These books explained how the meat industry, whether conventional or organic, has destroyed the quality of meat and basically sucked all nutrients out of it. It is impossible for the meat industry to keep up with the demand for meat while using traditional methods of farming and ranching. This idea was the beginning of my journey as a plant based athlete.

     As my vegan ghost continues to take me through my past, I wonder how I ended up vegan? And this is where he takes me, my last stop. He show me myself, with my nose in a book called "Zen's Mind." This book was  my first experience of a text about how to live the life of the Buddha. This book taught me mediation, the noble 8-fold path, 4 Noble Truths and the one thing that stuck the mots, Buddha did not believe in hurting animals. Not only were the human lives valuable, but all lives mattered. Including the bugs that the Bodhisattva's swept off the path while Buddha walked into the forest to mediate, including cows,pigs, dogs, everything that lived. The ghost would take me to the days I watched all the documentaries revealing the truth behind the dairy and egg industry. How there is no such thing as humane dairy, humane eggs, or human meat. Killing is Killing. I now had a feeling of pain and guilt everytime I thought about drinking milk and frying up my eggs for breakfast.

    As my vegan ghost brings my mind and soul back to my body, before I awake from this trip to my past, it reminds me of how I got to the point. How I am a vegan athlete in a strength sport. I get a lot of jokes and funny looks when I tell my athletes that I coach or other national level lifters that I meet that I'm vegan. Questions like, how do you live? where do you get your protein from? how do you stay strong? so what can you eat?  That is definitely a topic for another entry. I am glad I am a vegan, I am glad that I changed. At this point in my life I wish I could've started earlier. Being vegetarian for 1.5 years and vegan for 2 months, I can say that I feel great. I am the strongest right now this second than I ever imagined possible. I've been to the American Open and National Championships. I have medals and plaques. All while being a plant based strength athlete. Now That my trip is done I can open my eyes, come back to the real world and continue to prove athletes that it is possible to become strong without killing animals.

Who is Coach Cano? by Josue Cano

Hello my name is Josue Cano, Coach Cano aka Captain.
I’ve been eating a plant based diet for more than 10 years now. Been a full time Olympic lifter
since March of 2008. I eat a plant based diet which means dedicating over 95% foods that come
from plants.

Olympic Weightlifting
I started Olympic Weightlifting in March of 2008. That’s when I decided to become a full time
Weightlifter. I was 31 years old then and 38 today.

My best results in competition are:
Snatch 105kg
Clean and jerk 138kg at 77kg body weight.

My all time best results in training are:
Snatch 110kg
Clean n jerk 145kg
Squat 210kg
Front squat 185kg

I continue to eat a plant based diet because of compassionate views I have towards animal welfare. Millions of animals continue to die in pain because we want to eat them for food. Their
 for our pleasure comes at their cost. Thankfully, today less people are eating less meat in the USA and more people are turning to plant based foods.

An overwhelming majority of lifters believe in eating animals or animal products in order to gain strength but science tells us that strength comes from training and less so from nutrition. It should be pretty obvious. If you train for strength you will get stronger. If you eat and you don’t train you won’t get stronger. Hopefully, people will see through our lifting that you can get very strong without killing.

The most frequently asked question I get is where do I get protein? The truth, there is protein in almost everything we eat. EVERYTHING!!!!! Personally, I don’t count or get caught up in how much protein I eat or for that matter how much fat or carbs. I’ve been eating like this for a long time and I trust that nature has blessed food to contain all the nutrients we need to continue to live and thrive. Therefore, I get protein from everything I eat. Sure some plant foods have more protein then others such as beans, certain breads, or broccoli for example. Because we are so physically active and use a lot of energy I eat enough calories and nutrients from plants to grow in strength. This I don’t worry about.

My future goals are to compete in 2016 at Masters World Weightlifting Championships in Germany, Masters Pan American Championships in Puerto Rico and Masters Nationals in Savannah Georgia and bring Gold Medals in all championships.

Going Vegetarian by Kevin Cornell

     Hello Kill Kilos Not Animals fans. I am extremely excited to have this well decorated athlete write a blog for me. Kevin Cornell has been a huge inspiration to me since his Cal Strength Days. What makes him even more noble is that he has switched to a vegetarian diet 4 months ago while continuing to train at a high level. I really hope you enjoy this piece he wrote for my Kill Kilos blog as much as I enjoyed reading it. Below is a little information about his accomplishments before you read his story.

2 Time Arnold Classic Champion

Pennsylvania State Record Holder

25th World Ranking

Top 8 Overall Ranked  2013-2014

2013-2014 Pan Am Team Alternate

    "Going vegetarian was somewhat a scary and unnatural feeling to me. I didn't really know what to expect, or didn't really know how to feel about it. I was somewhat afraid of people finding out about it. Almost as if I was turning into some sort of hippie or something like that.

     It was a lot different than I had expected when I first started out. You don't realize how much meat is in foods until you stop eating meat. Any fast food joint is completely out of the question and pizzas now turn into extra cheese only, where as before, it was supreme meat lovers. And you better bet your ass that you are that awkward friend eating only a salad while everyone else chows down on a nice juicy piece of steak or a loaded cheeseburger at your favorite restaurant.

     However, I am proud to say that I do not support the meat industry any longer as I have seen most of the atrocities that it commits to our beloved animals. I guess I could say that I was naive in thinking how bacon really got to your plate. Or how that juicy steak really ended up as your dinner.I almost felt like a narcissistic and extremely hypocritical when I realize that if I couldn't kill it myself, I shouldn't be eating it.

     Regardless of my personal believes, going vegetarian was a blessing in disguise. I started with not eating any meat, to trying different things I never thought that I would try before, such as, cottage cheese, meatless versions of everything, a more rice been and plant-based diet, and I even went as far as to cut off all milk with the exception of Almond, soy, and coconut milk.

     I eat way less fatty foods and plenty of greens throughout the day. My water intake has nearly tripled since cutting out all sugary drinks such as energy drinks, Gatorade, soda, and even the coffee creamer in my coffee is now either coconut oil, butter, or both.

     So I guess what I'm saying as I look back on my decision I made four months ago with my wife to go vegetarian is that I'm happy that I watched the Netflix documentary called cowspiracy, and I have to thank all who were involved in that documentary, because it really change the way I view not only my nutrition but the meat industry in general.

     I would never push my views and beliefs on someone else because I'm not much of a fan when people try to do that to me. But if you knock the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, I would say try it first before you judge it.

     I'm also a big fan of promoting a healthy and pure lifestyle which I can now say that I'm doing almost 100%, and I hope that this blog can inspire someone else to do the same. And I want to put to rest the myth that if you want to be a world-class athlete you have to do, say, think, or even eat like somebody else. There are many different ways to get to the top, you just have to find what works best for you.

To follow my journey just followed me on Instagram @kevin__cornell"

Being A Plant Based Athlete by Dan Fisher

Here is a blog that a fellow vegan weightlifter wrote for Kill Kilos Not Animals! From here forward I am going to use this blog for a few things:

1. Express the crazy, random thoughts that go through my head

2. Shine the light on other vegetarian, vegan, or plant based athletes

3. Promote and change the idea that in order to be strong, you have to eat pounds and pounds of meat

4. Provide a place full of motivation and information for people who are interested in plant based diet

Please enjoy this piece written by Dan Fisher. A vegan weightlifter working hard to get to the next level!

I love being plant based! Disclaimer: I’m one of those health nut picky eaters that probably trigger you. All I’m saying is that if you put high quality air, water, and food into your body then you’re going to be healthy! I started seriously researching nutrition and human physiology when I was 18 and at the same time I began training for olympic weightlifting. I spent a lot of time in the library reading books about nutrition and olympic weightlifting technique. I arrived at two conclusions respectively. 

-A plant based diet is the way to go.

-Keep your shoulders over the bar.

        I am very blessed to have been coached by Joe Seth, who is in my humble and biased opinion the best coach in the USA. He coaches at Advanced Fitness & Performance an olympic weightlifting gym in Sarasota, Florida. I was 18 years old or so when I began training and Joe knew right off the bat that I was vegan. He was curious but really he didn’t care about my diet. His job was to turn me into a weightlifter. I can remember struggling to snatch the bar. These days I’m chasing a 100kg snatch, the holy grail for the amateur weightlifter. And I’d like to thank Joe for teaching me, believing in me, and coaching me. I couldn’t be where I’m at today without him and I’m getting quite emotional as I’m writing this because I haven’t connected with Joe in a while. 

        The most fascinating part about weightlifting is the variety of people involved in the sport and their unique lifestyles. Plant based athletes in general are a minority in the world, and even more so in olympic weightlifting, but they are growing in numbers very quickly. I am certain the future of all sport and people, in general, will be plant based. 

Let me make one thing absolutely clear before I ramble any further: there are MANY weightlifters out there who are stronger and more knowledgeable than me. And the fascinating part is that they are not plant based. I was just listening to a podcast by Jon North called weightlifting talk the episode was titled “Run Danny, Run” and in it Jon North talked about how he was smoking a pack a day and eating KFC for lunch every day with Donny Shankle while they were training for Nationals and both of them won 1st in their weight class.

 Respect where it’s due to America’s finest, but I’m in it for the long haul. I think it’s amazing that the human body can run on a diet of complete garbage and still be capable of generating incredible amounts of power. I would like to make gains, hit PR’s, and reach my peak natural potential in the sport of olympic weightlifting while still enjoying a long and healthy life. This is why I’m a plant based athlete. Because I can have the cake and eat it too.

 I used to volunteer at a hospital when I was in highschool, I would run all sorts of errands for the staff and interact with ill patients. I can tell you this for certain, being sick is not fun. Being plant based has not given me super powers by conventional standards, but for me, never getting sick is a super power. Three years and counting I haven’t been sick. Granted, even though I am young and healthy, I’m still actively investing in my future by being plant based. As I get older I do not want to spend time in hospitals, I know I would rather be in the gym snatching.

Avaricious

Avaricious 

Adjective: Having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain; example: a corrupt and avaricious government. 

Nine hundred plus lifters at a single meet. Weightlifting has truly evolved at an exponential rate. The American Open Championship breathing down my neck as an athlete and as a coach. I'm sitting on this 2 hour flight with plenty of thoughts fluttering through my head. To slow my thoughts I open the book titled SIDDHARTHA. The opening passage uses the word "avaricious" and I have to stop reading and look up the definition of this word. I've never seen it, heard it used in conversations, or have it come across in any of my other readings.

I found myself enveloped in the understanding of this new word and couldn't get back to my reading. Am I avaricious? Through what perspective is this word seen as negative or even positive? Can the word ever have a positive meaning? I want to dive into this thought more deeply. In an effort to finally get this word out of my mind so that I may continue reading my book, I apply it to my own life. 

When it comes to life itself, I really have to peel back some layers of my personality. I need to  break down some walls and be honest with myself. Am I avaricious? Do I have an extreme greed for wealth and material gain? Self reflection is only half the battle. I must also see how others see me through their own perspectives. I would like to think right away that the answer is no. 

I do not have an extreme greed. Heck, all my future goals and life plans all revolve around helping others. I want to help at-risk students get out of their neighborhoods and into colleges and universities through weightlifting. I want them to find a passion outside of high school other than smoking weed and hanging out on the corners with their friends. I want to open a non-profit to help misunderstood and often misdirected adolescents. A person that wants to give back to the community, run a non-profit, and help struggling high school students would be the last person I call avaricious. But, all of those are my own thoughts of who I am.

As I watch myself from a birds eye view or from the third person perspective, maybe as a homeless man at the stop light trying to get money so that he may buy himself a meal or perhaps a blanket, I get a different picture. That stranger who see's me walk past him on the street would see a man who recently got the new iphone when his old phone worked perfectly fine. He would see me walk past him with a pair of 80 dollar shoes. The visitors in my neighborhood would see a man living in a 1800 dollar apartment with brand new furniture and a full fridge. A brand new coffee maker, expensive protein shakes, and a weightlifting bag that has about 400 dollars worth of items in it. Today, the stranger next to me on the plane see's a man typing on an iPad all the while spending 450 dollars on a ticket to a weightlifting competition. 

The outside definitely looks a whole lot different then what is going on in the inside. I, myself, am an avaricious person who must learn not to be. I want to be more giving and helpful to the community and the people that I come to meet. Other people in this world need my money a whole lot more than I need my money. From this day forward, when it comes to a big purchase, I need to look at my Siddhartha tattoo and ask myself, what would Sid do? What would a person who is not avaricious do?

The Gorilla of Weightlifting

What first started as a way to pass time on a boring 12 hour flight to Hawaii, ended in a drastic change in my lifestyle and beliefs. While my wife and I were packing our suitcases for our trip to Hawaii to visit my family and celebrate our first year of marriage, I decided to place 2 books in my carry on luggage. "Spartan Up" and "Thrive." The exact reason why I chose these 2 books is all a blur now but I'm pretty sure I heard about them listening to one of the many podcast I tune into on the weekdays. This decision would turn my lifestyle in a new direction.

What I read in these 2 books really changed my views on what it takes to be strong. They each explained to how protein from animal sources is not as vital as the media and online forums make it out to be. They taught me that it is possible to get high quality, nutrient dense, sustainable protein from a plant based diet. It also taught me how the quality of the meat industry continues to exponentially get worse. I was so engaged with the reading that I finished both books on the flight there.

While spending our 3 weeks in Hawaii, I couldn't help but constantly think about the information that I had read. My wife was already vegetarian at the time so this lead to a lot of conversations on the trip about the possibilities of me going vegetarian. I really wanted to do it, but my concerns lied heavily in how it would affect my athletic performance. My wife encouraged me to try it but reminded me that if it wasn't my decision to go vegetarian,it would never stick. On the flight home I decided to challenge myself to 30 days vegetarian. At the end of the 30 days I would assess myself and see if it was something I could continue.

Well the 30 days flew by with ease. I felt healthy, I felt strong, and PR'd on my snatch and clean and jerk. This positive response turned my 30 day challenge to an even bigger adventure. I stayed strict vegetarian for 7 months and continued making huge gains, getting strong, and increasing my energy levels. Is it possible that I could be competitive in the sport of weightlifting by completely eliminating meat sourced proteins? Could I still make it to nationals and the american open while sustaining a plant based diet?

Sitting now, a year and a half from the day I decided to go vegetarian, I have only had one fallback and ate meat for a month in between. I have won 4 medals in local and state meets including 2 golds and a best overall lifter award. I competed in the national championships and placed 13th. I am currently 21 days away from competing in the american open located in Reno, Nevada. 

I have grown to appreciate life and the rights of all animals. I am a huge advocate of plant based diets and will continue spread the word that it is possible to competitive in a strength sport while eating a meat-free plant-based diet. I used social media to show people, lifters, and young athletes that you don't need to kill animals to be strong. Teach them that animal protein is also not at the quality it used to be and that plant protein is more nutrient dense and better for the body.

Now that you know a little about me and what I represent as a lifter, I would like to conclude this entry with why I named this the Gorilla of Weightlifting. Besides the fact that I am an extremely hairy man that resembles an ape, Gorillas are one of the strongest and most fierce animal in the jungle. They walk around with silverbacks, monster chests and enormous arms. Gorillas have the capability to lift 2000kgs over their heads. Go to google or ask siri to find out what gorillas eat... You will find that they're organisms that survive mostly on a plant based diet and still are considered one of the top 10 strongest animals. Maybe others out there can choose to follow in my footsteps and become a Gorilla of Weightlifting.

The Hitman

    I have been a hit man for 6 months now. I have been watching 175s every move, trying to figure out his daily schedule, waiting for the right time to finish the job and collect the pay check. There has been many days where I have him in my crosshairs but, can't get the right shot. I see him wearing the red pants, red shirt, and red hat with the big chrome necklace. This is his favorite thing to wear. Today is the day I am going to do it. It’s been 6 months, it’s been too long. I know his schedule, I can predict every move he does, and today is the day.

     As I sit outside his apartment watching him through my scope, something seems a little odd today. He woke up a little later than usual. Normally he leaves the house around 6:30 but, today it’s already 11 o’clock and he is just getting dressed. Stay focused Brandon, keep him in your sight. Wait, his clothes are different too. Same chrome necklace, but today he has red pants, blue button up shirt, blue hat and a weird green tie. 

     Stay focused, I can still get this done. I have him in my crosshairs, I can do this. Wait for the right shot and pull the dam trigger. He is walking through his living room, taking his time walking across his polished wood floor. I take a deep breath, close my eyes and tell myself, "Brandon, you can do this."

     Open my eyes, take another deep breath. I pull the trigger slowly and then it feels like time stops as the bullet leaves my gun. I see the bullet gliding through the air towards the window of 175s apartment. Glass shatters as I blink. 175 turns and falls. Did I finally get the job done? Can I move onto my next target of 180?

     I wait a few seconds and I see 175 stand up and look towards me. I fall back in fear. Did he see me? Hopefully not. I peek over again look through my scope and see 175 shaking his head, laughing, as if he is invincible. How did I miss this shot? I was ready for it. 6 months went into this one shot and I blew it.

    All I can do is go back to the drawing board. Work on my shot every day and get better. Next time I get a shot a 175, I will make sure it’s a hit. I need to move on to my next target, 180. I've taken too long with this immortal 175.

Garage Lifter

*** This is a piece that I wrote almost a year ago. Thought I would post it on my blog***

With a new apartment and new gym a lot has been going through my mind. Where I came from, a typical 3 bedroom house with a garage and a simple weight set, flashes through my head. Lifting weights in the small garage with 1 lightbulb after a 10 hour work day, the ups and downs of training, having easy access to a bed, a couch, a good TV show, a beautiful wife waiting for me to finish, are just a few of the hardships of lifting by yourself in your own home. 

Every morning I wake up excited about my training and the workout for the day. I give myself a pep talk and set some training goals for day. I go all day anxious to begin my training, watching weightlifting videos, and of course teaching high school students math. When 4:20 hits and the last student leaves my classroom, something enters my body that is hard to explain. My energy levels plunge, negative thoughts go through my head, and the entire drive home my attitude towards training is negative. I believe these feelings comes from the expectations of what is to come. 

I see an image of a weightlifter, a weightlifter sitting by himself in a metal chair waiting to complete his next set. Lights super dim coming from a single lightbulb, the same hardcore rap music playing in the background, and a lifter contemplating his decision to lift. The same weightlifter questioning is it all worth it? Why be a weightlifter when sports like CrossFit are built around community? Athletes struggling together, helping each other through the rollercoaster of training, encouraging each other to finish faster and stronger.

When you hit a milestone, a lifetime PR, a personal goal alone in your garage, who is there to celebrate it with? Who is there to share the excitement with? No one, just yourself. Why be a weightlifter, alone in a garage, when the only person cheering you on is your own mind, conscience and will power? No teammates, No community, No Encouragement. 

Thanks for Reading???

     Blog name. Check. Write my first entry. Work in progress. I have decided to name my blog Kill Kilos Not Animals for a few reasons. I myself am a vegetarian, actually as of write now as I'm writing this, I'm vegan. Long story short, trying it for a week. 2nd, I am a competitive weightlifter that competes at the national level in the snatch and clean and jerk, even though I do not eat meat. So I have came up with the name kill kilos not animals to basically sum up 2 important parts of my life for the last 2 years, plus I use that hash tag on instagram, so why not? Go check it out #killkilosnotanimals.

       Now that you know where the name came from, I guess the next step is to tell you the direction this blog is heading. That direction is no direction. Some days I may write about "where do you get your protein from bro?" a question I get a lot being vegetarian. Look how big gorillas are dummy, and they don't eat meat. Some days I will write about the million random thoughts that go in and out of my head. And to be honest, most of my entries will be about weightlifting. Heck maybe i write some blogs about "lets save the earth together." Just know that my blog will be 2 things for sure. Random as hell, and it will have terrible grammar and spelling. I'm a math teacher for crying out loud. I don't know how to write, I just know how to math.

      At the end of the day maybe I'll gain a few followers, maybe not. Maybe I'll change some of you carnivorous lifters, into earth friendly, animal loving hippies, like myself, but then again, probably not. At the end of the day I don't care who reads this, who agrees with this, or if I write every week for the next year with no views. The only thing that matters to me is that using this blog, there is a chance that someone will get some enjoyment out of it and I will get a chance to express myself to the world of the internet. How do you finish a blog? Stay tuned for more entries and enjoy the ride? I don't know how to conclude this. Thanks for reading??

P.S. So I guess I can add a check mark to the "write my first entry" box.