By Rebecca Drew
MEET the super ripped student who went from scrawny teen to musclebound hunk after adopting a vegan diet that helped him gain more than three-stone of muscle.
Before going vegan twelve months ago, Fritz Horstmann (20) from Berlin, Germany, was already confident in his body but didn’t really know what he was doing in the gym. At 11st 11lbs, he would fill up on chicken and dairy, skipping vegetables. This left Fritz feeling confused when his muscles weren’t getting bigger because he wasn’t counting calories and macros and didn’t have an effective workout routine.
Fritz started working out in 2013, but now plans his meals around his workouts and knows his macros inside out which has seen him reach 14st 13lbs. Fritz credits his vegan lifestyle for making him more conscious of the world around him.
“I was confident in my body before going vegan and still am, if not even more. I’m also much more conscious about my surrounding, learning to understand people and self-improving. All just because I went plant-based,” he said.
“I read the book, “How Not To Die” by Dr Michael Greger and it just changed my views completely. I caught myself eating exactly the unhealthy animal foods he researched, finding out that they are really bad for our health.
“I decided I wanted to live longer and have a happier and more fulfilling life and went vegetarian and shortly afterwards vegan.
“After seeing the environmental and animal-saving benefits, there was no going back.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re an omnivore or vegan, the variables of muscle gaining stay the same: hit your macros (protein, fats, carbs) and calories (and of course work out) and you will get results.
“I eat all kinds of plant foods ranging from quinoa to the occasional vegan faux meat and a lot more fruit and greens than before I went vegan.
“I know that I provide my body with the right nutrients, so it can thrive and I’m creating a much brighter future for me and for the environment.
“You know the feeling after eating greasy fries or a McDonalds Burger? I just don’t want to feel that way after eating, my body basically glows from the inside with all the good, plant-based food.”
For Fritz, making the change to veganism was not a difficult transition but he does admit that his body craved the three Ben & Jerrys ice creams he used to eat a week at first, which for him was a sign he ate too much. When people see his transformation they always question him on how he manages to build muscle.
“I always get asked, don’t you lack protein because you need meat to build muscle,” he explained.
“Most of them are surprised and people that know me or see me wouldn’t associate me with being vegan, maybe it’s because I’m tall, pretty big and have a good presence and people think vegans are limps.
“The first few weeks and months did take some time to find the right foods to eat and which quantity and my body had to adapt, but personally I didn’t have any struggles and my family and friends were super supportive.
“My advice for people wanting to try veganism is to find knowledgeable people on the internet, read about all the benefits, inform yourself which supplements you need to use, go slow or cold turkey, totally depends on you.
“If you want to do it slowly, then cut out eggs and dairy first, meat at the end. You can either do vegan days, three to four days a week working your way up or replacing dinner everyday with a vegan option.
“For fitness in general, just start. It takes approximately three weeks to start a habit, so don’t even think about not doing it.
“Just go to the gym, track your food, inform yourself or get a coach and you’ll love the feeling it gives you.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/fritzness_
