The world of bodybuilding and eating are very intertwined. Body builders have to eat vast amounts of calories just to maintain their muscle, let alone build more. I’d imagine when you think of their diets you’re thinking of high protein, meat heavy diets. Steaks, mince, and loads of eggs.
John Thomas is an exception. He is a vegan bodybuilder with a following of over 109k on Instagram. “I was ten years old when I went vegetarian, and that was when I realised I had a choice. My friend told me if I ate the hamburger her mum bought me, then I was killing a cow.
“I thought about it, everyone I knew ate meat, so why shouldn’t I. Deep down I knew she was right. That Thanksgiving I saw the thanksgiving turkey on the table, and realised I should go vegetarian.
“It wasn’t until three years later that my mum gave me a PETA magazine that said being a vegetarian wasn’t enough. In the first two paragraphs I realised that every cow bred for dairy was artificially inseminated. Not only that, but after they have their calves taken from them, and stop being as financially effective at producing milk, the mother is killed and turned into a burger. There is no way that animals in agriculture are not being abused and mistreated simply for being born into the wrong species.”
All of this happened twenty years ago. This was long before veganism had its day in the sun as a fad diet, and before there was much information on it. “I didn’t really know what to eat” Thomas said, “I just knew who I didn’t want to eat.”
While the calling to veganism came to him quite early on in his life, it was a few years before the same call came from bodybuilding. “I watched Arnold [Schwarzenegger] growing up, I thought it was stupid, so I did wrestling.
“It wasn’t until the season ended, and we went to lift weights to get stronger. I realised it was way more fun than wrestling.
“I remember going into a commercial gym and finding the biggest guy there. I went up and asked him to show me how to work out. When he asked me what I eat I told him, and he told me I wasn’t going to grow unless I started eating meat. I believed him, and decided I would just work out for fun. Then I started growing muscle, and realised I was stronger than alot of people I worked out with.
“For the past 18 years I have never taken more than 6 consecutive days off from the gym.”
Being 20 years ago, with very little information about vegan eating being readily available, John had to figure out the best diet through trial and error. “I’ve tried every vegan diet under the sun. I;ve tried raw food vegan, fruitarian, keto. I’ve tried extremely high protein diets. I’m talking 370g of protein a day.
“I’ve tried all these different diets, but I’ve always had my doubts. People tell me that I can’t do this if I don’t put meat in my diet. I didn’t want to eat meat, but I wondered if I would be stronger if I did.”
About four years ago, John started coaching people. He runs a coaching team that has worked with over 600 people. “The doubts stopped when I got into this,” he reveals, “once I started seeing vegan athletes competing and winning, and helping them myself I realised the issues weren’t my diet, they were genetic. I just don’t have the best genetics for the sport, but my diet has really helped me.
“It keeps inflammation lower, and I don’t get sick. I haven’t taken a sick day in over five years, and the last time I was sick was because I drank dirty water.
“One big illness bodybuilders get is food poisoning, but that’s not something I have to worry about, I’ve never had it in my life.”
John’s personal belief is that eating meat is just not how our bodies are meant to run. “I don’t get ill, and I think thats because I am vegan.
“Don’t get me wrong, if zombies took over the world, I might be the first to shoot and eat a deer to stay alive, but in society today I just don’t think it’s optimal.
“Also, when you think about the pandemic a few years ago, and most pandemics as well. They all came from eating meat. I think that’s the universe trying to tell us something.”
Recently, social media has fueled the rise of the ‘gym-bro culture,’ an offshoot of the manosphere. Veganism is something they don’t like. “I’ve gotten hate since before I was vegan so I kind of expect it. It’s for a number of reasons, but also I am very outspoken about my beliefs. I don’t have the right to tell people what to do, but I also dont think other people have the right to take the life of an animal that wants to live, so I speak about that.
“I think people get a bit triggered by that, and triggered by vegans because deep down they know what they’re doing is wrong.
“In the realm of bodybuilding I get much more criticism than hate. They only hate me if I’m bigger than them. Mostly it’s because they’ll say stuff like ‘oh vegans haven’t proven much in the world of bodybuilding’ and stuff like that, but I think it’s because no one tries to the same degree.
“I think a big reason for this is that people often become vegan for their health, and realise the ethical side later. They’re far less likely to use performance enhancing drugs, and develop like that.
“Saying that, they are proving themselves in the natural scene. A recent competition was won by two vegans that didn;t know each other. Now that people know it’s possible it will happen more. It’s not just bodybuilding, if you look at the percentage of vegans that show up and do well in sports in general, we’re definitely over performing.”
Other notably vegan athletes include Serena Williams, and Lewis Hamilton.
For those struggling with, or thinking about going vegan, John has this advice: “Research why you want to be more healthy, and what control you have with that. Also, as a general tip, frozen fruit and veggies are a great starting point because they’re cheaper, and also frozen at the peak of nutritional goodness. Something in a store, fresh, however has probably travelled, and the nutrients have degraded by the time they reach you.
“Eating less processed whole foods is also healthier. Fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. This is a good way of staying fit and healthy, but if you want to get into bodybuilding you need to ramp up your protein.
“I really focus on getting enough nutrients first before protein, that should be the last thing. The majority of your food should come from easy to digest foods like rice, sweet potatoes or dates. As for protein, look at whatever digests best. I like tofu, tempe and seitan.”
Protein is widely considered to be the most essential macro-nutrient for developing at the gym, but John points out you need other things as well. “I had a friend trying to bulk, eating 350g of protein a day, but he wasn’t focused on other nutrients and calories, so he wasn’t growing.”
Protein is also really having its time in the sun as the newest food fad. As a bodybuilder, John’s take on that is that “people are being marketed to a quick fix rather than a lasting solution that might take more effort.
“Protein definitely has a place in society, because it’s the most filling and hardest to break down, but if you want to think about being healthy then you should focus more on fibre.”
John considers himself to be a vegan before a bodybuilder, and this is why he became an activist. “We find enough food to feed 90 billion land animals bred into existence per year, but can’t find enough for the human population. Veganism is just as much a humanitarian cause as it is for the animals.
“I eat twice as much food as the average vegan being a bodybuilder, and ethically I have struggled with this, but it takes 10 times less water to produce a kilo of grain compared to beef. I’m using twice as much water as a vegan, but only a fifth of a meat eater. I don’t think it would be ethical for me to continue as a body builder unless it is necessary to give me that platform to promote this message.”