Vegan strongman Patrik Baboumian is exactly the opposite of what people generally believe to be the common stereotype for vegan dieters – skinny.
The badass vegan strongman breaks lifting records
Who would ever think that Baboumian, who is purely vegan – currently holds the world record for carrying the most weight by a human at a staggering 1216 pounds and is also reputed as “Germany’s Strongest Man” – a title he holds since 2011.
“I’m probably the most unthinkable vegan on the planet for several reasons,” says Baboumian, who developed his passion for weight lifting in his childhood back in the 1980’s.
“I always had that desire of being strong and being able to protect myself, being able to protect others,” says Baboumian.
Carnivore vs vegan
Baboumian didn’t start out a vegan but was a regular meat-eating person who used to love dairy products like milk which he would take 10 liters no less every day as part of his fitness strength training diet.
He said that when he decided to become a vegan, he struggled at first, not being able to perfectly commit to a pure vegan lifestyle due to his heavyweight mass nutritional requirements, thinking at first it might be difficult to maintain that same level of nutrition to match his training.
Form of advocacy
Baboumian points out that his decision to embrace the vegan lifestyle stemmed from his growing awareness on social responsibility regarding the environment and health, claiming that his eyes were opened to the reality that meat and livestock consumption contributes largely to the planet’s carbon footprint.
From there, Baboumian stopped eating any food that come from animals.
“I used to be an addict to milk, but thought that instead of feeding cows soy and then drinking their milk, why not just source my milk from soy and drink it directly,” Baboumian points out.
It was at this juncture that he then embraced a pure vegan lifestyle.
For the better
Baboumian got the surprise of his life when his body took a turn with the unexpected.
“I got heavier, I got stronger, I won the European championship title in powerlifting, I broke three world records so everything was going perfect … my blood pressure went down, and my recovery time was so much faster so I could train more,” Baboumian muses. “Most people think if you are vegan you eat just green stuff, you just eat salad and lettuce and veggies the whole day … I’m eating beans, legumes, lentils and peas and rice and potatoes and a lot of things that have calories to give me the energy to do what I do.”
Image Credit: (DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR)
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