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Welcome to the most narcissistic video I’ve ever made.
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It’s all about making me look as good as possible.
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Strong.
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Flawless.
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Professional.
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[record scratch & music stops]
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Well that didn’t last long.
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Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan
and welcome to another vegan nugget.
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I typically shy away from content focused
on my body and physical appearance
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as I have so many educational topics to address
that are of far greater importance than my abs.
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That said, there is validity in providing
a visual example of what one can achieve
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without animal products.
So I’ll bust out the final pictures
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at the end of the video
after sharing the shoot experience.
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Be sure to stay for the finals
but here’s a lil’ sneak peak.
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So, this past August I flew out
to Los Angeles for a photo shoot
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with my friend Melissa Schwartz
for the book she’s writing.
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I had a lot of work to do
to get into shape for this shoot
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and about two and a half months to do it.
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But after literally working my butt off,
though not all the way off
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thanks to squatting heavy,
I was ready for my close up.
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For those interested, my routine consisted
of a core weight training regiment
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that varied in reps and sets
over the two and a half months,
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ample outdoor bike rides,
sometimes twice a day,
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and some high intensity interval training
in the form of TABATA and PACE sessions.
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For some tips, tweaks and ample moral support,
I consulted with the chiseled Derek Tresize
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and the stunning
vegan fitness model Crissi Carvalho,
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both of whom you can find
in the vegan athlete series playlist
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linked in the sidebar and below.
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I’m so thankful to them both
for their guidance, wisdom,
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and for putting up with
my photo-shoot-prep-induced insanity.
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So, on to the shoot itself.
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Melissa Schwartz
is an incredibly gifted photographer
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and the mastermind behind
the vegan revolution website
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and upcoming book.
I’ll let her tell you a little about it herself.
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Hi, I'm Melissa Schwartz.
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So the book is aimed
at helping people transition to veganism.
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And it's kind of--
everybody gives their own little story
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about how they became vegan
and what works for them
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for their health and fitness.
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So today we shot some great pictures of Emily.
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Emily: And those great shots
have everything to do with Melissa
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because I had no idea what I was doing.
I’m not a terribly photogenic person,
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nor aware of how to position or angle myself,
so luckily she gave a lot of direction.
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And of course, as always,
I went makeup free,
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save for my home-made vegan chapstick,
which you can find out how to make
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in the video linked up there and below.
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While I had Melissa,
I asked her about her own vegan journey.
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It wasn't until I moved to L.A.
and I was down on Third Street Promenade--
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and now I'm friends with the people that do this,
but there were people out there
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showing on a screen slaughterhouse footage
and I had never seen that before.
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And I was just shocked that it took
till that age for somebody to show that to me.
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Anybody that shows that kind of stuff to people,
the people react not so much badly
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to the message,
they react badly to the messenger.
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So it takes people with a lot of balls
to come out and say what needs to be said.
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And that's one reason I have
tremendous respect for people like Emily.
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And not only that,
but she does it in such a way that is very...
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you know,
she's not talking down to people,
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she's just telling you the truth.
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And often that is what people are doing;
they're just telling you the truth.
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Even when they're showing you
some violent, graphic video.
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We're not doing it to shame anybody,
that's the truth!
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There it is. If you feel ashamed
that's something internal for you.
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Melissa’s book will cover
the “why” of veganism
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with her own rigorously-researched writing,
and the “how” with the stories
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and advice of the impressive array
of vegan contributors she has put together.
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And somehow
I’m in there too.
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The accompanying website,
which is in development but viewable,
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will eventually have a social functionality
whereby you could hire the contributors
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for personal training, coaching,
or whatever services they may have to offer.
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But back to my body.
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Because that’s
what’s really important here.
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So, let’s see the final results, shall we?
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So here’s me doing
a nice squeeze side pose,
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looking down
to be sure I’m flexing my abs.
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And on the insistence of Melissa,
a booty shot.
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Then the stare down.
And the booty pop side view.
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A black and white option, more subdued.
The same one in color.
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And for some fun, yoga.
There’s camel
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and crow.
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So there you have it!
My vegan muscle shoot.
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If you want to see
some actual athletes of the vegan variety
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and get some serious fitness inspiration,
check out my vegan athlete series,
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which still has more videos to come!
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If you liked
this gratuitous display of my musculature,
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do give the video a thumbs up.
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If you’re new here,
I’d love to have you as a subscriber.
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I put out fresh content
covering all aspects of veganism
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every Monday, Wednesday
and some Fridays.
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Not typically
consisting of my own body.
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To help support Bite Size Vegan’s
educational efforts,
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please see the support link below
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or click on the Nugget Army icon
or the link in the sidebar.
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Now go live vegan,
build some vegan muscle,
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and I’ll see you soon!