Kelli is a vegan fitness enthusiast who has been following a plant-based diet for 16 years and counting. At 42 years old, Kelli is determined to get stronger and boost her overall quality of life through consistent resistance training and a passion for movement.
As a trained dancer, she has always been an athlete and has recently taken up cycling and climbing. Kelli sees fitness as an act of kindness towards herself and values body positivity and acceptance in all seasons of her journey.
She is excited about her progress in weight training and is always eager to learn more. Join Kelli on her journey to becoming an absolute plant-built unit and discover how she fuels her workouts with a vegan diet.
Meatless Movement recently had a chat with her.
Please tell us more about yourself
Hi, my name is Kelli and I am from Dallas, TX. I am a vegan fitness enthusiast and novice bodybuilder, in addition to being an educator, dancer, and performance artist.
No animals are harmed in the building of this body. 🚫
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40
I have been vegan for 16 years. I credit my adopting a vegan lifestyle to a good friend who is also vegan. He, amongst other things, is a punk musician and punk is pretty anti-establishment, so it’s no surprise that there were and are a lot of vegans on the punk scene. When I first attended one of his shows, I saw that his band had an entire merch table devoted to pro-vegan pamphlets, and those set me on a very eye opening path of learning about the realities of the animal agriculture industry. Once I learned the truth, there was no going back for me.
What are some difficulties encountered when looking for vegan/vegetarian food options?
You can love yourself and simultaneously want to change. They’re not mutually exclusive
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40
Access to vegan restaurant options has come a long way, especially in the last five years, but early on in my vegan journey, solid vegan options were pretty hard to come by. I ate wayyyy too many plates of hummus, greasy French fries, and sad side salads. I’m certain my fellow veteran vegans know this experience all too well. Lol.
In regards to challenges sharing meals with non-vegans, I’ve had my fair share of rude or defensive comments, but I learned pretty early on to ignore them, because that kind of behavior has nothing to do with me and everything to do with their own feelings of guilt and shame.
Ever wonder what vegans eat to build muscle?
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40
A lot of people still think there’s the misconception that vegans only eat salads and are protein deficient or that vegan food is bland and boring and vegans are joyless militants. The best way I can educate people to the contrary is by example – by sharing all of the varied, tasty, and abundant food I eat and by sharing my joy filled muscle building fitness journey via social media.
If you’re ever in Dallas, you’ve got to check out Casa del Vegano. They make delicious vegan Tex Mex and Latin fusion fare. And if you make to Fort Worth, be sure to check out Pizza Verde. They make incredibly luscious wood-fired vegan pizzas.
What approach would you suggest to encourage someone who hasn’t adopted a vegan/vegetarian diet to give meatless food a try?
The words you say to yourself matter. Make them empowering.
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40
Remember this – Stepping into your power and being comfortable in your own skin is a particularly beautiful kind of freedom. In other words – Do it for you, babe.
Adopting a vegan lifestyle has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has allowed me to not only live in ethical alignment with my values, but has also improved and supported my physical and mental health.
I think I’d let the food do the talking, honestly. You’re more likely to convince someone’s tastebuds before you’ll convince their minds and hearts. Once people realize that they’re not missing out on the sensory pleasures of food by eating vegan, it makes making the switch a lot easier for people.
Don’t strive to be perfect. Strive to be better. Always.
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40
Take it slow, have fun with it, don’t worry about being perfect, commit to doing a little better each day, and remember that other people’s behavior and comments have nothing to do with you.
Once you get to a place where your inner narrative shifts from “I have to” to “I get to,” you find yourself in a pretty great position to do some pretty amazing things.
You won’t ever regret making the compassionate choice, and being vegan allows you to make that choice every single day.
Vegan Fitness – Fitness Over 40 she/her
Here to eat 🌱 and get jacked.💥
Follow me on my vegan, forty+, fitness journey.
Coached by: @marshallfent @jackedvegans
All photos courtesy of Patrick Kratz