The Vegan Alternative to the Best Body of Your Life

Vegan health and fitness guru, Jeff Morgan.

Is it possible to achieve the best body of your life without consuming animal protein and a myriad of supplements? Health and fitness guru, YouTube personality and cookbook author, Jeff Morgan not only says yes, he provides a vegan roadmap to achieving the healthiest, fittest, happiest body you’ve likely ever known.

The Dandy Rake (TDR):    How did you initially come to discover the benefits of a vegan diet and what sparked your journey down this path?

Jeff Morgan (JM): I had always been athletic. I was a competitive gymnast in my teens and early 20’s. As a byproduct of intense training, I developed a nice physique. I carried that physique with me through my 20’s as I became a certified personal trainer. I automatically assumed that since I had a nice body, I was healthy. But that theory couldn’t stand the test of time.

In my 30’s I started noticing symptoms of ill health such as Rosacea, chronic inflammation, intestinal bloating, constipation, high cholesterol and seasonal allergies that were getting worse every year. I began treating myself topically and trying to figure out which new superfood would cure my ailments. My mindset was “What do I need to add to my diet so I can heal?”

TDR:   What were some of the traditional remedies you tried?

JM: I tried adding wheatgrass juice, coconut oil, Chinese herbs, vegetable juice, you name it. If it said “superfood” I bought it, or should I say bought into it. Never once did it occur to me that perhaps it was something I had to remove from my diet. By the age of 40, I was so frustrated with my bodily aches, pains, discomforts and this annoying skin disorder that I literally threw my hands up and said: “I have no idea what to do!”

My body wasn’t healing itself. Intrinsically I knew the body could heal itself but mine sure wasn’t and I knew it was only a matter of time before I got hit hard with a life-threatening disease. I could feel it coming.

TDR:   Describe your typical diet before going vegan?

JM:    My diet had always been very heavy on animal products. I’d eat some form of animal protein in every meal whether it be eggs, ground turkey, fish or beef. I would make sandwiches with processed meats which, come to find out, are considered Class 1 Carcinogens by the World Health Organization. To give some perspective, cigarettes are also Class 1 Carcinogens.

TDR:   So when and how did you have your breakthrough?

JM:      My wife had occasionally mentioned a vegan diet but I politely dismissed it due to my beliefs that animal protein was a necessary component to muscle building and strength. She continued learning and began making delicious vegan dishes. I would try them in tandem with eating my traditional animal-based diet.

Let’s just say that my mind was open but not quite ready. Then, on one fateful day, she showed me a lecture video by Dr. Michael Greger called “Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death.” That video went over the leading causes of death in western culture, which happened to be diet-related and specifically related to the consumption and over-consumption of animal products. Something triggered and the next day I was vegan and never turned back. That was June of 2014.

TDR:   Did you have any doubts about the change and the effect it would have on your body?

To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive at first because of my attachment to my physique. After all, I had been eating animal-based products for 42 years. I wasn’t even breastfed as an infant so you could say I’ve been eating animal products since birth. I was worried I’d lose muscle and since I’m also a father of two beautiful boys I was concerned about their health - not because data didn’t exist supporting a plant-based diet but because of my own habits of thought and long-lived beliefs.

 TDR:   What were some of the initial challenges you faced in adopting the diet? Was it difficult to adapt to? Was eating initially a challenge for you?

 JM:    Initially I was very motivated. That excitement of trying something new and perhaps healing my ailments really carried me through the transitions. The biggest challenge really was the social one. My friends and family are used to me doing certain things and whenever I make a change, it is not only I that has to adjust, others in my life had to adjust around me.

Meals with family and friends had a new element in them that wasn’t always comfortable for others. Some people get embarrassed when I ask the waiters/waitresses for specific dishes and make special requests. But I’ve learned to be ok with that. [But] Eating wasn’t really a challenge because I simply replaced all the foods I would traditionally eat with their vegan equivalent. Mentally I had to make the adjustment from the belief that by eating animal products I was getting x, y, and z nutrients and after taking them out I wondered if I was still getting the nutrients I needed. But instead of stressing, I simply started studying. So, the initial challenges were overcome by study, discipline and the attitude of “I’m doing what’s best for me and my family.” to, “I can’t be concerned how it looks to others.”

TDR:   How did you figure out what to eat maintain your muscle mass?

JM:     My wife and I started learning about where nutrients come from and that humans don’t need “protein” per se but amino acids, which are the building blocks of all protein. We discovered that all essential amino acids come from plants and that plants are the mother source of all amino acids the human body needs. So, we found foods like beans, lentils and other legumes, tofu, tempeh, seitan and certain whole grains that are loaded with the essential amino acids/protein and started eating those things coupled with other complex and simple carbohydrates that we normally ate such as whole grains and whole grain products, fruits and vegetables.

TDR:   Honestly, do ever even feel the tiniest bit deprived?

JM:     I never felt deprived because health was more a focus for me than sense pleasure – which usually lasts for a very brief moment. The condition of our health is something we live with for our entire life.

I can’t say that I don’t miss certain foods. But that’s like anything we’re used to and have given up. Missing something is not an indication of positive value so I don’t think that because I miss something that it is essential to my health.

 TDR:   Turning to the upside, what were some of the positive changes you recognized in your life after adopting the diet and how long did it take you to experience noticeable physical results?

Honestly, I was pretty shocked at how quickly I responded.

I was used to things taking months to heal or not heal at all. Within 2 weeks the bloating and inflammation disappeared. My joints felt better and I could button the top button on my pants once again. I started losing body fat without even trying and my skin started clearing up. I had energy and felt so much better that I increased the intensity on my workouts only to find out I was still gaining muscle. It was literally, all positive.

It took about a year for my skin to finally get to a point where I wasn’t having any flare-ups but I still had to make some more adjustments in my diet because I was still eating some processed foods that had a lot of sugar and oil in them, which didn’t agree with my skin. For 20 years I had this annoying fatty cyst on my left ankle that disappeared within 2 weeks and never returned. I was also curious about my allergies, but I had to wait until spring.

 When spring came I was shocked once again. I hardly had any reaction to the pollen and could go outside and enjoy the weather and the beauty of nature without my face swelling up and sneezing every other breath. My cholesterol went down from 215 t0 175 within a few months and dropped even further as time went on. I literally felt like I had turned the clock backwards on my age. Within 3 months I had my 18-year-old, gymnast waist back. I was psyched!

TDR:   At what point did you begin your quest to focus on the major muscle gains that could be achieved through a vegan diet?

JM:     It took about 2 years before I decided to start bodybuilding. I had always looked on bodybuilding as an egoistic sport that focused on simply displaying the human body. But that was a narrow-minded viewpoint. It’s a sport that people love and can use to forward a cause. Once I had a big enough “cause” I decided to go for it. I understood that modern day society is highly influenced by outward appearance (unfortunately) and I felt that I could use my physique to turn peoples heads toward a healthier way of living that not only promotes human health but has an enormous positive impact on the environment and animal welfare as well.

TDR:   What misconceptions about building muscle mass did you discover as your journey took proverbial flight?

JM:     My misconceptions were that I couldn’t get that big or put on a lot of muscle. Another one was that we needed supplements in order to grow. After all, you’ll rarely find a bodybuilder that isn’t on some sort of bodybuilding supplement. Now as a disclaimer, I am not against supplementation. They can be very helpful, especially when people are putting their body’s through tremendous stress in the gym. But they are ultimately not essential.

 Another naive misconception was that there are way fewer people on steroids than there actually are. The body that many people have these days is a byproduct of drug use. I was shocked to find out how open people are these days about their use of performance-enhancing drugs. It creates a very unlevel playing field when it comes to competition but if staying natural means losing a competition and gaining my health – I’ll stay natural. 

TDR:   Discover any common misconceptions about how a vegan diet can impact building muscle mass?

JM:     One of the biggest misconceptions is that we need animal protein and in large amounts to build human muscle tissue. The more muscle I put on simply by working hard in the gym and eating beans, whole grains, nuts & seeds, fruits & vegetables the more I realized that I was indeed getting all the nutrition my body needed from plant sources with the added bonus of improving my overall health markers. Another misconception is that people don’t have the strength to body build when they aren’t eating animal protein. This is a major misconception because a plant-based diet has been proven to clean out human arteries and due to the high concentrations of nitric oxide in plant foods, blood flow to all areas of the body is increased due to vasodilation. When more blood can get to the areas it’s needed, performance is greatly enhanced.

TDR:   Let’s talk about your personal experience. Where were you, in physical terms, when you began your journey and where are you now? How much muscle have you gained and how do you feel about your body?

JM:     I was about 160 pounds when I first started. I had a little lower abdominal body fat. I am currently 175 pounds and with less body fat than when I started. It’s been tough gaining more than that because my diet is so clean and I hate overeating which is a necessary component of bodybuilding. Over-eating in more acceptable terms is called a “calorie surplus.” I’m not a big eater so to have to eat more than I feel I need to eat to continuously gain. But that’s where supplements can come into play.

I currently take Clean BCAA’s from Clean Machine which helps me maintain my muscle mass without going into a “calorie surplus” all the time which is good for overall health. Clean Machine also has an incredible whole-food based protein powder called Clean Green Protein that has been really helpful as well.

I feel great about my body. To be a 46-year-old husband and father of 2 and be in the shape I’m in and virtually pain-free has been a wonderful achievement and, dare I say, miraculous based on the direction I was headed.

I’m currently not interested in gaining much more muscle but in order to compete, I may have to.

TDR:   Speaking of competing, you’re even competing in bodybuilding competitions now, which is something that you didn’t even do before going vegan? Why?

JM:     I’m a person that likes having goals. Since most of the goals I had as a youth were sports-related I decided I wanted to use all the new-found energy I had to accomplish another goal – vegan bodybuilding. Sounds like an oxymoron but I guarantee you it is not. Vegan bodybuilders are popping up all over the world now and in large numbers. It’s not that people couldn’t become vegan bodybuilders decades ago. People just didn’t know it was possible. It kind of reminds me of the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes in 1954 – Roger Bannister. Before he did it, it was thought of as impossible. After he did it, many more followed. So, it wasn’t impossible. It was the limited belief or understanding of what the human being is capable of.

TDR: Was your YouTube channel. Guilt-Free TV, borne out of a similar message?

Guilt Free TV was born with a desire to spread a message – a message of a healthier way of living, a more compassionate way of living. YouTube is a fantastic platform to spread information, so I decided to launch Guilt Free TV – Plant Based Fitness and Lifestyle channel in July of 2015. I always had a desire to be in front of the camera and what better an opportunity than to create a media platform where I no longer had to audition! I always got the role! It was deeper than just being in front of the camera though. Through the channel, I’ve helped educate and inspire people to step out of their comfort zones, which are not always comfortable, and try new things.

There is a lot of debate between omnivores and vegans yet most vegans have lived both ways so they can truly understand and “know” the difference between both ways of life. There is something to be said about first-hand experience and I would encourage everyone to become more educated about the source of nutrients and what the human body really needs. We also must take into consideration the sub-optimal conditions that food is grown or raised in. It is no mystery that food these days is less nutrient dense than it used to be while simultaneously it may contain added harmful elements such as toxins, bacteria, pesticides, growth hormones and so on.

TDR:   Last question, what do you say to your skeptics?

JM:     That I too was a skeptic.

Learn more about Jeff’s approach to plant-based fitness and lifestyle by subscribing to his YouTube channel, Guilt-FreeTV. Meanwhile, follow Jeff's progress and download his free e-book chock full of healthy, healthy delicious vegan recipes, at https://guiltfreetv.org/.