Hello, I am Jim Gurtner, founder of VeganHealthAndStrength.com – a site dedicated to producing strong, muscular, and healthy bodies on a vegan, or plant-based diet.

Being big and muscular on a vegan diet sounds great, but you are probably asking, could it ever happen for me? Are you afraid that adopting this diet would make you look weak and thin?

This was the fear I faced in 1989 after my wife’s health started to deteriorate (largely gastrointestinal) shortly after we got married. We visited many doctors, even the now famous Dr. Atkins in New York, but with no relief. We started to suspect that the problem may have been caused by her recent change in diet. Being largely a vegetarian when she was single, we reasoned that her change to my diet at the time, meat, egg, and milk-based, had caused the problem. So after adopting a vegan diet, her health problems were completely resolved in a few short weeks!

My research at the time showed that a vegan diet was the best for health and longevity, but having trained as a competitive bodybuilder for the prior 10 years I did not want in any way or fashion to look thin and weak. But in order to support my wife, I gave up all animal products anyway and adopted a whole-foods, plant-based vegan diet. Being a new father with new family obligations, I ended up not competing for nearly 8 years.

After being on a vegan diet for 8 years I decided it was time to prove to myself and my children that a strong muscular body could be built on a plant-based diet by competing in a powerlifting meet. In one year in 1998, I took my body weight from 200 to 242lbs and won 2 state powerlifting championships, one in Georgia and another one in New Jersey, my home state. In 2003 I won another Georgia state championship. At one meet I was the biggest man there at 247lbs in bodyweight! See my video here: 1998 Georgia State – 1st place Masters Class

Since that time I have been coaching others on what it takes, diet and exercise-wise, how to build the strong, healthy, and muscular body you have always wanted on the healthiest diet of all – a vegan diet!

I invite you to join me on this exciting journey of eating delicious, satisfying food, enjoying productive workouts with full energy and stamina while quickly adding muscle to your body. I am looking forward to accompanying you on this, your new endeavor!

To your health and strength,
Jim Gurtner – Founder
Vegan Health & Strength, LLC