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Meat Meets Meet: How I Built A Community Of Female Bodybuilders Around A Vegan Diet

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The right support can make or break a new diet or workout regime. This is why a strong sense of community and belonging makes a world of difference when it comes to reaching fitness goals. 

The founder of The Sculpted Vegan, Kim Constable, is keenly aware of the benefits of making people feel valued and supported on their journey to healthier and stronger bodies. In fact, she has based her entire multi-million dollar business on the idea of building a community of like-minded people and putting her clients before profits.

“From the outset, I focused on supporting and serving my people rather than on finding more customers. This wasn’t a strategy, it’s just who I am,” Constable says. “When someone tries something new, they are vulnerable. And when you are there for them every step of the way, loving them deeply and upholding them when they can’t uphold themselves, something magical happens. They realize that you aren’t just there to take their money. They realize that you truly care.”  

Bulking up vegan

Constable founded The Sculpted Vegan to help women shape their bodies without consuming animal products. She also wanted to debunk the misconception that you cannot build muscle without eating meat and dairy. And to prove that a tailored diet of high-protein foods such as tofu, legumes, and quinoa can be a game-changer when it comes to achieving muscle gain. 

“I was a vegetarian for 16 years and a vegan for one when I decided to start sculpting my body. My coach had no experience training vegans and told me that he wouldn’t be able to help with my nutrition plan. This is when I decided to do my own research and was startled that there was practically zero information out there to help me,” says the Belfast-based mom of four. 

Realizing that she would have to start from scratch, Constable set out to devise her own vegan nutrition regime. And her painstaking research paid off. Constable gradually started to see what she refers to as her loose skin fill up with muscle. At the age of 37, she even won a bodybuilding bikini competition and six more titles in the following two years. 

It took Constable four years to get her figure exactly to where she wanted it. Throughout this time, her nutritional plan continued to evolve. She also gradually started to realize that there were many vegan women out there in the same situation she was in four years before. “If I was searching for information that wasn’t there, there must have been many others doing the same,” she says.

Helping others achieve results 

Constable used her experience in health, wellness, business, and marketing to start The Sculpted Vegan from her kitchen table. At the time, she had limited financial backing and virtually no social media following. Nevertheless, Constable’s first bodybuilding program for women, the 18-month Sculpt and Shred, was a roaring success, generating $52,000 right after launch. 

Since founding the Sculpted Vegan, Constable has masterminded 10 other online fitness programs – all designed to get women ripped without consuming animal products. Today some of Constable’s most popular programs include the 1-week, 4-week, and 12-week shreds, and the 8-week butt camp. There is also the Jailhouse Shred that helps women build muscles using their own body weight.

The results have been nothing short of extraordinary. Constable’s bodybuilding business ended up making $8 million in the first three years of operation, and today generates $400,000 in revenue each month. She also has over 450,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook and hosts an iTunes podcast that tackles a range of taboo topics with a monthly audience of 200,000. 

Tailored support

Realizing that some need more hands-on support than others when it comes to reaching fitness goals, Constable also offers one-on-one coaching sessions with top bodybuilding and nutrition coaches. Her other business, The Million Dollar Mentor, in turn, trains others how to create and manage their own successful brands. “I really love coaching. I love empowering women to be successful. After all, if I can do it, anyone can,” she says.

This year will also see Constable launch The Sculpted Vegan app, which will enable members to find both her programs and a community of like-minded women. “The custom-built app will be a one-stop-shop for buying and following my program, coaching support, and meal planning. It will also showcase the Sculpted Vegan fitness wear, bikinis, and apparel.”

Another part of the app will be the Sculpted Vegan University, a platform for learning about bodybuilding and nutrition via online live lectures and recordings. “There is also a certification program in the pipeline where coaches will be able to get certified in the Sculpted Vegan training methods, so they can help other women build their dream bodies,” Constable says.

Keys to success

Ever since she was a little girl, Constable knew that one day she would be successful. She was determined and disciplined, and no stranger to taking care of others. “After my parents separated, my siblings and I were sent to a boarding school. I was always the organized one, the shoulder to cry on, despite being the youngest,” she says. “Now, I have a husband and four kids who are home-schooled. If I commit to training five days a week, I do it. If I say I’m going to make a million dollars from my business, I do it. There’s no room for excuses.”

Today, Constable uses the same strength, integrity, and compassion to help women sculpt incredible bodies. “My programs are hard and I am very upfront about that. I tell women not to buy my programs unless they are prepared to put in the hard yards,” she says. “Anyone can achieve anything they want, including an amazing body, but it requires work, consistency, and discipline. Those are the keys to success.”

Michelle has been a part of the journey ever since Bigtime Daily started. As a strong learner and passionate writer, she contributes her editing skills for the news agency. She also jots down intellectual pieces from categories such as science and health.

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Health

The Subtle Cues in Our Environment that Encourage Healthier Living

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The choices we make each day regarding our diet, activity and lifestyle habits ultimately determine our health and wellbeing. Nonetheless, the surroundings we inhabit also actively influence those decisions, whether we realize it or not. Our built environment contains many subtle cues that either promote or impede healthy behaviors. With thoughtful awareness, we can leverage and shape these cues to nudge ourselves toward more positive choices. 

Architectural Cues for Active Living

Urban design and infrastructure elements play a major role in our activity levels. Visible, accessible staircases encourage climbing over passive elevator use. Features like centrally located, attractive stairwells bathed in natural light make stairs hard to ignore. Artwork beautifies the ascent while music enlivens acoustics. Placing stairwells near prominent gathering areas also maximizes exposure and use. Conversely, hidden dreary stairwells discourage climbing. Building layouts should make stairways the default for short trips. Thoughtful design embeds activity into daily routines.

Outside, continuous sidewalks and protected bike lanes provide clear cues that active transit is safe and expected. Ample parking signals driving is preferable. Traffic calming measures like speed humps and narrowed lanes imprint mental cautions for vehicles to accommodate bikes and pedestrians. Sidewalk street furniture and plantings buffer walkers from traffic. Crosswalks, pedestrian signals, and refuge islands imprint rights of way. Complete Streets redesign allocates fair space for diverse safe use. Our infrastructure surroundings can literally pave the path for active living.

Office and Home Cues

Subtle factors within buildings also affect activity and diet. Kitchen placement, for instance, affects our choices. Research shows open concept kitchens integrated into living areas encourage more healthful cooking and family meals than closed off kitchens. Islands and open shelving provide visual snack cues that can either prompt cravings or showcase fruits, nuts, and other healthy grabs. Kitchens sited near entries or offices also maximize visibility and food prep use rather than distant basement kitchens. 

At offices, centrally located shared spaces like break rooms, cafes and snack nooks encourage communal meals, informal gatherings and refueling walks to retrieve snacks. Providing showers, bike racks and lockers signals active commuting is valued. Standing and treadmill desks prompt movement during sedentary work, while choice architecture guides selections from communal food areas. Simple environmental adjustments nudge better decisions.

Nutritional Cues at Markets and Restaurants

Eateries and markets harbor cues that stimulate cravings along with willpower depletion. Certain lighting, music, and décor stimulate overindulgence. Cues that unconsciously hurry patrons undermine reasoned decisions. Scented air surrounding baked goods stalls awakens salivation and desire. Strategic menu design also sways choices. Listing unhealthy items first or at eye level suppresses willpower. Descriptive names romanticize less healthy options. Menu formatting can also highlight nutritious dishes and portion guidance. Markets use product placement for maximizing impulse grabs. Though subtle, environmental exposures across stores and eateries significantly sway our eating choices.

Cues for Hydration and Rest

Proper hydration and sleep are imperative for our wellbeing but are easily overlooked when immersed in urban settings and schedules. Environmental design can combat these gaps through strategic cues. Plentiful public water fountains provide visual refreshment reminders throughout cities, while placing restrooms near fountains links the hydration notion. Cafes position chilled water dispensers up front for thirst-quenching without calories. Homes and offices forget hydration less with decorative pitchers and glasses on tables. Lighting design is key for sleep cues. Dimming lights in workplaces and warm home lighting provide visual preparation for rest. Cool-toned blue hues stimulate and signal awakening. Our surroundings can cue us to drink and sleep wisely.

Signage and Sensory Cues  

Explicit signs offer direct visual cues to healthier behaviors – such as a no smoking sign that prompts at entrances. Staircases could feature plaques tallying burned calories. Cafeterias may display encouragements to take smaller portions or try vegetable sides. Signs foster mindfulness and restraint at choice points. Sensory cues also guide behaviors. Smells eliciting happiness or calm can de-stress environments. Soothing natural sounds and music relax tense settings. Harsh lighting and noise stimulate frenetic energy and impulsiveness. Pleasant sensory experiences invite more mindful, deliberate choices. Uplifting cues infuse healthy messaging into spaces.

Art and Nature Cues for Wellbeing  

Artwork carrying uplifting themes or depicting healthy activities, fruits and vegetables, serene nature and joyful gatherings infuses visual positivity into surroundings. Murals and wall graphics remind us what truly matters for wellbeing. Images are digestible in passing, sinking into the subconscious. Vibrant, thriving plants and greenery provide natural visual relief and comfort that lower stress. Decor mimicking natural materials brings warmer textures. Spatial flow mimicking nature’s curves calms minds. Natural light and windows boost mentality and sleep cycle regulation. Thoughtful touches of art and nature foster mental balance, positivity, and healthy choices.

Conclusion

Our everyday surroundings contain many subtle influences on our diet, activity, sleep, and lifestyle, either promoting or hindering health. But heightened awareness of these cues allows us to consciously reshape environments for encouraging wiser choices. Simple changes to architecture, office layouts, signage, lighting, art, and nature contact encourage movement, nutrition, and wellbeing. Our minds absorb ambient cues, so design wisely. When supportive healthy cues surround us, positive habits become a little easier, more inviting, and purposeful. Think about cues you could shift for better living. Small nudges in public spaces and our homes can guide us all toward healthier, more thoughtful lives.

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