The world of bodybuilding is dominated by young, fit, protein-packing competitors with
diets heavy in animal-products. In a sport that’s drawn much controversy over the dangerous
dietary and drug-related practices of its participants, one woman is defying every stereotype
in the book. In a year-long run of constant competition, Crissi Carvalho is proving that
not only can vegans build and maintain muscle, but they can do so in a manner that’s sustainable,
healthy, and high-carb. On the verge of 43, this vegan fitness model, mother of two and
cancer-scare survivor overtook the omnivores with her recent win at the Arnold Classic.
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Today I’m excited to
have back on the channel Crissi Carvalho, better known as the vegan fitness model,
as part of the Vegan Athlete Series.
Crissi has been in the fitness industry since she was 16, competing as an omnivore—
complete with bulking and cutting cycles and the resulting development of disordered eating.
After a cancer scare which you can hear more about in my first interview with Crissi, she went vegan
and re-entered the fitness world at 40, with a whole new take on health, vibrancy, and balance.
Crissi’s currently in the midst of attempting a solid year-long competition run and just
nabbed a win at the Arnold Classic! Today she going to share about what sets her apart,
the dangers of physique competing, and how she regained her health
and strives to inspire others to do the same.
For those non-Aussies out there, captions are available if you’re not accent-savvy.
Without further ado, let’s hear from Crissi herself!
Emily: Well Crissi, I want to thank you so much for coming back on the channel
and giving us some of your time.
Crissi: Thank you, lovely to be back, Emily.
Emily: So, tell me a little bit about winning the Arnold Classic and what exactly that signifies
to people who aren’t familiar with the bodybuilding world.
Crissi: It’s actually a really, really prestigious event to be a part of. You have to qualify
to get into it with the IFBB, they actually run all the Arnold Classics around the world.
That federation is the oldest federation, it’s the one that Arnold Schwarzenegger
and all the greats of the greats have always competed with. So, it’s probably the most
recognized, the most prestigious, if you wanted to call it that. To be part of it, first of
all, is a great honor. But to actually stand on stage and win it, as a Bikini Masters was
probably one of the – I can’t even explain it.
Emily: So, you have some things about you that are different than the majority of bodybuilders
out there. One of course, being obviously that you’re vegan. But you also mentioned
being in the Masters category. Could you talk a little bit more about what that means?
Crissi: Masters means anyone over 35. So now that I’m turning 43 very shortly, I’m
actually a masters in the Masters. So, a lot of the girls that I recently competed against,
or women, they just turned 35, 36, so quite a few years younger than I am myself. And
I was actually announced, as well, as being the oldest and I won the Masters. So actually
winning the recent Arnold’s category as a vegan, and higher carb, was a couple of
other extra bonuses that I’ve actually hit.
Emily: And right now, you’re kind of in the middle of this giant undertaking of putting
as many competitions into a year as you can. Most seem to do all this preparation for a
competition and then have a pretty good break in between because they’re so physically
demanding. What is it that you feel allows you to do this almost like serial competition,
in your 40s let alone, and doing them one after another?
Crissi: There’s a combination of things, as to why I have the energy to be able to
continue to compete time after time. The way I plan my eating and my training is something
sustainable, it’s part of my lifestyle. So, without removing carbs from my diet, and
when I say carbs I mean whole food carbs. So, you’ve got your potatoes, and your fruits,
and all those types of amazing plants. So, doing this I don’t actually have a lack
of any nutrients at all, vitamins in my diet. So I’m always fueled. By eating this
way I find that I can keep lean all year round as well. So, a lot of people call it bulking
season. Which is something to me which is more like a yo-yo type of dieting, really.
So again, the traditional bodybuilders, and I see this in vegan bodybuilders as well,
because a lot of those are low carb as well, so they take the same principals of the omnivores
and they apply it to vegan bodybuilding. Which, I’m not for because to get higher protein
levels and being vegan, you have to have a lot of processed foods, so that would be tofu
and it would also be protein powders to get that ratio of protein up. Because every whole
food that comes with protein, in a vegan or plant-based diet, comes with carbs. So, it’s
almost impossible to get a ratio of 15% carbs down when you’re eating beans and those
sorts of foods. So, if we stay close to nature, then we’re also loving the body and the
body will also keep very lean and keep it very energized all year round.
Emily: When you first got into the fitness industry at 16 till now, it’s been 26 years,
or so. How would you compare your experiences competing as an omnivore to now,
26+ years later, in your 40s, as a vegan?
Crissi: Wow, the experiences are such a huge contrast. I’ve actually been, my
whole life, haunted about my experiences of my traditional comp preps. I did one comp
at 19 and I remember power walking and crying. And my second comp was at 23, and I was doing
sport aerobic championships, and that led to years of food issues, so…binge eating.
I remember saying to myself in my 20s, I just want to stop thinking about eating. I am always
thinking, as I finish a meal and I just want to eat again. It got me food addicted and
gave me a lot of issues, so when I was coming to the next comp, as a vegan – my first
comp was at 40, I was 39 turning 40, it felt too good to be true. So, it’s definitely
a contrast from the traditional way, and a healthy, sustainable way, as well. And there
is no such fancy terms as reverse dieting out of this because we’re full of fiber,
we even poop on the day, where a lot of people when they compete, they don’t actually go
for at least a week or so. Their skin gets dry and a majority of the girls, which is
really, really unfortunate, do come out with issues post-comp. So, a lot of depression,
their hormones here and there, a lot of people actually say that when you get lean you stop
menstruating, which is not true. You will only stop menstruating if you have malnutrition
or your body is stressed. Even at 9% I’m normal. So little things like that are all
signs that you’re not doing things right for the body. So a lot of those things affect
girls competing on-stage. While a lot of them look healthy on-stage, they’re really, really
not healthy. Especially if they’re laying down with their feet up, because they’re
about to pass out, which they do a lot backstage, you don’t see that on-stage because they
just can’t move, they can’t walk, they can't think because of the deficiencies in the diet.
Emily: Well, Crissi again, I want to thank you so much for coming on the channel and
wish you the best of luck in the many competitions you have coming up.
Crissi: Thank you, Emily, pleasure being here and hopefully get some more vegan wins
for us – internationally, as well!
I hope you enjoyed hearing Crissi’s unique take on bodybuilding and physique competitions.
If you want fitness guidance from a vegan perspective, check out Crissi’s online coaching
services, which I had the pleasure of experiencing during my own preparation for my vegn muscle photo
shoot! Crissi’s also in the process of opening a vegan fitness studio in Burleigh Heads, Queensland,
staffed exclusively with vegans! To learn more about her programs and stay up to date
with the development of the studio and Crissi’s competition journey, check out her links below
in the video description!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Crissi’s multi-mold-breaking journey! Let me know in
the comments! You can also see the rest of the vegan athlete series linked below and
in the iCard sidebar.
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Crissi: I don't know if you want to talk about menstruation, but I think it's a good point.
Emily: No, it is. No, I'll totally put that in, I don't care.
Vegans can build muscle. I'm a little person, so that's pretty impressive for me.
Obligatory ab shot.