Amanda Adaline
bodybuilder
Hard work, dedication and nutrition has paid dividends for Amanda who is a Pro Card holding bodybuilder.
- WNBF Pro Card holder
- Two time State Champion
- WNBF World Championship competitor
Amanda has her WNBF Pro Card in bikini. She’s competed as a Pro – winning her first Pro competition. She’s also made 1st call outs at WNBF worlds in 2021.
“Most recently, I won the overall in Bikini at an NPC show” Amanda says when we asked about highlights. “Other than that, becoming a Pro in the WNBF and winning my first ever WNBF pro show back in 2021.”
As we were adding her to the site, Amanda won the WA state natural WNBF Pro show for the second time.
Amanda’s been vegan since 2020, although she did try before, in 2008.
“I unfortunately experienced some health issues during my pregnancies” Amanda explains. “Without the support or knowledge from my midwives, I had a really hard time staying vegan. Since 2020 I haven’t looked back though.”
Now she’s committed, and this includes while travelling. “I try to plan trips around availability of vegan food, and if there is none I will bring my own food.”
The desire to go vegan came suddenly to Amanda. “I wanted to stop contributing to the suffering of animals, as well as the pollution from factory farms.”
Unsurprisingly, Amanda trains hard. This includes weight training five days per week, and low intensity cardio like walking. She also enjoys bouldering for fun.
Getting the fuel and nutrients really isn’t a problem, and Amanda finds plenty of options.
“High protein tofu is a big one, as well as Say Grace protein. I have lots of green vegetables, sweet potatoes, and brown rice currently. These are all foods I eat a lot of in prep for bodybuilding shows. When I’m not concerned about leaning out though, I love making homemade vegan comfort food like pastas, pizza, homemade bread, sweets, and I make an amazing chili.”
Maybe we’ll ask her for the recipe!
Bodybuilding has historically been associated with animal-based diets, although that’s not something that affects Amanda.
“Mostly there is no judgement and I’m blessed to work out in a gym with a couple other vegan trainers” she says, of whom one is her partner Zack Belknap. “But occasionally I will get a lot of questions that have an undercurrent of judgement. And online we get a lot of hate on our ads for our coaching business. I see everything as an opportunity to educate and prove carnists wrong about what vegans can achieve.”
Everyone has a chance to take their achievements further, and Amanda is looking to take these chances.
“In a couple years I want to see how far I can go in the NPC, hopefully towards an IFBB pro card in Bikini or Masters Bikini.”
She has no doubt that veganism will support her in her attempts.
“My approach to bodybuilding as a vegan is much like that of an omnivore, but with different protein sources. Something I wish people understood is that it’s not hard to get enough protein as a vegan. You just need a mindset shift and some time to get used to new flavours and textures from things like tofu, tempeh, and seitan.
“There is no wrong way to go vegan, but there is a better way, especially if you are an athlete.”