This 26-year-old firefighter changed one big thing in his diet and got stacked

Meat is supposed to get you massive, right?

Chicken breasts, steaks, tuna and eggs - pile them high and you'll pile on the muscle - this is the common consensus. Nobody gets massive eating salads, or so they say. But try telling that to 26-year-old Anthony Welsh. He has gone through an incredible body transformation since giving up meat five years ago and he's in the best shape of his life. In fact his 'before' and 'after' shots show him looking a lot scrawnier back in his meat eating days than the lean and muscular physique he has now from a pure vegan diet. https://www.instagram.com/p/BHIUC7UgnM0/?taken-by=vegananth The Northumberland firefighter recently won the UK and Ireland's Hottest Vegan 2016 title with animal welfare charity PETA. Now he's championing plant power and tackling misconceptions that you can't build muscle and get ripped giving up meat and dairy - the first one being that eating vegan is just salad and vegetables. "I have always found it easy to maintain weight, but I am the strongest and healthiest I have ever looked and felt since being vegan, he told the Daily Star. “One of the main questions I get asked is: ‘How do you get your protein, surely you can’t build muscle?’ “It is very easy for someone to meet their requirements without taking notice of how much protein they consume, as nearly all vegetables, beans, grains and nuts contain proteins." https://www.instagram.com/p/BHeoILIAGn2/?taken-by=vegananth He gave up eating meat for ethical reasons five years ago, but since then he's put on some serious size but also stayed incredibly lean. He's part of a growing number of athletes and bodybuilding who have ditched meat and seen their performance and physiques jump up a level, including David Haye, Nate Diaz, and Dan Hardy and Mr Universe Barny du Plessis. Giving up meat is a big step for anyone, but Welsh explained how it's actually better for him nutritionally. “Animals do not need to be eaten for protein. "Also people ask: ‘Where do you get your iron if you don’t eat beef?’ “I respond: ‘The same place a cow gets their iron, from plants.’ “It is much healthier to skip out the middle man and get your nutrients from the direct source, which will always be plants, instead of eating nutrients that have already been digested.” His diet is packed with protein, but also plenty of carbs - but slow burning ones so he has constant energy all day instead of spikes and crashes. Surprisingly though he's not in the gym every hour God sends to earn those six pack abs. You'd imagine you'd have to kill yourself for five hours a day, seven days a week to get cut like that. Nope. Because he's got his diet boxed off, he is currently only doing a three-day split with chest and shoulders, back and arms and then legs with rest days in between. “I try and incorporate as much compound exercises as possible," he explained. “I would work my abs out a lot when I was eating meat and training. “But now I don’t train them as much, I feel that my vegan diet helps my body fat stay low and keeps my abs going.”