Vegan Bodybuilding: Building Muscle On A Plant-Based Diet

Building muscle on a vegan diet is not only possible but is becoming increasingly popular among athletes and bodybuilders. While it may be challenging to get all the nutrients you need when excluding animal products from your diet, it is far from impossible.

- Consume adequate calories, fats, and carbohydrates. Building muscle is an energy-demanding process, so ensuring you eat enough calories is crucial. Aim for a slight caloric surplus of around 350 to 450 calories per day.

- Eat enough protein. Protein is essential for muscle growth, and you should aim for 1.4-2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Mix and match plant-based foods to get all the essential amino acids, or consider taking a protein supplement.

- Include healthy fats in your diet, such as nuts, seeds, and healthy oils. Aim for 0.5-1.5 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight per day.

- Monitor your vitamin and mineral intake, especially vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, iron, zinc, and calcium. Consider taking supplements for these micronutrients if needed.

- Consider taking supplements like creatine, beta-alanine, and vegan protein powders to support muscle growth.

- Engage in regular strength training and progressive overload to stimulate muscle growth.

Eat a caloric surplus of plant-based foods

Eating a caloric surplus of plant-based foods is key to building muscle on a vegan diet. This means consuming 20-40% more calories than required for daily maintenance if you're a novice lifter, and 10-20% more if you're more advanced. This is because building muscle is an energy-intensive process, and your body needs to be in a state of caloric surplus to facilitate this.

The good news is that plant-based foods tend to be less calorie-dense than animal-based foods, meaning you can eat more food and feel fuller without gaining body fat. Focus on including grains, beans, tofu, tempeh, meat and dairy alternatives, nuts and nut butters, seeds, avocados, and dried fruit in your meals and snacks.

It's a common misconception that vegan diets are low in protein, but this is not true. There are plenty of plant-based protein sources, including lupini beans, tofu, textured vegetable protein, bean pasta, tempeh, seitan, fava beans, vital wheat gluten, hemp seeds, chickpeas, lentils, garbanzo beans, and vegan protein powder.

It's worth noting that not all vegan protein sources contain all nine essential amino acids, which your body needs to build muscle. However, by eating a variety of plant foods, your body can store and combine these amino acids to form complete proteins. For example, rice and beans are individually incomplete proteins, but together they have all the essential amino acids.

Some essential nutrients that are more difficult to get on a vegan diet include vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. You may want to consider taking supplements for these, or including more vitamin C with your iron-rich foods to boost absorption.

Consume adequate protein from various sources

Consuming a variety of protein sources is essential for vegans looking to build muscle. While it is a common misconception that a vegan diet is low in protein, there are numerous plant-based sources that can help meet your protein needs. Here are some tips to ensure you consume adequate protein from various sources on a vegan diet:

Understand Your Protein Requirements

It is important to calculate your daily protein intake based on your body weight. The recommended daily protein intake for athletes is generally between 1.2-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. However, bodybuilders and strength athletes may require higher amounts, up to 2.2 grams per kilogram. Use an online calculator or consult a dietitian to determine your specific needs.

Include a Variety of Protein Sources

Most plant-based sources of protein are incomplete, meaning they lack one or more of the essential amino acids. Therefore, it is crucial to combine different plant-based proteins to ensure you get all the essential amino acids. Include a variety of protein sources such as tofu, tempeh, beans, legumes, quinoa, nuts, seeds, and soy products. For example, combine rice and beans, or oatmeal with nut butter, to create complete proteins.

Fortify Your Meals with High-Protein Foods

Fortify your meals with high-protein vegan foods to boost your protein intake. Include foods like lupini beans, textured vegetable protein, bean pasta, seitan, fava beans, vital wheat gluten, and hemp seeds. These foods will help you meet your daily protein goals while also providing other essential nutrients.

Consider Protein Supplements

If you struggle to meet your protein needs through whole foods alone, consider incorporating protein supplements into your diet. Vegan protein powders, such as soy protein isolate, pea protein, hemp protein, or rice protein, can help bridge the gap and ensure you're getting enough protein to support muscle growth.

Plan Your Meals Strategically

Meal planning is crucial for vegan bodybuilders. Ensure that each meal and snack includes a good source of protein. For example, include grains, beans, tofu, tempeh, meat alternatives, nuts, seeds, and plant-based dairy alternatives in your meals. By planning your meals, you can ensure you're getting a variety of protein sources and meeting your daily protein goals.

Combine Plant-Based Proteins with Carbohydrates

In addition to protein, carbohydrates play a crucial role in muscle building. Consume complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables, to fuel your workouts and support muscle growth. Simple carbohydrates, like fruits, can also provide a quick energy boost before or after intense training sessions.

In conclusion, consuming adequate protein from various sources on a vegan diet is achievable and essential for muscle building. By including a variety of plant-based protein sources, fortifying your meals, considering supplements, and strategically planning your meals, you can ensure you're getting enough protein to support your bodybuilding journey.

Include healthy fats in your diet

Fat is an important part of a vegan bodybuilding diet. It is a more concentrated source of energy than protein or carbohydrates, and it packs far more calories per gram. This makes it ideal for bodybuilders who need a surplus of calories to add muscle mass.

Healthy fats are also a great way to get a range of vitamins that are vital in small amounts for a healthy lifestyle. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are known as fat-soluble vitamins, and they are better absorbed when consumed with higher-fat foods.

• Nuts and seeds: These are a good source of omega-3 fats, which have a range of health benefits. Omega-3s aid a healthy heart, improve circulation, and lower blood pressure. Certain omega-3 fats also help reduce inflammation, making them ideal for bodybuilders recovering from an injury. Examples include peanut, almond, hazelnut, sesame, sunflower, chia, and flax seeds.
• Avocados: Avocados are rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which have been linked to improved heart health and lower cholesterol levels.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is a great source of healthy fats and has anti-inflammatory properties. It also contains antioxidants that can help protect your body from disease.
• Tofu: Tofu, or soy bean curd, is a great plant-based source of protein and healthy fats.
• Tempeh: Tempeh is made from fermented soy beans and is another excellent source of protein and healthy fats.
• Seitan: Seitan is a wheat derivative made of gluten and is high in protein and healthy fats.

When including healthy fats in your vegan bodybuilding diet, it is important to maintain a caloric surplus. This means consuming more calories than you burn during the day. However, be mindful of your overall calorie intake and adjust your portion sizes as needed to ensure you are still getting a variety of other important nutrients.

Additionally, when planning your meals, try to include a variety of healthy fat sources to maximize the benefits of each. For example, combine tofu with nuts and seeds in a stir-fry, or add avocado to a salad containing seeds and nuts.

By including a variety of healthy fat sources in your diet, you can ensure you are getting a range of important nutrients to support your bodybuilding journey.

Take supplements like creatine and beta-alanine

Supplements are not necessary to build muscle and gain strength, but they can be helpful. A vegan diet is somewhat restrictive, and getting enough of certain nutrients can be challenging. While whole foods are always the best option, you might want to take advantage of a few supplements.

Creatine is the number one supplement for muscle building, backed by hundreds of scientific studies. It helps you perform better, become stronger, and gain more muscle. Creatine is primarily found in animal foods, but the supplement is synthesized from vegan-friendly sources. Some research suggests that vegans benefit more from supplementing with creatine than omnivores since a plant-based diet provides very little creatine.

Beta-alanine improves exercise performance by increasing carnosine levels in your muscles. Like creatine, beta-alanine is found mainly in animal foods such as fish and meat. This means that you might benefit more from supplementing with beta-alanine if you eat only plant-based foods.

Other supplements to consider

• Vitamin B12: The only vitamin you can't get from a non-fortified plant-based diet, no matter how varied or nutritious.
• Iodine: Your thyroid requires iodine to function correctly. Vegans often lack iodine.
• Vitamin D: Your body produces vitamin D when exposed to the sun. It is crucial for bone growth and immune function. Vitamin D deficiency is common among athletes.
• Calcium: A mineral necessary for bone health, muscle function, proper blood clotting, and your nervous system. A vegan diet is associated with a lower intake of calcium.
• Iron: You need iron to transport oxygen to your brain and muscles. Vegans and vegetarians are more likely to have low or depleted iron stores.
• Zinc: An essential mineral that is important for the immune system and as an antioxidant. Plant-based sources of zinc include whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans.

Perform progressive overload strength training

Progressive overload is a strength training concept that is considered the single most important principle in weight training. It is based on the idea that you must continually increase the stress on your muscles in new ways to stimulate strength and growth (hypertrophy). The most obvious way to do this is by adding weight to the bar, but there are many other methods, including:

• Increasing sets and/or reps
• Increasing time under tension (TUT)
• Increasing training frequency
• Decreasing time in between sets
• Incorporating high-intensity methods such as supersets and dropsets

Progressive overload should be the primary method used to stimulate muscle growth, but it is not the only one. Other techniques include:

• Increasing the amount of weight lifted over time
• Increasing reps and/or intensity
• Incorporating different training volumes and frequencies

It is important to allow your body to recover from your usual strength training regimen. There is no universal method for proper recovery, but some techniques include:

• Taking a full week off from training
• Shortening the number of days spent in the gym each week
• Working with lighter weights and focusing on proper form

Progressive overload is a crucial concept for anyone looking to build muscle and strength, especially those following a vegan diet, as it ensures that the body is continually challenged and stimulated to grow and get stronger. By incorporating progressive overload into a well-structured training plan that includes compound movements and a diet with sufficient protein, it is possible to build muscle and strength on a vegan diet.

Frequently asked questions