Building Lean Muscle: Vegan Diet Strategies

Building lean muscle on a vegan diet is possible, but it requires careful planning to ensure you're eating the right foods and getting all the nutrients your body needs. Here are some tips to help you build lean muscle on a vegan diet:

- Eat a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, including complex carbs like oats and sweet potatoes, healthy fats like avocado and nuts, and plant-based proteins like chickpeas and lentils.

- Make sure you're getting enough calories to support muscle growth. This may mean creating a slight calorie surplus by consuming more calories than your body burns through daily activities and workouts.

- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, as this can help with protein synthesis and reduce protein breakdown.

- Consider taking vegan protein powders or supplements to ensure you're getting enough protein. Soy, pea, hemp, and brown rice proteins are all good options.

- Include strength training in your workout routine, such as squats, deadlifts, and other compound movements.

- Get enough vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, B, C, D, potassium, magnesium, and iron. You may also want to consider taking a vegan multivitamin to ensure you're getting enough of certain nutrients like calcium, omega-3s, vitamin B12, and vitamin D.

- Stay consistent with your diet and workout routine, and track your progress over time.

Eat a balanced diet of carbs, fats and proteins

Eating a balanced diet of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins is essential for building lean muscle on a vegan diet. Here's a detailed guide to help you:

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred energy source, so including complex carbs in your diet is crucial for intense workouts. Opt for complex carbohydrates like oats and sweet potatoes, which provide a slow release of energy and nourish your nervous system. Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and pasta, are also beneficial immediately before or during workouts as they break down quickly, providing a rapid energy boost.

Fats

Incorporating healthy fats, such as avocado and nuts, is vital for maintaining heart health and balancing hormones. Additionally, fats provide more calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein, making them an efficient way to increase your calorie intake. Aim for 0.5-1.5 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight per day.

Proteins

Protein is essential for muscle repair and growth. Include a variety of protein sources in your diet, such as chickpeas, lentils, and soy products, to ensure you get all the essential amino acids. Aim for 1.4-2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. Soy is an excellent choice after a workout, as it is high in leucine, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis.

Remember, building lean muscle requires a balanced approach. Focus on whole, unprocessed foods, eat regularly throughout the day, and ensure you're meeting your calorie and macronutrient needs.

Eat more calories than you burn

To build lean muscle on a vegan diet, it is important to eat more calories than you burn. This is known as a caloric surplus, and it is essential for muscle growth. However, this does not mean overeating or consuming excessive amounts of food. A slight caloric surplus is optimal, with an additional 350 to 450 calories per day being sufficient.

To determine your caloric needs, you can use a calorie calculator by inputting your sex, height, weight, age, and activity level. Alternatively, you can manually track your food intake for a week and monitor your body weight. If your weight remains stable, you have found the number of calories needed for maintenance, and you can adjust accordingly to promote muscle growth.

It is important to note that if you are overweight, a slight calorie deficit may be beneficial. This approach allows you to build muscle while losing fat simultaneously, which is more achievable for individuals with higher body fat percentages.

When aiming for a caloric surplus, focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods that provide a higher return on investment. Opt for whole plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. These foods are rich in various nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats.

• Bananas and other fruits: These provide natural sweetness and are a good source of carbohydrates and certain vitamins and minerals.
• Legumes: Legumes, such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas, are excellent sources of plant-based protein and fiber.
• Nuts and seeds: Options like peanuts, walnuts, cashews, and sunflower seeds offer healthy fats, protein, and other essential nutrients.
• Avocados: Avocados are a great source of healthy fats and can help increase your caloric intake while providing valuable nutrients.
• Tofu: Tofu is a soy-based protein source that is versatile and can be incorporated into various dishes.
• Quinoa: Quinoa is a pseudocereal that provides a complete source of protein and is also a good source of complex carbohydrates.
• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are a nutritious carbohydrate source that will fuel your workouts and support muscle growth.
• Oats: Oats are a whole-grain carbohydrate source that also provides some protein and essential nutrients.

Remember, building lean muscle requires a combination of a well-planned diet and a structured exercise routine. Ensure you are consuming a variety of nutrient-dense foods to meet your caloric needs and support muscle growth, and incorporate strength training and progressive overload into your fitness regimen.

Eat whole, unprocessed foods

Eating whole, unprocessed foods is a great way to stay leaner. Whole foods are those that are unaltered and as close to their natural state as possible. They are free of additives or other artificial substances, and they haven't been processed.

When it comes to building lean muscle on a vegan diet, eating whole, unprocessed foods is beneficial because what you see is what you get. There are no hidden sugars, fats, or other additives that can prevent you from leaning up and absorbing nutrients.

• Focus on a good balance of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. You need all three in unison for maintenance, muscle growth, and recovery. Include complex carbohydrates like oats and sweet potatoes for energy, healthy fats like avocado and nuts for heart health and hormone balance, and proteins like chickpeas and lentils to help you feel fuller for longer and repair faster.
• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. These provide an array of vitamins and minerals, are low in calories, and can help you stay lean. Aim for colourful options like broccoli, carrots, spinach, beetroot, and bananas, which help rebalance electrolytes and prevent muscle cramping.
• Stay hydrated. Water helps keep you at your full strength, reduces protein breakdown, supports protein synthesis, and lubricates the joints, preventing pain.
• Eat regularly throughout the day. Avoid eating just one or two large meals. Eat every few hours to ensure your body has the energy it needs to perform and function optimally.
• Plan your meals. To ensure you're getting a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, it's beneficial to plan out your meals for the week. This will help you create well-rounded meals and ensure you have all the necessary ingredients on hand.
• Choose high-protein plant foods. Examples include seitan, tofu, legumes, and quinoa. By including a variety of these foods in your diet, you can meet your protein needs to support muscle growth.
• Consider vegan protein powders. These can help you meet your protein needs by providing concentrated sources of protein throughout the day and after workouts.
• Be mindful of portion sizes. If you're struggling to meet your calorie needs, consider increasing your portion sizes or adding healthy fats to your meals.
• Cook your vegetables. Cooking vegetables reduces their volume, allowing you to eat more while still getting the benefits of their nutrients and fibre.
• Keep it interesting. Eating a plate of beans, sweet potato, and courgette every day can get boring. Try spiralising courgettes, blending beans into a dip, or making sweet potato mash to keep things exciting.

By focusing on whole, unprocessed foods, you can ensure you're getting adequate nutrition to support lean muscle growth while staying true to a vegan diet.

Eat a variety of protein sources

Eating a variety of protein sources is essential for building lean muscle on a vegan diet. While it is possible to get all the protein you need from plants, it is important to eat a variety of plant-based proteins to ensure you get all the amino acids your body needs.

Humans cannot produce nine of the amino acids required by the body, so these must be obtained from food. Plants typically do not contain all of the essential amino acids (soy is the exception), so it is important to eat a variety of protein sources.

• Tofu
• Tempeh
• Edamame
• Soy milk
• Soy protein powder
• Beans and legumes (e.g. black beans, kidney beans, lentils)
• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Meat substitutes (usually made with soy or pea protein)
• Spirulina
• Vegan protein powders (e.g. soy isolate, pea, hemp, brown rice)
• Nutritional yeast
• Sprouted grain breads
• Oats
• Nuts and nut butters
• Tahini
• Seeds (e.g. hemp, flax, sunflower, chia)
• Seitan
• Chickpeas

Take creatine supplements

Creatine is one of the best supplements for improving strength and high-intensity exercise performance. It is a popular ingredient in sports performance supplements, and it works by increasing the body's ability to produce energy quickly. Creatine is naturally found in small amounts in the body but is often taken as a supplement to boost performance in the gym.

Creatine Monohydrate is one of the most researched forms of creatine, and it is scientifically proven to increase physical performance by improving overall power. It is a vegan-friendly source of creatine, which is typically found in animal-based products.

Creatine supplements are beneficial for anyone looking to increase their overall performance and support their fitness goals, both inside and outside the gym. During high-intensity exercise, creatine helps your muscles produce more energy, leading to improved exercise performance. It is also proven to increase strength and lean muscle gains when compared to training alone.

Creatine is a safe supplement suitable for any fitness level. It is naturally found in the body, and research has consistently confirmed its safety. However, it is important to stay hydrated when taking creatine supplements.

Some customers who take creatine supplements report improved running and cycling performance and better gym and run results. They also mention increased strength and muscular endurance, allowing them to push through reps more easily and recover faster during intense workouts.

When taking creatine supplements, it is recommended to consume them once daily, before or after exercise, mixing 3.4g (approximately 1 scoop) with 250ml of water.

Frequently asked questions