Feel excited to adopt a vegan lifestyle and start building muscles. Find a wide array of delectable food sources like beans, quinoa puffs , lentils, soy products, etc., to bring diversity to the meal plan. Stay on a strategic diet path to get actionable results ahead.
For quite some time, plant-based diets have become popular among consumers. Several people have already adopted the vegan lifestyle, and some are in the middle of doing that. In the midst of this, people who do regular workouts and focus more on a well-toned body ask this question, “Is that possible to gain muscle on a vegan diet?”
Initially, building muscles after adapting to a vegan diet can be daunting. It can slowly turn into a regular habit to consume high-protein plant-based foods to cover up the nutritional requirements. There are several things you should know while planning to build strong muscles on a vegan diet.
So, here in this guide, we answer the relevant questions regarding gaining muscles on plant-based diet patterns. The discussion is based on the following key points.
To build muscle, protein is the most important nutrient to cover up in your daily diet pattern. Protein helps to grow the muscle fibers that you break after performing a heavy workout regime. This macronutrient helps build new muscle fibers and grow your muscle exponentially.
In terms of leading a vegan lifestyle, you need not eat too many foods to cover up the protein requirements. There is an extensive list of high-protein vegan foods available to meet the intake. You can add lentils, beans, soy, quinoa, and other food sources to consume the required grams of protein daily.
Even, some influential dieticians and nutritional advisors say something about protein, “getting enough protein for muscle building does not entirely depend on animal-based sources. Even plant-based food sources are more than enough to get the required quantity as per the muscle-building objective. The only way to build fast muscle is finding the right source of protein and include in meals”.
Also, to help you with measuring the quantity for protein for muscle building experts have the view that, “vegan athletes must take 0.36 to 0.86 grams of protein per pound as per their weight and it could be more than that”.
After answering some relevant information regarding protein from a plant-based diet. Muscle-building individuals have another query, “does switching to a vegan diet cause deficiency of necessary vitamins and minerals”? Well, some have the opinion of facing the deficiency of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D, while continuing to consume plant-based food sources.
That’s not true. Vitamin B12 deficiency is not only faced by vegan followers but also by animal food sources eating people. Its main symptoms are fatigue, depression, balance issues, and confusion. However, vegan individuals can directly overcome this deficiency by consuming fortified cereals, nutritional yeast, mushrooms, and more.
You can rely on fortified cereals, juice, mushrooms, soy milk, almond milk, and sunshine to overcome Vitamin D deficiency.
Now come to another dilemma of muscle-building individuals regarding getting enough calories from a vegan diet or not. Just like protein helps to build new muscle fibers, getting extensive calories is essential to receive energy and muscle mass. A majority of fruits and vegetables in a vegan diet are the most low-calorie yet completely filling food sources for people. Then, how to get the required calories after switching to a plant-based diet.
The answer to this question is to plan smartly to include a few must-have food staples in the regular muscle-building diet plan. In this case, rely more on nuts, seeds, bananas, plantain tostones, soy products, and more to add in your smoothies or consume as snacks. You need to carefully plan your meals according to the required calories, food sources, protein, and other macronutrients required.
Yes, plant-based muscle-building supplements also play their part in growing your muscles to an optimum extent. You can consume a vegan supplement that is best to make at home using easy-to-grab ingredients. It includes things like flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, and pea. All you have to do is blend all such ingredients in the required quantity and make a protein powder out of them. It will provide you with approximately 20 grams of protein per serving.
Incorporating a vegan diet in lifestyle and thinking of building muscle can amalgamate well. Only, if you strategize carefully and list down reliable protein and carbohydrate-rich food sources. It is because healthy carbohydrate plant-based foods provide you optimum energy to work hard. And, protein content helps build new muscle fibers to improve overall growth.
So, here we have a mandate list of inclusions for your muscle-building vegan diet pattern.
These are a great source of protein, fiber, calcium, and healthy fats to fill you up for a long. Peanuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, and other nuts offer well-balanced nutrition. By having 1 oz of serving, you can get approximately 160 calories. These are the best pick vegan food source for building muscles while adding the same to quick snacks and delectable smoothies.
One of the greatest sources of protein and low in calories are plenty of legumes options. Chickpeas, soybeans, peas, and other options provide well-balanced nutrition during lunch and dinner hours. In fact, one cup of any of the lentils provides approximately 18 grams of protein.
Just like we already mentioned the importance of healthy carbohydrates in building strong and fast muscles. Quinoa is the best source of carb and protein instead of relying on rice and cereals. A kind of pseudo-grain, quinoa is a plant-based source of complete and gluten-free protein. It is an ideal inclusion for individuals suffering from celiac disease. Moreover, it contains all the essential 9 amino acids required for building muscles.
Undoubtedly, green can further help you consume healthy protein in an extensive quantity. Sources like spinach, peas, kale, and broccoli are the highest protein sources available for consumers to get the ideal ratio of protein. It’s better to add leafy greens to your salad, vegan wraps, sandwiches, and more.
All kinds of beans (black, navy, kidney, pinto, and more) offer a high protein source for repairing muscle fibers. Such food sources further help to offer low fat, high fiber, and other macronutrients.
Fully loaded with protein, Omega-3, and essential amino acids. Seeds are the best source of addition to salads, protein shakes, desserts, and other vegan delights. You can have the stock ready for chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, and more.
Going vegan is refreshing, energizing, and offers a wide range of meal options to choose from. Follow a strategic plant-based diet to build muscles fast and strong. To get additional help to consume protein-rich snacks, Ojas Vegan offers plantain tostones and popped quinoa snacks in several flavors.
