As more people switch to a vegan diet because of the ethics surrounding animal treatment and alleged health benefits, it has grown in popularity in recent years. It has piqued the interest of athletes, including bodybuilders, in addition to the general public.
An overview of the vegan diet for bodybuilding is given in this article, along with a list of foods to eat and stay away from, and a sample 5-day menu plan.
What is a vegan diet for bodybuilding?
Bodybuilders engage in rigorous resistance training in an effort to sculpt their muscles for show.
Muscular development is significantly influenced by nutrition. Most experts agree that a daily protein intake of 0.7-1.0 grams per pound (1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram) of body weight is ideal for muscle growth.
For those who are not completely new to training, a calorie surplus of 10–20% is also advantageous for building muscle. Due to their high protein and calorie content, animal-source foods are frequently found in traditional bodybuilding diets.
The vegan bodybuilding diet contains more protein than conventional vegan diets and excludes all animal products. As a result, it can be difficult for bodybuilders who follow a vegan diet to gain muscle mass because plant-based proteins are frequently of lower quality than their animal-based counterparts. Because of this, it requires careful planning to ensure adequate intake of the micronutrients, protein, and calories that a vegan diet may lack.
The vegan bodybuilding diet also varies depending on the stage of a bodybuilder’s career, such as during their off-season or while preparing for competitions, when fat loss is typical.
Implementing the diet
While adopting a vegan diet may seem fairly straightforward, making sure you’re eating full meals requires a lot of planning.
Numerous meals on the vegan bodybuilding diet are built around a number of staple foods.
As many vegan recipes call for multiple ingredients, it’s helpful to plan out 5-7 days’ worth of meals before beginning the vegan bodybuilding diet to make sure you have everything you need.
Before completely switching to a vegan diet, it may be helpful to gradually introduce more vegan foods into your regular diet if you’re coming from a traditional one.
High protein plant foods diet.
It’s crucial to consume enough protein on a vegan bodybuilding diet in order to support your muscle-building objectives.
Given that many vegan sources of protein typically do not contain all of the necessary amino acids, larger quantities and a wider variety of these foods must be consumed on a regular basis to meet your needs.
You can maximize muscle gain by consuming a lot of high-protein vegan foods like seitan, tofu, legumes, and quinoa.
Vegan protein powders can also assist you in obtaining the necessary amounts of protein by offering concentrated sources of the substance before, during, and after workouts.
Be sure to consume enough fat.
Because fat provides twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and protein, eating enough fat helps you get the calories you need to support muscle growth.
Off-season bodybuilders should generally consume 0.5 grams of fat per pound (1 gram per kilogram) of body weight per day. This is equivalent to a male bodybuilder weighing 175 pounds and consuming about 80 grams of fat each day (80 kg).
For the first few weeks of a vegan bodybuilding diet, it may be helpful to monitor your macronutrient intake (protein, carbs, and fat) to make sure you’re getting what you need.
Drink a lot of water.
Given that a vegan bodybuilding diet typically contains a lot of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, the amount of fiber consumed can increase significantly. The side effects of significantly increasing your fiber intake can include bloating, excessive flatulence, and abdominal pain.
One way to help avoid problems from a high-fiber vegan diet is to drink enough water. A good starting point is 1 ml of fluid per calorie at the very least.
Aim for 2,000 ml (68 ounces) of fluids per day if your diet contains 2,000 calories, for instance. However, remember that your water requirements may change, especially if you’re exercising.
Learn for yourself
Education is crucial for maintaining a vegan diet and can differentiate between a successful diet and one that fails. The vegan diet puts adherents at risk of nutrient deficiencies because it forbids the consumption of several food groups.
Knowing which foods contain the essential nutrients that the diet may otherwise lack is essential for preventing these.
The popularity of the vegan diet has fortunately led to the development of informational resources that can point you in the right direction.
Benefits of a vegan diet for bodybuilding
Numerous potential health advantages of the vegan diet have been linked to it.
Lowers the risk of heart disease
Vegans appear to have a significantly lower risk of heart disease than non-vegans. A lower intake of saturated fats and cholesterol and a higher intake of fiber and different plant compounds may be partially to blame for this.
Historically, compared to the general population, vegans have lower blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
The vegan diet is also rich in fruits and vegetables, which are good sources of dietary fiber. Higher fiber intake has been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke (8Trusted Source).
Able to encourage a healthy body weight
The body mass index (BMI) of vegans is typically lower than that of traditional Westerners, which lowers the risk of several disease-related factors (7Trusted Source).
In a 16-week study, 75 overweight participants were examined to see how the vegan diet affected them. It discovered that compared to a control diet, the vegan diet was more effective at reducing body weight, fat mass, and insulin resistance markers (9Trusted Source).
Therefore, the vegan diet may be helpful in that regard if you’re beginning your bodybuilding journey with some weight to lose.
May offer protection from some cancers
Comparing a vegan diet to a traditional Western diet has been linked to a lower risk of developing various types of cancer.
This result is most likely attributable to the vegan diet’s increased consumption of legumes, fruits, and vegetables, which results in higher intakes of fiber, micronutrients, and phytonutrients. A lower BMI has also been connected to the vegan diet. Another risk factor for certain cancers is having a high BMI. Additionally, consuming more soy, which is typical of vegans, has been linked to a lower risk of breast cancer in women.
The consumption of processed red meat at various levels has also been associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. Those who eat a vegan diet are not subject to this increased risk.
Food items for vegan
Numerous of the following foods are typically part of the vegan diet for bodybuilding:
legumes and beans. These serve as a good source of fiber and protein.
seeds made of hemp, flax, sunflower, and chia. They are rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
Amaranth and quinoa. These two fictitious grains offer complete protein sources.
substitutes for meat. These products, which are typically made with soy or pea protein, are designed to feel and look like meat.
Soy-based goods. Tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy milk, and soy protein powder are a few examples.
Plant milk and yogurts with added calcium. Vegans who consume these fortified foods can fulfill their daily needs for calcium and vitamin D.
Spirulina. This blue-green alga is rich in protein and contains a number of vitamins and minerals.
Vegan protein powders. The best varieties are typically created using a mix of protein-rich ingredients, including peas, hemp, and brown rice.
dietary yeast. Nutritional yeast, which has a savoury flavor and is used in vegan cooking, is frequently fortified with vitamin B12.
Grain bread with sprouts. These serve as a good source of complex carbohydrates and protein.
Oats. Each serving of oatmeal and oats contains a respectable amount of protein as well as some healthy fiber.
Veggies and fruits. They are a crucial component of any vegan diet.
cereals and whole grains. These can serve as an excellent source of fiber, B vitamins, and protein.
Nuts and nut butter. When combined with other complementary proteins, they can serve as a good source of protein. Additionally, they are a good source of good fats.
Tahini. Per serving, this sesame seed paste offers a healthy amount of fat and a trace amount of protein.
Healthy oils. Oils, such as olive, avocado, and hempseed, provide a good source of healthy fats and some essential omega-3s.
Dark chocolate that’s vegan. Vegan dark chocolate, which is high in antioxidants, also includes some important vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B, and E.
Nutritional supplements
It is advised that vegan bodybuilders use specific dietary supplements because their diet may be deficient in some nutrients.
Recent years have seen a significant increase in the quality and taste of nutritional vegan health supplements. A vegan protein powder is one of the main supplements to think about because it enables you to consume the recommended amounts of protein while maintaining a specific calorie range.
Vegan protein powders are widely accessible and include varieties made from soy isolate, pea, hemp, and brown rice. To make sure you’re getting all of the necessary amino acids, it’s best to find a powder that comes from a variety of sources.
A vegan multivitamin that contains adequate amounts of the nutrients that the vegan diet typically lacks, such as calcium, iron, zinc, and vitamins B12 and D, is another potentially beneficial supplement.
While adding supplements to a vegan diet is not strictly necessary, doing so can help you avoid nutrient deficiencies and make your diet more effective for bodybuilding.
The conclusion
Many people, including those in the bodybuilding community, have taken notice of the vegan diet’s growing popularity.
The vegan bodybuilding diet excludes all items derived from animals and is higher in protein than a typical vegan diet, in contrast to traditional bodybuilding diets that contain significant amounts of animal protein.
Although adopting a vegan diet has some disadvantages for bodybuilding, it can still have a number of positive health effects.
It is advisable to speak with your doctor or a nutritionist before beginning a vegan diet.
