I'm vegetarian, an i want to build muscle!

brian807

hi, can anyone help, iv a question on building up muscle, i cycle a lot and wanted to build up more muscle to gain a bit more strength - i eat very well but whenever i increase my exercise i start to lose more weight, i haven't used protein shakes as yet as im not sure which one and i am vegetarian so thats the only restriction to my diet. i hear many people saying eat more chicken etc etc :-(

maybe this is not the right thread for this - not long on this site........

DL Saint

brian807 wrote: »

hi, can anyone help, iv a question on building up muscle, i cycle a lot and wanted to build up more muscle to gain a bit more strength - i eat very well but whenever i increase my exercise i start to lose more weight, i haven't used protein shakes as yet as im not sure which one and i am vegetarian so thats the only restriction to my diet. i hear many people saying eat more chicken etc etc :-(

maybe this is not the right thread for this - not long on this site........

here is a protein that is suitable for vegans that you could take
http://www.universalnutrition.ie/viewproduct/395

rocky

brian807 wrote: »

I'm vegetarian... i eat very well

Does not compute

There are some rice/pea/ protein powders, you can try them. I hesitate to recommend soy protein.

Also eat your nuts (sort of ), coconut oil (although this seems to be losing weight for people that tried it, olive oil then) seriously if you can't get enough calories, you're not eating the right foods in the right quantities...

Mellor

DL Saint wrote: »

here is a protein that is suitable for vegans that you could take
http://www.universalnutrition.ie/viewproduct/395

rocky wrote: »

There are some rice/pea/ protein powders, you can try them. I hesitate to recommend soy protein.

Plain old whey is suitable for vegetarian diets (up to the persons preference)


OP, as you only said vegetarian we've no way of knowing if you are lacto/ovo or not.
to put on weight you jsut need to each more. A lot of vegetarian meals are low calorie which is prob why you tends to lsoe weight when you push it hard. You need to get as much protein as possible (obviously tougher for a vege) and also get the calories in.

If you eat eggs and/or milk then these are good sources of protein as well as milk being a great way to get the calories in. Cottage cheese is good for caesin protein (late night snack) and hard cheese adds in calories on meals. Eg vegetable lasagne. Obviously maybe avoid these, but they would make it easier. I'm just including all options, as they are still vegetarian.

Soy, beans, legumes are all vegetarian sources of protein but they are also not complete proteins and lack some EAAs afaik

Nuts are a great way of getting calories in. They are easily the msot calories dense food that is palatable (better than drinking oil ) It's easier to skip fat on a vegetarian diet, your body needs fat - not just for calories. A big bowl of steamed veg mgiht be tasty but is no good for bulking. Instead have meals like creamy vegetable curry made with coconut milk.

chenacross

Hi there,
It's not necessary to eat non veg to build muscles. all you need is high protein food and exercise.
check this.. it may help you.
I got my reviews from http://www.fitness-expert.org/burn-the-fat-feed-the-muscle-review.php

brian807

Mellor wrote: »

OP, as you only said vegetarian we've no way of knowing if you are lacto/ovo or not.

I eat eggs an dairy products and I have a very broad diet but taking in what you said it might be to do with the quantatity I eat. I will look into these protein shakes they seem to be the key, oh with the protien shakes if I get i get injuried an have to spend 3 weeks on the sofa, will I be like a beached sea lion? Obviously I wud stop taking them but is that enough? Sorry for the stupid questions but I know nothing about those powders ;-)

Brian

G86

brian807 wrote: »

I eat eggs an dairy products and I have a very broad diet but taking in what you said it might be to do with the quantatity I eat. I will look into these protein shakes they seem to be the key, oh with the protien shakes if I get i get injuried an have to spend 3 weeks on the sofa, will I be like a beached sea lion? Obviously I wud stop taking them but is that enough? Sorry for the stupid questions but I know nothing about those powders ;-)

Brian

I'm a vegetarian and trust me..it's definitely possible to gain weight on a veggie diet, unfortunately for me!:o

Protein shakes are just that...protein. They aren't going to turn you into Mr Blobby overnight just because you're not training. They don't have magic powers and won't make you build muscle overnight either.

Personally, I try to keep carbs low/moderate, and find that it leaves me pretty restricted so I eat a LOT of nuts to make up the kcals. 100g of nuts will give you about 600kcal and 8-12g of protein...so it's a handy way of getting 2 in 1:)

What weight training are you doing?

seamus

Just watch your carbs. Far too easy to OD on carbs as a veggie because foods high in carbs are generally vegetarian. For protein, you can't match the bang for buck that you get out of eggs. Much easier to manage the diet without shakes because no matter where or how you are eating, you can usually get an egg-based dish.
But if you're really going for bulking up, then protein shakes or additives are probably necessary to avoid having to eat insane amounts of eggs

Veggie frozen food can also be good for protein - quorn and the like. Just be wary of anything which comes with any kind of pastry or crust, they can have very high fat contents (relative to anything else they contain). But stuff like Quorn sausages and quarter pounders have high protein content with little of anything else.

brian807

From what I'm reading I think my diet is fairly good, I don't do alot of regular weights mostly training (cycle, running) but when I do weights it's generally 50 reps of 55kg - that's with legs, arms etc

ferike1

Hemp seeds! Really high in protein!

G86

You're not going to build much muscle through cycling and running. You'll need to start a decent weight training program if you want to see any significant gains.

muboop1

brian807 wrote: »

From what I'm reading I think my diet is fairly good, I don't do alot of regular weights mostly training (cycle, running) but when I do weights it's generally 50 reps of 55kg - that's with legs, arms etc

Thats highly excessive reps...

Why not see how heavy you can lift for 3 sets of 8? Up the weight etc...

Legs ideally will lift more then arms, bigger muscles and all that

Post up your exercise routine!

How many times a week you go, etc.

Doing weights once every 2 weeks will have little impact. 3 times a week would be best. Cycle and run around them if you are looking to bulk up!

Mellor

brian807 wrote: »

I eat eggs an dairy products and I have a very broad diet but taking in what you said it might be to do with the quantatity I eat. I will look into these protein shakes they seem to be the key,

That's good. Whey is an option and will be more cost effective than paying extra for vegan stuff. It's also higher in protein/g than a lot of powders