Building muscle vegan - is that possible? Meat, milk, eggs and pasta dishes are considered the basis of the diet for planned muscle growth. Vegan muscle building options are less well known and receive little attention in the nutritional plans of many athletes.
Wrongfully so, in our opinion! Because with a balanced vegan diet, building muscle can work just as well as with animal products. The crucial factor here is the protein sources, which are crucial for muscle building and growth .
Why is building muscle important for our body?
Beautiful and pronounced muscles promote aesthetics and therefore people's well-being. In fact, healthy muscles go far beyond visual aspects. Healthy muscles ensure an upright body structure and make movements smooth. They also stimulate fat burning and balance your metabolism.
If you train your muscles regularly, your body burns calories even during rest periods and during regeneration. Your metabolism works regularly through muscle training.
Healthy muscle tissue supports health and well-being for men and women of all ages. The body is more resilient, more resistant to injuries and often recovers and heals more quickly.
The natural aging process dictates that the body has its most efficient muscle tissue between the ages of 25 and 30 . After that, he slowly but steadily breaks down unused muscles and becomes weaker over the years. This process is natural, affects everyone and cannot be stopped. However, tissue deterioration can be reduced through regular muscle training.
This means that regular exercise is a preventive training against natural muscle loss.
What do muscles need to grow?
In order to maintain or build muscle efficiently , there should be a good supply of carbohydrates and proteins. Your body also needs a variety of minerals, trace elements and vitamins, which we supply to it through food.
For a long time, pasta and potatoes, as well as meat, eggs and milk, were popular foods for bodybuilders to build muscle efficiently. There was talk of " dirty bulking " when huge amounts of calories - not always from fresh and healthy foods - were added to the menu.
The excessive amounts of nutrients can, for example, promote muscle building as you age , but can also promote fat storage, which you also have to work off again. However, this is not absolutely necessary. Plant-based foods also contain all the important substances you need for muscle growth. Accordingly, vegan muscle building can work with the right diet.
For a long time there was hardly any connection between veganism and muscle building . On the contrary : Vegans were often laughed at when they met slim and well-trained bodybuilders. If you take a closer look at the nutrients in vegan food and establish a relationship with the requirements for healthy muscle building, you will quickly recognize the benefits of the veggie lifestyle for the body.
In this article you will find out which foods are suitable for vegan muscle building and what you should pay attention to when consuming nutrients.
Carbohydrates & Proteins: Vegan Alternatives
The basic knowledge of previous athletes is of course still relevant: Proteins and carbohydrates form the basis for targeted muscle building . Therefore, protein shakes, meat, fish, pasta and fatty and sweet calorie bombs are considered helpful. This was the only way strength athletes believed they could get enough nutrients to build biceps, triceps and the coveted six-pack .
However, many of these nutrient suppliers only offer carbohydrates as simple sugars. These are sometimes referred to as “ empty ” carbohydrates. They are quickly absorbed by the body, but also quickly converted back into stored fat. As a result, pure muscle mass can only grow to a very limited extent.
In the vegan version, the carbohydrates mostly come from starchy foods. Since the carbohydrates from plant sources are complex carbohydrates, they are easily absorbed by the body.
Complex carbohydrates include:
- potatoes
- sweet potatoes
- Brown rice
- full grain
- Wheat
- rye
- Oats
- millet
- Corn
- Legumes (beans, lentils, etc.)
- Vegetables
- Fruits (also dried fruits)
- Berry
- oatmeal
Foods with complex carbohydrates can keep you feeling full for a long time. They also usually offer good amounts of fiber, which can promote intestinal activity.
Complex carbohydrates have a particularly good influence on metabolism. They are processed more slowly and ensure a balanced sugar level in the body. The balanced blood sugar level has another advantage. The more stable insulin release keeps the body in muscle building mode for a longer period of time . In addition, the long availability of the nutrients can counteract cravings.
Vegan proteins from plants - more variety than expected
In addition to carbohydrates, proteins play an important role in building muscle mass. Proteins, often called proteins, are comparatively large molecules. They consist of chains of amino acids that perform a variety of tasks in the body.
The body can produce some amino acids itself, others must be supplied through food. Depending on the origin of the proteins, they are different amino acid compounds .
Proteins are important for the function of all cells. They form the basic material for organs such as the heart, brain, skin and muscle tissue. Muscle growth can usually be efficiently stimulated through strength training. The prerequisite for this is sufficient protein in the diet.
A diet rich in protein supplies the body well for regeneration and building new muscles. The intestine processes the proteins so that the amino acids can be broken down . They then travel through the bloodstream to the cells, where they carry out their respective tasks, such as hormone and enzyme production.
According to recommendations from the German Nutrition Society (DGE), a healthy person needs around 0.8 g of protein per kilogram of body weight every day. However, this value is not considered sufficient for building muscles. Athletes who do strength training needed between 50 and 100% more protein, depending on the training intensity .
In numbers, this results in a need of 1.2 to 1.7 g per day for every kilo of body weight if you want to specifically build muscle. However, since processing can vary depending on individual metabolism, individual adjustment during the training process makes sense.
Vegan muscle building: What are good protein sources ?
What traditional athletes want to achieve with eggs, meat and fish can work for vegans through a range of plant-based foods . In addition to proteins, animal protein sources usually provide high amounts of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.
These can harm your body or even make it sick if you consume excessive amounts of them. Vegan protein sources, on the other hand, more often contain healthy, unsaturated fats. In addition, they also provide numerous vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fiber, which are often inadequately contained in normal everyday nutrition.
Vegan foods with a lot of protein include:
- Grain
- amaranth
- Quinoa
- Chia
- linseed
- sprouts
- seeds
- Nuts (also as a milk alternative in the form of almond or cashew milk)
- lenses
- Beans
- soy
- tofu
- Tempeh
- Chickpeas
- Edamame
- Seitan
You can also optimally supplement and replenish your additional protein requirements with protein powder or amino acid preparations .
Vegan muscle building: Eat right & train for optimal results
Diet alone cannot stimulate muscle growth. Sufficient muscle training or strength training is also included. Both should work together for optimal results. When you train your muscles, they send information to your metabolism that more mass is needed to keep going.
The body begins to mobilize reserves and absorbs new nutrients well. This causes your muscle mass to be converted into muscle fibers in the form of a thickening. The result is actual muscle.
The amino acids and proteins that make up your muscles are primarily responsible for this. Not only are new muscles built, but the healing of damaged fibers is also accelerated through sport. The famous sore muscles can thus be reduced and heal more quickly.
By eating after exercise you achieve optimal results because the body uses its reserves in the meantime. If the crucial message is sent from the muscles to the metabolism after training, the body is ready to convert the nutrients supplied into energy as quickly as possible.
According to studies, it is recommended to consume high-quality proteins in several small portions after training. Although the body absorbs the proteins well regardless of the time of training, it makes them available more specifically for building new muscles if they are consumed appropriately.
Regeneration times after nutrient intake are also considered beneficial, for example sleep. While you sleep, your body recovers and regeneration processes begin. These promote muscle building. You will also be significantly more efficient if you go into training well rested.
Vegan muscle building: the benefits
When it comes to protein intake, there are always opinions that animal protein is better absorbed by the body than plant protein. One of the arguments is based on the high similarity to human proteins and thus in the so-called bioavailability.
Bioavailability refers to the body's effort to convert nutrients into a "ready-to-use form". Whey protein is considered the product with the highest biological value of 106 because it contains all the necessary amino acids in large quantities. Vegetable proteins tend to be around 80 (e.g. quinoa 82, hemp 87, soy protein 85, soybeans 72, etc.).
Added to this is the fact that plant proteins have different compositions depending on the plant of origin. Essential amino acids are therefore available to the body in different combinations and not always completely as needed.
However, this aspect can be resolved through a varied vegan diet . The clever combination of proteins from rice, legumes and vegan dairy products (e.g. nut or oat milk) eliminates the apparent shortcoming.
In addition, the plant proteins provide additional nutrients in high quantities, which are not only important for building muscles.
These include, for example:
- B vitamins
- minerals
- unsaturated fatty acids
- Trace elements
- fiber
As a result, muscles, energy and endurance can grow. In addition, the appearance of your skin can improve and your body odor is considered to be less intense.
Vegan for a new body feeling?
Whether you want to feel healthy or lose weight and build muscle through weight training: a vegan diet can promote muscle building just as reliably as animal foods. Products that contain plant proteins and carbohydrates can have a more positive effect on the entire organism.
Deficits in the body's nutrient supply can be easily prevented by addressing the nutrient content in the veggie diet. Try it out and enjoy healthy vegan muscle building . Increase your activity and muscle building through a vegan diet !
