Can You Build Muscle On a Vegan Diet

If gaining muscle is a training goal for you, you know how important protein is to achieving that goal. But is the only way to get enough muscle building protein into your diet to eat 6 plain chicken breasts a day? Can you still meet your muscle building goals if you choose a vegan diet? Of course you can!

There are many contributing factors that can draw people to a vegan diet. People switch to a veganism because of environmental factors, animal rights issues, and sometimes simply because they do not enjoy eating meat and animal byproducts. But just because you gave up on consuming meat, does not mean that you have to give up on your muscle building goals. As with any dietary goals, all you need is a little extra planning.

When looking for advice on this subject you will likely come across two camps. One where people say that protein is not even important to muscle building and the other where they insist that you need to consume two grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. A more reasonable and still effective place to land is somewhere in the middle. As a goal, aiming for 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle is a nice sweet spot for gaining muscle. This is where it would be useful to calculate your body fat to muscle ratio and then use that information to calculate how many grams of protein you personally need to be eating.

Besides protein intake, it is also important that you strive to get enough fat in your diet. Fat helps your body to run smoothly. If you have been dealing with brain fog, you may want to reevaluate your fat intake. Aside from functionality, fat also helps you look better. If having dry skin and a sunken face is not a part of your aesthetic goals, you need enough fat in your diet. Getting 20-30% of your calories from fat is a good goal. Reach for plenty of avocados, nuts, almond butter, and flaxseed oil.

And lastly, amino acids are key in building strong muscle, so this is also something you should pay special attention to in your diet. Foods like lentils, quinoa, and black beans are great sources for this. Liquid aminos are also great to use in your cooking. If you have a soy sauce based dish, liquid aminos is a nice substitute that will also assist you in meeting your goals.

At the end of the day, you can build muscle on any kind of diet. And when you're out of the kitchen and need a place to actually build that muscle, the Junkyard Training yard is ready for you.

Posted By Junkyard Training on 1-21-2022