slightly overwhelmed!

hi everyone, I'm called Lydia from the UK been vegan 5 years i am new to the website but finding it a bit daunting as, im quite underweight and want to build up some healthy muscle, any advise would be appreciated! thanks!

Hi Lydia. I wish I was in your situation

I'm no expert or even get close to pretending to being one...But I guess to put on weight you just need to start upping your calories with good wholesome foods and start lifting weights to develop your muscles. What does your daily diet roughly look like?

Hi and welcome,

Basically to gain weight eat more starchy foods like potatoes, Whole Pasta, Whole Rice.

You can eat different nuts and seeds that can help gaining weight aswel. You need to up your daily Calorie levels in order to put in extra Calorie each day. That way your body uses it for muscles building. Also you need to lift as heavy as you can If you wanna build bigger muscles, and make sure you are eating enough protein.

thanks for the replies!

my diet at the moment looks like -

breakfast - large fruit salad (pineapple, apple, blueberries, raspberries, black berries and strawberries)+ 250g soya yogurt + 2 soya latte's

lunch - beans/soya cheeze + salad and cooked swede

snack - 2 satsumas

tea - noodles + large bowl of raw veg

large milky soya latte before bed

i added it up and it comes to about 1000calories, i workout for an hour and half most days and i do alot of dog walking

what should i change? thanks x

First off, you need to add 500 calories a day, at least, to your diet. 1000 is WAY too low, even if you are very small. Plus with your activity, I think 2000 calories a day is closer to what you should be eating. I would add intake in the form of good fats (avocado, flaxseed) and complete proteins (tofu, tempeh, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, etc.). You could also add some fake meats into your diet if you really aren't a fan of the other high protein foods....

You could also try adding some refined carbohydrate also. I guess people tend to cleave them out because they're regarded as the beta noir, but if you're trying to add weight, they should do the job. 1000 calories is very, very low....esssentially that figure is generally reserved for calorie deficit diets. I mean factor in that you're doing daily cardio and other training, it's insane really. I'd go up to around 2000 calories at least, possibly more.

good luck

lj

Welcome to the boards, Lydia! Getting some extra calories in there is a great start, in addition to doing things like push ups or pull ups around the house anytime you have time/think about it. My roommate and I had a dip rack in the living room, and every time one of us would walk through, we did a set of dips. Great way to get started.