Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

"Hi everybody!" - Dr. Nick (The Simpsons)

Anyway, below is my current diet and below that is my hopeful vegetarian diet. I plan on buying 50lb bags of wheat gluten and making seitan at home. I'm not too concerned about diet variation, but I'm looking for suggestions, hints, and ideas. Also, the picture I attached is of me in my first bodybuilding competition back in 2010, I weighed 189 (I cut down from 215), and now I weigh about 232. My goal is basically to get as big and strong as possible as a vegetarian. So, please, questions, comments, and all the help your willing to give.

Thanks!

Current Diet Carnivorous:

Meal 1:
- 9oz 97/3% beef (351c. 63p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.) ½ avocado (125c.) 1 garlic clove (4c.)

Meal 2:
- 1 can chicken (270c. 54p.) 5 slices of pineapple (160c.) spinach (32c.)

Meal 3: (pre-workout)
- 1 can chicken (270c. 54p.) 1 cup oats (300c. 10p.)

Snack:
- 1 scoop protein shake immediately after lift (310c 26p.)

Meal 4: (post-workout)
- 9oz 97/3% beef (351c. 63p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.)

Meal 5:
- 1 can chicken (270c. 54p.) 5 slices of pineapple (160c.) spinach (32c.)

Meal 6:
- 24 slices/7oz of turkey or chicken sandwich meat (315c. 35p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.)

Approx. Total Protein: 349 g.
Approx. Total Calories: 3,190 c.
Current Weight: 323 lbs.

New Diet Vegetarian (not yet started):

Meal 1:
- 9oz Seitan (315c. 81p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.) ½ avocado (125c.) 1 garlic clove (4c.)

Meal 2:
- 9oz Seitan (315c. 81p.) 5 slices of pineapple (160c.) spinach (32c.)

Meal 3: (pre-workout)
- 9oz Seitan (315c. 81p.) 1 cup oats (300c. 10p.)

Snack:
- some kind of nuts during my training.

Meal 4: (post-workout)
- 9oz Seitan (315c. 81p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.) (add a fruit)

Meal 5:
- 9oz Seitan (315c. 81p.) 5 slices of pineapple (160c.) spinach (32c.)

Meal 6:
- 9oz Seitan or tofu (315c. 81p.) 2 cups broccoli (80c.)

Approx. Total Protein: 496 g.
Approx. Total Calories: 3,253 c.
Approx. Weight 2 Weeks In:

Hi there, what makes you want to become a vegetarian?

I'm not gonna argue with your results, but I personally really feel that 450g protein is way more than you need. You managed a killer physique with only 350g on a meat plan, and I think you can easily do the same on a veggie plan. Also I would look into spreading out your protein sources more. Seitan is deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid, so you want protein sources that will fill in that missing amino for you. You could add some tofu, tempeh, or protein powder in there, and that would help balance the equation. Other than those tips, I will only say, good luck!

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Learning how to be compassionate, gain wisdom, and love life.

A couple reasons actually:
- Time for a change and challenge.
- Hoping to feel better, have more energy, and sleep better. (I figure the more natural and healthy I am, then the better my body/mind will operate).
- I just recently watched a documentary called Forks Over Knifes and that simply settled the question for me.


Thanks for the knowledge! Your probably right about my protein intake, but I want to initially saturate my body with nutrients and protein, then slowly modify the diet to fit my needs. I'll make sure I get lysine through my amino acids tabs. I think I'm going to definitely substitute some Tofu or Tempeh for 2 or 3 of my Seitan meals.

(off topic: ghibli studios does awesome work!)

I'd also suggest you add quinoa and kale. And though I assume you probably want to avoid supplements I have to advocate Vega. They are the best powders out there I find that don't include allergens such as soy and wheat.

They also have a new protein bar that is stellar with absolutely no soy. There ingredients are incredibly good so I don't flinch at the fact they're processed supplements.

_________________
- Think Forward, Be Concerned!

Glad to see another fan. Spirited Away is still my favorite!

_________________
Learning how to be compassionate, gain wisdom, and love life.

Welcome! You look great and it's nice to have you in the veg community.

RE: Your diet: That's a huge amount of seitan! Although there's no consensus in the scientific community, you may want to read about soy and testosterone before adding tofu to your diet.

Thanks for the sweet information! I actually think supplements are fine, but to completely depend on them for your nutrients is foolish. Right now I take CGT-10, Amino Acids, L-Arginine, any on sale pre-workout (or green tea), and occasionally I add a bottle of T-Bomb II. I just looked up Quinoa and seeing that made me think that I might try to add it as a breakfast meal. As far as the Kale, I might occasionally use it as a substitute for my broccoli. The only Vega I know of is from Street Fighter...Is it a supplement company, and do they have a website?


I really like them all, but Princesse Mononoke is probably my favorite. Although, Spirited Away is the film that got me hooked.


As far as I know Seitan is soy free (being it is baiscally boiled wheat gluten remains). I did some research (very limited), but I figure that with a massive intake of cruciferous vegetables any negitives from bad estrogen will mostly be eliminated. I feel like the gavel hasn't slammed down a sentence regarding the issue and that it is still undecided about the whole soy estrogen issue. Anyway, thanks for the precautionary hint.

If you can afford it...

http://myvega.com/products

_________________
Learning how to be compassionate, gain wisdom, and love life.

Seitan isn't soy-based; tofu is. I have no firm conclusions personally about the effects of soy on hormone levels, but if there's anything higher than a 0% chance of negative effects, I'd rather just have something else. A lot of my protein comes from beans (especially pinto and garbanzo because I like how they taste), vegetables, seeds (sunflower, hemp, and pumpkin), nuts (cashews & almonds), and grains (whole wheat and quinoa).

I find Vega is at it's most affordable in mom and pop health food stores, not to mention the positive aspects of the meal replacer and the sport protein more than make it worth the investment. As for the other supplements they make for pre workout and during I just turn to them based on need.

I've been eating soy on the regular for 16 years to no ill affects other than gas if I rely on it too much in a day.

Quinoa can be a good addition to porridge, if you wanna use it for breakfast look into quinoa flakes.

As a breakfast staple i don't believe you can't beat steel cut oats though. 1 cup (uncooked 2 or so cooked). Can give you an amazing hearty meal. Some times i mix it with quinoa flakes. I use to make an amazing porridge with 3 different grains, coconuts, dates, and maple syrup.

I must suggest with your meals you work hard to diversify as much as possible. Take this opportunity to learn to experiment tweek and play with the food you eat, there are so many things you can do on a plant based diet.

Learn to love the food you eat and have fun while doing it and you'll love being vegan even more. It'll become more than just a choice to assist your building on a healthier platform.

Take this opportunity to buy every vegan cookbook you can find and then invest in as many of the many nonperishable ingredients in them as you can to always have options on hand in order to use those recipes. Amazon is a great source and there are tons of vegan recipes on the internet.

_________________
- Think Forward, Be Concerned!

Welcome to the forum!

How are things going?

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Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1