Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hello,

I have always wished I could go vegan because of ethical reasons. I have been buying organic meat for years just to lessen the impact I have been having on suffering animals, to me all animals have the right to live and shouldn't be farmed just so another animal can consume them. I have been lifting since I was 18, and started because i was ghastly thin and wanted to put on some weight. I am now 35 and have the best physique I have ever had. Going Vegan wasn't an option because i didn't want to have all the muscle I have spent a lifetime building erode away and morph into an underweight emaciated vegan type.

My wife and some of her colleges have all formed this weight loss support group and try various things together. Their latest scheme is a vegan cleanse, she informed me that all meals would be vegan during the cleanse, she would do all the cooking, but if I wanted to eat any meat I would have to prepare it separately. She also acquired forks over knives for our viewing pleasure. There were several athletes in that movie that were claiming that meat wasn't required for performance or muscle growth.

The first week was fine, except for the gas, omg! did that happen to anyone else? I am on week two now, thankfully the gas has somewhat subsided. I have decided to give vegan-ism a go but I am terrified that my muscle mass will erode away. I know several vegans but they are all very thin and sick looking, granted none of them lift weights, but I am very concerned that I will lose muscle mass because of this decision.

I've only been doing this for 3 weeks myself... but I've researched enough that I definitely believe with proper planning you can get adequate protein for bodybuilding. The meat and supplement industries will have you believe otherwise. But marketing is not equal to facts. The protein myth is a result of marketing as much as the milk myth. You would expect anyone with a brain could fathom that all humans should be fully weaned by 2 years of age - none of us needs milk as an adult. And particularly we don't need milk from another species. But the commercials convince us otherwise. Marketers are excellent at their job and most people I've met are fully brainwashed.

If you plan to be a lazyass vegan who eats popcorn and cherry licorice all day, you won't have a lot of success but it sounds to me like your wife has your back and will look after you.

To stay on track you will be forced to eat healthy.. which imo is a good thing. You will need to have some form of grains & legumes or soy product each day to ensure you are getting complete proteins. Protein shakes/smoothies I'm sure are good to include if you have concerns. I've read you want a mix of pea and rice protein to make it a complete protein - I can't remember the split for them so you'll have to look that up. I think Vega includes both anyway. At the beginning you may want to log your nutrient and protein intake to make sure you are on the right track and aren't sabotaging yourself.

Personally I enjoy a challenge and I'm in it to show it can be done. Grr. Well, right after my rotator cuff is better anyway.

Nope.. no gas, but I was vegetarian before, so probably my body is already accustomed to those foods (beans, lentils). Ask me for my 9 bean soup recipe when you are ready for it.

Definitely give it a go and I hope you have great success with it.

_________________
If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If it isn't, you'll find an excuse.

There are plenty of very built vegan bodybuilders and athletes. One of my favorite comparisons to do is to take a look at other animals. Take a look at the muscle mass on gorillas and rhinos, ridiculous right, and they are herbivores aka vegans.

Welcome to the forum,

-Dylan

Hey there, straud13! Doesn't look like you've posted on the forum since your initial post, but I hope you'll give us an update and let us know how it has gone since Vegan Week 2 started! I like what Dylan said above, about the fact that most of the biggest animals on our planet are vegan. They obviously don't languish away from a protein deficiency. But, also, just take a look around this website (both the forum and the main site). Lots of super pumped/ripped vegans! It's definitely possible! Hope things are going well for you!