Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hey everyone. I've been vegan for almost four months now. I've made many strides with my workout routine and overall progress. I'm lifting much heavier weights, lost body fat, and look the best I ever have. And then I weighed myself for the first time since going vegan. I assumed since I've added visible mass that I finally would have leveled out and started gaining weight, but I've lost seven pounds! I was 125 when I went vegan, and now I'm only 118 which is way too skinny. Am I focusing too much on a number? Here's what I'm currently doing (4 days a week):

Day 1
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Squats (Barbell, 180 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Dead Lift (Barbell, 130 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Bench Press (Barbell, 110 lbs) 3 sets of 4-6
Seated Shoulder Press (35 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6-8
Lat pull down (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8-10
Tricep pull down (40 lbs) 3 sets of 10
Flyes (machine, 100 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Crunches on Bosu Ball (3 sets of 20)
Planks (3 for one minute each)

Day 2
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Decline bench press (Barbell, 120 lbs) 3 sets of 4-6
Close Grip Cable Row (100 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Dumbell Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Split Squats w/ Dumbells (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 10
Leg Curls (90 lbs) 3 sets of 8-10
Lateral Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6-8
Cable Crossover (95 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Tricep Kickbacks (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8-10
Cable Twists (35 lbs) 3 sets of 10 on each side

Day 3
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Incline Bench Press (Barbell, 100 lbs) 3 sets of 4-6
Leg Press (230 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Wide Grip Rows (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Front Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Hammer Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Calf Extension (180 lbs) 3 sets of 15
Reverse Flyes (70 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Pushups on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 15
Crunches on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 20

Oh, here's what my diet looks like:

AM
9:00 - 1 cup oatmeal with 1/4 cup walnuts, a bit of soy milk and coffee.
10:30 - workout
PM
12:00 - Bowl of lentil soup, peanut butter sandwich.
2:00 - wheat crackers and hummus.
4:00 - apple, or some olives, a bit of pasta salad, etc.
6:00 - Some kind of protein (usually seitan or tofu) with a starch (beans, potatoes, cous cous, quinoa, etc) and a vegetable. A few times a week I'll have some wine with dinner.
8:00 - Apple, a piece of dark chocolate, etc.

Thanks guys!

If you're lifting heavier and are still improving, my guess is that the fat you've lost has outpaced the muscle you've gained.

Your diet looks high-quality, but I have no idea of the # of calories, grams of protein, etc without measuring serving sizes. It's entirely possible that you're not getting enough calories and/or protein to support massive gains.

If I ate like that I would lose weight too.

Point blank: not enough food!

If your portions were large enough I'm sure you would have posted them.

Eat more than just crackers and hummus...

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I'll try bigger portions. I know my diet is a bit complex carb heavy, but that shouldn't be a problem for me. As for the crackers and hummus, that's just a snack! And I'd guess I have 10-12, which with the hummus is probably 3-400 calories. Could I just have a small frame or can I realistically add some muscle? I'd love to be 135-140. I tried to attach a photo of what I'm currently working with, but got an error message?

Yes the picture upload error is because you need to have a certain number of posts in order to upload.

As for your weight issue, I agree that it is a caloric intake problem. You need to treat EVERY eating opportunity as a part of your training. If you are lifting big in the gym, then you need to eat big at EVERY sitting. Keep with the current frequency and time intervals you have scheduled, just add more grains, beans, cereals and nuts/seeds. The nuts and seeds are going to be the goto if you need to pack in alot of cals in a very small volume.

When starting out, your appetite maybe the issue. Use nuts and seeds to increase the cals without increasing the overall volume of the meal so drastically. Or consider blending up your grains and cereals and drinking them or more realistically choking them down.

If you are interested in more tips, especially if you find the sheer volume of the food is daunting, feel free to PM me.

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"Eating should be seen as a ritual of health."
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Stupid question, but will eating more make me fat first?

Replied to your PM.

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So for an update I've taken localbrada's generous advice and I'm upping my caloric intake by at least 50%. It is not easy, but I think it's really what I need. I feel like I'm going to vomit sometimes, but I'm guessing that'll pass once my stomach expands. Haven't noticed an increase in performance yet during my workouts, but that could be because I feel so full. Hoping the cramps during my warmup runs go away too.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

9:30 - 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal with 1/4 cup walnuts, a bit of soy milk and coffee
11:00 - workout
PM
12:30 - Post workout banana, then had to run some errands
1:30 - Large bowl of lentil soup, peanut butter sandwich (on multi grain bread), and apple
4:00 - Vegan brown rice protein bar (330 calories)
5:30 - almonds, and a few multi grain crackers and hummus
7:00 - Seitan with steamed spinach and mashed sweet potatoes
9:00 - More almonds

And today:

9:30 - 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal with 1/4 cup walnuts, a bit of soy milk and coffee
11:00 - workout
PM
12:30 - Post workout vegan protein bar (I forget the brand, but I'm switching to the Clif Builder bars as I've found out they're vegan and contain a bit less sugar)
1:30 - Large bowl of lentil soup, peanut butter sandwich (on multi grain bread)
4:00 - Banana
6:00 - Clif Builder bar
8:00 - Some multi grain pasta salad with tofu and sun dried tomatoes (I work in a cafe so no time for a big meal)
11:00 - 2 homemade black bean burgers, no bun, baked sweet potato fries.

Here's what I currently look like, at 5'8 and 118 lbs. I'll post a new photo in three weeks. My goal is to gain 17 lbs over the next few months. Any additional suggestions are welcome.

Edit: still can't upload a photo.

Good lord, 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal is painful to consume. Thinking of going back to 1 cup, maybe 1 1/4 with walnuts, and a slice of multi grain toast with marmite.

Working doubles today and tomorrow, so these will be my rest days. I should still be eating a lot on my off days right?

Yes you should be eating all week regardless if you working out or not.

As for the oats, try blending them up in a mug and drinking them down. I haven't actually done it, but all the folks I know who do anything close to 2 cups...get their blend on.

Also make sure you are giving yourself enough time between eating and running so you don't feel all crampy, bloated or nauseous. For me it is 1h to 1h15m.

Your postworkout, 4p and 6p meals should be bigger. Try doubling up on the banana and the cliff or mixing them and making it banana+cliff bar back to back.

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Still eating a lot. My stomach is starting to expand and now I'm actually getting hungry every two hours which is a really good sign. Didn't get to eat quite as much on Saturday as I worked a double. Then yesterday woke up with a bad cold so I've had to take 4 days off from the gym (including today). Still managed to eat a lot yesterday though. I keep forgetting to eat almonds for my last meal, but will hopefully remember to tonight. I've decided to forgo 1 1/2 - 2 cups of oatmeal in the morning, and instead stick to 1 cup with walnuts, a piece of toast with marmite, and a banana. I just felt really sick. Hopefully my first workout tmrw will be awesome as I've been eating so much and have had 4 days of rest.

I hope you start to feel better soon as you kick that cold.

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Thanks LocalBrada!

So I returned to the gym after four days off. I should have waited one more day as I'm still pretty weak and my cold has started to settle in my lungs, but I'm stubborn.

Good news is, due to all of the extra calories I'm eating, while still very sick I didn't have to go down in weights in anything. In fact, I was able to add two reps to my bench press. I know that doesn't sound like much, but in my condition it's quite a feat. I will weigh myself tomorrow at the gym to see if I've gained any weight in my first week of bulking. I already feel bigger actually and surprisingly I don't think my body fat has gone up. What was I thinking with my diet before?? Haha. Went back to 1 1/4 cup of oatmeal for breakfast with walnuts, toast with marmite (soon to be replaced with peanut butter, it's too expensive esp considering I'm spending way more on food now), and a banana. Breakfast is starting to feel like a normal amount of food for me which is awesome. For lunch I had a peanut butter sandwich, lentil soup, and an apple. About to have another banana and some almonds, followed by a builder bar in a few hours. Only hard part for me is dinner as that's when I work, and there aren't many vegan food options by me apart from pasta and other carbs.

Still can't post progress photos. Hmm.

Well today was a bit discouraging. I weighed myself for the first time since I've nearly doubled my caloric intake a week ago. And? Still 118 lbs. I don't get it. I don't look 118 lbs. Most people guess that I'm 140-150. I have very large muscles for my small frame, why do I weigh so little?

Feeling badly for myself aside, here's what I did.

5 minute cardio warmup on elliptical (still too weak to run)
Decline bench press (Barbell) 1 set 110 lbs, 8 reps) 2 sets 120 lbs, 4 reps
Dumbell Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6
Lateral Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8-10
Split Squats w/ Dumbells (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Upper Cable Crossover (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Lower Cable Crossover (80 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Close Grip Cable Row (100 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Leg Curls (90 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Calf Raises (160 lbs) 3 sets of 12
Cable Twists/ rotation (for obliques; 35 lbs) 6 sets (3 on each side) of 10

Still eating a ton every two hours with very large pre and post workout meals. Trying to avoid carbs after 6pm, almonds at night, etc.

Worked out again yesterday, was still pretty sick so I'm taking today off. I guess 4 days in a row isn't a good idea anyway since I'm trying to add muscle. Starting to feel bloated from all this food, but have yet to gain a pound.

Yesterday:
9:30 - 1 1/4 cup oatmeal with walnuts and a bit of soy milk, one slice of toast with peanut butter, one banana, coffee
11:00 - Workout:
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Incline Bench Press (Barbell) 1 set 90 lbs, 8 reps) 2 sets 100 lbs, 4 reps
Leg Press (230 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Wide Grip Rows (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Front Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Hammer Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Tricep Kickbacks (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 10
Reverse Flyes (70 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Pushups on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 18
Crunches on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 25
12:30 - Clif Builder bar
1:00 - Lentil soup and peanut butter sandwich
3:00 - Banana
5:00 - crackers and dr. cow nut cheese, raw almonds
7:00 - stew of squash, sweet potatoes, tempeh, black beans.
11:00 - almonds, a bite of vegan chocolate cake, no icing