Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

There is a mountain of research showing that a low calorie, nutrient dense diet is one of the big keys to not only longevity, but also a healthy existence. I have been battling this lately because I want to eat less calories but low calorie diets do not exactly go hand in hand with bodybuilding. Although I have heard of some guys on the forum building muscle on fairly low calorie raw diets so maybe it can be done. I try to concentrate on nutrient dense more than anything.

If you eat high protein it works. I eat this way and haven't lost any strength.

Growing muscle requires energy ( measured in calories ). If you don't give your body enough energy ( that will be different for everyone and every routine ) you will not grow the muscle. Your question is similar to "Can I take road trips on the weekend while filling up my car with less gas". Well, how far are your trips and how much gas will you need?

Jack LaLane was muscular and athletic, into his 70s. He lived into his 90s. There are articles here and there about bodybuilders who are in their 70s and still lifting.

Take care of your joints and stay away from extreme diets, you should be alright.

But would Jack have lived past 100 and in decent health had he eaten less and not lifted as heavy?

Hey, I am on your side....I am just playing devil's advocate. I do a lot of reading about longevity and health and the number one way found to increase longevity and health is a restricted diet.

How do you take care of your joints?

The guy pulled boats from Alcatraz in his teeth when he was in his 70s and only stopped to get his wife of his back. He got pneumonia in his 90s. A very common way to day.



I've read about the CRON people for decades too. One nice thing about that community is that they are all very intelligent people. They themselves will tell you that they don't have PROOF that the way they live will increase their lifespans. They will admit that they are doing what they are doing based on faith that animal experiments will apply to them.

Actually there is cold hard data to support a calorie restricted diet. Lots of it.

Can we do it, drive a car across the country on a low gasoline diet?

Q: Can we bodybuild while simultaneously starving our body of fuel? This is the question being posed.

A: Perhaps, but not with continued intensity and not for the long-term.

The data was collected on animals, not people. Most results from animal testing don't apply to human beings and vice-versa. Different systems. The feeding studies done on animals have never been done to the same extent with people. You can't lock a human being in a cage and control all their inputs for a life time. Google on CRON. They have a yahoo group. Talk to them, they will tell you the same thing. They believe they are making an educated gamble.

This is mostly true, but some animal studies (although I am against them morally) do have scientific merit. There are many ways we are dissimiliar from the other animals, but there are also many ways in which we are very similar. We all need air, food, water, etc. Lab rats have been chosen because they are cheap and a reasonable approximation to humans. Again, it's not something I support, but it does have scientific value....

I agree with Dallas that you can do the low calorie diet as long as it is high in protein - this is an essential diet for a bodybuilder that is looking to do a low calorie diet. Best of luck with it, and if you find yourself lacking in energy just bump up the calories little by little until you are feeling energized enough to get through and until you feel "right".

Can anyone comment on jack lalanne diet? I know before he died he ate fish and other stuff...

Can anyone also comment on john robbins diet? He look strong and i heard he bench press for 250 lbs.

If a vegan wants to build muscle s/he should find a muscular vegan and look at how s/he eats. Note, that isn't the same as believing the bodybuilder as to why their diet works. Many athletes have no idea what they are talking about and are the recipients of happy coincidences.

If you don't eat enough calories, you will not put on muscle or you will not put on muscle as fast. Building muscles means muscle cells grow. That requires energy ( calories ).

No, it was collected on people. There was even a recent 40 year study conducted going over similar data. Hey, I am not saying I follow a low calorie diet, but the proof is there, and it makes complete sense. Unfortunately I love bodybuilding too much. LOL.

Why don't you take a month and try to do it for yourself? See if your body can take it? Everybody's genetic build is different, and so the metabolisms are different too. You are going to have to try for yourself anyways, unless you are just asking permission to not even try (which I am not advocating).

Low calorie is very hard on me mentally. I can not function after a couple of days of low calorie diet and exercise. When it gets to that point, I eat more calories slowly for a day or two, and then go back (though this is to trim down/ ripped look for summer). Otherwise, I just keep my eating the same, and exercise (I do not like to go to extremes too much with my body. It likes its homeostasis).

My theory why calorie restriction diets work to increase longevity, is that there is less free radicals made by the mitochondria while processing food into ATP. With the advent of knowledge of foods that counteract the free radicals (antioxidants), you can use that instead to increase your longevity. Though as a bodybuilder, you have alot more mitochondria in your muscle cell than the average person (I'm not sure, but I think that people that do the calorie-restriction diets also have very light to moderate exercise, like a 30 minute walk is sufficient for them in a day). It was good that Jack LaLane had his juicier and was getting all of his greens antioxidants in.

I was on a CRON yahoo group for a year. Such a study was never mentioned there. I'd be interested in seeing a citation if you have one.