Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

So I'm really peeved. I still weigh exactly the same as I have since a few months after giving birth over three years ago. I know my body composition has changed a little. I looked up when I first started taking my measurements about 2.5 years ago and I've lost 10" but 3 of them are from my chest. So overall not a huge change considering I went from not working out at all to working out all the time. I'm irritated that I'm not transforming my body into something more. I was out of commission for a couple of months due to a stress fracture in my leg but it can't have put my that far back right? I was still getting to the gym at least four times a week to do upper body lifting. I'm basically out of ideas on how to create a more lean me. I'm a lot stronger then when I started but you can't tell that by just looking at me. My brother in law swears it's because I don't eat meat.

Is anyone else having trouble leaning out and gaining muscle? Any ideas/input on this?

Thanks!

Your brother in law is wrong. Post your diet.

Breakfast

1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
18 grams sunflower seeds
18 grams pumpkin seeds
10 grams chia seeds
18 gram flax seeds

Post workout

~30 grams rice protein powder
5 grams BCAA
5 grams l-glutamine
2-3 grams chlorella
2-3 prunes/dates or 1/4 cup raisins

Lunch

1/2 block of tofu
1/2 green, yellow, or red pepper
1/2 onion

Snack (varies)
raw bar
or gluten-free muffin
or 2 T. peanut butter with a handful of gluten free rice crackers

Dinner (varies)

veggie soup with beans
or broccoli/greenbeans with beans, quinoa pasta sauce, nutritional yet and nori

Snack

Another bowl of what I had for breakfast
or muffin
or peanut butter with rice crackers
or a bar

If I'm still hungry I'll drink a protein shake before bed.

I eat until I'm content. I'm 5'4 and 125 lbs. I read that I should be consuming 1,800-2,000 calories though I never keep track.

I've also tried drinking three protein shakes (my BILs idea) a day so that's 90 grams of protein from rice protein alone but I couldn't handle doing it for more then a couple of weeks.

As far as exercise goes I usually go six times a week for 1-2 hours. Currently I'm working out 8-9 times a week. I run 5 times a week, lift five times a week (bis and tris, shoulders, back, chest, legs), and cross train (elliptical or Stair Master) 1-3 times a week. On days I workout morning and night I'll have two protein shakes.

May be doing too much cardio for your calorie input. Try eating more or doing less cardio or both.

I went vegan over a year ago and started working out after that and i have made a lot of improvements. I lso eat way less protien that you and have not yet started protein shakes so it's not that or meat. Try doing less cardio because that can hinder your muscles because your body takes the protein to recover from the cardio.try to keep adjusting your workouts until you find what works for you. Also if you have any extra fat or weight that can hinder any muscle showing so if you do have any it might be good to count calories, I am about 5'6 and weigh 116 pounds and i am trying to lose weight so my abs will show through better =/. The sad thing with muscle is if there is any fat it doesn't show well. You sound thin but that is just a suggestion since that is something i really had to work on. (stupid fat! hehe). Good luck! and no it is not meat at all i have only eaten meat for a year of my life and i am more muscular than all my female friends. Also it is good to remember that it takes a while for change to come in usually. Took me over a year to really be like oh YA i guess i am not wasting my time. patients, sadly for me, is an important part of building muscle

I've been lifting heavy for a little over two years. I introduced more cardio about a year ago when I picked up running. I'm thinking of getting my thyroid checked again and progesterone levels since I have no other ideas.

I would have expected a huge change by now.