Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Im looking for a high protien vegan diet that wont add on the unwanted fat. (trying to lean out) I used to be fat, and I'm very "carb sensitive"! What always worked the best for me I've noticed that most of the high protien vegan diets are very high in carbohydrates. Does anyone have any diets that would work for my body type and geared towards my goals? Im not a "hard gainer". I can put on mass quite easily but it is more difficult for me to get cut.

Look at all the people on here...they made it work. how many more people have you seen fail on an atkins type diet?? you need to make sure you are eating clean, drinking water, hitting the gym hard, and measuring and adjusting your diet as you go if you want to get/remain lean. there is no magic secret. if you really truly want to be cut you also have to do cardio. carbs arent the enemy, processed shit is.

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I know it can defintely work. Im not doubting that. Im just curious how I got about it? I've been looking at a ton of high protien vegan diets and they all appear to be high in carbs. How can I be so sure that those diets weren't made by a "hard gainer". What works for him may not work for me. What used to work for me was low fat, low carb, high protien. But I'm trying to go the healthier route (vegan). So im just trying to get everyone's advice on vegan dieting. I want all the protien but I'm nervous about adding all the carbs. I noticed that you said to eat "clean" but excuse my ignorance. I'm new to this and figured all vegan food were clean with the exception of fried foods.

My best fat loss was with lower to moderate carb, high-protein dieting done vegan, it can be done but typically relies on a lot of processed meat alternative stuff and protein powders for the base. Nothing I'd recommend doing long-term due to the high consumption of things that aren't the healthiest (not that most lower-carb diets are healthy in the long run), but if you have the desire to eat tons of fake meat products, it can be done. I've done something like:

Meal 1 - Protein shake with added olive oil or flax seed oil

Meal 2 - package of Viana brand meat alternatives such as their veggie steaks, which will yield about 550 calories with only about 10g carbs, plenty of protein and fat

Meal 3 - protein shake and salad

Meal 4 - more lower carbohydrate meat alternatives, steamed vegetables

Meal 5 - would be after my normal training time, if I was lifting I'd consume my one carb-heavier meal of the day at that point, if I wasn't training, it'd be another protein shake + veggies or meat alternatives.

It gets old fast, but it worked for me to drop about 25 lbs. over the course of about 4 months without really doing any cardio work, I just upped the volume and decreased the weight for my lifts and things took care of themselves.

Another guy I used to train with went vegan for 3 months and lost 30 lbs. doing tons of cardio, some moderate weight training, he followed a similar plan but with lower calories (he was only eating around 2200 cal/day vs. his normal 3500-4000), 40-50g protein at every meal, up to 50g max carbs per meal, again lots of protein shakes and meat alternatives.

You can do just about any diet vegan-wise, but again, some of the less-than-healthy ones for long-term use should be done sparingly vs. adapted as a regular program to consider for doing year round!

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"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous

Great info. Thanks for the advice! Are the meat alternatives high in sodium? I dont want to get bloated or have high blood pressure.

Also would you reccomend a meat alternative that is healthier then the rest? Or which protien powder tastes the best? Or is best for you? Sorry for all the questions im new to this.

I like any protein powders from Vega. The chocolate Performance Protein tastes great (especially mixed with a cup of unsweetened almond milk and a few drops of chocolate-raspberry stevia) and has 5.5g of BCAAs per scoop.
As far as fake meats go, I like pretty much anything from Tofurky, their italian sausage is awesome. Yves Veggie Cuisine makes some really good products, too (especially their breakfast stuff and jumbo veggie dogs)... but I have a feeling they're only available in Canada... not positive, though.
And, yes; generally speaking, the fake meats are high in sodium.

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Whenever you need a quick weight cut, go raw vegan for a week or two. You'll drop pounds of water weight if you're holding on to it. Also, during that time, any cravings that come up will alert you to either things you are lacking in your diet or things that you are getting too much of (withdrawal effect). The more self-aware you are, the easier it will be to tell the difference.

Baby Herc

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