Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I am worried that I will lose weight by bodybuilding... especially if I stop eating meat, but even eating meat and junk food my body burns off way too many calories. I think I am going to rely heavily on supplements, at least in the beginning, if I want to actually grow. Are there any raw plant-based weight gain supplements, that actually work?

There really isn't anything that's a specific vegan-friendly weight gainer out there. That being said, not losing weight is about keeping calories up - easiest way to do that is pack in some additional high-calorie foods if you're worried, even just having a few handful of cashews, almonds, peanuts, etc. can easily give you another 500+ calories of protein and fat very easily without filling you up too much. I'd suggest considering nuts and nut butters by themselves or nut butter blended in with smoothies or protein shakes to pack in the calories, a cheap and easy way to make sure you're getting plenty for what you need.

I don't know how this works as a weight gain supplement, but I got some raw protein powder from the distributor Garden of Life, that has like 15 types of raw organic protein. I also have some hemp protein. Looks like there is a good bit of carbs in these powders. Then I got creatine and glutamine, and a liquid B12. Just deciding how to take the stuff now.

Regardless of the product, if it doesn't have a lot of calories, it won't do much for weight gain. Not sure how much there is for calories in the Garden of Life protein products (I'm not a big fan), but I would say your best bet is to make sure you've kept track of how many calories you've been eating in order to not LOSE any weight, add 500-800 calories on top of that, and start there along with your weight training.

One thing to remember is, if you aren't breaking down muscle tissue to rebuild it back up with resistance training, you're pretty much assured to gain mostly fat with any added weight, so having a good training program that promotes growth is as critical as making sure you're getting plenty of calories. Both components need to work together, otherwise, the whole plan falls apart!

There's no magic potion to put on bulk. You gotta eat and eat lots.

For example, this is what I usually have for breakfast

I get a big mixing bowl, put about a cup and half of quick oats in there (oats are super cheap and have lots of nutrient - i just get the generic brand). Put enough milk in there so all the oats are wet. Put a heaping spoonful of peanut butter in. Microwave about 2 minutes. Stir in a heaping spoonful of flax seed, a scoop of hemp protein, at least 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds (i buy these in bulk so i always have plenty around), then slice an entire banana and an entire apple and pig out!

Bananas are good cause they're cheap and if you get a lot of bananas at a time you'll be motivated to eat them all fast or they'll go bad.

Burritos are also good easy meals. Cook up several cups of brown rice so you have some on hand in the fridge during the week. Same with black beans. Rice+beans = lots of good protein and carbs.

VE is right about keeping nuts and seeds on hand. Pumpkin seeds are my go-to because they are so high in nutrients. Almonds too! Cashews are a nice high-calorie treat too.

Protein-wise the real power players are tofu and tempeh but they can be a little expensive. Eat as much your budget allows. Soymilk too.

A good quick meal on the run is a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Since you are ectomorph you may even want to drizzle maple syrup or agave nectar on your sandwiches. If you can afford to buy Ezekiel bread, it is very high in quality nutrients.

Smoothies are good for downing calories fast too. Soymilk, spinach, bananas, flax, peanut butter, hemp powder, and oats make a good power smoothie.

Happy eating!

Edited to Add - like VE said, you gotta do heavy resistance to grow muscle. Pushups are good but it's not going to be enough. Find the cheapest gym you can get to that has barbells and start doing major compound lifts, starting light light and gradually adding more plates to the bar (squats, deadlifts, bench, rows, shoulder presses, etc).

One more thing. If you haven't check out Chewy's Strength Log from beginning to end. He should be an inspiration for you. He is an ectomorph too and started from scratch very skinny just a few years ago and now is one of the strongest guys on this board.

agreed on that, chewys log has always been a good source of inspiration, the guys bloody strong and started off completely from scratch, shame he isn't blogging these days