Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

12 Days of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness - December 20-31, 2011

Vision: To create a structure and formula for success in a health and fitness program, providing helpful tools, resources, and guidance to turn goals into reality, making New Year’s Resolutions come true.

Follow the 12 Days of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions! This 12-Day Formula For Success is the platform you need to finally make your health and fitness goals a reality.

Full details here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=26972

Day 4 of The 12 Days of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness - Daily Information

Robert’s tips for Building and Maintaining Muscle on a Plant Based Diet

1) Make whole foods the foundation of your nutrition program.

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, legumes, and seeds should be the foods you eat most often. They are the healthiest, provide the most nutrition and are the most environmentally friendly foods available.

2) Plan ahead.

Prepare food ahead of time. Keep food in your car, at work, on your bike, or however you commute to and from work. Keep whole food based energy and protein bars filled with nuts, grains and seeds in your gym bag, office desk, coat pockets, etc.
Since you want to consume calories regularly, you’ll want to keep non-perishable foods with you wherever you go. Plan larger meals ahead of time too. Use re-sealable containers to transport food with you that will need refrigeration. Make food the day before, or make large quantities of a particular food such as beans, rice, or potatoes, which may last for a few days. Bottom line, always be prepared by planning ahead.

3) Take your nutrition and training programs seriously.

Are you serious about your health? If so, act like it. Fitness and wellness don’t just happen by themselves. They rely on your hard work and dedication. Be consistent in your efforts in motivation, nutrition and training.Then you’ll achieve what you set out to do. You’ll be rewarded with better health, greater fulfillment, and new opportunities in other areas of your life.

Robert’s Favorite Muscle Building and Muscle Maintaining Foods

Tofu
Tempeh
Seitan
Nuts
Nut butters (almond butter, etc.)
Lentils
Avocado
Beans
Brown rice
Quinoa
Spinach
Broccoli
Kale
Yams
Potatoes
Soups
Stews
Chili
Sushi (avocado, cucumber, carrot –veggie rolls)
Sandwiches
Burritos
Protein bars
Protein drinks
Heavy foods by weight such as root vegetables and dense fruits
Ethnic food platters such as Middle Eastern, Thai, Indian and Ethiopian foods

The more diversity in your diet, the better. And the more whole foods you consume, the better for your overall health, athletic performance, recovery from exercise and general wellness. Regardless of your sports interest, those general rules apply for pre and post-exercise nutrition.

Supplementation

As a bodybuilder I incorporate supplements into my nutrition program regularly but they certainly aren’t necessary. I find them to play the role their name suggests, and I use them to “supplement” my whole food based nutrition programs. You can achieve high levels of health and athletic success without supplements. I simply find supplements to be somewhat of a nutritional shortcut to athletic achievement which helps me focus more on achievement in other areas of life.

Even in the physically demanding sport of bodybuilding, I have achieved great strength and muscle mass during periods of time without the use of any supplements, relying solely on foods for nutrition. If supplements are something you take or are interested in, I would suggest the following as the most important in assisting athletic performance and success:

Whole Food based Meal Replacement Powders – Supply daily nutrition requirements.

Multi-vitamin – If meal replacement powder isn’t used, a multi-vitamin is recommended.
Protein Powders – Supply extra protein to build and repair muscle tissue.

Creatine – Helps promote strength and weight gain through the retention of water in muscles.

Essential Fatty Acids – Helps the body speed up metabolism and burn fat as well as strengthen nails, hair and improve the health of skin and brain function.

L-glutamine – The most important amino acid in recovery after exercise, also helps immune system.

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) – A combination of essential amino acids that promote muscle growth.

Vitamin B-12 – Supports the brain and nervous system, recommended for everyone.

General tips for Building Muscle on a Vegan Diet and Staying Active Healthy and Fit at Any Age

Consistency and Accountability

Make exercise and a sound nutrition program priorities and stick to them with consistency and accountability. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if it isn’t applied it doesn’t get you anywhere. You have to find meaning in what you’re doing to get the best results from it.

Why do you want to be healthy in the first place?

To live longer, to feel better, to live without or with fewer aches and pains, to be a role model for others, to be an elite athlete, or for some other reason? Establish what health, wellness and fitness mean to YOU and create a program that fits your interests, desires and goals and see it through to achievement.

Eat for nourishment not stimulation

Make the foundation of your nutrition program whole foods designed to nourish your body and help fuel your active lifestyle, reduce inflammation as a result of it, and recover well to do it all over again the next day. Relying on processed foods, refined carbohydrates and sugars won’t supply enough tangible nutrition. But fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, legumes and seeds will.

Stay Hydrated

Stay hydrated by consuming large quantities of water throughout the day. This is of increased importance for someone who is active, say building muscle or playing sports. We lose not only nutrients through sweat but obviously water too.

Since the body is comprised mostly of water, it behooves us to consume it regularly, up to a gallon a day or even more based on our sports interests and level of activity. To help reduce cramping, stay hydrated and consume sodium and potassium as well, either naturally from foods, or in supplement form to replace nutrients lost through exercise. To reduce lactic acid build-up as a result of exercise stress, stay hydrated, replenish lost nutrients, proactively consume essential fats that reduce inflammation, rest, stretch and consume adequate nutrition to properly recover.

To help with rest at the end of day, be well hydrated by bedtime so you don’t get muscle cramps during your sleep and take Zinc and Magnesium to help you fall asleep naturally.

Summary

Now that you know how to build muscle on a vegan diet, how to stay fit and active, what foods to eat and when, I figured I’d leave you with one more helpful resource and that is a list of nutrients found in common foods.

I wish you all the best in your journey to a happy and healthy compassionate fitness lifestyle. You are equipped with the tools, the only thing left to do is put them into action.

List of nutrients from the http://www.veganbodybuilding.com website:

High-Protein Foods

Soybeans
Chick peas
Kidney beans
Adzuki beans
Other beans
Tofu
Lentils
Almonds

Other nuts and seeds
Kamut and spelt
Other whole grains


High-Calcium Foods

Black beans
Chick peas
Soybeans
Pinto beans
Tofu
Cashews
Almonds
Sesame seeds
Molasses
Dark leafy green vegetables
Brazil nuts
Hazelnuts (filberts)
Sunflower seeds
Globe artichokes

High-Magnesium Foods

Pumpkin and squash seeds
Bran
Almonds
Sesame seeds
Other nuts and seeds
Peanuts
Millet
Whole grains
Dried figs
Molasses
Black-eyed peas

High-Iron Foods

Dried fruit
Molasses
Chick peas
Black-eyed peas
Pinto beans
Whole grains
Sesame seeds
Other seeds
Prune juice
Dark leafy green vegetables
Jerusalem artichokes

High-Zinc Foods

Brazil nuts
Bran
Almonds
Walnuts
Lentils
Lima beans
Black-eyed peas
Other dried peas
Chick peas
Cashews
Pecans
Whole wheat flour
Corn and cornmeal
Spinach
Asparagus

High-Iodine Foods

Seaweeds
Sea Kelp
Iodized sea salt
Dark leafy green vegetables

High-Mineral and Enzyme Foods

Miso
Vegetable juices
Barley green
Wheat grass
Papayas
Seaweeds
Citrus fruit
Tomato juice

High B-12 Foods

Wheat grass
Barley green
Spirulina
Cholorella
Blue-green algae
B-12 fortified foods like texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
Vitamin supplements

Vitamin D

Alfalfa
Chlorella
Blue-green algae
Fenugreek
Sunflower seeds
Coconut
Papaya
Rosehips

Essential Oils

Flax seed/flax seed oil
Olives
Olive oil
Other natural oils
Nuts and seeds
Vegetables
Avocados
Whole grains

Herbs

Parsley
Herb seasonings
Herb teas
Garlic
Onions

-Robert Cheeke
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com
@RobertCheeke on Twitter




Check back for tomorrow's Updates!

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/forum

I have a question. I've refrained from taking BCAA's, L-Glutamine and Creatine in fear of ingesting animal products by mistake. I don't even know where to begin there. Is any brand safe, say any Glutamine or Creatine in powder form? Any aminoacids in liquid form or just the ones marked as BCAA's? I've read a lot about this supplements and their benefits but wasn't sure if I needed to buy a specific brand for them to be vegan friendly or if any would do. Vegan protein powders such as Vega, Sunwarrior and the sort aren't sold in my country, let's just say being vegan isn't a very known thing here. Finding a protein powder I could take it's been a challenge. I finally had to set for a soy protein not even developed for athletes so I'm not even sure of it's purity and quality . I've contacted this local company that sells supplements for athletes and they will start selling pea protein in the near future... Keeping my weight up has been a challenge as vegan bodybuilder, eventhough I try to eat plenty of quality foods (I'm not fond of food in cans or bags, I try to eat as close to the natural thing as possible) So again, will any glutamine, creatine or BCAA will do, any brand? I need help, I wanna get mad ripped, LOL

this is a great easy to read list! Thanks Robert

Good questions.

In the US, most brands of glutamine and creatine are vegan-friendly. They are labeled as such or just known to be lab-made and animal product-free.

To be totally safe, shop from www.veganessentials.com which ships worldwide and they do all the research for you, and only carry vegan products.

Furthermore, the owner is our longest-running forum member too. He joined the same week I created this forum 8 years ago and his forum name is Vegan Essentials so you can ask him questions directly here too. He's an awesome guy and would easily be able to point you in the right direction based on brands and specific products.

All the best!

-Robert

THANKS!

Anytime!

Hope others are finding this article and others like it helpful as well.

All the best, everyone! Have a prosperous New Year!

-Robert

Can you recommend a preferred brand for the BCCA, L-glutamine and B-12?? Also, I take Deva Glucosamine. Is that recommended?? Thanks in advance!!

Hi SaraTonin,

I use Vega Sport Protein which has 5000mg L-glutamine and 5500mg BCAA's. www.vegasport.com

I've also used Sci-Fit, IronTek and a few other brands. I mention them in my book. I may have to go back check all the companies I reference but those should get you started.

All the best!