Jump to content

Seems impossible.


HeartWood
 Share

Recommended Posts

I was wondering if it's possible to get to a respectable size (fitness body) while being a raw vegan without any shakes or supplements, only and only food. I am Vegan for a bit longer than 6 months, now I remember at the time I used to eat meat my growth was fast while during these six months I feel that almost no progress is achieved, I changed my workout routine several times, my dieting schedules, i tried everything and I feel like I only getting smaller (I am making sure I eat enough protein).

 

Can you please answer me this: Is it possible to become big and shredded eating only raw vegan food (no tofu or other processed meat like products and no shakes, JUST food) also, some examples for meal plans or people who did it will be really helpful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Short answer, yes. 6 months would be way too short for me to relearn what/how/when to eat for optimal results, even after reading tons of books, listening to podcasts and seeing live speakers, I'm still learning new stuff all the time.

 

As for example, new UFC champ Nate Diaz is vegan since 18 yrs old, and mostly raw now. Also, worlds strongest man from Germany or some such place is vegan. So it's not just about loading up on nuts/seeds/etc to get tons of protein..

 

On current particular source I listen to is a UFC trainer who touts whole-foods, fresh from the earth nutrients. Being plant-based, yeah, we have to source our proteins (aka amino's really) and the timing of foods. He's not plant-based, but all his recipies are adaptable with just a little tweaking. I'm with you on avoiding random supplements and shakes. TOO many nutrients and micro nutrients are either not bio available, or are not optimally used by the body in isoloation -- they need other nutrients to make them work.

 

Rather than just tossing random stuff at you that might work for me, or take some guesses at raw approaches, I think I need more info to be helpful. I have raw bodybuilding friends who seem to be rocking it with just eating lots of fruits/veg from the whole color set of the rainbow. Dark greens, red peppers, watermelons, beans, seeds, nuts, etc....

 

What are you eating now? If you have a balanced and diverse set of meals, raw or just plant-based, you'll not have to worry about protein (SO much mis-information and brain washing not just in fitness world but general diet info/advertising).

 

What is a typical workout cycle for you? Types, reps and sequences of workouts you're doing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is definitely doable it is just hard work. Eating whole foods + raw means you are going to be taking in a ton of fiber and water weight with everything you eat so that you will get full quickly. This is great for weight loss but not so great for muscle and weight gain. I know tons of people who have struggled with weight gain on a cooked omnivorous diet, and its about 5x easier when you are taking in bad foods to put on weight. So the raw thing is great for yourself but tough for weight gain.

This article summarizes a lot of it really well http://www.nomeatathlete.com/gain-weight-vegan/. The shake he makes can also be adapted to be raw pretty easily. Essentially you need to eat a lot. Let me say that again. EAT - A - LOT. Other than that workout a bit differently, dan john has a pretty good ebook on gaining size called *mass made simple* essentially he says eat more, workout less frequently, accumulate a lot of time under tension. 30 rep squats.

Hope theres something of use in that rant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@VeganBadass_CO and @twwalks

Thank you for sharing some new information ! really appreciate it.

I would like to shed a little more light regarding my question.

A healthy stress-less lifestyle is always something I'm looking to have and when it comes to eating I struggle most (physically and mentally like what to eat and how much).

I'm not really aiming for a huge bodybuilder mass but something much simpler - I enjoy working out, my workouts consist mostly calisthenics, compound movements etc (weights are used very very rarely) so what I look for is just a fit body, for example let's take Frank Medrano's body. It's not huge but he's ripped and that's the results I'm aiming for, well, maybe put on some more muscle.

Anyway, back to my question - can such body type be achieved (time is not a factor, even if it takes years - slow but steady, not looking for instant results but to make it an ongoing lifestyle) by simply eating RAW vegan food, as mentioned without supplements or processed meat replacements, shakes, pills. Just the stuff the mother earth gives us.

And will it really give me all of the nutrients my body needs?

 

What I've been eating lately is: lentils,veggies (all of the kinds), fruits, beans, seeds, nuts, grains.

Any other suggestions will be rewarded with a virtual high five

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

So I think if you just want a physique like Frank's you just focus on strength and volume. He is really small like 155lbs I think. Which is really easy to do with a vegan diet. You don't even need to focus crazy amounts on nutrition just make sure you are getting enough to recover from workouts. You will start to notice that how well you eat and the amount you eat will affect on how fast you get sore and how quick you can recover. Focus on just getting really strong and doing tons of volume. Achieving that physique, while raw is definitely achievable and easier than most fitness physiques. Lentils, veggies, fruits beans, seeds, nuts, grains are all great. You seem to have it figured out. I would just confirm you are eating a lot still because if you train hard your requirements go up, and most raw diets tend to underestimate the calories they are taken in. Other than make sure you train very very hard. With a focus on 1.strength and 2.volume. Bodyweight stuff can handle tons of volume without overtraining. The strength/weighted stuff has to be more carefully controlled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...