Almost 2 year vegan, 2 months into new workout

[BigVeganGuy]

Hi,
Like title says, I've been vegan since Sept 2016 and started out new modified vegan diet and exercise in April of this year. I'm sticking with strength training since mid-May. Here's the tricky part, I'm trying to build muscle as an ectomorph (technically meso-ectomorph). My calorie intake is about 7500, I try to get at least 170-180 g protein in a day with plant based protein powders, vegan creatine, plant based protein drinks, nuts/seeds/beans/greens. I also get extra b12 in vegan oral spray supplement. I workout 5 times in a week, max weight 4 sets of 8-10 reps. Oh, I also try to get some fat and lots of carbs. I try to get 8 hrs sleep if possible. I workout in afternoon (work early morning hours, so my option is after work). I am trying just about everything to increase workout energy and get best results each time while slowly seeing increase muscle gain. It's an uphill battle all the way.

[John V]

How big are you? 9’ tall? 7,500 is crazy lotta calories if you’re not a triathlete or other advanced endurance athlete IMO. What’s your BF%? I always find increased energy for training and everything else when I lose some blubber.

[VeggiesForThought]

Awesome! I also had a pretty big calorie intake when bulking, a bit over 5000 daily when bulking. Down to about 3000 when cutting. So easy to cut as an ectomorph, haha.

Keep it up!

[BigVeganGuy]

Sorry, I'm 6'2" and weight 186 lbs. And my calorie intake might be slightly less (rough guesses using cronometer online). But I burn through a lot of calories normally plus I'm very active at work. The tricky part is trying to keep eating through work hours, sometimes not much time for that. Plus I use machine weights at gym (for a balanced effective workout).

[BigVeganGuy]

Also, FYI, 30 min intense workouts. Debating longer workouts.

Here's link on all of that:
https://breakingmuscle.com/learn/30-minutes-of-exercise-more-effective-than-60