All you have to know about vegan workout diet

Published: January 10, 2020

When it comes to muscle mass and endurance, many athletes are proof that being vegan can be compatible with high physical exertion. And before you ask – vegan athletes get their energy, protein, and iron from cereals, fruits, and vegetables – cooked or raw. So today we want to show you the way to combine veganism with your workout routine. If you are thinking of going vegan, here’s all you have to know about the vegan workout diet!

Does the vegan workout diet give results?

Ok, this article may not cover all you have to know about the vegan workout diet, but it’s a good start. Maybe you just watched the movie Game changers, and you are wondering should you make the switch? The truth is that you can get amazing results in bodybuilding, triathlon, ultramarathon, skiing, tennis… In these sports and many others, vegan athletes have proven that a vegan diet is compatible with intense workouts and that meat proteins are not essential for success.

However, you need to understand that eating vegan doesn’t mean you are eating healthy food. You can eat fries and Oreos the whole day and call it a vegan diet (which it is)… but it’s not really healthy! So if you want to switch to veganism just to improve health, know that there are other simple things you can do to improve your health.

How to build muscle on plant-based food and help your vegan workout diet?

This is surely the most common question about the vegan diet. But if you understand how to build muscles, you will find that you don’t need animal products for building muscles. Muscle mass increases only under these two conditions:

1. you stimulate muscle growth by continuously causing resistance (training), which causes small muscle fibers (myofibrils) to tear
2. you need to eat enough calories to stimulate muscle recovery and growth. Of course, a small but significant proportion must come from amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.

So you can gain muscle by simply training and exercising. Still, you may need a professional trainer who will explain what’s best for your new vegan workout diet routine. You can always check some of our top female personal trainer Dubai, which can help you in your new lifestyle.

How to develop muscle mass on a vegan diet?

Nutrition plays a big role in muscle building. If you have not been able to gain muscle mass and you are training hard, it is certainly linked to the calorie intake you are consuming and the energy you are consuming. The other thing that is important is the type of calories – is it whole plant foods or processed foods?

You do not need to obsessively count calories every day, but it is very useful to know if you are consuming 2500 or 3500 calories per day, for example, to understand how many calories you need to consume. If you need 3500 calories a day and eat only 2500 calories, you will not build muscle, and you will probably lose weight.

How not to be hungry on plant-based food?

When you eat plant-based foods that have fewer calories per bite, you will need more volume not to be hungry. So on your way to the gym, you can eat three bananas for energy, optimizing fuel before training. After training, you can eat starchy vegetables, legumes, and cereals as the meal basis of muscle recovery. Anyways, there are a lot of great, vegan restaurants in UEA… And we’re sure you’ll find the best choice for you.

Some of the popular choices are sweet potato, beans, lentils, and brown integral rice. You can also add other nutritious foods such as green leafy vegetables. Still, do note that greens do not have enough calories, so don’t base your entire diet on them. On days when you exercise and burn more fat and sugar, you need to remember that you need more calories to feed your muscles. So basically your appetite is managing your daily diet plan.

Not all calories are equal

Let’s describe a hypothetical situation where two people get different results in health and fitness because of the different types of calories they bring in.

One person consumes 2500 calories of whole plant foods, and 70% of his calories come from carbohydrates, 15% from protein and fat. Another person consumes 2500 calories from a variety of sources, including refined sugars, processed proteins, and fats… Do you understand? Even though they are consuming the same amount of calories every day, the first one is more likely to have superior health and fitness success… While the other one is likely to experience a lack of energy and his training results will be much weaker (as well as health).

Meat or veggies – that is the question

There has been a real battle lately, often completely unfounded, between vegans and those who eat meat and food of animal origin. While vegans claim that meat and food of animal origin are the root cause of all diseases, and that vegan diets are the only healthy way of eating, those who eat meat claim that there is no power or energy without the intake of food of animal origin. The answer to the question of whether it is better to be vegan or carnivorous is very complex. And requires much deeper research than one article like this can cover.

To sum up

Still, the point is that a moderate and varied diet is the basis of health and long life… Whether you are a vegan or belong to a group of people who eat animal foods! In addition, lifestyle is one of the key factors when it comes to health! The best evidence is the French people, who are among the longest-lived inhabitants of the planet… although their every meal contains cheese and meat! However, they have a culture of eating and every meal is literally a ritual. Meals are always served at certain times. Also, small portions are served, they serve various foods and eat it slowly while enjoying every bite. Like the French, residents of some Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal also have this culture. All this results in them being one of the longest-lived nations in the world.

So reduction or complete cessation of the intake of animal products is a matter of choice! However, it is important to know that it is quite possible to have a complete, nutritious diet that is vegan.