How to gain muscle mass being vegan –

Anyone who loves the gym and seeks a well-defined body knows the importance of lean mass – and its relationship with protein! No wonder, diets focused on mass gain usually have a very high intake of this macronutrient, even with supplementation. The focus, of course, tends to be on meat and eggs, which means that the vegans and vegetarians they have a huge difficulty in this gain… Could it be?

MUSCLE MASS X VEGAN DIET

“Gaining muscle mass by itself is already a task that includes regular physical activity, good quality sleep and proper nutrition,” explains the nutritionist. Natalia Barros, specialist in women’s health. “For vegan individuals, that is, those who have chosen to exclude any food of animal origin from their diet, such as milk, meat, eggs and fish, hypertrophy also requires constancy.”

Therefore, it is important to note and remember that this mass gain is not an exclusive difficulty of people who chose not to ingest proteins of animal origin. In this case, there are other nutrients that require greater attention, such as intake of iron, calcium and vitamin D.

“In particular, studies indicate that vegan individuals who aim to gain lean mass should pay attention to the consumption of omega-3, iodine and vitamin B12,” she explains. “Mainly because the food source of these nutrients in our standard diet are of animal origin.”

HOW TO GAIN MUSCLE MASS BEING VEGAN?

Good dietary planning is the secret to getting around this difficulty. whether you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. In these cases, it’s important to combine food with adequate supplementation – and only a nutritionist can make that combination for you.

Considering all the issues of nutritional deficiencies that can affect people who do not consume food of animal origin, having the support of a professional is not only recommended but also encouraged.

“Food, together with supplementation, when necessary, will offer all the nutrients in adequate amounts”, says Natália. “In general, a diet rich in natural foods, which includes all food groups, is able to meet these needs, with the exception of vitamin B12, which has animal foods as its exclusive food source.”

In the case of B12, as we have already explained here, the ideal is to maintain a maintenance routine for this vitamin and always be aware of deficiency symptoms, such as fatigue, memory problems and lack of energy.

Therefore, if your objective is hypertrophy, the first point is that your amount of caloric energy is in line with that objective, adding a correct diet, full of micronutrients, adequate water intake, control of fiber intake and dietary techniques, like the soak.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GAIN LEAN MASS?

It depends. This, perhaps, is not the answer that satisfies your curiosity, but the fact is that it all depends on the nutrients that make up your diet. The amounts of proteins (regardless of origin), carbohydrates and fats, combined with a physical exercise routine, is what will determine the time to gain muscle mass and reduce body fat.

“The food source will not influence the time to gain muscle mass, as long as it provides adequate amounts of the mentioned macronutrients”, says the nutritionist. “However, there are some factors that can cause these amounts of nutrients to be more or less absorbed by the body, depending on the diet as a whole.”

Some plant protein sources, for example, provide less protein than an animal source. Another point may be the digestion capacity of this vegetable protein, that is, how much it is absorbed by your body, which may be less than with animal proteins.

“Therefore, for both cases, the vegetable protein must be adjusted to be consumed in larger quantities and, thus, provide the same amounts of protein as the animal source”, he adds. “In this way, a strict vegetarian person is fully capable of achieving the hypertrophy goal in the same time frame as a meat-eating individual.”