Everything You Need to Know About Vegan Bodybuilding Diets

The vegan bodybuilding diet is the newest way to go big!

The best part is -it is completely eco-friendly. Whether bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts, everyone is giving it a shot.

When it comes to bulking, your diet requires a heavy dose of proteins. To fulfil the parameter, people go for meat, chicken, and other animal protein sources.

Having these in big quantities is unhealthy. This is why people are preferring vegan and vegetarian bodybuilding diets instead.

Based on safe plant proteins are full of nutrients. Not only it improves your bulking but elevates your health as well.

Read our complete guide on Vegan or plant-based bodybuilders diets for further information.

What Is a Vegan Bodybuilding Diet?

The vegan bodybuilding diet isn’t something out of the box. It is similar to other bodybuilding diet charts you must have followed.

The only difference is the protein sources.

Instead, of animal proteins, one needs to rely on plant proteins for nutrition. In short, you get nutrient-dense food promoting muscle gaining process, while nourishing you for good health.

More studies have found a vegan bulking diet beneficial in the long run. The benefits don’t limit to muscle gains only. It expands to overall health.

Certain reviews of studies claim its effect in reducing different health risks. The diet requires a change to a healthier lifestyle. You need to exclude certain meals from your diet.

This includes not only the animal proteins such as meat, chicken, and beef, but milk, cheese, and other dairy products.

The vegan bodybuilding diet isn’t just another bulking diet. It is a long-term commitment.

Still, people commit to it. The reason is many vegan diet benefits.

Vegan Bodybuilding Diet Benefits

The diet plan has gone popular for a reason. It is the different health benefits associated with it.

Obviously, it promotes muscle gain and promotes performance at the gym. At the same time, it is highly nutritious resulting in greater health and wellness.

The key health benefits of the vegan bodybuilder diet:

#1: Lessen Cardiac Disease Risk

A vegan diet can reduce the risk of developing cardiac ailments remarkably. That’s why doctors recommend people with such risk switch to a plant-based diet.

The secret lies in its nutritional value. The diet plan restricts your intake of saturated fats and cholesterol. Instead, the consumption of fiber and natural compounds increases.

A plant-based diet naturally drops your blood pressure as well as LDL cholesterol level. The eating program involves fruits and veggies in wholesome amounts.

Also, they are high in dietary fiber. Study shows a diet high in figure tend to lower the risk of cardiac disease and even stroke.

#2: Bodyweight Management

A vegan diet maintains your body weight. Indeed, vegetarians and vegans naturally tend to have a lower body mass index i.e., BMI. This lessens the risk of a number of ailments.

A study of 16 weeks investigated the impact of a vegan diet on 75 overweight participants. They found the diet plan effective in reducing fat mass, body fat, and insulin resistance.

If you are to switch to a vegan bodybuilding-cutting diet, you are likely to lose weight. In other words, the diet plan benefits weight management.

#3: Protect Against Cancer

A vegan diet also protects against the risk of a few types of cancer. The benefits are impressive in comparison to a western diet.

Of course, it is because of the inclusion of legumes, fruit, and vegetable. On top of that, the eating program excludes animal-based meals. Overall, it offers a higher quantity of fiber, micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.

The diet involves soy as one of the major foods. It is linked to findings showing a significant drop in breast cancer risk in women.

A vegan diet means zero processed food and red meat. Both are greater contributors to the risks of colorectal cancer. A vegan diet can resolve such issues.

#4: Good Digestion

Relying on a vegan diet improves your digestive process. High in fiber, the diet offers a high range of healthy bacteria. Indeed, this is good for your working gut.

Doctors often recommend a vegan diet for people with bad digestion. It helps in improving digestion while improving the environment of your gut microbiome.

More studies are needed to establish the other health benefits of a vegan diet. However, when it comes to digestion, the advantages are evident.

#5: High Nutrient Value

Vegan diets contain a huge variety of veggies and fruits. Also, the meals include a number of healthy spices. Your eating program involves steamed, boiled, and grilled food.

Not only do they add greater flavor to your dining table but are high in nutrients. This can help you in managing your blood sugar levels and appetite.

On top of that, the diet nourishes you with nutrients like potassium, magnesium, and vitamins C and E. Going for a vegan bodybuilding diet plan is a win-win always.

#6: Improved Brain Health

As said, a vegan diet offers impressive nutrient value. This makes it beneficial for your overall health. Indeed, it lowers the risk of various diseases.

One of the most crucial vegan bodybuilding diets females benefit from is improved brain health.

It lowers the risk of specific cerebrovascular conditions, like cerebral aneurysms or stroke. Another strong reason why preferring the diet plan is better in every aspect.

Vegan diets are rich in plant-based food. You will be having many fruits and veggies. Not only does it adds colors to your plate, but increases nutrient count.

On top of that, the nutritional factors lower the risk of different diseases while helping to maintain a healthy body weight.

Vegan Bodybuilding Diet Downsides

The vegan diet is promising in every aspect.

This doesn’t mean it is hundred per cent good. In some aspects, it causes trouble for you. Before you switch to the diet plan, examine the downside as well.

Definitely, decision-making is easier and more effective in such a situation.

For now, let’s have a look at the considerable downsides of a high-protein vegetarian diet for bodybuilding.

#1: Nutrient Deficiencies

One of the main reasons, a group in the fitness world looks down upon the diet plan is the nutrient deficiencies associated with it.

Switching to a diet plan with no animal products eliminates various nutrients from your diet. Your diet lacks essential nutrients like omega-3s, calcium, zinc, iron, and vitamins B12 and D.

Usually, vegans have to take multivitamins to receive proper nutrition. Your diet may also recommend you vegan omega 3s pills.

To ensure proper nutrition, go for fortified vegan foods.

#2: More Fiber

A vegan bodybuilding diet has high fiber content. In general, this is good for your overall health. Still, excessive fiber doesn’t do good for the digestive system.

You are likely to suffer from digestive issues such as bloating, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal issues, etc.

To prevent these issues, keep your dietary fiber intake around 14 grams per 1,000 calories. So, the daily recommended fiber intake for women goes to 25g and for men goes to 38g.

Moreover, excess fiber makes you fuller and bloated. Your appetite lessens significantly. This may work for many.

In general, it limits muscle growth and development with insufficient calorie intake.

#3: Hard To Meet Protein And Calorie Needs

Bulking diets should be nutrient-dense, high in protein, and high in calories. With a vegan diet, it is impossible to meet these targets unless you have proper planning.

The diet plan has comparatively lower calories. Also, exclusive animal-based food items reduce vital nutrients. Reliance to plant-based meals lowers the total calories factor.

In short, keeping up with a vegan bulking diet makes it challenging to fulfil the dynamic demand of your bodybuilding requirement.

When switching to the diet plan, keep these factors in mind to avoid them beforehand.

A vegan diet is promising for clean bulking with eco-friendly factors. However, we can’t ignore the associated downside of the eating program.

It makes you nutrient deficiency, which on overlooking can cause major problems.

Consider the protein and calorie intake before making any major changes. To offer you some ideas, we have shared a 5-day plant-based diet bodybuilding meal plan.

7-Days Vegan Bodybuilding Meal Plan

Planning your male and female vegan bodybuilding meal plan beforehand is important. It helps in meeting the protein and nutrient requirements.

As it excludes a number of animal-based food, getting enough calories and macronutrients can be difficult sometimes.

Here is our 5 days vegan bodybuilding diet plan!

Day 1

• Breakfast: breakfast burritos prepared with tofu scramble and veggies on vegan tortillas
• Lunch: coconut-tofu-curry stir-fry prepared with soba noodles, tofu, and edamame
• Dinner: sweet-and-sour stir-fry prepared with rice noodles, tofu, and vegetables
• Snack: mock tuna salad sandwich

Day 2

• Breakfast: protein oatmeal made with oats, soy milk, vegan protein powder, banana, and nut butter
• Lunch: vegan burrito bowl made with beans, rice, and homemade mock taco meat
• Dinner: vegan chilli with tofu mince, tomatoes, kidney beans, and red lentils
• Snack: strawberry-banana protein shake

3rd Day

• Breakfast: chocolate-peanut-butter smoothie bowl prepared with peanut butter, bananas, vegan protein powder, almond milk, and cocoa powder
• Lunch: lentil loaf made with lentils, veggies, kidney beans, and nutritional yeast
• Dinner: teriyaki tempeh with quinoa and broccoli
• Snack: peanut butter and oatmeal snack bars

Day 4

• Breakfast: protein pancakes prepared with whole grain flour and vegan protein powder with toppings of your choice
• Lunch: black bean and quinoa “meat” balls and whole-grain vegan pasta
• Dinner: black-bean vegetable burger and sweet potato fries
• Snack: chocolate-peanut-butter protein shake

5th Day

• Breakfast: hummus toast prepared with sprouted grain bread, hemp seeds, hummus, and sunflower seeds
• Lunch: tofu stir-fry, vegan pasta, red lentils, beans, onion, celery, and spinach
• Dinner: vegan sloppy joe prepared with veggies and lentils
• Snack: roasted chickpeas with red pepper flakes

Day 6

• Breakfast: protein oatmeal made with oats, soy milk, vegan protein powder, banana, and nut butter
• Lunch: lentil loaf made with lentils, veggies, kidney beans, and nutritional yeast
• Dinner: black-bean vegetable burger and sweet potato fries
• Snack: roasted chickpeas with red pepper flakes

Day 7

• Breakfast: breakfast burritos prepared with tofu scramble and veggies on vegan tortillas
• Lunch: vegan burrito bowl made with beans, rice, and homemade mock taco meat
• Dinner: teriyaki tempeh with quinoa and broccoli
• Dinner: black-bean vegetable burger and sweet potato fries

You can try other vegan bodybuilding recipes to add flavors to your plate. Experiment with stable vegan staples, ingredients, and spices to get the most out of it.

At last, read some tips on how to go vegan for bodybuilding.

Tips On How To Go Vegan For Bodybuilding

Switching to vegan is challenging.

It becomes tricky especially when you are into bulking. However, considering a few tips can help in this long-term journey.

Add More Protein

Vegan bodybuilding diet is good for health when you add as much protein as possible.

Certainly, protein is the building block to massive gains and muscle growth. Your focus should be on adding more high-protein meals.

At the same time, you need to consider that plant-based protein sources are inadequate in essential amino acids.

Thus, your diet should have a variety of meals to offer you enough nutrition suitable for your bulking goals.

The top vegan protein sources are tofu, seitan, legumes, and quinoa. Have more meals prepared from this ingredient to maximize your protein intake.

Get Enough Fat

By having enough fat, you receive the calories necessary for maximum muscle growth. Fat offers twice the number of calories as carbs and proteins per gram. And bulking diets are high in calories.

At the same time, track your macronutrients as well. Your protein, carbs, and fat intake determine your final muscle gain. It’s better to do it now than regret it later.

Have Plenty Of Fluids

Vegan bodybuilding involves lots of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. This results in high fiber intake. The elevated consumption of fiber has certain side effects like bloating, and abdominal pain.

Drinking enough fluids fights off the complication of the problem related to a vegan diet. Begin by having 1ml of fluid per calorie.

Let’s do the calculation. If you are having a 2,000-calorie diet, you should have,000 ml (68 ounces) of fluids. This isn’t a universal rule. Water requirements are likely to vary from person to person.

Educate Yourself

When it comes to a vegan diet, knowing the nitty-gritty helps.

Not only it helps in picking the right meals, but also makes the main motive behind the diet plan successful, i.e., bulking.

Add the right protein source for your meal. Also, keep the track of nutrients, this will prevent potential nutrient deficiencies.

Try different vegan bodybuilding recipes to balance nutrients and nutrition. This will help prevent the possible downside of the diet plan.

Going vegan is tough, specifically if your goal is bulking. You require subsequent planning and education beforehand to reap maximum benefits from it.

Just make sure you receive enough protein and calories to gain bigger.  At last, let’s sum up the discussion.

Conclusion

Vegan diets are highly health-friendly. When it comes to bulking, it can even get an edge. This is because of the variety of meal options it carries.

Plant-based proteins are even better and highly nutritious. The diet plan includes many fruits, veggies, legumes, etc.

Having these regularly help in gaining bigger while keeping the risk of different health risk on other sides. However, the diet plan can make you nutrient deficient, which can be bad in the long run.

So, consider the downside of the diet plan before switching to the new of eating.