Eating vegan makes me feel better, will I lose muscle??

[eyedrop]

I have a vegan friend that I sometimes train with. Yesterday, he invited me over to dinner after hitting it hard at the gym. He cooked a lovely meal consisting of curry lentils, brown rice, steamed vegetables, potatoes, etc... It was delicious .

He also convinced me a couple months ago to do big smoothies for breakfast with no dairy. I pile in a bunch of bananas, peanut butter, oatmeal, almond milk, soy protein, berries, etc. It ends up being like 1500 calories...

I used to eat steak and eggs for breakfast every morning, and large servings of meat with every meal. I was doing the low carb thing. Honestly, i've only been eating a little meat once or twice a week, and no more dairy. I just feel better that way.

I got my cholesterol and blood pressure checked and they have already improved dramatically. My LDL went from 124 to 102.

I also feel more energy, and I swear Im losing fat. I honestly cant push as hard on a low carb diet. I feel sick and tired all the time. Whenever I have my oatmeal with raisins and oj in the morning, or fruits smoothie, I swear I feel like Im just ready to go all the time. I just have so much more vitality. Eating bacon and eggs for breakfast just drags me down. Not a good way to start the day...

I figure I should be able to maintain and build muscle as long as my calories and macros are good to go. Im easily able to pound in 4000 calories a day with rice, potatoes, big ass smoothies, beans, lentils, peanut butter, etc... I feel great and never crave junk food if I stay full. And even though Im eating more calories, I swear the fat is just melting off...

I just wanted to share my experience. I feel like there are merits to a plant based diet that often go overlooked in the bodybuilding community.

 

[TrickWilliams]

If you feel better that way, stick with that.

Do what works for you. No one wants to walk around feeling like crap all the time. If you truly feel better just run with it.

I like meat. Its easy to get all my protein that way, but there are other ways too. It may be a little more difficult, but it can be done.

 

[BigSwolePump]

You said lovely meal. You dating him?

 

[stonetag]

You said lovely meal. You dating him?

Well, they are sharing smoothies the morning after....

 

[Mythos]

There's a lot of vegan bodybuilders and at least a few good vegan powerlifters that I know of these days. Basically you just have to eat a little more and know what you're doing nutritionally. Most plant protein sources have comperable amino acid profiles to animal products.. usually a little lower on the leucine and a little higher glutamine. In general science says that people consistently lose fat on plant based diets with due to increased fiber intake and slowed digestion. Plant based diets usually have a positive effect on lipid profile too, but how it does that and if it matters as much as medicine once thought is up in the air.
As far as powders go, I personally highly recommend pea/brown rice isolates over whey protein as it's very comparable without the digestive issues.

 

[ECKSRATED]

Keep getting your calories and protein and you'll be fine. Doesn't matter where u get them from.

And you're feeling better overall which is even better.

#Saveacowandeatsomecelery

 

[NoQuarter]

Glad you happy being vegan and sounds like it is working for you. I on the other hand about two months ago, butchered 1 cow & one pig and at the end of June will have another pig in the freezer. Eat a lot of rabbit also!

 

[PillarofBalance]

I have a vegan friend that I sometimes train with. Yesterday, he invited me over to dinner after hitting it hard at the gym. He cooked a lovely meal consisting of curry lentils, brown rice, steamed vegetables, potatoes, etc... It was delicious .

He also convinced me a couple months ago to do big smoothies for breakfast with no dairy. I pile in a bunch of bananas, peanut butter, oatmeal, almond milk, soy protein, berries, etc. It ends up being like 1500 calories...

I used to eat steak and eggs for breakfast every morning, and large servings of meat with every meal. I was doing the low carb thing. Honestly, i've only been eating a little meat once or twice a week, and no more dairy. I just feel better that way.

I got my cholesterol and blood pressure checked and they have already improved dramatically. My LDL went from 124 to 102.

I also feel more energy, and I swear Im losing fat. I honestly cant push as hard on a low carb diet. I feel sick and tired all the time. Whenever I have my oatmeal with raisins and oj in the morning, or fruits smoothie, I swear I feel like Im just ready to go all the time. I just have so much more vitality. Eating bacon and eggs for breakfast just drags me down. Not a good way to start the day...

I figure I should be able to maintain and build muscle as long as my calories and macros are good to go. Im easily able to pound in 4000 calories a day with rice, potatoes, big ass smoothies, beans, lentils, peanut butter, etc... I feel great and never crave junk food if I stay full. And even though Im eating more calories, I swear the fat is just melting off...

I just wanted to share my experience. I feel like there are merits to a plant based diet that often go overlooked in the bodybuilding community.

It sounds like you are doing this because you feel better?

But as I keep reading it seems like your old low carb diet had you feeling like shit because of the low carbs.

So why not just eat like a normal person? It wasn't meat making you feel like shit. You were starving yourself of your primary fuel when you lift.

Going from one extreme of basically only eating meat and fat to another extreme of no meat or animal products at all is not a healthy lifestyle.

Find some balance in your life.

 

[Helix]

Eventually your man parts will wither away and die.

 

[BRICKS]

I figure I have canines and incisors in my head for a reason, and it ain't for grinding grass. If you feel better fine, personally I prefer my meat farts.