Mr Britain - Is it possible to do serious muscle building and also be a vegetarian /vegan?

Is it possible to do serious muscle building and also be a vegetarian /vegan?

I have recently started building muscle on a high protein diet. This involves eating meat, but I have been thinking about becoming a vegetarian or vegan. Is there anyone here who manages to balance a meat free lifestyle with a very muscular physique?

Public Comments

nope, cos u need whats in the meat, like proteins an stuff from it
Try a protein shake or if you eat fish eat A LOT of it. Also, eat beans, tofu and brown rice.
It is possible. You'll just have to get your protein from a different source. Beans are a good source of protein. You can also buy protein shakes, powders and bars.
protein shakes or powders will do the trick, its cheating a bit but it will work
How to be a strong and Healthy Veg*n athlete. http://www.veganathlete.com/ http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/viewto... http://vegannutrition.net/ http://www.vegsoc.org/info/vegan-nutriti... http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/ http://www.vegetarian-nutrition.info http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/vegan-ath... good luck.
Yep! I'm not a muscle-head, but I am a runner. Veganism does my body good.
Yes it's certainly possible. Visit http://www.veganfitness.net/forum/index.php?sid=17ec99ed566c346ef68377f062b97168 They have forums for many types of sports, including power and strength, bodybuilding and working with weights. A number of members include photographs; take a look at those powerful vegans in the forums I've mentioned and you'll have the answer to your question! There is a lot of advice on diet, and if you join you can ask specific questions.
Why do You think hippies are so skinny?
Considering that there are vegetarian powerlifting champions (Bill Manetti,) vegan Ironman triathletes (Brendan Brazier and Ruth Heidrich,) vegan Olympic gold medalists (9 time track and field gold medalist and SI's Olympian of the century, Carl Lewis,) and a vegan won the UFC (Mac Danzig,) I'd say you can do whatever you want with your body as a veg*n. You do need more protein as an athlete than the average person does, but most veg*ns get more than their daily needs anyway so it's not hard to do.
Sure. There are lots of vegetarian athletes: Salim Stoudamire, professional basketball player Ricky Williams, professional football player Scott Jurek, elite ultramarathoner Bill Goldberg, world champion pro wrestler Bill Pearl, bodybuilder Bill Walton, NBA All-Star basketball player Killer Kowalski, professional wrestler Luke Cummo, contender in UFC Ultimate Fighter Vegetarian bodybuilders: http://www.vegetarianbodybuilder.com/
it's possible, it's just a bit of a pain. i'm vegan and i'm currently trying to build muscle cos i'm doing a marathon in may and another one in october. the trick is to combine as many vegan foods that have protein in them as possible per meal. vegan foods "high" in protein include tempeh, tofu, seitan, soybeans, black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, broccoli, spinach (really good!), almonds, sunflower seeds, peanut butter etc. today was my 'big exercise day'. 8km run, 6km swim, yoga and a 2km walk. my dinner was a vegan lasagne which was packed with spinach, tofu cut up into tiny pieces (i don't like tofu much), spinach and chickpea sausages cut up into little pieces, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms and cabbage. snack on things like wholegrain biscuits (do you have 9 grain biscuit things where you are? or 9 grain vitaweat?) and put almond or peanut butter on them. or have wholegrain or whole wheat toast with the same on it. also check out the health food section of your supermarket or a health food store - they have stuff like high protein museli and veggiebars. if you need help with recipes i've got tons of them (bec@abssn.org). good luck!!! oh and in general to help you get all the other stuff you need multi vitamins are good. sustained release ones are the best!
Some of the best bodybuilding foods are vegetarian. Egg whites (about 4) - 100 calories, 25g protein, 4g carbs, 0g fat Whey protein powder (1 scoop) - 120 calories, 24g protein, 3g carbs, 1g fat Cottage Cheese (1 cup) - 180 calories, 28g protein, 8 carbs, 5g fat Make sure to get your healthy fats from nuts (almonds, peanuts), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin), and olive oil. And try to eat at least one serving of veggies and one serving of fruit at each main meal. ::edit:: If you're going vegan (and not vegetarian), then the 3 foods I listed above are off limits. In that case, you should eat plenty of legumes (especially lentils), nuts, nut butters (peanut butter or almond butter), and seeds for your protein. Max Marie: Not that it's the diet that I follow, but a high protein diet does build muscle. What does every champion body builder eat (besides massive doses of 'roids)... it's pretty obvious... high protein diets. Of course not all of the protein will be used for muscle. Not all carbs will be used for energy. The point of a high protein diet is not to be instantly turned into bulk (if only it were that easy), but to create a positive nitrogen balance in the body that puts it in an anabolic (muscle building) state and keeps it out of a catabolic (muscle breaking) state. If you have links to these studies, I would like you to supply them. Nutrition, and especially nutrition for athletes, is something that interests me greatly. btw, while Brendan Brazier is a great athlete (and filthy rich from selling his overpriced VEGA), he is not by any means someone to look at for serious muscle building. Mike Mahler (vegan) should be the role model for just about any veg*n looking to get big and strong.
First off, you're killing yourself with the high protein diet bit. Studies have show that high protein diets for body builders do not build muscle. Your body can only absorb so much protein a day. The rest goes down the toilet. Second: YES! There are many vegetarian and vegan bodybuilders and athletes. VegNews just profiled a bunch of them. Check out Brendan Brazier.
protein and carbs help build muscle mass. carbs can be gotten from rice and practically all vegetables. protein contrary to popular belief, is extremely easy to get on any diet. it would actually be better of to be vegetarian to build muscle then to eat meat because there isn't any saturated fats (for the most part) which would overlay the muscular shape. the whole "160 pounds of chiseled steal, under 180 pounds of flab!"
no same as its not possible to remain sane and be veggie there are essential ingredients missing form your diet if you are veggie .......end of argument lol