Today, there is more and more a clear trend that chooses to be vegan or vegetarian. It is an option that seems to be at odds with the possibility of gaining muscle mass, but the truth is that, even following a diet of this type, it can be achieved. If you don’t know how, we give you some tips to be a vegetarian and gain muscle that can be very useful. Keep reading!
Tips for being a vegetarian and gaining muscle
To begin with, we must clarify that this is a somewhat complicated issue. And, if we think that gaining muscle mass is not easy in itself, if we eliminate animal proteins, we have it somewhat more difficult. However, today there are a large number of alternatives that we can take to gain muscle mass even if we are vegetarian. Therefore, knowing them will be of great help to us, to lead a balanced diet and an active life in sport, being vegetarians:
The biological value of proteins
Do you know the importance of proteins for athletes? Before getting into the tips to follow to gain muscle mass, it is necessary to make a distinction between vegetarians and vegans. The former consume eggs or dairy products or both. These are foods that have animal protein and with which we can gain muscle mass in a simpler way. Therefore, vegetarians have the easy way. Vegans also have alternatives, but they should know a few things first.
The fact is that proteins have a biological value that is not the same in all cases. For example, the vegan diet is rather full of plant proteins, such as those found in legumes or cereals. It is important that we learn to combine them in a way that they give us all the nutrients we need to increase our muscle mass.
Although proteins of animal origin have a complete biological value, to achieve this value in proteins of plant origin, we must combine foods to find that complete value, the one that will allow us to increase our muscle mass and continue to gain muscle, without resort to any animal origin.
The choice of supplements
We know that gaining muscle mass is not easy, even without following a vegetarian diet. For this reason, many people turn to methods such as nutritional supplements to achieve it. The most common is to use whey to gain muscle, but of course, its origin is animal and if you are vegan, surely you will not want to incorporate it into your diet.
We must not despair, because there are remedies for everything. And it is that, we can also resort to other supplements that come from vegetable proteins. For example, it has been proven that using soy gives us the same benefits as whey, making it a great option for vegans who want to gain muscle mass.
In addition, we must know that soy is not the only alternative, but that there are other supplements that, although less frequent, can give us a boost when it comes to building more muscle. These are those that are made from products such as quinoa, rice or peas, among others.
The best weapon, patience
As we have said before, gaining muscle mass is not easy even if you eat everything, so if you are vegetarian or vegan, you will have to arm yourself with patience to find the right formula to get your muscles to grow. The fact is that getting a diet that goes well for you may take time, and not despair along the way, it will be essential to achieve it.
And, when trying to combine proteins of plant origin, we may go over in the amount of calories. Therefore, you have to be very careful when choosing them and consult a professional if necessary. Finally and fundamentally, we must not forget to train enough to gain muscle mass.
