Vegan Weight Loss and Muscle Building?

[Urban]

I turned into a vegan about a month ago and want this to be a permanent life change. I was wondering whether anyone had any ideas on how to lose weight as a vegan and also began muscle building.

I am 18 and I currently weigh 120 pounds or so, and I am 5 feet and 4 inches.

My main goal is to lose fat, gain muscle (but not over-do it and look like a female bodybuilder) and lose weight.

Does veganism gradually reduce fat levels, and if so, how much?

What foods do you recommend me eating for this?

Also, I don't get to get out much (out of the house to work out) and I don't have much equipment (I might get some later on, like weights).

Are there very effective exercises that I can do indoors without a lot of equipment?


Thank you so much

[Back-Space]

Congratulations on the change :)

I don't think veganism reduces fat because it's possible to have a higher fat intake than an omnivore. You still need to think about what you're eating if you want to see results.

I've been doing this quite successfully actually :D I cut the deep fried and junk foods out of my diet for the most part. I've been eating whole grain breads, lots of bean/lentil/legume soups, and lots of raw fruits and vegetables. I've been running, hiking, swimming, and doing some strength exercises at home without the use of any equipment. I do different types of pushups, and pushups with my feet elevated on a piece of furniture. The next day I let my arms rest and do sit-ups, crunches, and different types of planks. I've noticed the change on my arms and chest, and can see my abdominal muscles when I'm exercising. Just a matter of time :) I would say swimming is probably the best for results. I was at the pool today for just over an hour, and I'm still recovering. Gets your heart beating, low impact, great exercise.

If you're 5' 4" I wouldn't lose too much weight. You're already nearing the bottom end of your suggested weight.

[Urban]

I see what you mean. Yeah, swimming is a great exercise, I agree, but what I'm really trying to do is to gain muscle and reduce fat levels (which I guess I can do if I adjusted my diet slightly since I don't intake it a lot). How long have you been doing all this to see change if you don't mind me asking?

[VagabondVegan]

I could do with help on this just switching the weight loss to weight gain both fat and muscle but guess ya kinda answered that already :)

[veganchef]

What works best for me to gain muscle is to weight-lift every other day and to eat more protein on the days off (when muscles are recovering and building) and to eat more carbs on days when I'm lifting to fuel the workouts. I think it's really a matter of trial and error to find out what works best for you, though.

[Back-Space]

Veganchef about nailed that one :p As far as muscle goes, like Chef said, you need a day off to allow your muscles to repair themselves. Pushups every 2-3 hours, every day of the week won't be nearly as good as some sets every other day. I also run or swim on the days that I do abdominal workouts because they seem to target the fat rather than the muscle. You can't starve yourself either... Fat uses less energy than muscle, so your body will get rid of excess muscle to fuel itself and prepare itself to run more efficiently. So you need to eat enough, then exercise to tell your body that you need the muscle more than the fat :p

I've always been thin, but haven't been very active. I started working out just before december. I noticed my arms and chest changing after the first week. I've just started to notice my abdominal muscles when I work out. After a month of doing this, I'm very pleased with the progress because I was told I'd be looking at a year before I noticed many improvements :rolleyes:

[Urban]

What works best for me to gain muscle is to weight-lift every other day and to eat more protein on the days off (when muscles are recovering and building) and to eat more carbs on days when I'm lifting to fuel the workouts. I think it's really a matter of trial and error to find out what works best for you, though.


Yeah, I guess it really is more of an issue with trial and error. Thanks a lot for the idea to take time off after doing weight lifting, but do you think that I should do that if I opt to do light weight lifting (I have limited time to work with in the day) and still take time to rest?:rolleyes:

[Back-Space]

If you're looking to exercise everyday, you could focus on different muscle groups. I give my muscles an entire day to rest, so I work my arms and chest one day, then my stomach and legs the next. Let my arms rest while I move onto something else. That lets me workout everyday, and still have time to rest :) Light weights will do less damage to your arms, so they wont require as much time to repair themselves. You could probably do a workout every morning, and the rest over the day and night would be more than enough.

[Wildflower]

have you see this website?

www.veganbodybuilding.com

I love it for fitness tips.

[Urban]

If you're looking to exercise everyday, you could focus on different muscle groups. I give my muscles an entire day to rest, so I work my arms and chest one day, then my stomach and legs the next. Let my arms rest while I move onto something else. That lets me workout everyday, and still have time to rest :) Light weights will do less damage to your arms, so they wont require as much time to repair themselves. You could probably do a workout every morning, and the rest over the day and night would be more than enough.


Thanks a lot, I'll be sure to hang onto this idea!

[Urban]

I've never heard of it before, but thank you very much. I'll be sure to check it out.

[Back-Space]

I've used read through that too :p It's a real pain trying to make an account and post because they heavily moderate it, but it's good searching the forums and learning things I didn't know :)

[snivelingchild]

As for exercises, one or two sets of dumbbells or kettleballs can do more than you think. Good moves to build your routine from are snatches, pushups, pullups/chinups (you can get a bar for $20), planks, squats, and rows.

Leave the curls, presses, and isolation machines to the body builders. They are only good for ensuring every muscle looks pretty to a judge.

[Sgable84]

Urban:
Welcome to the club!! I am happy that you have decided to make a permanent life change! Some things to remember, becoming vegan isn't just about weight loss, its about the animals :) But, weight loss as a vegan is always a plus!! When I officially became a vegan, I lost about 10 pounds...BUT since I love carbs so much, I haven't lost another pound. I want to try and cut down my carbs and lose about another 25 pounds (when I was an omni I really porked it up) I have been reading about Raw Veganism and the health benefits about it. For exercises indoors with no equipment, I recommend going to this site http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_1_19/ai_95632130/. Good Luck!!

[Urban]

Urban:
Welcome to the club!! I am happy that you have decided to make a permanent life change! Some things to remember, becoming vegan isn't just about weight loss, its about the animals :) But, weight loss as a vegan is always a plus!! When I officially became a vegan, I lost about 10 pounds...BUT since I love carbs so much, I haven't lost another pound. I want to try and cut down my carbs and lose about another 25 pounds (when I was an omni I really porked it up) I have been reading about Raw Veganism and the health benefits about it. For exercises indoors with no equipment, I recommend going to this site http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_1_19/ai_95632130/. Good Luck!!


Thanks for the luck! I joined mainly due to family's poor health history, but over time I became more attached to Earth and animals, so now whenever I see my dad eating a steak, i tend to wince unconsciously.

[Urban]

Good idea, I was considering to go to the gym for a bit of that, but I think I'll stick to the dumbbells. Thank you for the help!.

[Back-Space]

Thanks for the luck! I joined mainly due to family's poor health history, but over time I became more attached to Earth and animals, so now whenever I see my dad eating a steak, i tend to wince unconsciously.

I'm trying to get my parents to think more consciously. They've both got some health problems and should limit the amount of cholesterol in their diet :(

[Sgable84]

I'm trying to get my parents to think more consciously. They've both got some health problems and should limit the amount of cholesterol in their diet :(

If only I can also get my mother to think more healthy...she wonders why she has a runny nose all the time and feels like crap...its cause she eats so much dairy and meat...But she does work out though

[Back-Space]

If only I can also get my mother to think more healthy...she wonders why she has a runny nose all the time and feels like crap...its cause she eats so much dairy and meat...But she does work out though

My mom doesn't work out regularly :( She's got fibromyalgia, diabetes, weight and stress issues... She seems to eat relatively healthy but doesn't get any exercise. My dad is probably within his weight limit, but I'd call him a little overweight, plus he's got really high cholesterol and iron. They're going to get their buts kicked when they come out here.

[Eat Y'self Fitter]

I wouldn't look to diet alone to loose fat, but veganism surely is a healthy and ethical choice.

I know nothing about female weight to height ratios and what body type that'd give you, but at that weight you're not overweight by any-means. As with anyone it is possible to look leaner. To be honest my achilles heal of attraction is a skinny female who looks like she works out, not starves herself (but that's just cos I'm very athletic myself). :o

BUT that being said simply working out in general, cardio aerobics type stuff will shed whatever fat you got and make you appear leaner, you'll probably see muscles you never knew you had. Even yoga if done right can tone you up. The suggestions above are great but here are some things I suggest from an athletic training point of view.

Don't over do it. The body takes time to get used to the stresses of working out, so if you're not very active ease into it, don't feel ashamed if you don't feel like you're pushing yourself, these things take time.

The body does not become stronger through exercise alone, exercise actually makes the body weaker. You become stronger through rest, when you allow your body to adapt to and repair itself from exercise.- So depending on your goals just make sure to sleep adequately or don't feel ashamed to nap after hitting the gym, a nap actually triggers the body to produce more growth hormone!

In regards to extra protein, this is iffy. If you're in an active state you simply need to eat more to sustain yourself, the more you eat the more protein you consume. Unlike carbohydrates and fat the body does not store protein for later use. The protein you eat is best used to be used immediately to repair muscles, excess protein is converted into carbohydrates and fat. Obviously you need protein to sustain your body, but this notion of severely ramping up your protein intake to become more muscular or because your working out isn't really entirely necessary, especially if you just have general fitness goals in mind.Think of consuming extra protein as a way to replenish the protein lost from exercise. Consume protein-full foods post-exercise. If you over do it on rest days, it could be counterproductive to certain weight loss goals. There's no quick and easy guideline for this, but if you're eating enough, you're probably getting enough protein, just consuming something with a little extra protein post exercise is a pretty good idea.

Sorry if this confuses you further. For general fitness goals a lot of the suggestions above are great. Even taking up running will make you a lot leaner and it's something really cheap to get into. It's fucking hard though, I race bikes and I still can't run for shit.

My main point of this response is you don't necessarily need to eat special foods to gain muscle and loose fat. Just don't eat like a slob. If your diet consists mainly of junk of food, you might want to reconsider. Just make sure to have a steady source of high quality non-refined carbs (brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, oatmeal etc.) , eat plenty of fruit and veggies, have some general source of protein whether it be tofu, soy based, or legumes and a healthy fat source, because the body does need some fat.

[Urban]

My parents are in the same position. My family history shows that we have diabetes, high cholesterol (along with other hearth issues) and we might have an issue with lung cancer. They're conscious, but it seems that everything they do doesn't seem to work out. I think it'd be best if they turned vegan, but those chances are slim since they're sticking to our traditional South Asian food.

[Urban]

Wow, thanks for the advice. I don't eat junk food, my diet mainly consists of various fruits and vegetables. I guess the only thing that aren't along those lines would have to be soy milk and cereal, but that's just for breakfast. I've heard of yoga helping to tone the body, but i've also heard a lot of people scrutinizing it, but I think that's because they're not looking into the correct yoga forms that are a bit more demanding and vigorous. I do aerobics when I can, so that should help out. I'm pretty average I guess, but I just want to get toned so that I don't have to worry about dieting, and hopefully gain muscle (but not overdo it and end up looking like a body builder). Would you say half and hour 4-5 days a week (doing aerobics) should suffice with my plans if I work with a 1,465 calorie diet?

[mini_mi]

Hi Urban,
There a are a couple of programs that can help you accomplish your goals. The one's I use are Eat-Stop-Eat, which you can find just by googling eat stop eat. It's run by brad pilon. The for muscle building you can use Visual Impact, which can be found at blackbookfitness.com. Another program is adonisindex, which is at adonisindex.com. They work very well. If you want a good body weight program, you can try convict conditioning which is available through dragondoor.com.
I do the eat stop eat with visual impact and it's worked great. Hope this helps

[Korn]

Body building isn't my cup of tea, but still... not many 77-year olds have this physique....

Insanely ripped 77-year-old bodybuilder credits vegan diet for his superfit body (http://www.examiner.com/article/unbelievably-ripped-77-year-old-bodybuilder-credits-vegan-diet-for-his-fit-body)

An excerpt:


While most bodybuilders consume substantial amounts of animal proteins daily, Jim is a longtime vegan who insists that a plant-free* diet is responsible for his shockingly age-defying physique and superb overall health.
"Prior to becoming vegan I suffered digestive problems all my life," Morris told Frugivore (http://frugivoremag.com/2012/10/black-male-vegan-77-year-old-bodybuilder-jim-morris-proves-vegans-can-be-muscular-healthy/). "I started taking anti-inflammatory medication in 1966 for my joints. At one point I was getting cortisone injections directly into both elbows every week. The arthritis kept me awake at night.
"I would get 2-3 colds yearly and allergy attacks as often. Since becoming vegan, all my health problems have completely disappeared. My yearly checkups are perfect."
Jim, who's a pioneer in many respects, began exploring veganism in the 1970s. Morris started eliminating animal protein from his diet (except for fish) in 1974, and then converted to a 100% vegan diet 13 years ago.



* That's not what they meant to write. :-)



http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/7f/ff/1349384584_4876_Untitled.jpg