Muscle Building the Vegetarian Way

Significance of protein and calories for muscle building and consumption of meat for meeting the daily protein requirement especially that of a bodybuilder is much talked about. But there are millions of vegetarians world over who do not consume meat either due to religious beliefs or health reasons or as a lifestyle choice. The general understanding by people is that it is difficult for a vegetarian or vegan to be a bodybuilder or an athlete. As Bodybuilders and athletes are advised to consume high amount of protein and calories to build muscle mass. Although fresh fruits and vegetables are a healthier food choice but they don’t provide excessive amount of calories and proteins required by bodybuilders and athletes. In today’s time a growing number of people are embracing the vegetarian way of life and a number of them are also interested in muscle building and sports. For a vegetarian to build muscles a special diet and choosing of the right food items to consume is the foremost amongst all tips.

About Muscle Building and Vegetarianism

Many experts believe that vegetarian bodybuilding is a healthier alternative than building muscles and mass through consuming meat. Just like non-vegetarians who may or may not consume a specific type of meat, there are also different kinds of vegetarians. In India and also world over different variety of vegetarians range from some being a vegan where they don’t even consume dairy products to being an eggetarian and everything in between. Depending upon one’s inclination an individual can choose food items which will assist his or her endeavour. One thing is for sure that for optimal results an individual has to consume appropriate amount of protein and calories.

Top Food items for Vegetarian Bodybuilders

So, what are best protein and calorie rich vegetarian food items? As stated earlier salads, fresh fruits and vegetable may be good for health and weight loss but in case one needs to build muscles they should include protein-packed dense foods with every serving. Beans, legumes, Tofu, Soybeans, nuts, seeds, avocados and more are some of these food items. If an individual is an eggetarian, he may include egg-whites in his daily diet to increase protein intake. Other than the said food items some other prominent sources to increase protein intake are Soy protein. Soy is low on cholesterol and fats and high of protein and is one of the most preferred sources of protein. Other alternatives are Pea protein which has a solid amino acid profile and Hemp protein which is rich in Omega-3s, magnesium, iron and fibre. Also research and selecting the best supplements can go a long way in helping bodybuilders and athletes achieve their goals.

Micro-nutrients for Vegetarian Bodybuilders

Vegetarians and especially vegetarian bodybuilders and athletes should ensure that they receive adequate amount of micro-nutrients along with protein and calories. Micro-nutrients such as Iron, Calcium, Zinc and Vitamin B12 are also of immense significance. For vegetarians, best sources for iron are dried peas, dry fruits, beans, spinach, lentils and more. Similarly to meet the requirements of Calcium an individual can increase intake of spinach, broccoli, almonds, dairy products and collard greens. For Zinc the best sources are pumpkin and sesame seeds, almonds, walnuts, oatmeal or cereals. Other than that vegetarians are also recommended to increase the amount of intake of healthy food items not only fruits and vegetable to gain weight and muscle mass.