Vegetarian Bodybuilding

Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January. So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.

You can build a big, strong, lean body on a vegan or vegetarian diet. I think the issue with most people on these diets that lift is that they know next to NOTHING about nutrition. I’d advise you to read all you can about nutrition and learn how your body reacts to certain foods. With a vege diet you don’t have much wiggle room.

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January. So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.

For reference: When I started lifting I put on 15 lbs in about 3 months w/ milk and meat… but the next 5 lbs took a lot longer.

So I think some of it may have to do with starting to lift getting faster results… and having good hormones at 18- and of course if you’re not eating a surplus of calories you’ll gain slower.

Take younggully’s advice.
I think Tony Gonzalez has a book on vegetarianism and fitness as well, could be a good resource.

I’ve recently been looking at vegetarian sources for my shakes (Pea protein isolate, Rice protein) and was wondering what all of your thoughts and opinions are, as it seems that there are some experienced lifters who have made good gains with such sources.

My main reason for the switch is that the high amounts of whey and animal protein are hard on the body, and if the same results can be obtained from sources that are more easily utilized (Pea/Rice) then why not?

Thoughts and comments?

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
I’ve recently been looking at vegetarian sources for my shakes (Pea protein isolate, Rice protein) and was wondering what all of your thoughts and opinions are, as it seems that there are some experienced lifters who have made good gains with such sources.

My main reason for the switch is that the high amounts of whey and animal protein are hard on the body, and if the same results can be obtained from sources that are more easily utilized (Pea/Rice) then why not?

Thoughts and comments?[/quote]

Comment; why is alot of whey and/or animal protein hard on the body, and how much is ‘alot’?
I ask since whey is my calcium source in the diet, and if animal protein also includes eggs, said two sources make over a third my daily calories.

[quote]silverhydra wrote:

[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
I’ve recently been looking at vegetarian sources for my shakes (Pea protein isolate, Rice protein) and was wondering what all of your thoughts and opinions are, as it seems that there are some experienced lifters who have made good gains with such sources.

My main reason for the switch is that the high amounts of whey and animal protein are hard on the body, and if the same results can be obtained from sources that are more easily utilized (Pea/Rice) then why not?

Thoughts and comments?[/quote]

Comment; why is alot of whey and/or animal protein hard on the body, and how much is ‘alot’?
I ask since whey is my calcium source in the diet, and if animal protein also includes eggs, said two sources make over a third my daily calories.
[/quote]

Eggs are not considered animal protein. High amounts of protein are just hard for the body to digest, and are highly acidic. Some people handle them better than others. Personally, when I consume high amounts of animal/whey proteins my skin starts to react poorly, most likely because of the acidity.

I tried a brand of rice protein once… hated it. It mixed horribly, tasted like shit, had too much fiber…

pea protein i have heard good things about tho

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January. So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.[/quote]

I’m 6’1" and about 190-195. Don’t let the weight fool you tho, I have really dense bones, my bf is around 12%.

I’ve also heard about pea protein, but the one thing I do know, which I assume all of you do to, is that Soy protein is not good for men cuz of the estrogen levels, its ok on occasion because soy protein is really good for your heart, but too much and youll wake up with nut cancer and tits

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
I’ve also heard about pea protein, but the one thing I do know, which I assume all of you do to, is that Soy protein is not good for men cuz of the estrogen levels, its ok on occasion because soy protein is really good for your heart, but too much and youll wake up with nut cancer and tits[/quote]

The American Heart Association (AHA) recently withdrew their support for soy, I don’t know the reasoning behind their actions, but you may want to re-check the cardiac implications.

THere are people who have been successful, but that ain’t the same as saying that YOU will be successful. Your stats are similar to Drivethruhero and buffhardback so they aren’t good from a BBing perspective at all. But you should be able to get farther along if its been working for you thus far.
As someone said, vegetarian diets offer little to no wiggle room, and…if it works it didnt hold you back significantly. If it doesn’t its one of the things that was responsible for your failure.

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January. So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January.

So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.[/quote]

I’m 6’1" and about 190-195. Don’t let the weight fool you tho, I have really dense bones, my bf is around 12%.
[/quote]

If you want people to take you seriously it’s in your best interest to tone down the lunatic-esque posts. You have no idea how dense your bones are. If you want to give an accurate description of your current physique than post a modest picture.

You also sound like a loon saying that soy protein will make a man grow tits. But theres a chance you were just exaggerating to a huge degree, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

And at 6’1 your newbie gains should have easily been double of what you got. The taller someone is the more weight they are expected to carry and be able to add in short periods of time. As I’m sure you’ve noticed 15lbs on a 6’1" frame isn’t all that dramatic looking.

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January.

So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.[/quote]

I’m 6’1" and about 190-195. Don’t let the weight fool you tho, I have really dense bones, my bf is around 12%.
[/quote]

If you want people to take you seriously it’s in your best interest to tone down the lunatic-esque posts. You have no idea how dense your bones are. If you want to give an accurate description of your current physique than post a modest picture.

You also sound like a loon saying that soy protein will make a man grow tits. But theres a chance you were just exaggerating to a huge degree, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

And at 6’1 your newbie gains should have easily been double of what you got. The taller someone is the more weight they are expected to carry and be able to add in short periods of time. As I’m sure you’ve noticed 15lbs on a 6’1" frame isn’t all that dramatic looking. [/quote]

Ok well obviously you think you know stuff…and obviously you don’t. Its MUCH harder to gain muscle being taller, everyone and anyone knows that, look it up. Estrogen WILL make you grow tits, yes I was exaggerating, but soy will add breast like fat to a mans chest, even if its a small amount.

I know how dense my bones are, genetically my family has dense bones, we all get bone density tests, ever heard of em? So before you tell me what I don’t know, why don’t you shut your mouth about stuff you know nothing about. I asked for comparisons, not some dumbass wanna be know it all to exude his self promoting bull shit.

Well I suppose you could do a gallon of whole milk a day, that should put some weight on you.

15 pounds of pure muscle in a year is great for someone who has been lifting for a while. It is not a lot for someone just stating out though. Someone starting out should gain 15lbs. or more in a few months.

Read some of Bill Pearls’ stuff, he was a ovo-lacto vegetarian (veggies plus eggs and milk). He looked terrific and had a lot of mass. I have never been a soy fan for men because of the side effects.

You were kind of asking for it with your bone density comments on this particular forum, unless you can tell me what your bone density measurements were, I can figure out a rough estimate on the weight difference. I have been in health care for years and my wife actually ran the dexa machine at her office.

When you make statements about how your bone density affects your weight on this type of forum people are likely to believe you are making stuff up.

I am not sure I agree with the tall guys have more problem gaining mass than short guys. I wll say short guys look way more massive at the same weight. Franko Columbo competed at 185 and looked huge, if Arnold got down to 185 he would look deathly ill.

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January.

So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.[/quote]

I’m 6’1" and about 190-195. Don’t let the weight fool you tho, I have really dense bones, my bf is around 12%.
[/quote]

If you want people to take you seriously it’s in your best interest to tone down the lunatic-esque posts. You have no idea how dense your bones are. If you want to give an accurate description of your current physique than post a modest picture.

You also sound like a loon saying that soy protein will make a man grow tits. But theres a chance you were just exaggerating to a huge degree, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

And at 6’1 your newbie gains should have easily been double of what you got. The taller someone is the more weight they are expected to carry and be able to add in short periods of time. As I’m sure you’ve noticed 15lbs on a 6’1" frame isn’t all that dramatic looking. [/quote]

Ok well obviously you think you know stuff…and obviously you don’t. Its MUCH harder to gain muscle being taller, everyone and anyone knows that, look it up. Estrogen WILL make you grow tits, yes I was exaggerating, but soy will add breast like fat to a mans chest, even if its a small amount.

I know how dense my bones are, genetically my family has dense bones, we all get bone density tests, ever heard of em? So before you tell me what I don’t know, why don’t you shut your mouth about stuff you know nothing about. I asked for comparisons, not some dumbass wanna be know it all to exude his self promoting bull shit.
[/quote]

Well youre clearly wrong on your first point. It is harder for taller people to LOOK bigger. But when it comes to actual muscle tissue, tall people have much more area to put the muscle, therefore they have a greater potential to carry raw mass. Its common sense to understand that someone who is 6’5 has the ability to carry much more mass than someone who is 5’5. 15lbs on a 5’5 frame is quite impressive, not so much for a 6’5 frame simply because it isn’t a big deal (read: not difficult) to spread out 15lbs of muscle tissue over a frame that large.

Show me proof of MEN (not pubertal boys) growing breast tissue (NOT ADIPOSE TISSUE) from eating soy. The fear of phytoestrogens in soy is completely overblown. Show me the proof of grown men developing gynecomastia from eating soy based products.

A bone density test doesn’t say shit when it comes to judging body composition. Do you know exactly how thick your bones are also? Size of the bones matters just as much as the density. Enough with the nonsense. You may be the first person ever to claim your ‘dense bones’ matter when judging a physique.

Acting all tough isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Lets see, going by my south-east-asian check list:

  1. Clearly, english ain’t his first language,
  2. he’s admittedly skinny-fat
  3. he’s vegetarian and proud
  4. Plenty of e-aggression
    Not yet 100% certain, and only a picture of his dense bones and dense frame will confirm my suspicion though.

Bonezo, you need to ask this guy his ethnicity before you continue wasting your time.

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:

[quote]JoabSonOfZeruiah wrote:

[quote]Russaldo13 wrote:
Ok, so I know that being a vegetarian and being a member to this site is weird, but Im born and raised a veggie, Im 19 now and Ive been lifting for about a year. Ive gained about 15 lbs in muscle since last January.

So basically I just wanted to compare 15lbs in a year to a meat eating diet, I always eat clean, no fatty bulks or anything, so basically I try to slowly build lean muscle, what about you carnivorous out there? Is 15lbs in a year a lot? a little? just right? Im just lookin for some other opinions so hit me back if you got some helpful stuff.[/quote]

Went from 180 to 210 during the fall. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? If your at a certain weight you can just increase your eating and protein intake you can quite easily add some more lean quality mass.[/quote]

I’m 6’1" and about 190-195. Don’t let the weight fool you tho, I have really dense bones, my bf is around 12%.
[/quote]

If you want people to take you seriously it’s in your best interest to tone down the lunatic-esque posts. You have no idea how dense your bones are. If you want to give an accurate description of your current physique than post a modest picture.

You also sound like a loon saying that soy protein will make a man grow tits. But theres a chance you were just exaggerating to a huge degree, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.

And at 6’1 your newbie gains should have easily been double of what you got. The taller someone is the more weight they are expected to carry and be able to add in short periods of time. As I’m sure you’ve noticed 15lbs on a 6’1" frame isn’t all that dramatic looking. [/quote]

Ok well obviously you think you know stuff…and obviously you don’t.[/quote]

Wrong. If you had taken 10 minutes to read the articles and previous threads on this site, you would be well aware of who carries intellectual strength in the topics of bodybuilding and nutrition. I have had my fair share of arguments with BONEZ217 before, but I almost always come out of them with a much better understanding of the topic. He knows his shit.

So instead of devoting all of your time to selecting a puerile avatar picture, how about reading some of the articles, browsing some of the threads, and getting an idea for what this community is really about.

They did a recent study where people using 56g of soy protein isolate powder a day for four weeks had a 4% drop in testosterone levels. Another study, refuting the other one, said soy had no significant impact on testosterone. No mention of man-boobs in either study…rolls eyes Anyway, I’m in the “overblown” camp when it comes to soy and its ill effects.

[quote]Digity wrote:
They did a recent study where people using 56g of soy protein isolate powder a day for four weeks had a 4% drop in testosterone levels. Another study, refuting the other one, said soy had no significant impact on testosterone. No mention of man-boobs in either study…rolls eyes Anyway, I’m in the “overblown” camp when it comes to soy and its ill effects.[/quote]

I semi-read your post, most of my time was spent trying not to laugh so hard that I hurt myself after seeing your avatar.