Vegetarian Diet for Muscle?

I was once a sports athlete who did not build muscle for size but for power for my sport (soccer), recently I have taken on a PT course and have an urge to prove people wrong about Vegi’s the fact WE/ I can bulk up and be in sharp shape.

I have started training my arse off but my diet ? should I just chew down protein shakes?

Currently I have shake wise:
Morning: Casein Shake
Pre training: whey protien
post training: whey protien
before bed: casein

on non training days i have a whey protien midday

what else can i do

i’d probably suggest casein midday on non training days, but that’s besides the point.

i assume you are ok with dairy since you take whey and casein, so milk, cottage cheese, and natty yogurt are good options. if you can eat eggs, down 'em like a sonuvabitch.

I believe Berardi put up an article a little while back about going Vegetarian for a month. He listed his protein sources and his results a month later.

you may want to check those out.

what do you vegis do for omega 3? Is fish oil allowed? Or just flax?

Nuts and legumes will be your best friend. Unless of course you’re allergic to nuts.

There are some bodybuilders and coaches that are vegetarian or vegan. The one that comes to mind is Jason Ferrugia. Check out his article and blog for an insight on how he uses the diet to gain muscle or lose fat.

As a personal experiment, I recently spent two months as a vegetarian/vegan, just 'cuz.

http://chriscolucci.blogspot.com/2009/04/life-without-my-meat-part-1.html
http://chriscolucci.blogspot.com/2009/04/life-without-my-meat-part-2.html

I ended up losing 12 pounds without intending to, but my strength continued to improve. It was “interesting” overall, but it’s not something I could do longterm, if only for financial reasons (I found it to be hella-expensive).

[quote]AussieOlly wrote:
I was once a sports athlete who did not build muscle for size but for power for my sport (soccer), recently I have taken on a PT course and have an urge to prove people wrong about Vegi’s the fact WE/ I can bulk up and be in sharp shape.[/quote]

What do you mean by “vegetarian diet”? Lacto-ovo (allowing eggs and dairy), lacto (allowing dairy, no eggs), or vegan (no animal products)?

Do you still do soccer? If so, you have no reason to secondguess a higher-carb approach.

If you’re able to eat dairy, then a protein like Metabolic Drive (micellar casein/whey mix) would be a solid bet. If dairy’s a no-go, pea, hemp, or rice would be my next choices.

But there’s absolutely no reason to be living on shakes. I’d limit them to one, maybe two, on non-training days, in addition to your usual workout shake on lifting days.

Grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables will give you plenty of options for relatively-high protein, high-calorie foods. It’ll be drastically easier if you’re going lacto or lacto-ovo.

[quote]redgladiator wrote:
what do you vegis do for omega 3? Is fish oil allowed? Or just flax?[/quote]

To quote the scary-ass shark in Finding Nemo, “Fish are friends, not food.” So no, if you’re any kind of vegetarian, fish oil isn’t an option.

When I first dropped Flameout from my diet, my skin did get noticeably drier and my knees got moody, but I made an effort to bump up my olive oil, had a handful of walnuts, almonds, or pumpkin or sunflower seeds everyday, and I had avocados on a regular basis. I also threw some flax on the occasional salad when I remembered.

[quote]redgladiator wrote:
what do you vegis do for omega 3? Is fish oil allowed? Or just flax?[/quote]

Yeah flax seed I take 2 x Flax Seed Tablets twice a day … I don’t know whay my Subject title is now Vege for Soccer?? - I’m really looking to build muscle and prove the myths wrong

umm eat some meat for starters

OP Mike Mahler is a vege too. Maybe try his website for tips from a full time vege.
Flax seed tablets? You mean flax seed oil capsules? At 4 caps per day is that really enough???

I find flax seed oil to be a better value, NOW Foods makes a good one available in large bottles for cheap. Some people don’t like the taste but it seems pretty minimal to me.

I’m a veg, working on bulking, and having no problems whatsoever.

Here’s my diet:

  1. Eggs (lots of em!), Spinach (and other assorted greens), OJ, Multivitamins, Coffee
  2. Fresh Fruit, Nuts
  3. Leftovers from yesterdays meal 7
  4. More nuts
  5. (Pre) Protein Shake w/ Flax Oil
  6. (Post) Protein Shake w/ Flax Oil, Creatine, & Banana
  7. High protein meal (from seitan, tofu, eggs, nuts, tempeh, etc), low/mid range carbs (depending if its on/off day), and lots of greens

Sometimes I’ll throw in an extra shake before bed.

I’m also probably going to start adding some BCAAs to the pre/post workout mix.

Just make sure your eating enough. A lot of veg meals are really low in calories, which I didn’t realize at first. EAT EAT EAT!