It Doesn't Have To Be Hard Work To Build Muscle As A Vegetarian

By Ryan M Hall

The general belief among most vegetarians is that you can't build muscle as a vegetarian. This of course isn't true, however, you will face the hurdle that your body requires large amounts of protein to build muscle. Since most people take in the majority of your protein from animals, how can you get past this and still build muscle?

1. Protein

The perfect source of protein for most vegetarian body builders is Soy. Soy products like tofu, edamame, and soy milk are great because they offer all 8 essential amino acids that your body requires to build muscle mass. Further, soy milk can be used to replace cows milk in most recipes, and tofu is a great replacement for chicken and beef in many dishes and, amazingly, soy has more protein than beef.

Almonds, sunflower seeds, cashews, and pistachio nuts are a fantastic way to get protein and healthy fat. If you keep a container of nuts with you to snack on during the day, you will be sure to get enough protein and healthy fat in your daily diet.

Protein shakes and supplements are hugely popular among most body builders as a great way to get enough protein. Most of these are soy or whey based and can often provide over 21 grams of protein per serving. If you add these to your daily diet, your muscles will definitely get the protein they need.

2. Vitamins and Minerals

You should be getting most of your needed vitamins and minerals if you eat a balanced diet. With that said, many vegetarians suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency because most vitamin B12 comes from meat. Adding a vitamin B12 supplement or good multivitamin can cure this quickly as well as add to your energy levels. The protein shakes mentioned above often provide at least 1/3 of your daily servings of vitamins and minerals.

3. Fats

Eating a good portion of nuts each day will make sure that you are getting plenty of good fats, but you may still need more essential fatty acids as they are most commonly found in meat. If you want to make sure that you get these fatty acids, add a tablespoon or so of flax seed oil to your diet as it is the best source of an essential amino acid called linolenic acid.

Making the above changes or additions to your diet will help you guarantee that you can build muscle as a vegetarian. With the above information, all you need is a good muscle building program. - 17268

About the Author:

For more information on how you can build muscle as a vegetarian and sculpt the body of your dreams with short 20 minute workouts and a simple diet, stop by Ryan M Hall's site to get your Free Diet Ebook and start building muscle today.