Muscle building for a Vegetarian

wargrrl

i'm a vegetarian, new to working out and i need some advice/tips in regards to my diet and what i should incorporate, and how much i should be eating. the sucky thing is that i'm allergic to egg which is apparently a great source of protein.

i'm 5'0" and weight between 90-95 pounds

side questions: is it harder for vegetarians to build muscle than it is for meat eaters? and since there are so many kinds of supplements on the market, is eating food as necessary?

thanks!

jacksonpt

it's the same... lift heavy weights, eat a slight surplus, get enough protein.

Supplements should be viewed as just that - supplements... as in, they should supplement what is already a good, balanced diet.

MatthewLewis81

I'm no expert, but I can address a couple items in your post at least superficially.

First, yes, it's harder to build muscle on a vegetarian diet. Partly because it's difficult to get enough protein from vegetable sources, and partly because what protein you do get won't be "complete" protein, meaning you have to combine the right foods to get the benefit of the protein. This can be complicated and imprecise.

Second, supplements aren't meant to take the place of food. They can help marginally, but the first thing to understand about fitness is that it's basically about two things: Exercise, and eating. You can't supplement yourself to health or fitness.

The one supplement that really makes a meaningful difference, and may be especially important to you as a vegetarian, is a protein powder. Whey protein supplements actually do provide large amounts of usable protein, so you may well need to use this regularly to supplement your diet.

Also, if your choice to be vegetarian is based on health rather than altruism, you may want to reconsider it a bit. Meat has many health advantages when eaten in reasonable quantities.

Finally, you mentioned building muscle, but you need to understand that will be difficult for you to do no matter how much protein you get, simply because women don't have the testosterone levels necessary to build much muscle. You can certainly tone, but it's highly unlikely that your muscles will get much larger no matter what you do.

Others can probably come along and provide more detailed information than this, but hopefully this is enough to get you started.

danigirl258

I can't answer to the vegetarian piece, but all of these groups are good resources for strength training. I'm sure there are plenty of people in each that can give you helpful answers and ideas for increasing muscle while on a vegetarian diet:

Women Strength Training:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/771-women-strength-training

Eat, Train, Progress:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

NROL4W:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w

musclemama78

I am not a vegetarian but I am lactose intolerant and really enjoy Garden of Life Raw Protein powder. It's Vegan. As other poster said, supplements are not meant to replace! I usually drink a shake a day with 1/2 scoop of it in almond milk. If you do dairy- milk and light cheeses are great. Eggs. Beans. Whole grains such as quinoa. I have seen some low carb wraps high in protein as well.