Vegan protien after weight training help?

vegetablesarenice
vegetablesarenice Posts: 5
edited November 8 in Recipes
Heya,

I really want to go fully vegan but I don't know how to find decent vegan protein sources/recipes that aren't reeally high fat/carb.

Can anyone recommend a book/website on this kinda thing?

I'm trying to lose fat and gain muscle and i'm currently using protein bars and powders but not all of them are vegan. I've looked into hemp but it tastes gross, aha.

Thanks for any help!

Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I cannot help you with this. I love meat and eating animals. But, I can help you know that you cannot lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, beside some slight beginner gains. You will either have to eat at a deficit and lose fat, or eat at a surplus and gain muscle.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    I cannot help you with this. I love meat and eating animals. But, I can help you know that you cannot lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, beside some slight beginner gains. You will either have to eat at a deficit and lose fat, or eat at a surplus and gain muscle.

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  • vegetablesarenice
    vegetablesarenice Posts: 5
    Could I not lose a bit of weight by cardio first then gain through muscle building then keep doing that on/off? or will I end up losing muscle weight if I just went back to cardio? Or could i lose some weight, build muscle, maintain that muscle but do more cardio to lose weight again?

    Sorry if these sound like really dumb questions. I'm new to weight training and well... exercise in general xD

    Arditarose, your arms are *kitten* amazing. I'm 100% jealous.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited November 2014
    vegetablesarenice wrote: »
    Could I not lose a bit of weight by cardio first then gain through muscle building then keep doing that on/off? or will I end up losing muscle weight if I just went back to cardio? Or could i lose some weight, build muscle, maintain that muscle but do more cardio to lose weight again?

    Sorry if these sound like really dumb questions. I'm new to weight training and well... exercise in general xD

    Arditarose, your arms are *kitten* amazing. I'm 100% jealous.

    1-You could lose a bit of fat through a calorie deficit, with cardio to help create a larger deficit, then bulk or recomp when you're ready.
    2-If you do that, and do not strength train, yes it's possible you will lose muscle as well as fat.
    3-I don't know what you mean by the 3rd thing, it hurts my head. I think you mean lose weight, bulk, then cut.

    Remember, losing fat comes from calorie deficit, not cardio. Also, bulking and cutting are things for the future after you've lost the amount of fat you feel is appropriate.

    Thanks, my body is no where near where I want it. But, my results are from lifting weights at a calorie deficit, with very little cardio. That's what that does.

    Hi AJ <3
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Protein powders/bars are only really required if you are not hitting your protein macro, which ideally would be around 0.8 g protein per lb lean body mass. Somewhat counterintuitively, protein is more important during a deficit to help prevent your body burning your current muscle than it is during a bulk, when you'd be in a calorie surplus.

    If maintaining muscle is important to you, the also make sure your deficit is not too big. Your body can only mobilize so much fat and carbs a day - the rest of the energy it needs it will take from muscle.

    Keep up the weight training for muscle retention. Add cardio if you need help generating a calorie deficit (or just because it is good for you).

    In a deficit, you are not going to add huge amounts of new muscle. Retaining what you have, as you lose fat, is your goal.


    I'm no vegan, but here is one list of some vegan powders that might taste better to you... you'll just have to find one you do like! http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/10-best-tasting-vegan-protein-powders.html
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    vegetablesarenice wrote: »
    Could I not lose a bit of weight by cardio first then gain through muscle building then keep doing that on/off? or will I end up losing muscle weight if I just went back to cardio? Or could i lose some weight, build muscle, maintain that muscle but do more cardio to lose weight again?

    Sorry if these sound like really dumb questions. I'm new to weight training and well... exercise in general xD

    Arditarose, your arms are *kitten* amazing. I'm 100% jealous.

    I think you're confused about cardio. Cardio is not a magical thing that causes weight loss. All cardio does is increase the number of calories you burn for the day. You lose weight by being in a calorie deficit (calories in < calories out).

    If you are in a calorie deficit, you are strength training, and you are eating adequate protein you will lose fat, and retain most of your muscle mass.

    If you are in a slight calorie surplus (calories in > calories out), you are strength training, and you are eating adequate protein, you will gain muscle, and most likely you will gain fat, but you will gain more muscle than you will fat.

    If you are at maintenance (calories in = calories out), you are strength training, and eating adequate protein, you will lose fat and gain muscle but remain the same weight.

    At this point I'm sure you're thinking: why shouldn't I just go for the maintenance route? The reason very few people choose that option is because it's painfully slow compared to going the conventional route where you cut (lose weight, mostly fat) then bulk (gain weight, mostly muscle) or vice versa. The cut and bulk option is much faster and much more efficient.
    arditarose wrote: »
    Hi AJ <3

    Hi ;)
  • jcmartin217
    jcmartin217 Posts: 5 Member
    I was just researching this same topic....I have been losing fat and gaining muscle for a few months and wanted to improve through better nutrition....I know it can be done. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly3.htm
  • vegetablesarenice
    vegetablesarenice Posts: 5
    Thank you all, you've all been very helpful.

    Sorry for my badly worded questions by the way! It's 6am here and i've been up all night xD
  • Edie30
    Edie30 Posts: 216
    You could try some pea protein, haven't tried it myself. There's plently of vegans out there with plently of muscle, I know a few. I also know their diets are *kitten* hot. Why are you wanting to go vegan? Just curious. I'm vegetarian but don't eat dairy but I do eat eggs from my chooks. There's a range of things you can do. I only encourage people to go fully vegan if their vegetarian diet is amazing as its easy to stuff up big time. Becoming a really well balanced vegetarian leads people into a vegan lifestyle so much easier. I think people do vegan and vegetarian so badly sometimes. i don't think this kind of diet has to be fat or carb heavy but I also think there may be a few people out there all too concerned with fats, carbs etc. I reckon you've just got to balance it and if you're eating a varied diet that's easier. :-)
  • veg_swimmer
    veg_swimmer Posts: 2 Member
    Props for wanting to go vegan! I went from omnivore to vegan in one fell swoop and it was definitely an adjustment, but researching nutrition made it easier. For protein powder, I use Vega Sport Performance Protein: http://www.amazon.com/Vega-Sport-Performance-Protein-Chocolate/dp/B005O4ZJAS.

    It's delicious and it helped me recover when I was training for a half marathon. Now, as I'm focusing more on gaining strength, it's still great. The only downfall is that it's pricey - I recommend opting in for Amazon's "Subscribe and Save" service to get the best price.

    Admittedly, I also just bought Garden of Life raw protein to add to homemade protein bars and such. It's much cheaper, but I'm not sure if the taste will be as good. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0031JK96C/ref=rcxsubs_mys2_product_title
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