Vegetarian diet, fat loss and muscle gains - need tips!

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britkdavis
britkdavis Posts: 3 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Good morning everyone!

I currently have the mindset of a body builder and have been trained to eat high protein (meat) diets! My pervious trainer also had me eating high fat and low carbs.. the issue is that I have a really hard time digesting meat. I got my blood tested and it is type A. According to the blood type diet, I should be vegetarian. This is interesting, because I always geared towards this diet style before I got into body building.

According to the blood type A diet I should consume mostly fruits and veggies (high carbs) and low fat / low protein (around 60% carbs, 20%protein, 20% fat). I'm also allowed grains regularly... THIS goes AGAINST everything I have been taught so it will be an adjustment.

Does anyone have any tips related to losing fat and building muscle on a vegetarian diet?

Replies

  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
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    High meat diets are the definition of a western diet and raises your risk of various diseases like heart disease, colon cancer, IBD, kidney stones etc. Very unhealthy regardless of one's weight.

    Blood type diets are just another fad.

    You can lose weight and build muscle on ANY diet. You just need to create a deficit by eating less or moving more or both. And for building muscle you just need a sensible training plan. You can do that on a vegetarian diet if you want.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    Blood type diets are BS. Pseudoscience to sell books and programs.

    You can build muscle on a vegetarian diet. You just have to get in enough protein AND calories to promote it.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Don't listen to that nonsense about blood type diets. I am type A and would die on a vegetarian diet.


    Also, the ability to gain muscle while losing fat can be rather difficult. At best you might gain a few lbs, especially if you are new to training, but for a large in part, you will more likely support maintaining your current muscle mass while getting stronger. This of course is driven by having an active training stimulus, eating adequate protein and not having too aggressive of a deficit. Also, if your goal is to support muscle gain, you really shouldn't be doing low carb. Low carb can make it harder to gain muscle. Since carbs are anticatabolic, they prevent protein breakdown and help optimize muscle protein synthesis.


    Ultimately, you have to first decide what is your primary goal. Next, what does your current diet look like (calories and macros) and your current training protocol?
  • britkdavis
    britkdavis Posts: 3 Member
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    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your insight. I'm not new to training. I'm very knowledgable and used to compete in figure through ABBA. Regardless of what the blood type diet may indicate, I do believe I should be moving over to a vegetarian diet so i was wanting some insight on this diet in relation to building muscle or losing fat (i.e. Macros, tips, etc).
  • Boland_D
    Boland_D Posts: 85 Member
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    You can aim to get similar macros that you were before just eating less meat. Substitute it with Tempeh, tofu, eat lots of beans, leafy greens, nuts and nut butters.
    I lost fat by lowering my carbs on a vegetarian diet.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    britkdavis wrote: »
    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your insight. I'm not new to training. I'm very knowledgable and used to compete in figure through ABBA. Regardless of what the blood type diet may indicate, I do believe I should be moving over to a vegetarian diet so i was wanting some insight on this diet in relation to building muscle or losing fat (i.e. Macros, tips, etc).

    For fat loss, figure out how many calories you maintain at and cut 10-15%. For muscle gain, add 10-15% over maintenance.

    Macros:

    Protein: .6-1g/lb of lbm
    Fats: .35-.6g/lb of lbm
    Carbs: Rest

    Training either a 3-day full body, upper/low split or P/P/L (6 day cycle) to maximize the outcome of MPS.

  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    britkdavis wrote: »
    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your insight. I'm not new to training. I'm very knowledgable and used to compete in figure through ABBA. Regardless of what the blood type diet may indicate, I do believe I should be moving over to a vegetarian diet so i was wanting some insight on this diet in relation to building muscle or losing fat (i.e. Macros, tips, etc).

    It's the same as any other diet. With enough calories/protein/training you'll gain muscle. With enough caloric deficit, you'll lose fat. With your experience it shouldn't be a problem at all.
  • yellingkimber
    yellingkimber Posts: 229 Member
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    Hi! I was vegetarian for a year and vegan for 2 - really liked it and stopped for reasons kinda beyond my control.

    I would recommend cutting out one animal protein at a time and replacing it with a vegetarian equivalent. I quit meat cold turkey and was fine, but I know some of my friends really struggled with that and found the change more sustainable if one month they stopped eating pork and started eating tofu and then the next month, they stopped eating beef and started eating more legumes.

    If you're not really that into tofu, check into some Japanese preparations of it. Branching out culinarily completely changed my idea of what tofu could be.

    As far as other tips, I'd say to just make sure you're keeping your logging tight. Being vegetarian or vegan isn't a surefire way to stay thin- fat vegans exist!

    If you're going to use meat substitutes, I find they're a kitten of a lot better if you don't think of them as meat. Gardein makes these awesome "chik'n" breast tenders that taste nothing like chicken, but I used to love marinating them and topping a salad with them. I also have always hated hot dogs, but I love tofu dogs. You certainly don't have to use any "meat substitutes", but if you do, just realize that it's hard to make something taste like bacon without it actually being bacon.

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