i've been vegan for 5 months now, and i'm struggling to get enough protein! i'm not a big fan of tofu either, i like a lot of carbs and veg. does anyone have any tips on to how to get more protein and build muscle fast? i've ordered some protein powder and creatine

Hi everyone. I'm a tall active guy with a really high metabolism and i'm kinda struggling to reach my 3500 cal daily goal to bulk up. I feel like i spend most of my day eating with 5x meals a day and i would like to replace one with some sort of high calorie smoothie. I have both huel protein and huel black if anyone wants to suggest something using those as a base. If you have other tips to bulk up as a vegan (other than peanut butter that i already use a lot) i'm all ears. Thanks everyone!

For reference, I am about 5'10" or so, 165 lbs, fairly lean, (about 15% bf) and have been training (for bodybuilding almost exclusively) for about 2.5 years. I've had diet and training pretty locked in for about the last year or so.

Looking to become vegan (or at least 98% of the time, may sometimes enjoy dairy or eggs in the form of baked goods/desserts, but this is not my point. All meals I will make at home will plant-based which is where I eat except for maybe 1-2 meals a week max) due to ethical/environmental reasons. Bulking on a vegan diet is not hugely a concern for me as then I will be eating likely 2500+ cals daily and reaching my goal of 1g/lb will be easy and I'm sure some days even go over. However, I'm currently on a cut and I will almost certainly be trying to go fully vegan before the end of this cut, which I am still doing for another 3-4 weeks. My main concern is eating about 2000 cals daily while still getting 165-175g protein daily, especially because of the bioavailability of some vegan proteins (especially things like wheat gluten, will probably generally avoid seitan). For protein I'll generally be eating things like tofu, beans, vegan protein powder (pea/rice blend), and filling in the rest with various small things like oats and grains and nooch and such as it seems the idea with this diet is that everything has bits of protein, less separated than an omni diet where you can just say the chicken breast is the protein and the rice is the carbs, etc.

I suppose that I am asking for advice/people's experiences who were once in the same boat. Did you experience any muscle loss whilst on a semi-extreme caloric deficit while vegan (and if so or if not what was your protein to bodyweight ratio)? Would you recommend maybe a slightly smaller deficit instead and just keep consistent with cardio (to be able to fit in some extra protein)? What's generally your strategy for cutting cals/carbs (I'd like to keep my fats around 50g a day minimum) without sacrificing protein (as it seems easier to do on an omni diet)? Any advice or past experiences would be appreciated.

Hey all, I was hoping to get some advice with getting on the vegan fitness train properly. I’ve been plant based for 4 years now and for the most part eat decent homemade food with the occasional take away as I’m sure most do.

I’m ramping up my activity levels and would like to optimise my diet a bit and get an idea of what will help.

I’ve read the plant based power plan and worked out my BMR at 1668 - it says to multiply that by my PAL value to get my calorie intake (took a guess at 1.8) which is coming out considerably higher than expected.

Current activity is:

Monday - Bwf Recommended Routine + 1.5 hours driving range.

Tuesday - 18 holes golf carrying on a hilly course.

Wednesday - Bwf Recommended Routine + 1.5 hours driving range.

Thursday - 18 holes golf carrying on a hilly course.

Friday - 18 holes golf carrying on a hilly course.

Saturday - Bwf Recommended Routine

Sunday - Rest

I’m a 36M / 178cm / 73KG

Am I overestimating my PAL value to work out my calorie intake? I’m a big eater and a keen chef but would love to learn more on how you guys have gone about optimising your diets!

Thanks x

Has anyone here tried making their own silken tofu with just soy milk and lemon juice? Any experience / tips? Particularly interested in using lemon rather than nigari etc as I try to avoid having to buy in specialist ingredients where possible...

I often like to use silken tofu in my seitan recipes for the texture and extra nutrition, and even though tofu isn't too expensive (especially from the Chinese supermarket), making my own would still be more cost effective and I'm a very frugal person :)

Hey all! I (28f, 10 years vegan) am doing a sprint triathlon in August with a friend. I've never done one before, and usually my workout routine is centered around strength training + active hobbies (roller skating, pole dance, rock climbing, hiking)

However, I really need to up my cardio and do more sport-specific training this summer. I currently am lifting in the morning and trying to do cardio in the evenings when I can. Do you have any tips for how to maintain my current physique while training for this triathlon?

I'm 5'8" (173cm), 135 lbs (61.2 kg), and eat about 100g protein per day.

Tearing quad muscle

Hi, hey there! Ive had previous experiences with having a pinched nerve in my quad that is associated with numbness called Meralgia paresthetica. I've lost a good amount of weight but still experience the numbness every few months. It's fine it's cool. Recently I've been experiencing a TEARING sensation in that same area....upper outter thigh. It mostly happens when I'm doing squats. It's a freaky sensation, but nothing actually hurts...l can continue to do lower body lifts so my quad is obviously not tearing right 😄? I have a physical therapist for another issue and plan on asking her, but I'm curious if this is a common sensation associated with the pinched nerve. Thanks so much!

My original post from three years ago...

https://www.reddit.com/r/veganfitness/comments/k0y7z6/wont_dispute_how_lucky_ive_been_in_life_but_ive/

It's fun to see how one changes over the years; I'm certainly not as pretty as I used to be: little more "salt" and a little less "pepper." Man alive, some of those pics from that last post... I can hardly remember being that guy.

Vegetarian since '89. Vegan since '99.

https://preview.redd.it/4a97cl5xrjwc1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f847d0a8195c29d9a135a277477ac6a877bfe6f

I always start off all puffy haired and optimistic.

And then this happens...

And you can pretty much smell this pic.

Looking to lose weight started at 250lb; I’ve been stuck at 192lb for about a month now. I walk about 2hrs every day and try to lift weights 3x a week. I intake about 1000-1500 calories a day. What should i do differently?

Hello, As the title says I struggle to get the right amount of calories. I notice i am therefore eating a lot of quick sugars which is something i don't want to continue for that long Any tips?

I've recently gotten into working out regularly and am looking for a reliable protein calculator as I'm going to gain strength. Any recommendations?

I only started making seitan 2 days ago, this is my third attempt, i should’ve started a long time ago. Good proteins for so cheap. To make it a complete protein i include 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour per 1/2 cup of wheat gluten.

Soon I'm heading out for a month of backpacking in SEA, but something that's been on my mind is how will I meet my dietary needs?

At home I prepare all my meals from scratch, take note of every ingredient so I'm hitting my micros, and have my protein powders, beans, tofu block etc. It's easy to ensure my diet is solid, and my protein intake is high enough.

Yet where I'll be going I won't have a kitchen, or even fridge. I won't be able to prepare my own meals like usual, and even if I had a kitchen to do so, many of the foods I rely on here won't be available there. It's also not feasible hauling around protein powder and other foods since my bags will be packed full enough already. Add to this the extra challenge of trying to find enough vegan options when the cultural cuisine heavily features meat & egg dishes.

For those of you who travel around, are there any tricks or tips you might be able to share on maintaining a healthy, complete nutrition vegan diet when backpacking?

Hi All,

Come from the whey world.

30's . 260 - 6'4. Workout 5 times a week, but hard to ingest 240g of protein daily without being in the red with my Uric Acid. Red meat, broccoli, ect causes kidney stones in me. I drink ALOT of water and camomile tea before bed to flush myself out.

Is there any plant based protein that would help me reach my daily intake goals? Preferably not made with greens that increase uric acid.

Thank You in advance.

I‘m really happy about it even tho I still struggle a Little

2 weeks away from my holiday/vacation and the cut is going extremely well!

Special shout out to the top down lighting

I’ve been wondering about alcohol consumption in my life. What does a healthy consumption of alcohol look like? Is it complete abstinence or is it still considered normal and healthy to have a few drinks to celebrate life 2-3 times a year?

Nutritionfacts.org always makes sure to remind me that “alcohol is bad for you” so I always feel guilty.

How often do you people drink or do you not drink at all?

My birthday is coming up and I was contemplating on should I break my zero tolerance policy or should I just have fun without it (which is also fine imo) ☺️ thoughts?

Edit: upon reviewing comments and deeper reflection I’ve decided not to drink alcohol anymore. I’m about to be 29 years old and I feel like I need to start being a responsible adult who drinks plenty of water instead of drinking alcohol 😜 I would also like to be a role model for any future kids (let’s face it I’m not gonna have kids haha) so how can I be taken seriously if I advocate drinking etc. I want to learn to have fun and take it easy without having to intoxicate myself in order to do so. Thanks everyone who has joined the discussion so far ☺️

Hi folks! I've just started counting my macros and I'm unsure how to measure TVP, whether I should do it when it's dry or when it's been rehydrated. Could anyone help me out? I feel like l'll miss my protein intake if I weight it erroneously! Thanks a ton

I’m about to embark on my first seitan attempt. I’m a big fan of my instant pot. Has anyone made seitan in the instant pot? If so can you share a tried and true recipe?

I'm 16 years old, been vegan for almost 9 years. I've always been skinny and struggled to gain weight my entire life, despite working out a lot and trying to eat as much as I could (I suspect the main culprit is the fact that I run track and cross country year-round). Recently I got sluggish and lost some weight. Now I've gotten sick and lost 10 lbs over the weekend, so I'm sitting around 120 lbs right now (I'm 5'9" btw). I feel super weak and tired. I need to regain this weight (hopefully getting up to 145lbs by summer). Does anyone have any advice to help me? I'm not looking for the usual "oh eat in a calorie surplus" - I'm looking for new advice that will help me.

hey all, long time lurker, first time poster (hopefully i do this right! :3). i've been having trouble with a weight loss plateau and it's really starting to annoy me, so i wanted to ask for some advice. i (27F, 5'1") started my health journey in may 2023 at 172 lbs, and am now down to 139lbs. i've been religiously using cronometer and a fitbit since then to keep track of food intake, macros, and exercise and it's helped a lot. i've had steady weight loss of around 1lb per week, sometimes with a week long plateau before i'd start losing weight again. however, i've hit a plateau and have bounced between 139-140 for two months now. i read that plateaus can happen for a few weeks to a month, but two months seems like a long time and it's been making me feel so demotivated and frustrated. i'm so close to being a healthy weight for the first time in my life, and now it's just stopped. i'll add more info below if it helps, but my main goals have been to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, and build strength/muscle.

F27, 5'1", currently 139lbs, BMR is 1300, calorie intake goal is 1200-1300 (sometimes i eat a little more/less but it tends to even out), average 1700 calories/day burned. Typically eat 30-40g protein, 150-200g carbs, 30-50g fat per day depending on what i eat that day. i unintentionally do intermittent fasting as i rarely eat breakfast.

the only change i can think of is that i was exercising (primarily walking/indoor cycling) fairly regularly until a few months ago. i got two really bad colds back to back and was not doing well for a while, it took me out of the habit and i havent been able to get back into it. its also been really hard to exercise as my mental health has been declining again too. however, since im always careful to stay in a caloric deficit, i should still technically be losing weight. im still weighing/measuring my food accurately and eating the same things i have been for the last year, and my deficit is nearly the same now as it was when i was exercising, so i dont know what gives :/

(also, i know i need to eat more protein. im a new-ish vegan (been 100% vegan since september 2023) and still learning how to balance my diet better. after fully transitioning to vegan i was only getting 20g protein per day so i've been improving and can hit 40g most days now, but im still really struggling to get the TDEE calculator's recommended 80g/day while still eating only 1300 calories. any advice to up my protein while staying low cal would be much appreciated! i eat mock meats, tofu, and beans for protein, but its so hard trying to get enough and having such a tiny window to do so)

hopefully this isnt too long, thank you for reading! any advice/motivation/kind words to help me break through this plateau, and advice about protein intake is very much appreciated! you all have been a big help to me over the last few months and you're an amazing community!

I’m trying to eat more protein, but it seems like whenever I go out of my way to eat more protein-filled foods I get hemorrhoids…any solution to this?

Context: I weigh 175ish and take about 80-100 grams a day. Maybe more, maybe less, I don’t usually track my intake.

I’ve been vegan now for almost a month, and my schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of workouts during the week, but I try to hit light strength/body weight workouts 3-5 times a week. I know I’m a bit behind my sleep, but I’ve been feeling so worn out and sore the next day. What are your favorite/best go-to foods to replenish energy and prevent fatigue? I’ve been adding in vegan protein smoothies with frozen fruit and almond milk but am looking for more variety! Ty!!!

Hello-newbie here. And I’m here because, I’ve had enough. It’s time for a change in my life. I’ve read enough about how meat and processed foods literally kill you over time.

I got some blood work back that finally tipped me. I’m not severely overweight, but I lack muscle for sure.

So step one-my diet. I’m kind of a go in all the way kind of person so, looking for recommendations for a the cleanest possible diet to start off with. Any must have foods, or even if you know of someone’s plan published somewhere else.

Thank you for the support!

.. u could recommend? I don't need pulse, heartbeat etc. just simple GPS tracking. Is there any advice or experience u can gimme a recommendation on for a free app?

Thanks a lot