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Not building any muscle


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I've been vegan for over two months now. I did it for health reasons and because I really want to get cut. I'm a 25 year old female, 5' 0", currently 116 lbs. When I began vegan, I weighed 125 lbs. The first three weeks I was down to 116 without changing my gym routine. It was just from my diet. The first month, I felt great. I had high, sustainable energy, I was losing weight, sleeping better, stress levels were down, etc. I still am feeling all of the positive effects of my diet, until I get to the gym. I get so tired, and so quickly. I feel weak and I haven't been able to increase my weights in weeks. I'm also not building any muscle definition whatsoever. I'm not sure if I need to be eating something different before my workout. I feel like I'm getting enough to eat, but again, I'm new to this so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not. I'm not hungry or tired during the day. But my energy just drains once I hit the gym. I am not trying to get buff or anything. Antoinette Pacheco is a HUGE inspiration to me and is one of the main reasons I switched to vegan. Her physique is what I am aiming for. Maybe someone can take a look a typical meal day for me and make any suggestions? I'm wondering if maybe it's a vitamin deficiency? I'm open to any advice. Thanks!

 

My workouts always consist of machines, some free weights and mostly calisthenics. I work out for an hour to an hour and a half. I do about 20-40 minutes of carido, and always sit in the sauna for 30 minutes at the end of the workout.

 

Breakfast:

Protein shake

Sunwarrior protein powder (complete protein)

maca root powder

organic kale

organic strawberries

organic bananas

water

B12 vitamin

Flaxseed oil supplement

 

Snack:

organic green tea w/ lime and agave nectar

Organic crunchy peanut butter

Cinnamon/raisan ezekiel bread

or

fruit

 

Lunch

Salad w/

tofu

quinoa

veggies

organic vegan dressing

whole avocado

lentils

Flaxseed oil supplement

 

Snack/pre-workout

Oatmeal w/ banana

or

protein shake (almond milk w/ Sunwarrior protein) 16 oz

 

Post-workout

Organic Apple juice with Sunwarrior protein (16 oz)

 

Dinner varies each night. Always consists of vegan protein (tofu, quinoa, lentils, etc.) and lots of veggies. I'm not much of a dessert type of girl. I also take a Flaxseed oil supplement.

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HI!

 

Your diet sounds REALLY good and complete!

 

I used to have pretty good stamina and energy with my usual diet to when doing things like P90X, Les Mills Combat, weight lifting, etc.. Often times I'd power up with a smoothie with varieties of whatever was on hand.....kale usually as the base, various fruits, other veg and some NOW Pea Protein powder (also complete and highly absorb able by the body).

 

THEN I upped my game, start doing Krav which was by far way more intense usually leaving me muscularly and cardio exhausted. When I first started, my stamina/energy would fail me during the extra hard classes.

 

Coincidentally, came across this site (very helpful!), re-read some books I had on hand from Brendon Brazier (THRIVE fitness, vegan triathlete), and discovered Mike Dolce and Rich Roll.

 

Dolce's mantra when I saw him and Rich Franklin talking about UFCFit and nutrition was emphasized on eating based on either what you just did (refuel and rebuild) or what you are about to do (fuel up for both energy and stamina).

 

Tried that, tweaked not just what and how much I was eating but WHEN - and it made a huge difference. Even small things like upping the nutrient content (carbs and protein) on Krav class days AND topping that up just before class. Amazing things like eating an apple and banana on the way to class in the car really helped with my endurance. Lately added chia seeds to my diet, often just putting them in my water bottle to soak during the day so I can consume them as I drink during class. 1 serving chia seeds only 60 cals, but 3 grams protein, 10% of magnesium, 5g carbs,

 

Sure there are suggested or optimal time windows to fuel up pre-workout. I find my smoothie or other fuel foods about 1 hr before working out to be good for me. No cramps, nothing really heavy to require lots of digestion energy. Brazier talks alot about high net gain foods defined as: whole, plant-based, alkaline forming foods that are nutrient dense and easy to digest.

 

I'm aware of sunwarrior protein but other than some samples not personally experienced with it. Did some reading on oatmeal as pre-workout food. Seems to be rated good as slow digestion for longer lasting energy. Slow digestion though may dilute its benefit though as it takes more blood/etc to process it into useable carbs (?) Just thinking out loud...Maybe try something different as your pre-work? Qunioa with lentils pops to mind. Brazier makes a big deal about absorption/absorpability of foods and the processing the body has to do to extract the micronutrients/proteins, etc. which is one thing that makes pea protein good as it's read to go...

 

just my thoughts.

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