Your GO TO Muscle Building Vegan Diet Guide

Trying to get a handle on what to eat to produce sculpted muscles can be difficult for vegans to figure out, some may even find it impossible.

Take a look at the suggestions below and see if they do the trick for you!

Here’s a breakdown of a vegan muscle building diet to be used in 3 phases, each lasting four weeks.

Phase 1: 20% fats, 50% protein, 30% carbs
Phase 2: 20% fats, 40% carbs, 40% protein
Phase 3: 20% fats, 60% carbs, 20% protein

Don’t worry, I realize it all can be a bit daunting. How on earth can vegans create a diet of 50% protein day in and day out for four weeks? Can vegans really truly follow this type of meal plan to sculpt muscle and find the right things to eat? I’m glad you asked because, truthfully, you will likely not be able to hit exactly 50% protein on a vegan diet, but you can get pretty close. And yes, you can, and you WILL see great results by using the right percentage of macros on your vegan sculpting meal plan. However, my number one recommendation actually has nothing to do with food!

Stress can be a huge factor in stalling weight loss, so do your best and forget the rest! Stress can come in many different forms when meal planning. One example would be to become obsessed with hitting each day perfectly and therefore getting stuck eating almost the exact some thing everyday for weeks. Rather than becoming consumed with hitting your macros perfectly, focus on variety. Meal plan lunches and/or dinners on Sundays, perhaps having the same lunches every day, but mixing up dinner the first week. Then in week two prepping some variety for lunch and having the same dinner each night.

In any case, as you develop the habit of eating a variety of types of protein sources your body will easily get the memo that you are setting it up to be a lean machine. Take a look at the table below to find some ideal protein types for you begin meal planning today and get started on the sculpting now! 

Table 2: Protein Content of Selected Vegan Foods

FOOD

AMOUNT

PROTEIN(gm)

PROTEIN(gm/100 cal)

Tempeh 1 cup

41

9.3

Seitan 3 ounces

31

22.1

Soybeans, cooked 1 cup

29

9.6

Lentils, cooked 1 cup

18

7.8

Black beans, cooked 1 cup

15

6.7

Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup

13

6.4

Veggie burger 1 patty

13

13.0

Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup

12

4.2

Veggie baked beans 1 cup

12

5.0

Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup

12

5.7

Black-eyed peas, cooked 1 cup

11

6.2

Tofu, firm 4 ounces

11

11.7

Lima beans, cooked 1 cup

10

5.7

Quinoa, cooked 1 cup

9

3.5

Tofu, regular 4 ounces

9

10.6

Bagel 1 med.(3 oz)

9

3.9

Peas, cooked 1 cup

9

6.4

Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), cooked 1/2 cup

8

8.4

Peanut butter 2 Tbsp

8

4.3

Veggie dog 1 link

8

13.3

Spaghetti, cooked 1 cup

8

3.7

Almonds 1/4 cup

8

3.7

Soy milk, commercial, plain 1 cup

7

7.0

Soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces

6

4.0

Bulgur, cooked 1 cup

6

3.7

Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup

6

3.3

Whole wheat bread 2 slices

5

3.9

Cashews 1/4 cup

5

2.7

Almond butter 2 Tbsp

5

2.4

Brown rice, cooked 1 cup

5

2.1

Spinach, cooked 1 cup

5

13.0

Broccoli, cooked 1 cup

4

6.8

Potato 1 med.(6 oz)

4

2.7

Sources: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18, 2005 and manufacturers’ information.The recommendation for protein for adult males vegans is around 56-70 grams per day; for adult female vegans it is around 46-58 grams per day (see text).