Building muscles is not only about going to the gym and pumping iron. It is also about eating the right kinds of food. When it is about building muscle on a vegetarian diet, it is very important to know about the right kinds of foods available for vegetarian that can promote muscle build-up and as well as muscle recovery.
As we all know that the choices for vegetarians are less due to which they feel being left out on building muscle on a vegetarian diet with limited options to choose from. But the fact is whether you are vegetarian or not, to build strong and new muscles, you will need an ample supply of nutrients from various foods.
What you need to consume is quality amino acids – the building blocks of proteins and glucose from carbohydrates to fuel your workouts. You can do whatever you want in the gym, but if you fail to get the much-needed calories from various micronutrients, you will never be able to pack on muscles.
As far as building muscle on a vegetarian diet choices are concerned, here are some power-packed diet that you need to incorporate in your daily diet. With the help of this vegetarian diet plan you can even build strong and lean muscles.
Know about these foods and come out of the myth that building muscle on a vegetarian diet difficult.
List of foods for building muscle on a vegetarian diet
- Raw Oats: Oatmeal tops the list in healthy and quality carbohydrate contents. But there is a small issue with oatmeal. It fills you up quickly and eating a large quantity means you would never get the requisite amount of calories to fuel your muscle growth.
So, the solution is eating it raw. The raw version is more calories dense than the cooked version and provides with all he needed calories to fuel your muscle growth. Raw oatmeal is great for breakfasts and snacks.
- Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds are great source for building muscle on a vegetarian diet and should be a part of your regular diet. Enriched with the goodness of essential fatty acids with a healthy dose of dietary fibers and complex carbs. Many diets for muscle building lack the most important element – dietary fibers. It is much needed for the absorption and digestion of proteins.
Apart from being a good source of dietary fibers, flaxseeds are high in caloric value too. Much needed for muscle buildup.
- Sweet Potatoes: Another great source of quality fibers, sweet potatoes also aids in digestion. Being rich in Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Magnesium and Potassium, it is a must to have food if you are looking for building muscle on a vegetarian diet. The main reason behind the same is that it provides our body with the essential nutrients and vitamins needed for the repair and maintenance of muscle tissue damages and also provides the much-needed energy for quality muscle growth and buildup.
- Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables: Adequate quality protein intake is crucial for muscle building. Cruciferous vegetables and especially broccoli can yield a good amount of quality proteins. Just two cups of raw broccoli can yield as well as 5 Gms of proteins. Enjoy them in your vegetables or salads during your mealtime.
- Nuts and Seeds: Nuts like peanuts, almonds, and pistachios are rich in bone fortifying calcium. These nuts are also dense in calories and have a perfect balance of proteins, fibers, and essential fats. Do you know that good fat trims you down and helps build lean muscles?
Seeds like chia are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, quality protein, and good fats. It also yields a high amount of calories.
- Spinach and leafy greens: We all have seen how Popeye gets stronger and bulkier after eating spinach. It is true what we see. Loaded with quality nutrients leafy greens and especially spinach is loaded with valuable nutrients like calcium, vitamin K and iron. These three nutrients can promote muscle growth up by almost 20%. Spinach moreover, is an ideal choice for vegetarian eaters.
- Legumes: Similar to beans, legumes like peas, chickpeas, and soybeans are very low in fat, have almost zero cholesterol and are one of the most desirables sources of valuable proteins for vegetarians and vegans as well. Enjoy them as a part of your daily diet if you want your lean muscles to grow and become strong.
- Greek Yoghurt: Dairy is one source of quality proteins that not only provides slow-digesting caseins but also fast-digesting whey. Greek yogurt is one dairy product that contains almost double the quantity of protein than normal yogurt.
- Quinoa: Proteins are much needed for building muscles, fuel is much needed also to provide energy and stay active. Foods like quinoa have carbs also along with proteins for the energy requirement and muscular built and also with a wholesome amount of phosphorous and magnesium. Magnesium is much needed for the movement of our muscles and nerves when we move.
Now, you know a few of the vegetarian foods that is much required for building muscle on a vegetarian diet, you also must know the reasons why we need to have strong muscles:
- Muscles help speeding up our metabolism, as it burns more calories than fats.
- More lean muscle simply means that we will have lesser fats in our body overall.
- Stronger muscles need stronger training and exercise and thus promote stronger bone strength also.
- More muscles make us stronger and able to perform better in all our daily activities.
As per the best dietitian in Delhi, protein is an important component of muscle building. As vegetarians will have different diets and sources from a non-vegetarian person who consumes meat, numerous plant-based sources provide quality proteins and essential and valuable nutrients for strong and lean muscles.
