Vegetarian Body Builders

Hi Vic and welcome to the forum!

I guess the first question is how vegetarian are you? i.e. do you eat fish?

Kind Regards
Matt
Forum Admin

Vegetarian's don't eat fish.

Do you eat many pulses?

Thanks Matt!

I don't eat fish and yes I eat pulses, I do eat dairy products.
I am also a sprinter (although not quite 2012 standard i'm afraid) so I do train 4 times a week on the track and then 3-4 times a week in the gym.

I have tried every combination of weight training- super sets, high reps, low reps. I have currently moved back to doing olympic lifts such as cleans, squats, deadlifts, bench press and shoulder press at 3 sets of 5 reps.

For all the effort i have put in over the last 3 years (3 years were I have taken it seriously, I have been training longer than that), I just dont seem to have got the muscle and strength I would have hoped or expected.

Hi Corris,

Plenty of vegetarian's eat fish- hence why I asked!

Some don't eat meat because they don't like the taste of it or have a reaction to it but do still eat fish and shellfish. Others don't eat any living thing for morality issues etc!

Hi vic,

If you do eat dairy then many types of cheese have high levels of protein but they are of course high in fat.

Let me contact the editor of Peak Performance, Andrew Hamilton. His speciality is nutrition and he should have some useful tips for you

Kind Regards
Matt
Forum Admin

Brilliant. Thank you very much!

Oh, and a vegetarian that eats fish is called a Pescitarian! Just thought I'd throw that fact of the day in!

Kind regards,

Vicky

You learn something every day!

Kind Regards
Matt
Forum Admin

just as an aside, it just makes me angry, as a vegetarian when you go to restaurants and the only 'Vegetarian' option is fish. so i cant eat anything.

GR.

okay rant over!

Also, Quinoa builds lean muscle!

I too find it difficult when someone says 'I'm a vegetarian' then orders fish and chips...

Perhaps you aren't building 'bodybuilders' muscles because you aren't built that way? Some people can build muscle and some people are designed much leaner.

It may not be a diet thing at all.

And I agree Pippin, although vegetarian options are so much better than they used to be!

Oh, vegetarians definitely do not eat fish. Pescetarians might THINK they are vegetarian, but they aren't. So says the Vegetarian Society, who should know, I guess. But that's a whole 'nother topic *grin*

(but yes, it annoys me too when my vegetarian option is fish and I can't eat, because I like to eat!)

Something which is unexpectedly stuffed with protein is cottage cheese... far more than one would expect. And you can get really quite low fat versions as well. Of course many people think it's foul, so that's no help if you are one of those people (I quite like it) Eggs, too, I know eggs have had bad press but it's now thought the fats etc in eggs are not as bad for you as previously thought.

TVP products (textured veg protein)have a lot of protein in. But then it's another acquired taste.

It's often overlooked, but many veggies, mushrooms, peppers, aubergines (I think) etc have a lot of protein in as well... and some grains are more proteiney than others- quinoa being the obvious one but I think things like millet have a fair amount as well?

Unfortunately though, meat/ fish is the most concentrated source, because it's muscle itself I guess! Anyway good luck, I'm sure it can be done :) I'll be interested to hear how you get on

yes my nutritionist told me to have an omelette or scrambled eggs every day, but thats prob because my diet is quite low in fat and i need it! Eggs are also good for selenium(which vegetarians are often lacking, so eat brazil nuts too!). i read earlier that selenium can inhibit the AIDS virus, how crazy is that? Dunno if its true though, it was on the internet!