Tell that to TheBodybuildingVegan John Thomas.
Vegans Can’t Build Muscle.
Yep. We have all heard it before. And will definitely hear it again. Where do you get your protein? But don’t you need milk to build strong bones? My aunt’s cousin’s sister’s boyfriend’s imaginary friend went vegan and they didn’t do very well. And I don’t like tofu – but I have never tried it.
These are just a few of the silly things you might encounter as a vegan setting out on a journey to build muscle. TheBodybuilngVegan enters the chat. I am John Thomas – AKA The Bodybuilding Vegan – I have been vegan for 18 years and lifting for over 15 years.
When I first entered the gym I had no clue what I was doing, and everyone there seemed to be an expert in vegan nutrition explaining how there was no way I could possibly build muscle without eating animals – or at least eggs and drinking their milk. I accepted the sad fact that I may just never be able to build muscle. But. Then something happened. By lifting weights and giving my muscles the stimulus needed to grow, alongside with getting protein from plants of all places, my muscles began to grow. It was almost as if horses, bison, gorillas, elephants and all the other giant land mammals who build impressively muscular physiques were on to something – plants have all the protein you need.
And a legend was born – okay – I am being a little silly myself here. But, these are all things I encountered. As a prominent competitive vegan bodybuilder and coach it is my goal to show that you can achieve the physique you want without relying on animal sources of protein. Not only can it be done, it can be done at a high competitive level and in my humble opinion plant based diets are healthier as a whole. I have helped a fully vegan figure competitor turn pro this year in the OCB organization, she didn’t need meat or dairy either and still beat all the competition including non vegans.
So, where does one find plant sources of protein. I have you covered. For meat substitutes you may want to look to foods such as:
Tofu
Tempeh
Seitan
And plenty of the mock meats in stores
For isolated protein sources such as protein powders I recommend Pea Protein Isolate from TrueNutrition.com, a company I have used for the last decade. I typically get the “regular” intensity for the flavor. My current favorite flavors are banana smoothie, cookie butter, chocolate fudge and marshmallow treat. To save some money on your order, you can use my code: BodybuildingVegan https://true-nutrition.sjv.io/baOEax
True Nutrition also offers rice, soy and hemp protein powder options.
Finally, we have whole foods – if you are not a bodybuilder you don’t need excessively high levels of protein and whole foods options will have plenty for you. Some of my favorites are:
Lentils, seeds, nuts, beans, nutritional yeast and edamame to name a few.
I have launched my YouTube Channel with workouts, nutrition and some day in the lifestyle videos. Feel free to check it out here:
https://www.youtube.com/@BodybuildingVeganTV?sub_confirmation=1
And here is one of my favorite recipes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8LgS8ZTZic
I am here to help you on your vegan journey – if you are looking to work on building the body of your dreams or just want to get a little more fit – reach out. Let’s all be walking billboards and wear our vegan ethics proud and loud. I buy each one of my clients a vegan themed t shirt so they can show off their gains and ethics all in one package.
Here are my socials if you want to follow on my journey. I hope you Have the Best Day Ever!
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Thanks so much for having me on this article! I love Veggly and hope to continue connecting with fellow vegans and pre vegans here!!! – John aka thebodybuildingvegan