5 Key Considerations for Building Muscle on a Plant-Based Diet
One of the biggest concerns many athletes and active people have about going plant based is the ability to build or maintain muscle. Fortunately, with the right knowledge and planning, building muscle on a plant-based diet is entirely possible.
There is no one-size-fits-all nutrition plan for plant based athletes. However, a plant-based diet can provide all of the protein and other nutrients needed for exercise, recovery, and body composition goals.
In my years of designing customized strategies for private clients tailored to their individualized needs, training program, goals, and lifestyle, I’ve found five basic principles that apply to nearly everyone for building muscle on a plant-based diet.
To start, it’s important to first understand how to build muscle. Then, these five tenets can fall into place.
How to Build Muscle, and How Long Does It Take?
To build muscle you must pay attention to both your training program and your diet. You also need to consume adequate calories. If you are in a calorie deficit, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to reach your muscle-building goals.
Additionally, the time it takes to build muscle depends on many factors, including the muscle groups you’re targeting, the amount of muscle you’re trying to build, your training program, and your diet.
5 Key Food Considerations to Build Muscle on a Plant-Based Diet
Pay attention to these five key strategies to support muscle-building goals on a plant-based diet.
Eat adequate calories
Consume enough protein
Include a variety of food groups
Distribute protein evenly
Use concentrated protein sources if needed
Here’s a closer look at each of these important factors for building muscle.
1. Eat Adequate Calories
Consuming enough calories is crucial in order to build muscle, even with an optimal intake of protein. Too few calories can result in burning dietary protein for fuel, which prevents this macronutrient from being utilized for exercise recovery and new muscle growth.
Daily calorie needs are based on several factors, including:
age
sex
height
training program
body composition goals.
But as a simple rule of thumb, athletes generally need at least 15 calories per pound of body weight, and even up to 21 calories per pound, depending on training demands.
2. Consume Enough Protein
Protein’s primary job is to supply amino acids - the building blocks of protein - for the maintenance, repair, and healing of protein tissues in the body. These include muscle, as well as enzymes, hormones, immune cells, skin, hair, and more.
How much protein do you need to build muscle?
Because exercise puts wear and tear on the body, protein needs are greater if you train and/or compete. Daily protein needs vary based on training type and goals, but many athletes require about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, if their goal is to maintain or build muscle mass.
As an example, for a 150-pound adult, or 68 kg, that’s nearly 110 grams of protein per day. To calculate this, take your weight in pounds, divide that by 2.2, and multiply by 1.6. This will give you your estimated grams of protein per day if you are aiming for 1.6g of protein/kg body weight.
Tip: Plant based athletes may need to increase their total protein intakes by 10% above the recommendation. That’s because plant proteins are less well digested than most animal proteins, due to their fiber content. In other words, less of the total protein per serving is absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream, where it can be utilized by the body.
3. Include a Variety of Food Groups
Every plant food on the planet contains all nine essential amino acids (EAAs), although some plant foods are low or limited in certain EAAs. An older theory was that in order to utilize plant protein efficiently, you must eat “complimentary” proteins simultaneously. For instance, rice and beans were considered complimentary because the key amino acid low in beans is high in rice, and vice versa. But, when enough calories and total protein are consumed from a healthful, varied diet - even exclusively from plants - an adequate supply of EAAs can be obtained within a 24 hour period.
Your liver helps by storing various EAAs over the course of a day for later use. That means you don’t need to worry about eating complimentary foods within the same meal or eating “complete” protein.
The best strategy to provide your body with a broad spectrum of amino acids, as well as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber, is to consistently consume a variety of foods. This includes vegetables and fruits, along with whole grains, pulses (beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas), nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.
4. Distribute Protein Evenly
Research shows that the most optimal way to utilize protein for building muscle is to evenly distribute it between four or five daily meals. If your daily protein target is 100 grams per day, you might aim for 25 grams per meal in four meals, including one recovery meal within about an hour after training.
After exercise, to maximize muscle protein synthesis, it is also valuable to include a source of leucine (one of the branched-chain amino acids). This BCAA is known to trigger muscle protein synthesis. There are several plant-based sources of leucine, including soy-based foods, legumes, seeds, and tree nuts.
5. Use Concentrated Protein Sources if Needed
Twenty-five grams of protein can easily be obtained from one plant-based meal comprised of whole foods. One meal example with about 30g of protein is a bowl made with:
two cups of leafy greens
tossed with Dijon balsamic vinaigrette
topped with one cup of steamed lentils
one half cup of cooked chilled quinoa
1/4 cup of sprouted pumpkin seeds
But, in some cases, it may be difficult to consume the quantity of food needed to hit the calorie and protein targets. In that instance, a concentrated source of plant protein may be helpful, such as a plant protein powder, plant protein bar, or pea protein-based burger. These products can pack 20 or more grams of protein in a relatively small portion.
If you’re interested in eating more plant-based or you have trouble meeting your fitness goals on a plant-based diet, schedule a private consult with me. I help my one-on-one clients solve these dilemmas and also provide guidance about whether protein supplements are needed, which products are best, and when and how to consume them.