Thread by @_ugra_

Much has been said about how vegetarians don't consume enough protein & as a result suffer from poor muscle growth.

I'll share my own experience on how I, a pure vegetarian went on to gain over 12 kilos of mass(mostly muscle) on a pure vegetarian diet over a duration of 2 years.

Let me make it very clear at the outset that am NOT sitting in judgement of people who consume non-vegetarian food. I don't intend to get into any verbal spats over this, seeing this can be a very sensitive & emotive topic. Am not at all judging anyone.

The purpose of me sharing my experience of gaining muscle on a pure vegetarian diet is that for too long this popular myth has been doing the rounds that vegetarians are simply incapable of gaining muscle & that vegetarian food sources are deficient in protein & certain nutrients

This used to be me around 2.5 years ago (jan 2017), weighing in around 58 kilos. Very skinny, hardly any muscle. Didn't have a clue what or how to eat. Although I was always diet conscious. You can checkout some of my older guitar videos, used to be much thinner. As low as 55 kgs

Had a very low Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR) had no clue what it was back then. Mine was around 1300.. something like that. Its basically the measure for how much calories your body can burn in a state of rest. So neither was I putting on mass nor burning calories.

Started to do a little research & decided to do some weight training. For the 1st 4-5 months had no clue about the weight training methods or the diet regiment to be followed. Used to go lift weights, do some cardio without expecting any results.

Without any change in my existing diet, I got to see the results of weight & resistance training. However it was marginal. Encouraged by this, decided to overhaul my diet plan. I started to weigh the food I consumed & counted the macros in it. (split of carbs/protein/fat)

There are many apps that can help you keep a tab of macros. This is the app that I use. Its basic version is free. Check it out. play.google.com/store/apps/det…

It opened up a whole new window to approaching on how & what to eat.

Now I was measuring & keeping an account of everything I was eating. During this period cut down totally on junk food, sugar, outside food, processed food, refined oil etc. I've always been a teetotaler, so that aspect was never a problem to begin with.

To gain muscle mass, one has to eat in a slight calorific excess. Around 200 calories will do. Now that I was counting my macros, it was no problem. Used to make sure most of the calories accounted majority for protein. There are many good vegetarian sources of protein.

Consumed a lot of Moth beans,also known as Matki. Every 100 gms of it has 23 gms of protein. Also beetroot is a very rich source. Nearly 35% protein. Also I replaced white rice with millets. Not only does it have marginally higher protein, but doesn't screw with insulin levels

Replacing rice with Quinoa was one of the best decisions I ever made. Every 100 gms of it contains nearly 15 gms protein as opposed to 6-7% in white rice. Likewise it comes with less carbs. Milles like foxtail,pearl,browntop etc all have higher protein content.

Daal varieties like moong, cowpeas, sprouted bengal gram, horsegram have anywhere between 15-25% protein. Yes agreed that they contain carbs too. But these are good carbs unlike the the processed ones, which are really really bad for health. Carbs are very much essential.

Couple legumes,sprouts & millets with greens like palak, which when consumed along with daals can contain protein as high as 30%. Another awesome source of protein is drumstick leaves. Contains 45% protein. We have a big drumstick tree & make chutney out of the leaves everyday.

Gaining muscle is all about keeping a tab of what you eat, how u eat. Doing weight & resistance training along with some cardio goes a long way. Different ppl have different body types,but the overall method is pretty much the same. Discipline & dedication in both diet & exercise

This is me after 2 years of consistent diet & training. I weigh in at 70 kgs, as opposed to 58 when I started 2.5 yrs ago. Gained much muscle, put on almost no extra fat in the process, waist size remains the same. All achieved on a pure Vegetarian diet. Its possible guys.

I hardly consider myself a serious lifter. Infact for the 1st 5-6 months of training & dieting I had no clue what I was doing.

So if you are a vegetarian & have been told that you cannot put on muscle, you've been lied to. Don't give up just cuz you've been told.

If I were better educated on diet & training regiment when I started, I'd be in a much better shape that now. But that's ok. Everyone gonna start somewhere. So my dear vegetarian friends, start counting your macros & start your training today! Its possible! Good luck 👍 /end.

Wanted to add one more thing here. Age or gender no bar to putting on muscle. No need to go to a gym either. Can be achieved at home with a couple of dumbbells & resistance bands.

Some resistance training followed by a jog or brisk walk will magically transform your health.

Plus Yoga, Dhyana & Pranayama. No roga will ever come near you. I promise. /end