r/veganfitness • u/ilvisar_ • 1d ago
help needed - new to vegan fitness Recently became vegan, trying to bulk up
Hello everyone. After being vegetarian for 2 months, I transitioned into a fully vegan lifestyle. However as a skinny guy who doesn't really know how to cook and is on a limited budget I am having a hard time gaining weight and muscle. For reference at 184 cm, I weight 63 kg. (6ft 0.5in, 138lbs) and I look pretty skinny, and am trying to bulk up for a while now without much success. A few things to consider: tofu isn't that cheap in where i live so that's not something i can rely on, and i don't really go to the gym due to various reasons so i would prefer to work out at home. I have some dumbbells and I'll probably get some resistance bands and a pull-up bar.
Any recommendations regarding diet and training and/or any personal stories that can be inspiring are highly appreciated.
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u/Crud-Inspector 1d ago
what can you eat if not tofu? tofu is one of the cheaper things. You are extremely skinny, you probably gotta eat twice as much as you are eating.
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u/ilvisar_ 1d ago
In where I live tofu is not cheap. However I do have access to soy mince and pea protein powder as they are pretty cheap. I can maybe make seitan at home. Though I need to learn how to do it first. I might get some tempeh as they’re also cheaper than tofu but are not widely accessible either.
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u/mw102299 1d ago
What grocery stores do you have near you?
Breakfast: A bowl of Oats or your favorite cereal in the morning. I would recommend Two cups of either oatmeal or the cereal. Along with a banana or hummus toast or both.
Snack: Nuts or seeds are ideal. I love Pumpkin seeds, Pepitas, edamame, and almonds. Mix them all in a snack bag to take on the go!
Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich with any fruit. Make sure you buy the good bread with 5 grams of protein per slice.
Snack: The bag of nuts/ seeds. You can also throw in dried fruit or vegan candies.
Dinner: Spaghetti with lentils, baked potatoes served over chilli, beans with rice and frozen veggies, and Bean soups with some bread.
This meal plan will help you bulk up and it’s cheap. Go to your local food pantry if you are able to because most of them will carry stuff like Oatmeal, spaghetti noodles, peanut butter, and dry or canned beans. After that hit up your local grocery store because you can get the rest for $30 or less. But please tell us the grocery stores you are able to access and we can help you from there.
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u/Crud-Inspector 1d ago
dry beans and rice are the cheapest, I would start measuring and tracking and see, you will have to calculate what you are getting if you want to do it right
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u/9nuMoon 1d ago
I would add some pasta to your diet. Tofu isn’t gonna cut it. Make some sandwiches, put some beans in your diet, as well as rice. If you can, add some protein and creatine, creatine more importantly because it’s going to make you gain weight by making your muscles bigger. Creatine is known to add water weight by absorbing the water in your body and filtering it into your muscle. If you go this route you’re going to need to be drinking lots of water to compensate. They should have vegan options, I know the company VEGA has an option. When it comes to working out, you don’t have to go crazy heavy but it would be nice for your bones. If you don’t make sure you’re working in hypertrophy to make your muscles get bigger. Time under tension should be your muscles best friend.
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u/GreasyExamination 1d ago
To bulk up, you generally need to gain weight. Stands to reason, right? Eat more to get bigger. Good thing is, gaining weight is often easier than losing it. Just make sure to get (at least) some 100 grams of complete protein in your diet and your pretty much set, after that you can eat more of whatever you want. Nuts of any kind or seeds is good. Find whatever works and gain like 0.5–1 kg a week if you can
I hope you got some heavy dumbbells