Building muscle is a significant and important topic for many people. Over the last few years, a healthy lifestyle in connection with sports has become increasingly central to the lives of many. For many, sports provide balance in addition to work or school; for others, sports are more than just a balance and serve, for example, to build muscle.
Especially when building muscle, nutrition is one of the biggest factors besides strength training. For people who follow a vegetarian diet, it is often difficult to find the right protein sources. In today's blog post, we explain how you can pay attention to the right diet and protein intake at breakfast and show you how you can best build your muscles with a vegetarian diet.
How to build muscle
There are white and red muscle fibers in the body. The white muscle fibers, which are mainly located in the legs and chest, contract quickly, generate a lot of strength, but also fatigue slowly. The red fibers are mainly in the abdomen and neck muscles; they contract more slowly, but are also more persistent.
There are a few basic rules when it comes to building muscle. Muscle building happens when you stretch your muscles beyond the limit of your performance level. The goal is to tire the muscle and provide it with new stimuli. During the regeneration period, the muscles then adapt to the new level. So, in theory.
But it's not that simple. Strength training alone can quickly reach its limit in muscle building. After all, strength training is a very important component in the entire process of building muscle, but without the right nutrition, your muscles will eventually “stop” and no longer grow.
Proteins are so important when building muscle
Proteins are proteins. The term protein comes from the Greek word meaning "the first, the most important," and from this, the term protein has derived. Our bodies do not have a protein store, so it is extremely important that we provide them with proteins regularly. Proteins provide building blocks for muscles, organs, blood, as well as enzymes and hormones.
Proteins are the cornerstone of every muscle. Without proteins, there is no muscle building. The protein requirements of your body also increase with the intensity of your training. So, it can quickly happen that you do not only have to eat one gram per kilogram of your body weight, but 1.5 grams, for example.
Nutrition is a central part of any training plan. So, when building muscle, you should definitely pay attention to it. Our recommendation is to consult with a specialist to find the right option for you so that you don’t make any mistakes. With a balanced eating plan, you can more easily avoid making any errors.
Tip 1: Meeting calorie requirements is very important for building muscle
Precisely for this reason, it is important to have the right diet. Without the proper nutrients, even the best strength training is ineffective. You should always ensure that you meet your calorie needs or create a surplus.
To achieve this, you should use our Verival calorie calculator . This can help you calculate the calories you need. You can then use this data to determine how many calories you need to consume.
Tip 2: Adequate protein intake helps you build muscle
The right proteins are essential for successful muscle building. You should consume about 1 gram of protein per kilogram of your body weight. Hence, the right high-protein foods are just as crucial in your diet if you want to build muscle.
Tip 3: Start the day with the right proteins at breakfast
To reach for the right proteins at the start of the day, it is important to have an extensive and healthy breakfast. Oatmeal, porridge , crunchy or cereal are often very protein-rich breakfast products. With our breakfast products from Verival, especially with our sports products, you already have the right shot of protein for the day in the morning.
Tip 4: With your own body weight, training is possible anywhere
People often face the smallest obstacles during training. For instance, going to the gym is often one of the biggest challenges! However, to train, you don’t always have to go to the gym. It is often sufficient to do workouts at home with your own body weight. Having small weights in your household will certainly make it easier for you to get started with your training on some days.
Tip 5: The best results in muscle building with the right diet
If you want to build muscle, it is not only important that you do a lot of strength training. Proper nutrition is far more crucial and, above all, more challenging. Because calories are not the same as calories.
For those who want to continually improve their muscles, it is essential to pay attention to their diet. Good fats, nutritious products, vitamins, minerals – all these elements are important for muscle building. That is why we recommend discussing the right diet for you with a professional.
These are the best sources of protein in a vegetarian diet
The misconception that vegetarians consume too little protein without meat still persists. However, this is absolutely not true. Even with a meatless diet, there are plenty of alternatives to consume protein.
Eggs, various dairy products, legumes, and also cereals such as oats or nuts provide more than enough protein sources to choose from. It’s not always meat that provides the substantial amount of proteins.
For example, 250 grams of yogurt often provide up to 30 grams of protein! This is equivalent to a hand-sized chicken breast fillet.
Beans are also an incredible source of protein. The soybean is the champion among beans. With 33 grams of protein per 100 grams, it is unrivaled, closely followed by lentils and peas, each with 23 grams of protein per 100 grams.
Thus, if you want to consume a protein-rich diet, you don’t necessarily have to eat meat. The environment will certainly thank all of us.
The 3 Best Plant-Based Protein Sources for Building Muscle
For many, the vegetarian lifestyle is no longer sufficient. More and more individuals are completely renouncing animal products and adopting a vegan diet. But how can one maintain a protein-rich lifestyle? Is this even possible? Of course – and just as easily as one might expect.
There are also plenty of plant-based protein sources . As mentioned earlier, legumes like beans are probably the clear winners among plant-based protein sources. However, nuts should not be overlooked.
Nuts and seeds
With many fats, nuts should only be consumed in moderation, but they still contain a lot of protein. Peanuts are the clear winners in this category. With 26 grams per 100 grams, they are at the top. Almonds are also healthy and high in protein with 19 grams per 100 grams. Walnuts follow with 14 grams.
Vegetables
In general, vegetables are also perfect as a protein source! Broccoli and spinach lead the way here. If you think 3.3 grams and 2.2 grams of protein per 100 grams is not much, you are mistaken! Because 100 grams of broccoli only contain 17 calories – which means that more than half are proteins.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is also a perfect source of protein. Especially at breakfast, it is important to ensure an ideal start to the day. For competitive athletes, this is just as crucial as for those who only engage in sports as a hobby! Proteins are essential to help you build muscle. With oatmeal, you not only start the day healthily, but also very protein-rich, providing you with 13 grams of protein per 100 grams.
If you want to know more about our breakfast products with proteins, you should visit our shop directly. We certainly have the right product for your diet! To encourage a high-protein breakfast, here is a small recipe.
Basic recipe: oatmeal
Ingredients
- 250 ml milk or a plant-based alternative for vegans (oat milk, almond milk, soy milk,...)
- 50 g oatmeal (grams of oatmeal)
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 tsp agave syrup optional
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon of your choice
Preparation
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Boil the oatmeal with the pinch of salt and the sweetener of your choice in the milk or plant-based alternative (preferably with constant stirring). Cooking the cereal flakes with only hot water is also a possible variant.
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Let the porridge steep for 3 minutes.
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Pour the porridge into a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon.
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Enjoy!
