While most are on the lookout for weight loss diets, some have gone the other way around, searching for a diet that can help them put on some weight, whether it’s for health reasons or simply looking to bulk up a bit.
Of course, this implies a lot of fatty foods and meats, something that isn’t allowed in a vegan diet, making it that much more difficult for vegans and vegetarians to put on a few pounds in a short amount of time.
Most of the time, vegan diets are hailed for their miraculous weight loss properties, and you’re going to have a hard time maintaining a healthy diet and gaining weight without resorting to animal-based foods.
Plants are packed with nutrients but have significantly lower amounts of protein and fats, making it much harder to generate mass than it would be with a standard diet, and we’re going to help you do exactly that.
How does it work
Generally, when vegans are trying to gain weight, there is a number of different factors to look into, ranging from their daily calorie intake to making sure that they’re ingesting enough protein to facilitate weight gain.
By combining a high-protein diet with regular exercise, you can build muscle mass with ease, allowing you to gain weight without having your body suffer the consequences, and dozens of vegan bodybuilders have proven the efficacy of this approach.
Usually, an additional 500 calories every day should be enough to get you on the right path to gaining a few pounds, and if you’re exercising on a regular schedule, you can exceed this amount by a bit.
You should make sure that all of these extra calories are coming from a variety of food groups though, as it will create balance in your body and give you the strength to persevere in the diet.
Exercising
The most common exercises for gaining weight are resistance exercises, as they force muscles to contract against a certain force, only for them to extend again after a short amount of time.
This helps build muscle mass, and even more importantly, it can be done in the comfort of your own home rather than heading to the local gym, as it can be done with free weights as well.
Apart from building muscle, doing resistance exercises on lower weights with more repetition helps tone a muscle and make it stronger instead of just building mass, and it can help you keep your body in shape without having it look too disproportional.
On top of this, you should also include at least 150 minutes of cardio exercises every week in order to maintain good heart health, although you should keep this in check if you’re trying to gain weight.
Homemade granola
In terms of food that can help you bulk up in a short amount of time, granola may just be the most well-rounded meal you could ask for, as it’s packed with nutrients and fibers, giving you the energy to exercise while also promoting gut health.
Store-bought granola is good enough, but if you’ve got the time to make your own, you’ll undoubtedly taste the difference, as your own blend of oats, nuts, and dried fruits will be hard to match.
By combining healthy and tasty products you may already have lying on your shelves, you can create a granola mix that is full of vitamins, energy, and fiber, and if you like Brazillian nuts or almonds, you can also improve your body’s fat and selenium intake as well.
Selenium is a common element in the human body, and it’s the most prominent in Brazillian nuts, although you should make sure not to put too many, as it can be toxic in large amounts.
Peanut butter
Finally, we have the breakfast staple of every American household, and if you grew up without ever trying a PB&J sandwich, you missed out on a lot.
There are a few spreads that can match the taste and benefits that peanut butter has to offer, and if you consider that it’s also included in a bunch of other dishes, you can’t deny that peanut butter is a miraculous food.
Packed with healthy fats and minerals, peanut butter can improve almost any vegan dish and give it a unique taste that you may have never felt before.
From being included in soups to the timeless peanut butter and jelly sandwich, vegans absolutely love what this product has to offer, and it may be why it’s so popular in Eastern Asian cuisine, where veganism is fairly common.
Bottom line
Not all diets are intended for weight loss, and some may even be struggling to put on some weight.
This is particularly true for vegans, who naturally have a much lower protein and fat intake than the average meat-eater.
By including some of these products in your diet and combining them with regular exercise, you can create mass, tone your body and make sure that you’re gaining weight at a healthy pace.