A common rule of thumb for protein intake among weightlifters is one gram per pound of body weight. And, it turns out, research supports this figure. If you’re engaging in particularly strenuous workouts you may need a bit more. For women a good range to focus on is 1 to 1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. For men, 1 to 1.5 is optimal.

Using that math, a 140 lb. women that’s looking to build muscle mass and lose weight would need to eat about 140 to 168 grams of protein per day depending on the length and severity of her workout. A 200 lb. man should eat somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 to 300 grams per day.

So how would a person who doesn’t allow the taint of meat to cross their lips achieve these intake levels? It’s all about diet modification.

Restrict Your Vegetable Intake

Vegetables are bulky, fibrous foods, particularly when consumed raw, and they’re short on calories, compared to other types of food. It’s very easy to fill up on veggies, but if you do that you’ll find it difficult to eat enough calories to run a surplus each day, which is necessary to give your body the raw materials it needs to build muscle. Plus fitting the requisite amount of protein into your stomach each day will be challenging. So scale your vegetable intake back. Eat two, maybe three servings a day and switch the rest of your food intake to calorie dense foods like legumes, nuts and whole grains.

Find New, Plant-Based Sources of Protein

Vegetarians and vegans are generally already familiar with non-meat protein sources they can eat to get the protein they need. In order to step up your protein intake research novel sources you don’t currently consume. Greek yogurt, beans, lentils, cottage cheese, tofu, quinoa, spirulina, nuts, seeds, and oatmeal are all great sources of protein (obviously vegans won’t have the included dairy options or eggs available to them). Add any and all of these into rotation. Try and mix it up day to day. You don’t want to eat the same things constantly or you’ll burn out on your diet. In order to build muscle on a vegetarian diet you need to be consistent.

Also, drink plenty of protein shakes. Plant-based protein powders are available online and at any sports nutrition store. Add two scoops of the powder to a cup of unsweetened soy or almond milk. Add in ice, a couple handfuls of your favorite fruits or vegetables and then blend it all together. Protein shakes are a quick, nutritious and easy way to add quality protein into your diet.

Vegetarians of the World, Get Shredded!

You don’t need to sacrifice your ethics in order to get jacked and the stereotype of the spindly vegan too weak to lift a head of broccoli simply isn’t true. The sorts of food you eat don’t matter if you’re getting enough calories, eating the right amount of protein from whatever sources you choose, and hitting the gym frequently.

If you still need convincing that vegetarians can bulk up, consider the jolly green giant. He’s super buff and he IS a vegetable!

Photo by Miguel Maldonado on Unsplash