Gain weight as a vegan
Content:
- How to gain weight healthy with vegan diet.
- Can you gain weight on a vegan diet?
- Why can it be difficult to gain weight on vegan foods?
- You can gain weight as a vegan with the help of these foods
- Gain weight vegan and build muscles - the best vegan protein sources
- Healthy vegan weight gain in everyday life
- Conclusion: With these tips you can gain weight as a vegan
How to succeed in gaining weight healthily with a vegan diet
Plant-based foods usually have significantly fewer calories than animal products. Therefore, switching to a vegan diet can help some people lose weight. However, few people can imagine that even people who are underweight can gain weight with a switch to a vegan diet. Thereby it is not so difficult to gain weight as a vegan. If one integrates the correct food into the food plan and creates a combination from plentifully protein, coal hydrates and healthy fats, the weight increase represents also for Veganer no more problem.
How you cansuccessfully gain weight as a vegan and with the help of which foods gaining weight with a vegan diet becomes child's play, we have summarized in this guide.
Can you gain weight on a vegan diet?
Depending on which foods you eat, you can also successfully gain weight with a vegan diet. Particularly suitable for vegan weight gain are foods with a high calorie density, for example nuts, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats or even plant-based carbohydrates.
If you want to gain weight as a vegan and achieve a little more weight on the scale, you should pay attention to a few things. Even if plant foods usually contain fewer calories than animal products such as meat or fish, you can achieve your goal in the long term through a calorie surplus and effectively gain weight with a vegan diet. A calorie surplus is always when your calorie intake is higher than your calorie consumption. Only then you increase your weight and enable muscle building in the long term.
Why can it be difficult to gain weight with vegan foods?
Plant-based foods tend to have a lower calorie density than animal products. Many vegans are also nutritionally and health conscious and avoid foods that are high in sugar, for example - making gaining weight as a vegan all the more difficult.
For many, the switch from an animal-based to a vegan diet can be accompanied by possible weight loss. The reason for this is the composition of some vegan foods, which are often much healthier, higher in fiber and lower in calories.
With the help of these foods you can gain weight as a vegan
Even though plant-based foods are often lower in calories than animal-based foods, gaining weight as a vegan is definitely possible. You should pay attention to a particularly balanced diet that provides you with sufficient vitamins, fiber and nutrients. If you want to gain weightasa vegan with plant-based foods , you should integrate the following foods into your diet:
Long-chain carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are not only considered the most important source of energy and keep us full for a long time, they also help us gain weight. Due to their high energy and calorie density, they supply our bodies with important nutrients and at the same time increase our daily calorie intake. However, to gain weight effectively, a calorie surplus ismandatory. You can achieve this by eating more carbohydrates and thus increasing your calorie intake. With the following plant carbohydrates you can increase your daily calorie intake and gainweight vegan at the same time :
- Rice
- Oatmeal
- Whole grain, wheat, rye and oat products
- Corn
- Millet
- Couscous
- Potatoes
- Legumes
- Pseudocereals
- Vegetables
While the above carbohydrates are good for gaining weight, you should rather avoid foods such as sweets, ice cream, soft drinks or cakes in large quantities. Although these foods contain plenty of carbohydrates - but in pure sugar form and therefore short-chain. While eating these foods continuously will have a positive effect on weight gain, it will also have negative effects on your health and body in the long run. Be sure to consume sweets and desserts in moderation, preferring to achieve your daily calorie surplus through legumes, whole grains or vegetables.
Protein
To gain weight effectively as a vegan, you should eat meals with plenty of protein. While protein in animal foods is often found in eggs, meat or fish, you cangain weightasa vegan with the following plant foods :
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Soy products
- Lentils
- Amaranth
- Edamame
- Beans
- Kidney beans
- Quinoa
Thanks to the many vegan and protein-rich foods, you can prepare a variety of dishes that are not only delicious, but also contribute to vegan weight gain. If these foods don't appeal to you, however, you can also turn to vegan protein powder, for example, to meet your protein needs.
Healthy fats
No matter whether you eat vegan or not - healthy fats belong to a nutrient-rich and balanced diet. Unsaturated fatty acids in particular have a positive effect on your body and support your fat metabolism as well as your cardiovascular system. If you want to gain weight vegan, these foods can help you:
- Nuts and nut puree
- Seeds and kernels
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Avocados
As a topping, a small snack in between meals, or for sautéing - healthy fats can be easily incorporated into your diet plan. Due to their high fat content, nuts in particular should be incorporated into your diet on a daily basis to help with long-term vegan weight gain.
High calorie fruit
Fruits and vegetables are not only rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals, they can also effectively help usgain weight . The fructose contained in fruit provides our bodies with plenty of calories and can therefore promote weight gain. If you want to gainweight as a vegan , you can eat the following fruits :
- Bananas
- Nectarines
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Dried fruit
Fruit juices or smoothies
But it's not just rice, fruit or protein that can lead to weight gain - vegan shakes are alsogreat for gaining weight. Since smoothies turn larger amounts of fructose- and carbohydrate-rich fruits into easily consumable and natural drinks, you can consume a lot of calories and trick your feeling of fullness a bit. In particular, smoothies with bananas, oatmeal or dates are great and will help you gain weight vegan. In addition, you can add nuts, nut puree, protein powder or avocados to your smoothies and expand the calorie density a bit.
In addition to smoothies, you can also incorporate fruit juices into your diet to help with vegan weight gain. Fruit juices are basically high in fructose, a simple sugar that is quickly absorbed and stored by your body.
If you find it difficult to consume enough calories, feel free to add smoothies and fruit juices to your diet plan - however, you should continue to maintain a balanced diet and get themajority of your nutrition from solid foods .
Gain weight and build muscle vegan - the best vegan protein sources
Especially athletes who eat a vegan diet ask themselves the question: gain weight vegan and build muscles - is that even possible? The answer is quite clear: Yes, even with a vegan diet you can gain weight and at the same time promoteyour muscle building . Because taking in enough protein through a vegan diet is easier than you think. The right combination of carbohydrates and protein plays an important role here. While complex carbohydrates provide you with long-lasting energy and at the same time ensure a constant blood sugar level, proteins contribute to the maintenance of normal bones and muscle mass. To effectively build muscle and gain weight, you should also focus on weight training rather than cardio. While you burn calories during endurance sports like jogging or cycling, you can build muscle mass and strengthen your body during extensive strength training.
If you don't consume enough protein, vegan protein powder shakes for gaining weight can be useful to meet your daily protein needs. For the production of vegan protein powders, only plant-based ingredients such as soy, rice or peas are used.
Our new ESN Vegan Designer Protein is not only vegan and free of animal products, but also supports you in building muscle with a vegan diet. Whether pure as a shake or in yogurt - with our ESN Vegan Designer Protein you can gain weight as a vegan and build muscle at the same time.
Healthy vegan gain weight in everyday life
If you want to gain weight as a vegan, not only the calorie density and combination of different foods plays an important role, but also at what time of day you eat your food . For example, to boost vegan weight gain a little, it can make sense to eat high-calorie meals in the evening instead of at lunchtime. This is because when we eat affects whether energy is consumed or stored. Since the metabolism is not designed for energy consumption at night and stores the food accordingly in the fatty tissue, weight gain can occur.[¹]
Conclusion: With these tips you can gain weight as a vegan
Would you like to gain weight with a vegan diet, it's no problem at all. Even though plant foods usually have a much lower calorie density than animal products, vegan weight gain is possible for people who are underweight due to plenty of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. But not only diet, strength training can also increase weight in the long term while building muscle.
Vegan protein powder can also be supportive in weight gain. Whether it's to meet your protein needs or to build muscle, protein shakes can help you reach your goals.
More articles on the topic of vegan nutrition
Sources:
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25439026/
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