Cómo desarrollar músculo con una dieta vegana

Tres reglas para desarrollar músculo

Rachel Ball, registered British Dietetic Association (BDA) freelance dietitian, explains that the most important factor when trying to build muscle is progressive overload during your workouts.

"Each session, try for a heavier weight, more repetitions or better form," she says.

To support this progression in your workouts you need a diet that is high in protein and also rich in a range of nutrients and other food groups that can support strength training.

Una dieta vegana para desarrollar músculo

Mientras veganismo has its own dietary challenges for strength training, vegan muscle building is possible. Research shows that both strategic food management and food supplementation are effective in supporting athletes and others who engage in intense strength training and have a vegan diet.¹

Reema Pillai, dietitian at Dietitian Fit & Co, says: "For someone who follows a vegan diet, it can take careful planning to ensure your diet contains the required intake of protein, calories, and nutrients to optimise health and muscle growth. Eating well, combined with regular muscle-strengthening exercise, will help to build muscle over time."

Fuentes de proteína veganas

Es un error común pensar que solo los productos de origen animal pueden proporcionar la proteína necesaria para el aumento muscular. La proteína contiene aminoácidos esenciales que son necesarios para reparar e incrementar la masa muscular, un proceso llamado síntesis de proteínas musculares (MPS).

Patel advises that protein intake needs to be higher than average at around 1.6-2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to help maximise muscle growth.

"Concentrating on consuming a variety of high protein plant foods is important, as some plant proteins do not contain all the essential amino acids and are not as well absorbed as animal proteins," she says. "Plant-based proteins that contain all the essential amino acids are sometimes called 'complete proteins'.

"These include tofu, tempeh, seitan, edamame or soya beans, quinoa, and chia seeds. Other plant foods such as beans, legumes, and grains also contain protein, though they will need to be eaten as a part of a varied diet to obtain all the essential amino acids the body cannot produce itself."

El polvo de proteína vegana también puede ayudarte a alcanzar tus requerimientos de proteína. Si deseas maximizar el crecimiento muscular, podrías considerar los pros y contras de la suplementación de proteínas para apoyar tus logros veganos.

Fuentes veganas de carbohidratos

Carbohidratos are a primary source of energy in your diet.² They are partially converted to glycogen, a form of energy that's stored in your muscles. According to Ball, this makes carbs really important, providing essential fuel for your workouts.

Simple carbs are great before a workout because they're digested quickly which makes them a fast-working source of energy. Before a workout, Ball recommends choosing easily digested carbohydrates such as fruit, smoothies, or cereal bars.

"Anything too alto en fibra or fat before exercise might cause pain, poor performance, or diarrea," dice ella.

Experts also recommend consuming carbs straight after high-intensity exercise.³ This helps to replenish depleted glycogen stores needed for muscle repair and recovery. In addition, it helps prevent gluconeogenesis. This is the process by which the body turns to protein stores for energy that could otherwise be used in MPS to build muscle.

Not having enough carbs can also cause protein loss because carb restriction leads to an increase in the amount of nitrogen being excreted by the body. Nitrogen is a component of amino acids - the essential substances for MPS.

Fuentes veganas de grasa dietética

Grasas dietéticas son la otra fuente principal de energía de tu cuerpo. Las grasas tienen mala reputación cuando se trata de tu salud y composición corporal, pero consumir grasas insaturadas en lugar de saturadas no solo puede ayudar en la construcción de músculo vegano, sino que también puede facilitar la absorción de vitaminas.

Tanto las grasas monoinsaturadas como las poliinsaturadas, conocidas como las grasas 'buenas', ayudan al movimiento y crecimiento muscular. Aumentan los niveles de HDL, el 'bueno' colesterol, lo que a su vez puede llevar a una mayor producción de hormona de crecimiento y más aminoácidos para MPS.

Furthermore, while saturated fats may raise 'bad' cholesterol and increase your chance of heart issues such as heart disease, polyunsaturated fats are broken down into omega-3 fatty acids which can actually benefit heart health.

Buenas fuentes veganas de grasas insaturadas

• Seeds - for example, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and brazil nuts.

• Nuts - such as almonds, peanuts, and walnuts.

• Oil - including rape seed oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil.

• Aguacates.

Excedente de calorías

Ball also recommends making sure that you are eating sufficient calories. If you intend to build a lot of muscle then creating a calorie surplus - consuming more than you burn - provides your body with the extra energy it needs for strength training.⁴

This particular method of muscle building is commonly referred to as bulking. You should be careful that you only increase your calorie intake enough to build muscle but not unnecessary body fat - this can be a fine balance.

Experts recommend consuming 10-20% above your daily weight maintenance calorie needs for an average weight gain of 0.25-0.5% of your body weight per week.⁴ You can use a calculadora de calorías para estimar cuántas calorías necesitas cada día.

La construcción de músculo vegano puede requerir un poco más de planificación cuando se trata de aumentar masa, ya que los alimentos de origen vegetal suelen tener menos calorías que los de origen animal. Dicho esto, todavía hay varios alimentos veganos altos en calorías.

Otros suplementos dietéticos

Vegan diets are lacking in both creatine and carnosine which also aid muscle growth.¹ As a result, you might want to consider taking supplements to support your vegan gains.

La creatina se compone de aminoácidos y se utiliza para crear una molécula llamada adenosina trifosfato (ATP). Esta sustancia es la principal fuente de energía de tu cuerpo para las contracciones musculares. La creatina también te ayuda a desarrollar músculo de otras maneras.