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Veganism has been good to me so far, however..

Posted , 4 users are following.

jessee1988
jessee1988

I've been vegan for about a full year and I've seen many benefits ranging from better mood and mental health to better digestion and less stomach pain. However, I have noticed a decrease in muscle mass and strength. I work out and do yoga, so I'm able to track my progress and I'm just not seeing enough in my strength and stamina.

My legs and biceps used to be bigger without much effort. So I figure that I should be seeing much progress now that I'm on a regular workout routine. Unfortunately, it seems like I'm running to remain in the same spot.  I confess that I regularly enjoy desert, but I do eat many vegetables, beans, nuts and fruits. 

On top of it all, my body seems to be storing more fat in the gut and pecs. This could be that I'm now nearing 30 and experiencing a loss in testosterone, or it could be something missing in my diet. Or it could even perhaps be the intermittent fasting that is causing it.  I just wanted to reach out and see what others think and if anyone has experienced similar issues with the vegan diet or intermittent fasting and what you did to fix it.

Thanks in advance.

cheesygrin

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • EileenH
    EileenH jessee1988

    Posted

    While you have been vegan have you been taking vit B supplements or eating marmite (yes, it is vegan)? A vegan diet is totally deficient in vit B12 - it is almost exclusively found in meat products and all vegans will become deficient if they don't supplement and so will about 2/3 of vegetarians.

  • Guest
    Guest jessee1988

    Posted

    Have you been tracking your macros? Do you know how many grams of protein you’re averaging on a daily basis? I highly recommend downloading cronometer and trying to work out an average for yourself. Otherwise, it could be an issue with amino acids. You could consider adding in a protein powder, I use Hemp and personally believe it to be the best plant-based option. It has a complete amino-acid profile too... so, that might be of help to you. But emphasis again on how beneficial cronometer is for tracking these things, it’ll help you get a look at what you may be lacking in... if it’s not your thing, you don’t have to use it forever. But give it a go for at least a couple weeks to get an average idea of how your diet looks nutritionally smile 
  • imdjay
    imdjay jessee1988

    Posted

    Despite some negative views on them, the simplest thing to try is adding a general multivitamin to your diet. could it do nothing? sure, but it could fill in any gaps  you might have in your diet.

    Interesting tidbit... my wife went veggie 2 years ago, but i did not. However, i just fell into the habit of only buying veggie for home foods, and eat meat whenever we eat out. Happens to work very naturally for my body, i don't feel anything missing. I also take vitamins.

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