You can make fun of me because I am not a body builder. I have not worked out in a gym in years. I don’t even read your mag, but someone sent me a link to your article on soy, since I am a vegetarian. Now, I figure that there is probably not a single guy that is trying to build muscle is a vegan, or even a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, but if there are, and if this letter gets printed, I would be interested to know how they live (and workout if they’re reading your mag) by cutting out meat, dairy, and soy from their diet. I would also be interested to know if you think that a guy could live on a diet like that. By the way, this all came about after reading your articles on Bad Protein - Issue 87, and The Evils of Soy, issue 143.
Kirk, I have been a vegan for several years and have not had any problems getting stronger and leaner. In addition, I have been consuming soy protein for sometime and have not experiences any of the alleged negatives. Yes, it definitely possible to get stronger and bigger on a vegan diet. Hell, I know some people who are raw foodist who are strong as hell. If you want to cut soy protein out, you can still consume rice protein and get a fair amount of protein from almonds, walnuts, pistachios, lentils etc.
i was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 2 years while working out. i began my vegetarianism by completely cutting out dairy, meat and eggs. i lost about 8 pounds of muscle in no time. so i started drinking MRPs again. about 3 a day. this got boring so i started eating a ton of cottage cheese and using MRPs. too much lactose in all that dairy product so i began eating egg whites again also. well, now i eat meat again because my body simply can’t handle getting all it’s protein from only eggs and dairy products. i’m a bloated wreck when i have to eat so much dairy. since i’ve brought back the variety of protein sources, my digestion and gastro-intestinal problems have gone away. all in all, i was able to regain the lost muscle and add some muscle while i was a vegetarian, but it would have never happened if i didn’t start eating egg & dairy products. so i think it’s possible to still build muscle without eating meat, but for me getting a variety of protein sources works best and makes me feel best.
Mike, thanks for the info. I figured it was possible, but I had never really heard of it. The fact that you use soy products to bulk up also is encouraging. (meaning if i consume soy only in meals, that I shouldn’t have to worry about the negative effects, if those are true.)
P.S. If other people still want to put posts here, the more info the better.