Vegetarian on a Bulk, Views on My Diet?

Nutrition
1

Guys, I’m a vegetarian on a bulk. I’m a lacto vegeterian , so I can have dairy. But I can’t have meat, eggs, fish etc. I have bought myself a whey protein but I don’t think my mom will allow me another tub. I’m 16, and I weigh around 118 lbs. Here’s my diet plan without protein shakes (I’ll follow this in case I don’t have my protein shake)

PRE WORKOUT:- 2 bananas , 1 cup non fat milk

POST WORKOUT:- Protein sandwich (4 slices of bread, 200 grams of tofu, and some veggies), 1 cup nonfat milk (that’s also my breakfast as I workout in the morning.)

LUNCH:- 2 whole wheat breads with peanut butter, rice, and 100-200 grams red beans or any other bean or lentils

EVENING SNACK:- 50 grams of cottage cheese, 1 cup full fat milk, 50 grams of peanuts.

DINNER:- 50 grams of cottage cheese, mixed nuts, yogurt, and handful of peanuts (30 grams approx.)
BEFORE BED:- 1 cup full fat milk.

MACRO NUTRIENT BREAKDOWN
Calories:- 2440
Protein:- 135 grams
Carbohydrates:- 310 grams
Fats:- 101 grams
Fiber:- 37 grams
Also if you’re wondering why I’m a lacto vegetarian, that’s because of religious purposes.

Also, my complete protein is coming from milk, cheese and tofu only. Which is about 50 percent.
Rest is being derived from peanuts, beans, lentils, breads, etc. Is this ideal? I’ve added rice, and breads to make peanuts and beans a complete protein. I don’t know if I’ll build muscle with this diet or not. For now, I have lean source of protein, my protein shake, but what if I don’t get another tub? This is what I’m thinking of eating. Also, stuff like spirulina is exepnsive so please don’t recommend it. I dont want to have mock meat either. Anything else, is fine so please tell if you have some suggestions too. Thanks!

Advice on Lacto-Vegetarian Post-Workout Nutrition?
Doubts regarding macros...bodyfat percentage normal but underweight.HELP!
Pre-Workout Advice Needed
2

Given your weight, if you do hit those macros and calories you should be bulking up just fine.

Getting 50% of your protein from non ‘complete’ sources isn’t ideal, but its better than not.

Keeping whey protein in your diet will go a long way, if you can.

3

But am I not completing the amino acid profile by eating breads with peanut butter, rice with beans and deriving amino acids from complete sources as well? Like, wouldn’t I be eventually getting every essential amino acid in a good quantity? If no, just tell me. Also, is it impossible for me to build muscle if I don’t buy another tub of whey and follow this diet? Like, will I see shitty or no results?

4

Just because at some point in the day you eat something with some Leucine in it, doesn’t mean you are getting an optimal amino acid profile.

That said, if you focus on getting in a lot of protein, and it looks like you’ll be getting a fair amount, you will probably be fine.

Whey protein will help, because it has a very anabolic amino acid profile. However you definitely dont NEED it for results. If you train hard and clever, you will still see good results if you cant get hold of any more. But its definitely worth trying to keep in your diet, especially as a vegetarian.

5

The problem is my mom thinks whey protein is something we can’t take our lifetime…im tired of explaining her that it’s just protein and not something else. The other issue is, tubs are really expensive…so I may not be able to buy one through my allowance. They’re expensive everywhere but in the US. So I feel this diet is the only option. Also, you can modify stuff in it if you want to if this doesn’t sound optimum.

6

As whey-free lacto vegetarian diets go I think you’ve done a good job, and you will certainly be able to see progress if you can stick to it and train hard. It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong with the diet, its that your particular restrictions are going to make things more difficult for you, so you will probably have to be more focused on nutrition than most to get the results you want.

I’m not here to say what you / your mum should shouln’t believe. Whey will make things easier for you, but you can make progress without it, anything else is between you and your mum.

Sorry I couldn’t help more.

7

If my mom won’t allow me to go to the supplement store, I’ll go to the grocery store. Oh and out of the 135 grams, 85 grams of protein is coming from peanuts, which might get complete by eating wheat, beans, which will become a complete protein as I’m consuming rice and since I’m also consuming comeplete protein, all essential amino acids should get supplied to my body…

9

So, I’m a lacto-vegeterian, that is, I can consume plant protein and only dairy when it comes to animal protein, no meat, fish or eggs. For the time being, I’m having a scoop of whey with 2 bananas post workout, but I don’t think my parents will allow me another tub of whey protein. In that case, what should I have post workout. Some food options I feel are appropriate are:-
Nonfat milk, 500 ml - 16 grams of protein OR

200 grams of tofu with white bread:-22 grams of protein, but tofu is 4 percent fat as well, so I’ll he taking 8 grams of fat too. Is that fine? OR

Soya chunks :- 50 grams, 25 grams of protein
Can’t have fancy stuff like spirullina tablets as they aren’t easily available. Please suggest me some options as well, or give your opinions on these options and tell me which is appropriate. Thanks

10

8g of fat is fine. You already have a lot of limitations on your diet, so don’t put any more limitations out of fear of “omg it has 8g of fat or 22g carbs!”

Yogurt is major key too. Better if you have access to icelandic or greek yogurt, but plain yogurt will do. You just have to eat more of it. I also add nuts to my yogurt for texture and also for added macros.

11

Alright! I need to stop over thinking about the science and shit. Thanks.

12

That fact that you got there by yourself is hopeful.

Just eat tons within what food you can. Yoghurt is amazing if your protein sources are limited. Try labneh, skyr and quark too. Don’t be scared of fat at your age. You need fats to keep your hormones where they need to be.

1 Like
13

So guys my bodyfat percentage is ideal but I’m underweight. It’s obvious that if I bulk the traditional way i.e. by a high carb, high protein, moderate fat diet it might increase. It’s 15 percent at the moment and I’m worried that if I bulk the traditional way, I might turn my weight ideal but my bodyfat percentage high. So should I in this situation be in a caloric surplus primarily thought fats? Or should I continue with my normal diet?
I usually consume:- 130 grams of protein, out of which 80 percent is complete, 300 grams of carbs and 60-65 and sometimes 70 grams of fat.
My stats are:-
Weight:-116 lbs
Height:-5’7
Bf:-15 percent.

14

Normally I take half a scoop of whey pre workout, but today for some reason I couldnt. So I instead drank a glass of skimmed milk and 2 bananas. So is milk a good pre workout ? And should I prefer fat free skimmed milk pre workout or whole milk? And what should be the gap between pre workout and workout if I’m taking milk? Thanks.

15

Don’t worry about gaining fat while bulking. That’s what bulking is about. You can always adjust your goals and get lean. To give you perspective, I’m 5’8, 190 and I still feel skinny.

I personally wouldn’t recommend milk pre workout. There was an article here somewhere where they talk about milk spiking up your blood sugar too much if taken pre-workout. I’d recommend bananas, peanut butter, and bread. Bagels if you got access to it.

Don’t be afraid to eat traditional food. I’m assuming you’re from South Asia, and desi food cooked by my parents has always helped me. In fact, my body composition improved greatly after I moved my parents in with me (I’m 31 and they’re elderly now, but used to run a restaurant).