• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hashi Mashi

Fitness Tips for Your Mind and Body

  • Body Transformation
    • Change Your Body: the Ultimate Guide
    • How deadlifts change your body
    • Getting Fit at 50 before and after photos
    • Swimming body transformation
    • 12-week body transformation plan
    • How rowing changes your body
    • Running body transformation
    • Rock climbing body transformation
    • How cycling changes your body
    • Assault bike body transformation
    • Skinny fat to muscular
    • CrossFit Body Transformation
    • How kickboxing changes your body
    • Types of Workouts for Body Transformation
  • Diet
    • How to lose 20 pounds in 3 months
    • Deadlift calories burned
    • Lifting weights to lose belly fat
    • Clean Eating for Beginners
    • Benefits of losing 20 pounds
    • How to lose 75lbs in 6 months
    • The Obesity Code summary
    • Deadlift for fat loss
  • Exercises
    • Deadlifts
      • Deadlift muscles worked
      • Benefits of deadlifts
      • How to deadlift
      • Deadlift accessory lifts
      • Deadlift alternative for bad back
    • Squats
      • Squat muscles worked
      • Benefits of squats
      • How to squat
      • Squat accessory lifts
      • Squats for body transformation
    • Bench Press
      • Bench Press Benefits
      • Improve Your Bench
      • Incline vs Flat Bench Press
      • Floor Press VS Bench Press
    • Power Cleans
      • Power Cleans Muscles Worked
      • Power Clean VS Deadlift
      • Power Clean VS Squat Clean
    • Overhead Presses
      • Overhead Press Muscles Worked
      • Overhead Press Accessory Exercises
    • Chin-Ups / Pull-Ups
      • Neutral grip pull-ups muscles worked
      • Pull Ups benefits, muscles worked
      • Chin Up Muscles Worked
      • Chin-Ups vs Pull-Ups
    • Push-ups
      • 100 pushups a day
      • Pushup muscles worked
      • Benefits of pushups
      • Exercises to Improve Pushups
  • Workouts
    • 3×5 workout program
    • Army prt exercises
    • Strength Training for Men Over 50
    • Bodybuilding over 50 workout routine + PDF
    • Weight lifting for weight loss
    • Minimalist training
    • Powerbuilding program + PDF
    • Strength Training for Women Over 50
    • Beginner deadlift workout routine
    • Deadlift Program
    • Beginner squat workout routine
    • 5/3/1 for Beginners
  • Equipment
    • Weightlifting
      • Olympic Barbells
      • Elbow Sleeves
      • Knee Sleeves
      • Weightlifting Shoes
      • Weightlifting Belts
      • Gifts for Weightlifters
      • Bumper Plates
      • Dumbbells
      • Weight Benches
      • Cable Machines
    • Deadlift Equipment
      • Best shoes for squats & deadlifts
      • Deadlift shin guards
      • Deadlift bars
      • DIY deadlift platform
      • Best lifting straps
      • Deadlift socks
    • Calisthenics
      • Calisthenic Equipment
      • Weighted Vests
      • Resistance Bands
      • Power Towers
    • Supplements
      • Best Protein Powders
      • Supplements for Men Over 50
      • Multivitamins for Men Over 50
      • Best Budget Probiotics
    • Cardio
      • Best Air Bikes
      • Rowing Machines Under 500
      • Walking Shoes for Men
      • Compact Treadmills
      • Treadmills for a Heavy Person
      • Recumbent Bikes
      • Budget Ellipticals
Home » Vegan Bodybuilders Prove the Power of a Plant-Based Diet

Vegan Bodybuilders Prove the Power of a Plant-Based Diet

Updated March 1, 2022 by Rich

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Vegan Bodybuilding for Body Transformation

Vegan bodybuilders – does that sound like a contradiction to you?

Can you build muscle even if you do not eat animal protein?

And what if you have no interest in bodybuilding, but only want to change your physique from obese to fit, will vegetables help or will you starve to death on plant-based foods?

After many decades of seemingly endless obesity, while I was staring at a blueberry muffin I craved at midnight one fateful evening in 2012, I finally thought of an idea that led me to transform my body from obese to fit in only 6 months.

However, whenever I spoke with people about a real food plant-based diet, meaning vegetables, as the key to body transformation, to say that there was a lot of derision is an understatement.

But more evidence keeps unfolding that shows the benefits of real food plant based nutrition, not only to lose weight but even to gain muscle, a lot of it.

It is interesting to note now how many vegan bodybuilders are actually using a plant-based diet to fuel their muscle growth, such as:

Nimai Delgado IFBB Pro Bodybuilder

Nimai is the first vegan male professional bodybuilder to compete in the IFBB, the prestigious International Federation of Bodybuilding.

He is also a famous Instagram star and has appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness, the first vegan ever to do so.

You might wonder how is it possible that Delgado grew up in America without ever having a piece of meat?

The answer is that Nimai grew up on a Hare Krishna farm in South Mississipi.

His parents from Argentina had converted from Catholicism to Hinduism and raised him as a life long vegetarian.

Nimai Delgado has a fascinating and inspiring story of the benefits of a healthy vegan lifestyle that he reveals in this Google talk:

“How Eating Plants Changed My Life – How It Could Change Yours” | Talks at Google

Powerlifter, Strongman, and Vegan Bodybuilder Patrik Baboumian

Patrik Baboumian is a powerlifter, strongman competitor and bodybuilder.

He is also known as ‘Germany’s Strongest Man’ after winning the German Strongman Nationals in 2011.

Baboumian became a vegetarian in 2005 and went vegan in 2011.

He did not get weaker.

Instead, he beat his own record in 2015 with a yoke walk carrying 1,230 pounds.

As a vegan powerlifter, Patrik achieved the following personal records:

  • Squat: 820 lbs (370 kg)
  • Bench Press: 474 lbs (215 kg)
  • Deadlift: 790 lbs (360 kg)

555 kg (1223.57 lbs) 2013 World Record Yoke Walk by Vegan Strongman Patrik Baboumian

There are other examples of vegan bodybuilders reported in this Daily Mail article:

Vegan bodybuilders reveal how they got ripped by eating just vegetables ¹

By Naomi Greenaway

While most body-builders fill their diets with meat and eggs, a new wave of muscle men and women are challenging the meat-eater stereotype by turning to plant-powered diets.

The new tribe of body-builders, who abstain from meat and swear by the power of a vegan diet, are gaining popularity on social media and taking the bodybuilding and fitness world by storm.

Strongman Dr. Amen Ra Eats One Vegan Meal A Day

Can Vegans Be Bodybuilders?

One man flying the flag for body-building is 25-year-old Max Seabrook.

This fitness fanatic says going vegan was the ‘best decision of my life’.

Veggie-powered 25-year-old Max Seabrook is from Kent, England, and describes turning vegan as the ‘best decision’ of his life

vegan bodybuilder meal plan
Max Seabrook – Image Credit: PlantBuilt.com

What Do Vegan Bodybuilders Eat?

In Germany, heavily tattooed Arvid Beck, 33, from Düsseldorf, says he packs his diet with legumes, grains, and oatmeal to help maintain a buff physique.

Talking of his vegan fitness lifestyle he says: ‘My body is fuelled by plants and compassion.’

Pure vegan Arvid Beck, 33, from Düsseldorf, Germany has achieved his sculpted frame with a protein-packed diet of legumes, grains, and oatmeal
How do Vegan Bodybuilders Get Enough Protein
Vegan bodybuilders get enough protein – Arvid Beck Image Credit: Daily Mail

Arvid Beck’s Vegan Bodybuilding Meal Plan

This is an example of what fat burning and muscle building vegans eat:

Breakfast:

  • Oatmeal,
  • wheat germ,
  • bananas and
  • blueberries or cherries

Lunch:

  • A combination of grains,
  • legumes and
  • vegetables,
  • rice with lentils, curry, and cauliflower

Dinner:

  • Similar to lunch, or
  • a huge salad with a variety of legumes

Vegan Bodybuilder Barny du Plessis

Last year, Mr. Universe was won by Norwich-based Barny du Plessis, who says ditching meat from his diet has helped give him more energy and improved his recovery times after exercise.

He is an excellent example of gaining muscle without eating meat.

Following a vegan bodybuilder’s plant-based diet, Barny has seen his body gain even more body weight, spurring him on to continue competing.

Also, the drastic diet change and his bodybuilding success inspired him to open a stall dedicated to vegan produce in his hometown of Norwich.

Barny du Plessis follows a vegan bodybuilders diet and still competes

training and diet for vegan bodybuilders takes the bodybuilding world by storm

Image Credit – MailOnline

Although not exclusively for vegans, The Naturally Fit Games, a sporting event held in Austin, Texas, has seen a rising number of plant-powered body-builders and athletes competing.

Erin Fergus, 31, from Greenville, in South Carolina, is one such body-builder, who last year won first place in the novice heavyweight bodybuilding category at the competition.

She saw her new diet pay off when she won a novice heavyweight body-building competition.

‘I wanted to prove that a body can be powered by and built on nothing but cruelty-free, plant-based foods,’ she explains.

The Story of 78-year-old Jim Morris Vegan Bodybuilder

Protein for Vegan Bodybuilders

Despite the common wisdom that meat equals muscle mass, nutritionist Michelle Storfer explains that a plant-powered diet can be equally efficient.

‘There’s certainly no need to eat meat to build muscle!’ she explains.

‘An athletic career can be fuelled through intelligent nutrition on a plant-based diet lifestyle.’

‘There is a collective fear among the Western world, that if we’re not eating animal products, then we won’t get enough protein but quite the opposite can be true.

But Michelle suggests that in order to sustain a competitive bodybuilding career, there would need to be much more careful consideration and planning to be taken into account to meet one’s needs through ‘plant-based protein’ alone.

‘Through a well-balanced diet based on whole-foods, with the optional inclusion of a vegan protein supplement bodybuilders can consume more than sufficient protein to build muscle.’

For Erin, that diet includes a mixture of almond milk, rice cakes, and lots of berries.

‘I love protein “ice-cream”,’ she says, ‘It’s a simple blend of protein powder, almond milk, and any berries or nut butter of choice.

‘Another weird concoction that I love is two rice cakes crumbled into my protein shake left to soak overnight.

It tastes like the bottom of an ice-cream cone when it gets soggy from the ice cream.

‘I also love my oatmeal mixed with protein powder and topped with berries for breakfast.’

Protein for Vegan Bodybuilders

Image Credit – The Daily Mail

Dani & Giacomo

Body beauties couple Dani Taylor, 29, and Giacomo Marchese, 34, swear by their plant-powered way of life and run an all-vegan online shop

Bodybuilders and partners in business and love, Dani Taylor, 29, and Giacomo Marchese, 34, also swear by their plant-powered way of life and have launched Veganproteins.com, an online all-vegan supplement shop.

‘Our goals change quite a bit throughout the year whether it is the off-season or we are preparing for a competition’ explains Dani.

‘But by having a flexible approach to nutrition we are able to enjoy foods we love and still have social lives, while still reaching our goals.’

Body beauties: Couple Dani Taylor, 29, and Giacomo Marchese, 34, swear by their plant-powered way of life and run an all-vegan online shop

Image Credit: Graphicole, Cole Harper

The couple has also founded PlantBuilt, an online movement of vegan athletes, with 65,000 Instagram followers.

They say their romance has spurred them on when it comes to diet, fitness, and establishing their business.

‘When you find someone who feels passionately about the same things, you become a team that can make big changes together.

We follow a flexible dieting approach.

‘Our nutritional goals change quite a bit throughout the year, but by using this approach, we are able to enjoy foods we love and still have social lives, while still reaching our goals.’

Apart from supplements, the pair pack their diet with plant foods such as:

  • oatmeal,
  • potatoes,
  • broccoli,
  • tofu,
  • hemp seeds,
  • green beans,
  • peanut butter,
  • extra firm tofu,
  • black bean pasta,
  • and berries

Plant-Based Diet What I Eat in a Day

Vegan Bodybuilders – Final Thoughts

There is magnificent power in plant foods.

It is time that you discover it for yourself.

Real food aka a plant-based diet can catapult you to the IFBB, powerlifting, or great feats of strength.

Animal foods are not a requirement to sculpt your best physique ever.

And if all you want to do is to lose weight, plant-based nutrition has you covered there too.

No matter what, do what your mother and grandma told you – eat your vegetables!

What’s Next

Whether you are a vegan or not, check out some of the best strength training routines:

  • 3×5 Workout Plan: The Only Strength Training Program You Will Ever Need
  • Phraks Greyskull LP Variant vs. Starting Strength vs. GSLP
  • 12 Week Deadlift Program for Beginners in Fitness or Powerlifting

If you need to lose weight first, use this free guide to lose 20 pounds in 3 months.

And last but not least, learn about the power of real food, which includes vegetables of course!

  • Just Eat Real Food; The Secret Sauce for Weight Loss
  • Ultra-Processed Food Horror Show
  • How to Cook Asparagus on the Stove Nepali Style
  • Just Eat Real Food Daily; The Secret to Change Your Body Fast
  • 15 Spectacular Broccoli Benefits You Need to Know
  • Nepali Mustard Greens Recipe You Need to Lean Out; Quick and Easy

Related Posts:

  • Keto vs Paleo Diet: What’s the Difference and Which is Better?
  • 37 Remarkable Benefits of Deadlifts to Unleash Your Fitness Fast
  • 20 Greatest Benefits of Squats; The King of Free Weight Strength Training
  • The Powerful Benefits of Push-Ups to Change your Body from Fat to Fit
  • Hashi Mashi Diet + Training; Tips for Your Mind and Body
  • Eat Real Food and Conquer Your Own Mount Kilimanjaro
  • 21 Ways How to Stop Binge Eating and Get Your Life Back
  • The Best Men’s Fitness Over 50 Tips That Will Change Your Life
  • Action Speaks Louder than Words; Leviathan Fishing Documentary
  • Albert Einstein’s Definition of Insanity Changes Everything
  • This Obese Man Ditched These 3 Common Habits and Lost 75 Pounds in 6 Months

Footnotes:

¹ The Rise of Plant-Powered Bodybuilders – The Daily Mail

0 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Body Transformation

About The Author

Rich Hashimashi AuthorRich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer), Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and the author of Crossing the Bridge From Depression to Life. At the age of 55, he lost 75 pounds in 6 months, and discovered if you transform your body, you can change your life. You can read about his story here and send Rich a message here.

Get Your FREE Body Transformation Guide

Primary Sidebar

Body Transformation Guides

  • Body Transformation: Ultimate Guide | The Fit Apprentice®
  • Strength Training for Men Over 50 + Full-Body Workout
  • The Minimalist Training Home Workout Guide for Strength & Fitness
  • 8 Week Bodybuilding Over 50 Workout Routine + Free PDF
  • 12-Week Body Transformation Workout Plan at Home

Recent Posts

  • How to Warm up for a Workout at Home – The Best Way
  • Most Common Workout Injuries and How to Avoid Them
  • 11 Sensational Ways How Kettlebell Training Changes Your Body
  • Best Calisthenic Leg Workout for Beginners at Home
  • Are Six Pack Abs Truly the Holy Grail of Fitness?

One Rep Max Calculator – Fit Apprentice

Enter weight or reps

1 Rep Max:
Show / Hide Intensity Table
% of 1RM Weight Reps

Deadlifts for Beginners

  • How to Deadlift for Beginners – A Step by Step Guide
  • 37 Remarkable Benefits of Deadlifts to Unleash Your Fitness
  • 12 Week Deadlift Program for Beginners in Fitness or Powerlifting

Footer

Change Your Body

Recent Posts

  • How to Warm up for a Workout at Home – The Best Way
  • Most Common Workout Injuries and How to Avoid Them
  • 11 Sensational Ways How Kettlebell Training Changes Your Body
  • Best Calisthenic Leg Workout for Beginners at Home
  • Are Six Pack Abs Truly the Holy Grail of Fitness?
  • Squat Clean vs Power Clean: Benefits + Differences
  • How to Do Supersets to Save Time and Burn More Fat
  • The 20 Pull-Up 50 Push-Up Program – How to Train
  • How to Build an Unstoppable Workout Habit That Gets Results
  • These 10 Benefits of Sleep Transform Your Health and Fitness

Change Your Life

Change Your Life

  • Bench Press
  • Body Transformation
  • Deadlifts
  • Motivation
  • NASM Certification
  • Pushups
  • Squats
  • Weight Loss

Follow Hashi Mashi

Pinterest

The Fit Apprentice® is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Never Give Up

Remember when you were
in shape back in the day?

Do you think that transforming your
physique is a pipe dream?

You are in the right place if you want
to learn how to get fit, change your
body, and change your life.

But do not know where to start.

Here is how...
Start Here
  • About
  • Privacy policy
  • Affiliate link disclosure
  • Terms of use
  • Contact

The Fit Apprentice® Fitness Blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, treatment or diagnosis.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.



Copyright © 2012–2023 The Fit Apprentice® powered by HashiMashi.com - Hosted on BigScoots
DMCA.com Protection Status