Many athletes compete on a high level without consuming animal products; nevertheless, although a vegan weight loss plan could also be appropriate in any respect stages of life, there are particular aspects to take into accounts when establishing a balanced plant-based weight loss plan for athletes, especially in bodybuilding, where muscle growth is emphasized, while aesthetics are judged.

Study: Going Vegan for the Gain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegan Diets in Bodybuilders during Different Preparation Phases. Image Credit: ME Image / Shutterstock

Plant-based diets may end up in reduced appetite and early satiation since they’ve low-calorie density and high amounts of fiber. This might be useful when attempting to drop pounds but might be a problem when the management of an athlete’s energy balance is required. Vegan athletes should look out for the standard and quantity of ingested proteins since plant-based proteins can often be incomplete as a consequence of fewer essential amino acids (EAAs) than animal proteins. Nevertheless, combining different plant protein sources may also help improve the general quality of protein meals. Furthermore, plant-based proteins may need lower digestibility as in comparison with animal proteins as a consequence of the presence of anti-nutritional aspects that limit the absorption of nutrients. Easy domestic preparation methods corresponding to soaking, fermentation, germination, and cooking may also help to cut back the anti-nutritional aspects and improve protein bioavailability.

An adequately designed vegan weight loss plan can meet the protein requirements of an athlete through only whole foods but may not be suitable to maximise muscle growth. Judgment of athletes takes place based on their muscular proportions, muscle size, and conditioning in competitive bodybuilding. Athletes undergo extensive resistance training and dietary manipulations to cut back fat mass and increase muscle mass. The dietary strategies vary as per their competitive cycle phase, which comprises the muscle-gaining phase or “bulking” and contest preparation phase or “cutting.” Bulking phase involves a rise in muscle mass without a rise in body fat with a protein requirement of 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg of body mass. The cutting phase involves a discount of body fat and maintenance of muscle mass that’s gained throughout the bulking phase. Moreover, during this phase, most bodybuilders follow a high protein calorie-restricted weight loss plan, isometric “posing practice,” and aerobic exercise together with resistance training.

Traditional bodybuilding diets include a big amount of animal-source food in addition to high-quality protein supplements corresponding to whey protein powder to succeed in high protein targets. Whey proteins are known to be high-quality proteins as a consequence of their high quantity of essential amino acids and digestibility. This might be difficult for bodybuilders following a vegan weight loss plan since vegans avoid common sources of proteins corresponding to dairy products and meat. Foods wealthy in plant-based proteins and vegan protein powders might be useful since they will provide concentrated sources of protein during workouts in addition to throughout the day. Recent research reports vegan protein powders to be efficient in improving muscle hypertrophy post-resistance exercise in addition to improving exercise performance and indices of body composition. Nevertheless, most research on vegan diets in athletes is restricted to endurance sports.

A recent study within the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health aimed to check the dietary intakes of vegan and omnivorous bodybuilders at different stages of preparation for a bodybuilding competition.

In regards to the study

The study included bodybuilder participants affiliated with the Italian World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF). They were divided right into a control group of omnivores and a gaggle of vegans. The participants had to finish a web-based questionnaire on years of coaching and competition, anthropometric measurements, weight loss plan type, and training hours per week. Participants needed to record their food intake on a web-based diary for five days at each the bulking and cutting phases. The information collection took place two months apart for the 2 phases for all athletes.

The quantities of food were recorded in portions or grams, together with information on dietary complement consumption. Evaluation of the participant’s weight loss plan took place using the WinFood dietary evaluation software. Information on the each day intake of macronutrients was collected in grams per kilogram of body weight (g/kg/day). Calculation of micronutrients corresponding to iron, sodium, and calcium took place in milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day), while vitamins B1 and D took place in micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day (mcg/kg/day). Finally, dietary intake was compared as per the advisable dietary allowances (RDAs).

Study findings

The included 18 bodybuilders who practiced bodybuilding for six years and trained for 8 hours per week. A discount in several dietary components was observed throughout the preparation phase in each the vegan and omnivore group. Omnivores were reported to extend their protein intake throughout the cutting phase as in comparison with the bulking phase, while vegans were reported to cut back it.

Omnivores were reported to succeed in the advisable protein levels throughout the bulking and cutting phase, while vegans reached the advisable levels only throughout the bulking phase. Neither omnivores nor vegans were observed to succeed in RDA for calcium throughout the bulking and cutting phase. Vegans were observed to succeed in RDA for vitamin D throughout the bulking and cutting phase, while omnivores reached it only throughout the bulking phase. Moreover, not one of the groups reached RDA for vitamin B12. Nevertheless, the intake was reported to be higher amongst vegans in comparison with omnivores during each phases. Each vegan and omnivore males were reported to succeed in the RDA for iron, while vegan and omnivore females failed to succeed in it. Vegan women and men were reported to fail to succeed in the RDA for zinc, while omnivore women and men were reported to succeed in the advisable levels.

Due to this fact, the present study demonstrates that vegan bodybuilders might struggle to fulfill their protein needs while consuming a calorie-deficit weight loss plan. They will profit from the help of dietary professionals to grasp the quantity of protein required to keep up muscle mass. Further research is required to spotlight whether dietary interventions may also help athletes on a vegan weight loss plan reach protein recommendations while undergoing calorie deficit.

Limitations

The primary limitation of this study is that the dietary evaluation software didn’t have sufficient information to estimate vitamin B12 in all food. Second, aspects corresponding to the quantity and intensity of sun exposure must even be kept in mind throughout the assessment of vitamin D status. Third, there was a scarcity of variety within the weight loss plan. Fourth, participants’ self-reporting of anthropometric data may end up in parameter alterations. Finally, low energy amongst female athletes throughout the cutting phase might place them susceptible to developing amenorrhea, resulting in a condition often known as relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S).