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You Can’t Build Muscle On A Vegan Diet. Right?

Updated: Mar 4




“As a coach and a vegan bodybuilder, this is the most common question I get” personal trainer and vegan nutritionist Steve Pilot states.



“People just can’t believe that I built my physique on a plant-based vegan diet.
But for me, going vegan was the best thing that ever happened to me in terms of exercise and dieting.”


Can you really build muscle on a vegan diet as Steve did?


Let handstand expert Steve Pilot take you through the process of how it’s done.



First things first, conventional science suggests that in order to build muscle, one has to increase his daily protein intake up to 1,5 – 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.


Do we really need that much protein intake?



“The average female needs 1,2 – 1,5 grams and the average male 1,5 – 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.


Professional bodybuilders may increase their daily protein intake as far as 2,5 – 3 grams per kilogram of body weight” vegan nutritionist Steve Pilot answers that question.


“People think that they need to get lots of protein to look better and gain muscle but overconsumption of protein is not beneficial.
That is one of the many myths that the fitness industry has established. Protein supplements are what they do, and what they sell.

So it makes sense for them to brainwash us into thinking that we need a high protein intake which we can’t get out of real food.


Protein is super important in order to build muscle but still, you’ll need to have a balanced diet as well to preserve general health.


We also need good carbohydrates which we can get from veggies and healthy fats which we can get from seeds and nuts.


You can’t build up muscle with carbs and fats but they need to be present in your healthy diet.



Steve proceeds to explain a bit more about plants and protein.


All protein comes from plants. Then, we feed plants to industrial animals and then we eat the animals.


Why not cut out the middleman and eat plants in the first place?


You could easily skip consuming meat, which can be harmful to your health. We have so many choices available but we never utilize them.


Lentils, peas, beans, tempeh, broccoli, brown rice, tofu, and so much more.