My brother wants to go vegan, but needs 2 GAIN weight...

[jakkrabbit]

(Yes, I already posted about my sister who's gone vegetarian as a first step towards veganism, thanks everyone for your suggestion, she's getting her hunger and bloating issues under control now...)

My brother really believes in animal rights and is hugely against factory farming, but he's in a dilemma, because he's recovering from cult starvation and is underweight for his height and has been for some time. At 6' he only weighs 143 lbs. (Yes, we know there are some very slim/wiry vegans out there, but for his frame and build, this is an unnatural weight. Other men in the family who are similar height/build, slim, eat healthy, and are very active weigh at least 180 lbs.)

He needs to gain muscle to be at a healthy physique, and so he's been holding off on going vegan because he believes he needs the meat and dairy to help him gain weight, and he's afraid if he goes vegan he'll lose weight or not gain or at least have a very difficult time gaining.

What's everyone's thoughts on this? Can he gain muscle at a good rate without having to rely on meat and dairy? He really wants to transition but he's afraid to at this point due to the weight issue.

[JP]

i was 68kg when i went vegan.

Standing now at 113.

I recommend see food diet.

You eat anything vegan you see.

(maybe should write a book about it, though it would be quite short).

Main mistake to watch out: do not shy away from the calorie dense conveniece foods, snacks, drinks and the misleadingly labelled "junk food". Too many people "clean" up their diet as they go vegan and make it much harder for themselves.

Get this guy also to write a food log sometimes for 3 days running, add up the calories and see whats up.

But in general, putting on weight as a vegan, piece of piss.

[benzilla]

I was 74kg at 6 ft 3in, when i went vegan, so definately underweight. It did take a few weeks to get a better idea of what to eat and how much to eat. But once I nailed that, it was easy to put on weight, calories are calories. Just go for it and eat as much as you can.

[SpugFab]

Just want to add further testimony. Looking back on an old training log I was 78kg, within two years I was over 100kg. Weight gain on a vegan diet is easy.

[Talyn]

At 6' he only weighs 143 lbs.

And you are concerned he won't be able to gain weight as a vegan?
Sounds like he has enough trouble as an omni...

Get him to eat lots of calorie dense food.

I was 56kg when I went vegan, now sitting around 72kg... it's easy.

[Andrewc]

To be brutally honest, if meat and dairy was all it's cracked up to be then your brother wouldn't be only 143lbs.

As everyone else said, the secret ingredient is CALORIES.

[helmut]

there are too many good vegan foods out there for him not to put on weight, don't worry! vegan nuggets, soy cheese, tofu burgers, chocolate soy milk.... not to mention just big servings of homous, anti pasto, avocado, nuts, oils, brown rice, tempeh, etc.......... for starters i've got a chocolate self saucing pudding recipe in the recipe section which is seriously FATTENING!

ps good to hear that your whole family is interested in veganism

[skoptic]

I recommend see food diet. You eat anything vegan you see.

LOL....

[sosso]

I'm 6' & I was about 75 kg/165lbs when I went vegan and I now weigh 105 kg/230lbs. I gained this weight in 18 months, so I guess there's another success story..

Get this guy also to write a food log sometimes for 3 days running, add up the calories and see whats up.

This is a good idea. Often people think they're eating a lot, but when you add up the calories it turns out to be not much at all.

Of course he should make sure to eat his veggies but shouldn't be afraid to eat a bucket of soy ice cream or a few peanut butter sandwiches on top of that.

[vegan hal]

i'm curious how old your brother is. i was 14yrs old and 6'2" and skinny as a pin. i could eat all i wanted (back then pure carnivore) and not gain an ounce of weight. i really didn;t put any weight on until i got to college and even then it was minimal and mostly a beer belly.

[Konstantin]

I've looked into carbo loading to store up energy for runs. Buckwheat, oats and quinoa are my favourites from a statistical point of view, but grains such a polenta, rice (white and brown), pasta, millet, cous cous etc. are all good. Potassium helps store energy, so bananas and tomatoes are good.

But just eat. Eat and enjoy, and keep eating.

[Hiking Fox]

I was also underweight as a vegetarian (never going above 8 stone) but since going vegan have had no such worries. Probably because I'm more positive about food and because I've been living with a runner for years, so tend to eat lots more carbs.

So basically, your brother should be fine. Just avoid any 'fat free' recipe crap on websites.

[vegangurl23]

I was also drastically underweight when I decided to be vegan (25 lb underweight to be exact). Now I am a healthy weight with toned muscles 3 years later

[patientot]

It is definitely possible to gain weight as a vegan. I've never been a superskinny hardgainer but I started to pack on pounds around 3-4 years ago and now I'm about 30lbs overweight and trying to get in shape. There are plenty of calorie rich vegan foods that you can load up to gain weight, but your bro might have to eat a lot more than he's used to.

Falafel sandwiches, Indian food, loads of pasta, nuts and nutbutters, soy ice cream, etc. are all loaded with calories for example.

[barnz2k]

Do any of you big guys have a food log or a diet posted? Would be interested to get some ideas. Last time I was really gaining I needed 5000 calories a day. Also Gluten free so no pasta, oats etc!