steavelee2
New member
I've read pretty much all of Steve's articles, and I can see a lot of logic behind his enthusiasm for eating a raw food diet, but I am having trouble seeing how a low-protein diet like that can work if you're trying to build muscle mass. To clarify my position, I am talking about bodybuilding, lifting relatively heavy weights (mostly free weights) for 6-12 reps per set. I don't doubt that someone new to working out could gain some muscle living off of mostly vegetables and fruits, because everyone makes noticeable gains when they first start working out. But I have been going to the gym for the better part of the last 5 years, and have noticed that all of my gains have come when I was eating the "Standard American Diet," overemphasizing protein intake through sources such as meat, dairy, and protein shakes.
I briefly (for about 3 months) went vegan a couple of years ago, and not to my surprise I lost about 5-10 pounds. I definitely shed a bit of fat, but I also lost muscle as well on that diet. I've read Steve's article about the Protein Myth, and I can reasonably agree that the average person doesn't need very much protein, and could likely meet their protein needs even on a raw vegan diet, but the average person does not take part in intense resistance training! High protein and calorie consumption is the tried and true method for building muscle - name me a single bodybuilder (natural or otherwise) that doesn't train on such a diet and I will be shocked. I even came across a vegan bodybuilder's site, but his diet was still centred on high protein consumption, through sources such as beans and legumes.
So what should I do? I want to continue to train hard and build muscle, mainly because I like the look. But at the same time, I realize that this probably isn't the best choice of diet for achieving optimal health. I can't really see myself half-assing it in the gym to adapt to a lower protein diet either - I'm not a fan of toning - because if I'm not making gains in strength and/or muscle size I don't see much point in going. Any suggestions?
I briefly (for about 3 months) went vegan a couple of years ago, and not to my surprise I lost about 5-10 pounds. I definitely shed a bit of fat, but I also lost muscle as well on that diet. I've read Steve's article about the Protein Myth, and I can reasonably agree that the average person doesn't need very much protein, and could likely meet their protein needs even on a raw vegan diet, but the average person does not take part in intense resistance training! High protein and calorie consumption is the tried and true method for building muscle - name me a single bodybuilder (natural or otherwise) that doesn't train on such a diet and I will be shocked. I even came across a vegan bodybuilder's site, but his diet was still centred on high protein consumption, through sources such as beans and legumes.
So what should I do? I want to continue to train hard and build muscle, mainly because I like the look. But at the same time, I realize that this probably isn't the best choice of diet for achieving optimal health. I can't really see myself half-assing it in the gym to adapt to a lower protein diet either - I'm not a fan of toning - because if I'm not making gains in strength and/or muscle size I don't see much point in going. Any suggestions?
