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How Vegetarians can put on Muscles?

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PS : By bodybuilding, I don’t mean bodybuilder bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is simply putting on lean muscle and becoming a STRONGER individual. So ladies, this topic applies to you as well.

India has a population of over 500 million vegetarians. And, even though the other 800 million of us maybe enjoying our chicken once in a while, our diets are PRIMARILY vegetarian. We are possibly THE MOST vegetarian country in the world.

But, when you combine the worlds of muscle building and pure vegetarian food, the muscle-building game definitely becomes a little more difficult, but NOT impossible. If you’re smart about it there’s a way of building muscle without harming animals!

GROUND RULES THAT A VEGETARIAN BODYBUILDER MUST KNOW:-

1)You CAN BUILD MUSCLE with a pure vegetarian diet. Animal welfare for the win! Too many non-vegetarians in India keep dissing their vegetarian friends, WITHOUT being informed about the scientific aspects of dieting.

2)YOU NEED PROTEIN in your food to build muscle. And, standard Indian food is unfortunately very low in protein. Standard Indian meals (Roti, rice, subzi, dal) contain VERY little protein. Dal/Sprouts alone, WILL NOT help you put on muscle.

3)I don’t see GREAT vegetarian lifters or bodybuilders in this country, primarily due to either a lack of knowledge or wrong knowledge. So get educated about it first. It IS very possible. Get smarter to get STRONGER.

These are the introductory points. Let’s get straight to VEGETARIAN STRENGTH SCIENCE.

1st thing you need to understand is BODYBUILDING & STRENGTH BUILDING are primarily 2 dietary factors – Calories & Protein.

1st-your calories:Calorie levels vary depending on your height, weight, age and activity level. There’s no fixed number. If you want to get a rough estimate of how much you need, you can google a calorie calculator. If you don’t want to use too much math, you can go by a  rough estimate. Look at how your daily diet affects your weight. Keep a track of your numbers on the weighing scale & see how your weight responds to your diet.

MAINTENANCE CALORIE LEVEL:If on a particular day, you go above your MAINTENANCE calorie level, you’ll put on weight that day. If you stay below it, you will lose weight.

If your goal is to build LEAN muscle, your job is to stay JUST above your maintenance calorie level. This is the case for all vegetarians, UNLESS you’re overweight. If you’re overweight, your job is to stay just below your maintenance calories for most of the time. But at the same time, you NEED to hit your PROTEIN goal. More on protein later. 

How should you fill up these calories?

CONSUME a LOT of food.

Now this doesn’t mean that you go to your local general store and buy all the lays, maggi and coke. They’re high calorie but you need to fill your daily calories with CLEAN food.

As far as possible try filling this with protein rich vegetarian food. Don’t consume too much fat, but consume protein and good amounts of clean, complex carbohydrate (eg. Oats, sweet potato, wheat, brown rice).

The PROTEIN game

2nd Get educated about COUNTING YOUR PROTEIN. In order to build even the slightest form of muscle, the rough estimate that gymmers take is around 0.4 into your body weight in pounds.

So if you weigh 50 kg (110lbs), you need have AT LEAST 0.6×110 = 66g of protein

But, if you want GREAT results, you should be going for around at LEAST a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. A 110lbs person should have 110g of protein. 

SMART FOOD SELECTION

One of the REAL downsides to being a vegetarian is that MOST vegetarian protein sources are considered “incomplete protein”.

Any protein derived from animals – Chicken, eggs, fish is a COMPLETE protein. When you break down a molecule of COMPLETE protein, it is made up of ALL the essential amino acids. Without getting too deep into the science of it – In order to build muscle optimally, you need to consume all 9 essential amino acids through your protein consumption.

Animal protein – Has all the essential amino acids: It’s a complete source of protein. Optimal for building muscle.

Plant protein – Does NOT have all the essential amino acids. It’s an incomplete source of protein. Different plant sources will give you different amino acid profiles.

To counter this, you need to VARY your protein sources. So have dals, beans, pulses, mushrooms, leafy veggies, tofu and nuts!

Also, your best friends as a vegetarian strength junkie are :-

1)Unprocessed Soya – THE ONLY Complete plant derived protein

2)Paneer – India’s biggest gift to the world of fitness.

DAIRY IS YOUR FRIEND

Amp up your intake of paneer cheese, milk, curd! The only issue is – with dairy, you’re also taking in a lot of fat, so you need to keep a tab on how your dairy intake is affecting your calorie intake. Having skimmed milk dairy products is a great way to counter this problem.

JUST KEEP AT IT

As much as I want to promote vegetarian bodybuilding, the truth of the matter is that in most cases, putting on muscle as a vegetarian is a slower process than it is for your meat fuelled counterparts. But in my experience, the harder you work for something, the sweeter the result is. In this article, I’ve only touched upon the basics you need to know as a vegetarian strength enthusiast.

Your job is to educate yourself further and keep at it with your exercise regime. Things will only work if YOU DO!

We trust this guide to vegetarian bodybuilding has fuelled your enthusiasm. How do you incorporate plant-based protein into your diet? Share your insights in the comments! For a deeper dive into nutrition explore more on Healthy Reads or reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

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5 Muscle Building Mistakes Which Might Be Keeping You From Your Goal

muscle buildingIf you’ve been looking at motivational posters on social media or your local gyms which have “go hard or go home” or “work until your muscles hurt” or “no gain without pain” or something to the effect of relating success to extreme weight training, then you’ve clearly been looking at the wrong posters. We come over so many cases where users claim that they’ve been at it in the gym for so long without ever achieving their desired result. In order to help you avoid the same fate, we’re sharing this article on muscle building mistakes!

Common Muscle Building Mistakes to Avoid

1. Prioritising Quantity Over Quality
We live in an age where we believe more is better. A gaze around the gym might show mindless addition of reps and set backed by piling unreasonably more plates (mostly on the leg press machine and rarely the squat rack if not for 1/100th partial rep squats). Most folks aiming to add muscle might believe training seven days a week must undeniably be better than three. What these people fail to realise is the foundation of quality muscle building still rests upon what it used to be about a hundred years ago – Getting stronger. Becoming stronger is neural training. The central nervous system demands its necessary share of rest before it is ready to tackle new challenges in your next workout. In the words of the Bodybuilding Legend Lee Haney: “Stimulate, not annihilate!”

Pro Tip: Build Movement Quality in a lift before gradually adding volume (sets and reps), before gradually adding weight.

2. Chasing The Pump
If you are a true meathead, you remember the first time you curled that lonely barbell in the gym and the immediate next thing you did was flex your arms before the nearest mirror. It’s okay if you did. Pursuit of the ‘pump’ or build-up of metabolic fluid as a result of high volume resistance training in a muscle has fascinated millions of people entering muscle building. The degree to which pump helps increase muscle size fades as quickly as the pump itself a few hours after training. Don’t get me wrong, metabolic and high rep training has its place, though making every exercise in your program a high rep per set one in order to feel the temporary pump at the expense of actually getting stronger (refer to point 1 above) would be a big miss.

Pro Tip: Focus more on documented progress in weight lifted and the volume for which it is lifted rather than an arbitrary goal like ‘feeling the pump’.

3. Pain is (the only way to) Gain
Most people wearing the ‘Pain is Gain’ t-shirts have a very myopic vision of their training years. Most of them belong to the late teens to late twenties. Fast forward ten years and they may soon begin to laugh at their idea of ‘balls-to-the-walls’ intensity every workout, week after week. As we age, especially as we enter 30s, training revolves more about recovery than making unending progress. Joints and connective tissue take a solid hit if we are really lifting seriously. As such, making every workout a masochistic fiesta can seriously hamper our joints’ ability to outperform them later.

Pro Tip: It’s okay if a workout didn’t leave you hurt and devastated. Try to make a majority of your workouts in a year energizing and your training longevity might increase by several years.

4. Taking Supplements Is Like Pressing A Switch
All of us know that someone who swears by his or her shelf full of powders and pills claiming to transform them into a machine. Supplements have their place in the life of serious strength and physique athlete. However, replacing natural, real food with doses of meal replacement drinks is a strategy that might fail to deliver real robust and healthy changes in your physique. Quality, natural and fresh nutritional food would always beat sole supplementation.

Pro Tip: Make a select handful of supplements such as Whey and Creatine Monohydrate a tool to fill in the gaps in your nutrition wherever or whenever you see it, rather than a staple in your diet.

5. I Need To Train Like A Pro
In the pursuit of ‘Big Guns’, an amateur might look up the internet for the training split of an eight time Mr. Olympia winner and begin to emulate it in his training. The efforts might soon begin to be outweighed by the stopping of gains through either injury or incorrect loading parameters and the trainee might soon end up in dire frustration before switching to an altogether new program, this time followed by a multiple ‘World’s Strongest Man’ title winner.

Many individuals fail to understand that it might take more than a decade of continual solid and consistent effort with the big lifts in order to come anywhere near being called a pro. And we aren’t even talking about ‘pharmaceutical aids’ yet.

Pro Tip: Aim for Health first, followed by getting stronger, followed by improvement in appearance whenever drawing out your training strategy or designing a muscle building program.

We hope this article helps you avoid these common muscle building mistakes and aids you in making the right choices. For more on fitness, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to LIVE sessions on GOQii PRO within the GOQii App, where you can get one-on-one guidance in real time by certified fitness experts.

#BeTheForce 

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Busting Myths About Protein Supplements

protein supplements

A few decades back, protein supplements didn’t exist at all. Food was the source of all protein and people used to consume food to remain healthy. But in the current scenario, various lifestyle changes such as indulging in excessive gym workouts, having no time to eat due to work, deteriorating food quality, etc. have created a demand for supplements.

What are Protein Supplements?

Protein supplements are concentrated sources of protein from animal or plant foods such as dairy, eggs, rice ,peas, hemp or brown rice. Some supplements are also fortified with vitamins and minerals, especially calcium. People use them to increase muscle mass, improve overall body composition and help meet their protein needs. 

Whey protein, the most vital supplement among all, is a must-have protein supplement whether you are a beginner or a pro in your fitness journey. Although, not everyone needs protein powder supplements, they can assist you if you do strength training or cannot meet your protein needs with diet alone.

Let’s Bust Some Myths! 

Myth #1: Protein Supplements Are Only For Bodybuilders
Fact: You can have a protein supplement if you are doing any form of exercise because it helps your muscles recover. Protein alone does not make your muscles big.

Myth #2: Whey Protein Is Not A Natural Form Of Protein
Fact: Whey protein is the natural protein derived from cow milk which constitutes two main protein components, namely casein and whey. Both components have Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid score of 1.0 which is the highest score for a protein source.

Myth #3: Women Will Get Bulky From Protein Supplements
Fact: Due to women having lower levels of testosterone and higher levels of estrogen, they won’t bulk up as men. A diet rich in lean protein will help women build muscle, but not at the same rate as men. For both genders, it still takes weeks/months of consistent training and good nutrition to build visible muscle.

Myth #4: I Don’t Exercise Enough To Need A Protein Shake
Fact: Protein will help your muscles recover, whether you are working out six days a week or if you are a casual class goer – the results are the same.

Myth #5: Plant Based Protein Is Less Effective Than Whey Protein
Fact: For Vegan protein, a blend of whole pea and hemp sources is used to ensure an amino acid profile like whey with high levels of essential amino acids. Pea protein is allergen friendly, low fat and contains more protein per serving than whey. Hemp protein is also allergen friendly but is also rich in essential fatty acids and contains all nine essential amino acids.

Myth #6: Heating Protein Denatures It, Ruining The Effects
Fact: The only thing that changes when you heat protein is its structure, so it may become slightly less soluble. The protein itself is generally not affected by its yield.

Myth #7: You Need To Eat Very High Levels Of Protein To Get Results
Fact: The average person actually needs an adequate balance of carbs and fats alongside protein in their diet and probably needs no more than around 1.2 to 1.7gm of protein per kilo of bodyweight to build and maintain muscle.

Myth #8: Protein Shakes Will Make My Muscles Grow Quickly
Fact: Unfortunately, this is not true. Muscle building takes time, consistent training and good nutrition. Although having a post-workout, protein-rich meal/shake boosts protein synthesis and limits muscle breakdown. This simply means that your body recovers faster from aches and pains after training.

Myth #9: Pea Or Plant Protein Isn’t As good As Whey Protein
Fact: For vegans and people with digestive issues, plant-based protein powder is the way to go. It is digested differently than whey but still gives you the benefits of traditional powdered protein.

Myth #10: Protein Powder Equals Gas
Fact: That’s because most protein powders are derivatives of dairy products. But eating a balanced meal, which includes healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and water, along with a regular exercise routine, takes care of unpleasant digestive issues. The recommended dosage of protein shake is 1-2 scoops or 25-30 gm per day.

Myth #11: Whey Protein Leads To boils, Acidity, Poor Digestion
Fact: It is not whey protein but unabsorbed whey protein in the body that causes such issues. Insufficient water intake may lead to undigested protein resulting in boils, acidity, etc.

Myth #12: There’s No Such Thing As Too Much Protein
Fact: Eating excessive protein could lead to excessive nitrogen your body can’t excrete. If you’re a long-time high-protein dieter, you could be increasing your risk for kidney damage.

Myth #13: Powders Can Substitute Complete Protein Sources
Fact: While powders are a great protein source, they shouldn’t act as a substitute for whole food sources, both animal and plant alike. They’re an easy and convenient way to include extra protein in your diet.

Myth #14: Everyone Should Take Protein Supplement
Fact: It all depends on your fitness goals. The daily reference intake is 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight. Most people get enough protein through their daily diet with protein-rich food. You don’t need to include bodybuilding supplements or protein shakes. Having a bowl of Greek yogurt, or chicken salad with veggies and sprouts will suffice.

Myth #15: Cutting Down Protein Is A Great Way To Lose Weight
Fact: On the contrary, insufficient protein in your diet can make it difficult to get rid of excess fat. The feeling of being fuller for longer will keep you away from cravings and hunger pangs and a heightened metabolism will add to your workout routine and show positive results.

We hope these facts about protein supplements help you reach your goal! Consume protein, but don’t let it overpower other nutrients. Also, don’t cut it out completely from your diet. Balance is the key to complete health! If you’d like to know more about protein and protein supplements, speak to an expert by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

To read more about fitness and bodybuilding, check out Healthy Reads. Have you heard of any of these myths? Were any of these facts helpful? Let us know in the comments below.  

#BeTheForce 

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Championing the Health & Fitness Space | International Women’s Day

International Womens DayWhat does it mean to be a champion? Is a champion someone who always wins? Is a champion someone who strives in the face of adversity? Does a champion believe in their self, perseveres and never gives up? There are many different parameters that can be used to define what a champion is or should be but there are some that stand out from the rest. On International Women’s Day, let’s read through the accomplishments of some of our Indian women who have redefined what it means to be a champion by being a daily source of inspiration and motivation to many!

Rujuta Diwekar

“When we go through nutrition transition and give up on our local, native, regional food and we begin to adopt a food system, which has no resonance to our region, culture, that’s when our waists start spilling out in a protest for you to go back to your more local diet.”

A nutrition and exercise science expert, Rujuta Diwekar is a vocal champion of using our common sense and un-complicating the act of eating. In a career spanning more than 15 years, Rujuta Diwekar has worked with clients from all walks of life – from businessmen to homemakers, students, celebrities and sportsmen including Kareena Kapoor and Anil Ambani. She emphasizes a blend of traditional food wisdom and modern nutritional science for a healthy body and mind, best reflected through the mantra – Eat local, think global. She is also the author of 5 best-selling nutrition books.

Sucheta Pal

TheHealthSite.com

Ranchi girl and ex-IT professional Sucheta Pal inspired an entire nation towards healthier living and fitness through Zumba. She is India’s first Zumba Education Specialist and the brand ambassador for Zumba in India. In 2018, she was felicitated by the Hon. President of India as the “First Lady” for women wellness. Over four and a half years, she has trained nearly 3,500 Zumba instructors and has represented Zumba and India in multiple international fitness conferences from FIBO Germany, IFEX Indonesia, AFAA Japan conference, Asia Fitness Convention, Bangkok and others across the world. She is also a fitness TV-show host of Zoom TV’s Zumba Dance Fitness Party and has featured in several fitness shows on NDTV, Mtunes and TLC. Definitely a champion of heath and fitness in our books!

Pooja Makhija

http://www.dssc.co/delhi/2018/02/08/nourish-eat-delete-celebrity-nutritionist-pooja-makhija/

Ace Nutritionist Pooja Makhija has successfully transformed the bodies and lives of thousands of people! She’s a nutritionist to celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Sushmita Sen. Pooja believes in nourishment over weight loss – food is fuel, it is your friend and not your enemy. To date, she has published two books – Eat Delete and Eat Delete Junior. She feels that people are seeing food for its calories rather than its true value. According to her, eating the right food can prevent lifestyle diseases such as high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes.

Sonali Swami

https://naidunia.jagran.com

A mother of two, Sonali Swami is definitely a source of inspiration for every fit mom out there! An IBBF athlete, she has bagged a bronze at the WBBF Asian Championship 2016, won Fit Factor India 2014, won Muscle Mania India 2014 in Fitness and Model’s Physique Categorory, secured 6th place in Asian Body Building Championships 2017 and is among the country’s Top 10 bodybuilders – all this while starting her journey towards bodybuilding at the age of 37! She firmly believes that age is just a number and you can start training regardless of your age, it doesn’t matter if you’re a teenager or in your 60’s. She advises people to be patient, consistent and never give up.

Yasmin Karachiwala

The fitness guru that Bollywood swears by! Yasmin Karachiwala boasts of a clientele that includes the likes of Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhat. She owns a gym called Body Image, she was the first BASI certified Pilates instructor in India and established the first Pilates studio in Mumbai. She often shares workout videos with her followers and fitness enthusiasts on social media. She has also co-authored a book on Pilates. Yasmin does not believe in a diet and prefers making smarter food choices. Her mantra is to strive to be the best version of yourself!

Deepika Mehta

http://deepikamehta.in/

After a near death rock climbing accident in 1997, doctors told Deepika Mehta that she wouldn’t walk again. This wasn’t acceptable to someone like her who possessed a great zeal for life. She sought alternative approaches and found yoga. Since then, she has been learning and practicing various forms such as Pranayama, Ashtanga Yoga and meditation. Deepika has had her own TV show called Yoga City. She has a vast clientele including celebrities, individuals and corporates all over the country. She has been a master trainer on the show “The Biggest Loser” in India. In 2014, she was featured as one of the three women redefining beauty ideals in India in Vogue Magazine and has been the face of Elle India’s 2015 fitness campaign. She has also given a dance/yoga presentation and talk at the TedX event at the UN Headquarters in NYC.

Namrata Purohit

https://twitter.com/namratapurohit

The youngest Stott Pilates instructor in the world at the age of 16, Namrata Purohit has trained celebrities such as Kangana Ranaut, Jacqueline Fernandez, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Elli Avram, Malaika Arora, Neha Dhupia and Lauren Gottlieb to name a few. When she was 19, she completed all the courses on Stott Pilates and is also a certified Barre Instructor. Along with her father Samir Purohit, she is the co-founder of The Pilates Studio, which is the first in the world to have pilates and a simulated altitude training room under one roof. At 21, she launched her first book titled The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Being Fit. She was the official fitness partner to Femina Miss India Organization since 2011, official Fitness Partner to Miss Diva (2013 & 2014) and along with her father, were official Pilates coaches to the 2014 Mumbai City FC team. She was also a national level squash player and a state level football player.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra

http://www.priyaadivarekar.com/2018/06/shilpa-shetty-kundra-interview-international-yoga-day.html

Apart from being a successful Bollywood Diva, Shilpa Shetty Kundra also follows an active and healthy lifestyle by practicing yoga, healthy eating and exercise. According to her, Yoga inculcates a sense of discipline and self-control. On days when she isn’t able to workout, she practices Pranayama. Being a health enthusiast, she decided to foray into the health and wellness space with the simple aim of spreading awareness. Shilpa’s Yoga DVD was a huge success. Her YouTube channel is a one-stop-shop for all fitness enthusiasts across the globe. Her first book ‘The Great Indian Diet’ went on to be an award-winning one and still remains one of the bestsellers in the health segment. Her second book, The Diary of a Domestic Diva, aims to share quick and hassle-free methods that lead to cooking healthy, nutritious and delicious meals.

P V Sindhu

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/cricket/251216/2016-pv-sindhus-olympic-silver-marks-a-glorious-year-for-badminton.html

Picking up badminton at the age of 7, P V Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Silver Medal. Fitness definitely plays an important role in her overall game which includes 8 hours of training. Her daily schedule includes Yoga, Pranayama, Running and Swimming, along with push-ups and sit-ups. In nutrition, she eats a zero sugar and high protein diet. She won a silver medal in Women’s Singles at Commonwealth 2018. She was also a silver medalist at the 2017 BWF World Championships and 2018 BWF World Championships consecutively. In the Asian Games 2018, held in Indonesia, she grabbed another silver medal. Sindhu came into international attention when she broke into the top 20 of the BWF World Ranking and was the first ever Indian women’s singles player to win a medal at the Badminton World Championships. In 2015, she was awarded the Padma Shri. In 2018, she became the first Indian to have clinched the BWF World Tour title defeating Nozomi Okuhara in the finals.

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]