New Year Resolutions: Vegan Weight Loss/Muscle Gaining Regimen

by Ashley Morgan

While it sounds incredibly kitschy, Jessica and I have decided to do the most cliché thing I can think of this time of year: take a New Year resolution that we have every intention of keeping. We are going to lose weight and gain lean muscle, all on a completely vegan diet. Jessica has me hooked on all of the success stories BodyBuilding.com has for women. There are literally dozens of stories coming from women of all ages, sizes and ethnicities, complete with their full diet and exercise programs used to come to these results.

The thing we noticed while looking at all of these stories was that they use tons of supplements and almost no vegetarian/vegan protein options. Jessica being the huge fan of Brendan Brazier that she is, we are fully aware that it is absolutely possible to build lean muscle without consuming animal protein. We haven’t started yet (don’t want to set ourselves up for failure on New Year’s Eve), but I am going to start eating better between now and Monday. We will begin the full plan on January 02^nd, so if you want to do it with us, by all means please do. And if you do choose to join in, please send us a quick message or comment, we’d love to hear from you to help keep us motivated.

(These are rough ideas of a plan that we haven’t yet started. These may and probably will be changed as we begin, but we will let you know of any changes made throughout the plan.)

The Diet Plan

Breakfast –

½ cup plain oatmeal

1 cup spinach, banana and strawberry smoothie, with one scoop vegan protein powder

Snack #1 –

½ cup hummus with raw celery

OR

Vegan protein bar

Lunch –

Lean vegan protein, such as tofu, tempeh or beans

Vegetables

Whole grain or seeds, such as quinoa, barley, brown rice or millet

Snack #2 –

1 cup almond milk with scoop of vegan protein powder

OR
Vegan protein bar

Dinner –

Lean vegan protein, such as tofu, tempeh or beans

Vegetables

Whole grain or seeds, such as quinoa, barley, brown rice or millet

OPTIONAL Snack #3 –

If you absolutely need another snack after working out, try an apple, ½ cup oatmeal or a vegan protein bar.

The Workout Plan*

(*this workout plan is taken 100% from Rebecca Bargeloh’s success story on BodyBuilding.com)

Day 1: 30-45 minutes cardio (130+ heart rate)

Day 2: Upper Body

Dumbbell Bicep Curl, 3 sets of 15 reps

Side Lateral Rise, 3 sets of 15 reps

Front Dumbbell Raise, 3 sets of 15 reps

Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown, 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 3: 30-45 minutes cardio (130+ heart rate)

Day 4: Lower Body

Barbell Squat, 3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Lunges, 3 sets of 15 reps

Seated Leg Curl, 3 sets of 15 reps

Standing Calf Raises, 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 5: 30-45 minutes cardio (130+ heart rate)

Day 6: Full Body

Pushups, 3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Bench Press, 3 sets of 15 reps

Triceps Pushdown, 3 sets of 15 reps

Side Lateral Raise, 3 sets of 15 reps

Barbell Deadlift, 3 sets of 15 reps

Dumbbell Lunges, 3 sets of 15 reps

Barbell Squat, 3 sets of 15 reps

Day 7: Active rest day (clean the house, go for a walk on the beach)

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