High Protein Diet for Body Building - Vegetarian

[Drifta]

Hi im looking to hit the gym during my 2 month summer vacation and building up my body a little. i was wondering if there any foods that are extremely high in protein that would maximize my output. could someone perhaps recommend an alternative to the commercial protein shakes and bars available that could be made at home by incorporating some of the high protein foods in them.

Cheers

[Gaelen]

Drifta, microfiltered ionized whey protein powder, which you can make into homemade protein shakes and bars, is your best friend.
Also eggs, although egg protein is not as digestible as whey (imo.)

[S Bear]

As Gaelen says, whey is great stuff, as are eggs. Eggs are such perfect protein that researchers tend to evaluate the completeness and availability of other proteins relative to eggs.

For vegetarians, seitan can be a good protein sourse, as long as you supplement it with lysine (in which it is relatively lacking). Of course, seitan is pure wheat gluten, so if you're gluten-intolerant would pose some problems. (On the other hand, I've seen people who had been diagnosed as gluten-intolerant eat seitan--without understanding what it was--in vegetarian restaurants with no ill effects.) Yogurt is good, too, although I'd drain it through cheescloth of a couple of hours to cut the carb content.

Four recommedations for muscle building:

1) A scoop of low-carb whey 30 min to 1 hour before workout, and another 30 minutes after.
2) A BCAA drink with some carbs added just before or during the workout. I use 2 scoops of Xtend powder (by Scivation) with a coconut water drink. The coconut water has 15 grams of carbs, which you will blow through during the workout, but this will get you a temporary insulin release, which helps drive nutrients into the muscles.
3) Some creatine powder on workout days. Need not be much--5-10 grams is good enough. Can put it in your BCAA drink if you like.
4) A couple of scoops of low-carb casein powder before bedtime after workouts. (I use vanilla casein in hot water with two tablespoons of Hershey's Cocoa powder. Voila!--Low-carb hot chocolate!) Casein is a slow-release protein, sort of the opposite of whey, and it will help your muscles rebuild while you sleep.

Speaking of sleep, get lots of it. The biggest mistake muscle-builders make is too much training and too little rest. I'm getting my best results only pushing around weights one day a week (!).

[rickjk]

What about soy protien?

[Gaelen]

Soy protein is fine if you can tolerate it - I prefer whey protein because, for me, it's more easily digestible.