How to Go Vegan Without Losing All Your Hard-Earned Muscle Mass

Perhaps you decided to go vegan after learning of Benedict Cumberbatch’s plant-based transformation for the latest Avengers movie. Perhaps you wanted to make weeknight meal-planning with your vegan significant other a little easier. Perhaps a recent trip to Superiority Burger—purveyors of a vegan burger we once declared to be the world’s best—made you a believer. Whatever the case, this choice means it is time to bid farewell to all the chicken salads, hard-boiled eggs, and steak dinners you used to consume on the regular.

One thing we can guarantee you won’t say goodbye to, though? Your prized gym gains—as long as you know what to do next.

“It’s a really big misconception that going vegan means you’re immediately going to gain weight or lose all your muscle,” says registered dietitian Emily Wood. “Meat isn’t the only way to get protein, and tons of protein isn’t the only way to keep your muscles strong.” Plus, going vegan brings a host of other health benefits, from better glucose control to reduced risk of heart disease, in addition to the lower carbon footprint it entails.

Still, getting all your nutrients on a vegan diet does require some expert planning—but that’s where we come in. Follow the expert-approved tips below to make sure you stay swole, even after you trade in your turkey for tempeh for good.

1. It is somewhat about the protein…

While Wood says that reducing your protein intake by a small amount won’t cause you to waste away, she does stress the benefits of making sure you’re having the correct number of grams of protein per day, based on your level of physical activity. Scientists recommend consuming one grams of protein per 2.75 pounds of body weight per day, but it’s important to note that those figures are meant to prevent protein deficiencies. In other words, they won’t necessarily help you bulk up. In fact, studies have shown that most young men require far more protein than they expect—which means that if you have specific goals in mind, you need to aim higher.

“Whether we’re talking vitamin or protein quantities, the numbers are very different for optimizing health and achieving fitness goals,” says Lauren Slayton, MS, RD. “If you insist on grams, I think you can go up to 1 gram per pound, but I prefer percentages. It’s less tedious and easier to say 25 to 30 percent protein, which you can eyeball on a plate.” The rest of your plate should be filled with tons of vegetables, moderate amounts of healthy fats, and some carbs.

2. ...but protein comes in many forms

Once you’ve figured out the amount of non-vegan protein you consumed during your non-vegan life, make sure each meal during your new vegan life contains a similar amount of vegan protein. “The best ones come in the forms of tofu, tempeh, legumes, quinoa, and nuts,” says Wood. For instance, a cup of tempeh contains around 30 grams, while a cup of chicken breast has around 44 grams. So yes, there is a difference, but it’s nothing you can’t plan around. ”I promise, as long as it’s organic tofu or tempeh, soy products aren’t going to wreak any havoc on your hormones if you have them three to four times a week,” says Wood.

You also might have heard that vegan diets are deficient in what is known as “complete” proteins—the ones that don’t have all nine amino acids your body cannot produce on its own. This is true in the sense that aside from soy, there isn’t any vegan protein source that contains all of them together. But if you pair complementary foods like chickpeas and brown rice, for instance, the combination will yield those elusive essential amino acids.

“It just requires some thought and planning,” says Miranda Hammer, RD, who stresses that you don’t need to have the complementary proteins in the same meal, either. As long as a whole day of meals contains a variety of essential amino acids, you’re fine.

3. Don’t fall into the carb trap

According to Hammer, a lot of people fall into an “unhealthy vegan” trap: Basically, they think that because they’ve cut out animal products, they can eat whatever they want. Sorry to break it to you, but… they’re not. “Quality over quantity is definitely key, and selecting clean sources of plant-based protein such as quinoa, nuts, seeds, and legumes over faux meat products or processed, soy-based powders is essential,” says Hammer.

Relatedly, if you decide to switch your body over from say, keto to vegan, and are now consuming tons of potatoes instead of steaks out of the blue, please be aware that your body will have something to say about it. A lot of people experience things like bloating and a lack of energy when they first go vegan, which is why you need to do it slowly. “Make sure to drink enough water, pace yourself while eating, include probiotics, and cook foods instead of having them raw—these are all ways to help reduce gas and bloating,” advises Hammer.

4. Learn the new rules of supplements

Most nutritionists agree that as long as you’re consuming a wide variety of plant-based proteins, fats, and carbs, you’ll be fine meeting your daily nutrition requirements. There are, however, some occasions when you might need to supplement with a protein powder. The good news is that plenty of good plant-based varieties exist these days. Just make sure you stay away from anything containing whey protein, which consists of the proteins isolated during cheese production. (Remember: You promised to give up milk.)

“If you’re super athletic, plant-based protein powders will really help your diet,” says Wood. “I would pick from ones that are ideally made with a whole food, like hemp or sprouted quinoa, because there are many overly processed powders that will definitely do more harm than good.” She also suggests supplementing with omega-3s, B12, and vitamin D to promote both energy and also protein metabolism.

5. Ask for help

If you’re not sure about the amount of different nutrients you need to stay on track with your goals—whether that’s building muscle, losing weight, or some combination of the two—you might want to consider getting professional help. Veganism is hard! It shouldn’t be a surprise that embracing a new diet will require some fine-tuning of everything else in your life, too.

Whether that’s a registered dietician who will develop a food plan for you, or a personal trainer who’ll slowly increase your weights and reps, having somebody help you at the beginning of this transition will make sure you get the results you want, and without taking any steps back. Besides, if you’ve been lifting the same weights since the first time you set foot in a gym, you probably need your fitness routine re-evaluated anyway.