I’m a typical endomorph. Wide hips and broad shoulders. A couple of years ago I decided to experiment with a plant-based and vegan lifestyle. In this article, I will show you everything that I’ve learned from being a vegan.
Can endomorphs be vegan?
Endomorphs can be vegan because a plant-based diet helps with lowering excess body weight, balance sugar levels, and improves energy. However, they need to prioritize plant-based foods that are protein-rich because endomorphs have lower carbohydrate tolerance.
This means you can do the plant-based diet, but you need to be on top of the game with proteins.
This also potentially means you will end up eating the same type of foods, over and over again.
Vegan Endomorph
As a vegan endomorph, I really enjoyed how my weight was going down. At that time, I finished my working marathon being on board the cruise ship for 14 months straight (with 2 weeks off in between).
I was burned out.
So the next 5 months I spend backpacking around south-east Asia and doing yoga.
The first months of being a vegan were a blast. It was something new. My body was physically and mentally exhausted from work.
So doing yoga, eliminating alcohol, and a new diet really helped. I was flexible, more energetic, and I lost tons of weight.
But.
I neglected proteins. I kind of disregarded the fact that my body needs proteins daily. And especially if you’re active (I was doing 1-hour of Ashtanga yoga twice a day) you will need even more.
After 6 months of being loud and proud plant-based eater, I’ve realized that majority of the weight loss came not from fat. It came from muscle.
Because when you are physically active, and you don’t eat proteins, then your body will break down the muscle to supply the essential amino acids.
And that’s EXACTLY what happened. The more I was eating only plants, the more I was getting weak and fat.
You may think that it is relatively easy to get enough proteins in the vegan diet. More on that later.
Does Being Vegan Make You Skinnier?
Changing diet for eating only plant-based foods may sound appealing, especially if we want to get skinny. But being skinny is not the effect of being a vegan. It’s the effect of a calorie deficit (source).
Does being vegan make you skinnier?
Being vegan does make you skinnier as long as you are in the calorie deficit. Being vegan reduces many saturated fats and processed foods from the diet, which leads to the consumption of low-calorie dense foods. However, overeating while being a vegan will lead to weight gain.
So doesn’t matter if you’re doing vegan, carnivore, keto, or intermittent fasting.
The moment you eat less than your energy expenditure, you will lose weight.
Vegans have an advantage because eating only plants, nuts and legumes will deliver tons of minerals and vitamins, together with low calories.
Because plants have more water and fiber, therefore, it will give you the bulk of food, without many calories.
Can Endomorphs Be Vegetarian?
Being vegetarian is a little bit easier that being a vegan from the protein stand point.
As an endomorph, you would need really focus on your proteins, and with vegetarianism, you are allowed to eat foods like eggs and dairy.
Can endomorphs be vegetarian?
Endomorphs can be vegetarian because a vegetarian diet allows having eggs and dairy in the diet which is a really good source of proteins. For physically active endomorphs who want to be vegetarian having an adequate amount of amino acids will prevent muscle protein breakdown.
So vegetarian is a bit better choice, comparing to vegan.
Going vegetarian can really help with having this safety net because you can have foods like milk, cottage cheese, and eggs (source).
This may feel like no biggie.
But.
In the long term, it can save you a lot of trouble.
If endomorphs want to reduce excess weight, they need to prioritize protein intake, regardless of the diet. And I’m the perfect example of how not to do it.
You may think that you don’t care about muscle.
Think again.
Regular strength training is the single best thing you can do for your body to stay physically strong, young, and beautiful. Diet is just the way to reduce extra fat. But the real physical and mental strength comes from lifting weights.
Plus, muscle loss is inevitable.
We all gonna lose muscle. But with regular resistance training and a high-protein diet, you will have a much higher quality of life.
What Foods Should Endomorphs Avoid?
Before I will give you a comprehensive list of what foods you should stick to, first let’s see what are foods that you should stay away from (source).
What foods should endomorphs avoid?
Endomorphs should avoid or significantly reduce foods that raise blood sugar because it will promote the insulin response. Endomorphs have a lower tolerance for processed carbohydrates, therefore, eating foods like sugary sweets in excess can increase their glucose levels.
Also endomorphs should be careful with the consumption of:
- Alcohol
- Sugary sweets
- Chocolates
- Ice-creams
- Processed snacks
- Fried foods
Which is not a rocket science.
Because everyone knows that those foods are more likely to cause a sugar spike. But knowing something doesn’t guarantee doing it.
This means people know that overeating sweets, drinking alcohol, or even smoking is bad. But they still do it.
Why?
Because they use food as an emotional blanket. They eat not only to satisfy their physical hunger, but to satisfy their emotional hunger.
For people who struggle with weight loss for years, or even for decades, food is not the problem.
The problem is the problem. This means people use food as a coping mechanism to escape and avoid bad and uncomfortable emotions.
That is the number one reason why people cannot stop eating. Ans looking for alternative foods, going vegan, or doing keto is not gonna solve the problem.
The main problem is why people eat, not what they eat.
If you look up closely, on this blog I have several articles where I teach about how to stop emotional eating.
Which Diet Is Best For Endomorphs?
The best diet for endomorphs is with high-protein, low-carb, and medium-fat content because it stabilizes blood glucose levels which leads to better body composition. A diet high in proteins not only increases energy expenditure but also suppresses appetite and cravings.
So if you’re going to be a vegan you must ensure that majority of your food is rich in proteins.
Here are some of the examples of plant-based protein rich foods.
Endomorph Vegan Plan
- Lentils (17 grams per 1 cup)
- Chickpeas (14.5 grams per 1 cup)
- Peanuts (41 grams per 1 cup)
- Almonds (33 grams per 1 cup)
- Tofu (20 grams per 1 cup)
- Tempeh (15 grams per 1 cup)
- Spirulina (4 grams per 1 tablespoon)
- Quinoa (8 grams per 1 cup)
- Chia seeds (2 grams per 1 tablespoon)
- Beans with rice (8 grams per 1 cup)
Those are the foods with the most significant numbers of proteins. There are some proteins in broccoli, potatoes or kale, but no a lot.
Keep in mind that the minimum daily requirements for proteins are
- 0.8 grams per kg of body weight for sedentary people.
- 1.3 grams per kg of body weight for physically active (endurance training).
- 1.7 grams per kg of body weight for physically active (strength training).
For sedentary people that’s around:
- 50 grams of proteins for female
- 70 grams of proteins for male
For physically active people who do endurance training (running, cycling, swimming) that’s around:
- 90 grams of proteins for female
- 115 grams of proteins for male
And for physically active people who do resistance training (bodybuilding, Olympic lifting , CrossFit, kettlebell training) that’s around:
- 120 grams of proteins for female
- 150 grams of proteins for male
Vegan Endomorph Macros
So as you can see, being a vegan is a challenge in itself, despite being an endomorph or not. Because f you’re physically active, getting your macros and protein right requires you to eat a lot of beans, nuts, and legumes.
Which can be done.
But in the long-term is is not something I will recommend.
That’s why being a vegan, in the beginning, is fun and exciting because you’re part of something new.
Something different. But if your goal is weight loss, strength training, and optimum body composition, there are other ways you can do it.
Conclusion
Endomorphs can be vegan but it requires a lot of work and dedication. And if your goals are purely for weight loss, there are better ways to do it.
People who are focused only on the outcome start one thing and before they finish they move on to something else. They are constantly distracted and deducted by the next best thing. Just like a squirrel. Moving at once in all directions.
It’s called shiny object syndrome.
When if they think that being a vegan makes them skinny, that’s it. They go for it. Forgetting about the big picture.