Sofia Boutella & Frank Medrano

Last week I was extremely sick! I really rarely get sick however I’ve been under a lot of stress regarding work dilemmas and household issues. And now I truly believe what they say, feeling sad can trigger physical sickness. Which means I haven’t really worked-out the past two weeks and that makes me feel extremely guilty. I feel ashamed of myself, I always think that the greatest humans are those who are disciplined in every aspect of their lives. I always look for people that inspire me, however in my inner circle only a couple of people enjoy burning off some steam. So with this said I search the internet for inspiration and I stumbled upon these two strong individuals, one of them surprisingly is a Vegan!!! Being a vegetarian I do not have the misconception that a non-meat eater could never gain muscle. But even so it felt like a wake-up call just a tad, it has  inspired me to change my diet, I will give this food plan a go, what’s the worst that could happen … let’s all get inspired

How to build muscle on a plant-based or vegan diet

As coaches, one of our favorite things to do is sift through all the new recruits to get a feel for their goals and see how we can help them kick ass in the program. And every year we have at least a few guys who want to gain muscle without eating meat. You may know them as “vegans” or “vegetarians.” But we call them “plant-based eaters.” Why? Two reasons. Reason Number 1: The words “vegetarian” and “vegan” don’t mean much. We’ve seen vegetarians eating boxed cereals, foods with processed chemicals, TV dinners and other crap. Their diets were defined by the absence of meat, not by what was included. Reason Number 2: Our friend and nutrition guru Ryan Andrews once quipped, “I prefer to be called a plant-based eater because vegetarians are usually a**holes.” Nice. So, how do you gain muscle by eating a plant-based diet?  

 

How To Gain Muscle, PLant Style.

“You’re gonna die if you stop eating meat.”

That’s what Jasey heard from his friends when he made the switch to plant-based eating. And although he was skinny as hell (145 pounds at 6 feet tall) he certainly wasn’t going to die. But he did need more muscle. Lots of it. “I decided I wasn’t gonna turn into one of those frail guys who barfs when they eat,” he says. So Jasey worked with his coach to slightly tweak the first couple S2B nutrition habits. The results surprised the hell out of Jasey. “I probably put on 10 pounds by doing two things,” he says.

(Actually, it was 13 pounds. We checked.)

Step 1 – Drink 3 Super Shakes Every Day.

Total gain from this one step – 9 pounds.

Like most guys who need to gain muscle, Jasey wasn’t eating nearly enough food. His coach, Chuck, fixed that immediately by having him drink 3 plant-powered Super Shakes every day. With only a blender and a few choice ingredients, Jasey instantly and easily increased his calories, sending his body into muscle-building mode.

Plant-Powered Vanilla-Coconut Super Shake

- 5 ice cubes
- handful of frozen strawberries
- handful of fresh spinach
- 2 scoops Vega or PlantFusion vanilla protein powder
- 2 TBSP raw almond butter
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup coconut flakes

For a full month, Jasey didn’t touch any other part of his diet or modify any other meals. He simply focused on making and drinking his Super Shakes, without fail, every day.

It became his first muscle-building habit. Every day he logged into the S2B Coaching Program and gave himself a green check mark.

 

Step 2 – Eat a Muscle Breakfast every day.

Total gain from this one step: 4 pounds.

After a month of consistently nailing his first nutrition habit, Jasey was ready for more. This time, Coach Chuck instructed Jasey to increase the quantity and quality of his breakfast. S2B and Coach Chuck supplied the food recommendations and support, and Jasey showed off his culinary skills by coming up with own version of a tasty, muscle-building tofu scramble and pairing it with a big bowl of oatmeal and berries. For the next month, Jasey ate this breakfast and only missed one day, charting 93% compliance.

Spinach Tofu Scramble

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup white onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 block medium firm tofu
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cups spinach, chopped
• 1 avocado, sliced

How to make it

- Combine all the spices with the water and add to a separate dish. Set aside.  –

- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Put the onion and garlic in the pan and cook for about*5minutes.  

- Crumble tofu in the pan and sauté for 8-10 minutes.

- Pour over the spice/water mix. Add spinach and simmer for 2 minutes.

- Serve with sliced avocado on top. Info from this page.

Ok so you might be thinking YES Frank Medrano is super cut I know, but what about us girls!!! We could look just as good all it takes is commitment and perseverance and I know it isn’t easy. Why? Well because one it takes time to see the results of your hard work and two winters is knocking on our door and running at times could be difficult. But the results are awesome so go for it!!