Vegetarian Research

Ep. 25 – Can Vegetarians Really Build Muscle Without Protein Shakes?

The image that is split. One side showing food on the table and the other side displaying protein shake

Welcome to the 25th episode of Vegetarian Health and Longevity from Hurry The Food Up and Sports Nutritionist James LeBaigue.

I know so many people who use protein shakes. Almost everyone seems to have a bag of protein powder in their cupboard and I suspect you might too, or at least are considering it.

Most people relate protein shakes to muscle, in that they say you need protein shakes to build or grow muscle, or to take protein shakes to keep hold of the muscle that you already have.

And that is kind of true but that’s wayyyy too superficial and the truth is so much more interesting than that!

In this episode, we’re going go go through whether you really need protein shakes to build muscle, or whether you can do just fine without protein shakes and instead, focus on eating natural whole foods that don’t come blended, with some alluring design on that makes you think it’s going to be an absolute game-changer.

And if more people were able to understand this and improve it, I am absolutely sure that it would benefit so many lives. Now this could be in relation to weight loss or just general health living because it’s something that crosses all spheres and walks of life.

I’d like to dive into this in this episode, and show you just how powerful this change can be and how you can use it in your own life.

Listen to it here on your favourite provider.

Acknowledging Common Perceptions- An Introduction to protein shakes

Alright, I should acknowledge that not every protein shake smells like candyfloss and has heavily muscled people on the packaging.

But that’s what a lot of people associate with protein shakes

Now you may know a bit about protein already. It’s one of the three main macronutrients, the other two being fat and carbohydrates, and it’s a vital part of your diet.

Protein contains amino acids, and you may have heard these called the “building blocks of life” before, and that’s for good reason.

The Role of Amino Acids

Amino acids are required for so many different roles in your body including in your hormonal system, your immune system and your reproductive system.

Consuming protein gives your body the nutrients to help these carry out their normal functions.

Protein is also the nutrient that, yes, is responsible for helping you to grow bigger, stronger and more resistant muscle tissue.

So it’s protein that helps drive the adaptations that will enable you to build new muscle, to make positive gains from your gym training sessions, your power yoga or your high intensity training.

There’s a process in your body called muscle protein synthesis (MPS), and this is the term used to describe the creation of new muscle tissue.

Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS)

The way you create positive adaptations to training is this:

You exercise and create stress on your body.
Your body recognises this so it wants to get bigger or stronger.
It needs protein to be able to do; you consume protein.
That protein you’ve just eaten triggers MPS, so you grow new muscle tissue.

So the bottom line here is that you need protein in your diet to make positive improvements in exercise, which includes going to the gym with an aim to grow muscle.

That means that protein shakes make sense because they give you that super blast of easy to digest protein.

Optimal Protein Intake

In order to properly answer the question of whether protein shakes are required to build muscle, it’s worth first talking about what the gold standard ranges are for protein intake and how much protein you consume in your daily diet.

How much protein do I need to build muscle?

The optimal amount of protein to eat per day to build muscle is between 1.6-2.2g of protein per kg of body weight per day, or roughly 0.75-1g of protein per lb of body weight.

For a 70kg or 154lb person this would be about 115-154g of protein per day.

Now what I’ve frequently seen when I’ve analysed diaries of vegetarian clients is that they miss this threshold, often quite considerably. They might be consuming more like 1g of protein per kg of body weight per day.

Building Muscle with Insufficient Protein

And if you’re not in that range, then as it might be obvious, your ability to build muscle is not going to be as good as it could be if you were in that range.

This is backed up by evidence by the way, this isn’t just a number that I’ve plucked from thin air. A study called “Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training” investigated this and this was the threshold they discovered on analysis of lots of different data sets.

So this is the region that people should be trying to get to if they’re trying to build muscle because you are going to get the best anabolic response from your food, anabolic response essentially meaning positive muscle benefits.

What happens if I don’t eat enough protein?

But there’s a clear question here, and it’s one we frequently get at HTFU: What happens if you don’t hit this threshold?

Because while science says it’s best to hit that range, this might not always be possible.

The Reality of Protein Intake

The truth is that you can still build muscle if you aren’t in that protein range, and don’t let anyone kid you otherwise.

You might not be able to build it quite as optimally as if you were in the range but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible.

So then back to the question of are protein shakes needed to build muscle, the answer is one of those slightly frustrating “it depends”, because there is nuance here.

It depends on how much exercise you’re doing and how much protein you’re consuming without protein shakes.

In order to build muscle you have to do resistance training, or strength training, and I usually suggest a minimum of 3 times per week.

If you aren’t doing this then a protein shake isn’t going to make much difference. You can think of it as the exercise is the trigger to build muscle, the protein shake is the vehicle.

Without the trigger it’s not going to happen anyway so the vehicle doesn’t matter.

But then it’s about whether you actually need a protein shake. Because if you’re either already in that gold-standard protein range per day without having a protein shake, then including one isn’t going to be much benefit.

And as I mentioned before, you can still build muscle without being in that gold standard range.

Increasing Protein Intake Without Shakes

But what if you’re really low on your protein intake and you want to be in that gold standard range, what can you do?

Well, the first thing to do is look at your diet and see where you can get some easy wins in terms of bumping up your protein intake through regular, whole food, so not through a protein shake.

One of the easiest ways here is to opt for low-fat dairy as opposed to full-fat dairy. You can think of low-fat dairy as the vegetarian equivalent to lean meat, where you’re getting more protein per gram.

So swapping to low-fat greek yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese is a simple way of getting in more protein.

Then you could make sure you make use of other veggie foods that are high in protein, such as eggs, soy and its derivatives like tofu, lentils, beans and wholegrain carbohydrates.

And I love these last three because people are often surprised by how much protein are in them and just how powerful they can be for bumping up your protein intake.

Protein Shakes for Specific Scenarios

But let’s say you’re trying to increase your protein intake and are finding it difficult. Maybe you don’t like dairy, or you’re trying to lose weight so are in a calorie deficit and are finding it tough to get the protein up without accompanying carbs or fats.

This is one of the scenarios where a protein shake might come in really handy.

They’re a low-calorie, easy option for getting lots of protein in, and are especially helpful when trying to lose weight because you’re naturally restricted with how many calories you can eat per day.

This is actually something we’re super conscious about at Hurry The Food Up, and super open about too. Our main goal of The Vegetarian Protein Fix is helping vegetarians lose weight healthily.

We create meal plans to help with this but getting that protein intake up while being restricted on calories is tough!

So we include protein shakes in many of the meal plans simply because it helps to achieve those optimum levels that are otherwise impossible without a diet that consists primarily of egg and low-fat dairy, because that’s not particularly satisfying, sustainable or supported by evidence.

So then we try to balance getting into that optimal range against not eating a super boring diet that makes you want to quit. Instead, we focus on healthy, satisfying food that makes you happy and lets you lose weight at the same time. If you are interested in trying out one of our plans, head to our meal plan page, and you can download one for free. It comes with a shopping list, step by step instructions for all recipes, and is full of speedy, tasty but weight-loss friendly recipes. So get started now!

Protein Intake Considerations as You Age

So as well as a protein shake being reasonable if you’re in a calorie deficit and struggling with your protein intake, there are a couple of other scenarios where I think they could be helpful but still not necessary.

As we get older it seems like we need more protein to build and maintain muscle, so I think it’s quite reasonable to consider protein supplements to help with this as we age.

In order to trigger that process that I mentioned earlier, muscle protein synthesis, it seems you need more protein than when you were younger for the same effect, which means gradually increasing your protein intake as you get older.

In terms of that 1.6-2.2g of protein per kg of bw per day range, I’d be looking at the upper end of that range for anyone over about the age of 60, because it’s going to give you the best chance of keeping hold of your hard-earned muscle.

Another scenario is for those who have specific restrictions on what they can eat. So for example, if someone has an allergy, intolerance or they just generally dislike a food and don’t eat it, protein shakes could help fill that gap.

Your list of high protein veggie foods is limited and if some of those options are removed then it’s even more difficult.

Protein Shakes in Special Diets

This is even more true for those who follow a vegan diet because it is that much harder to get protein in without eating really repetitively, and that’s not realistic for most people.

When it comes to exercise, my usual advice is that if you’re going to be eating a normal meal with a good protein source within 45 minutes of finishing then you don’t need to have a snack.

If it’s going to be longer than 45 minutes then a snack is a good idea, to give your body nutrients to kickstart the recovery process.

If you know this is going to be difficult, perhaps you’re travelling or you know you won’t be able to eat for about 90 minutes then a protein shake could make sense for you. You can kickstart the recovery process with

a protein shake which is just going to positively contribute to making beneficial adaptations to exercise.

In a nutshell, while protein shakes might help certain individuals in certain scenarios to build muscle, they are by no means a necessity and you can build muscle without them.

Final Thoughts

So I hope you found this episode interesting and gave you some helpful info about the truth behind protein shakes… If you did find it useful then please give the podcast a quick review on whatever platform you’re listening on.

It helps the podcast to spread to more like minded people like you, and it’ll only take a moment. Thanks so much, and we’ll speak soon.

And finally, here is the easiest way to sign up to try our meal plans (free).

And a list of our vegetarian meal plans (all also free).

And finally finally: More vegetarian podcasts this way!

Studies used in this podcast:

Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle

The post Ep. 25 – Can Vegetarians Really Build Muscle Without Protein Shakes? appeared first on Hurry The Food Up.

Vegetarian Research

Complete List of Fruits that Start with the Letter U (#1 is so ugly!)

Ok, fruits beginning with U is a tricky one. But don’t let that stop you. Read on for the full list!

It’s a strange list, this one, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much I did putting it together! It also contains my favourite fruit of all time.

Let’s see what fruit begins with the letter U and how you can use it if it’s up for grabs in your area.

Unveil the most popular fruits that start with U!

What’s a fruit that starts with U? The type of fruit I’m going for is considered culinary fruit, either by tradition or by scientific definition.

Ugli

The ugli fruit (such a mean name!), also known as Jamaican tangelo and uniq fruit, is a hybrid of grapefruit, tangerine, and Seville orange. Its distinctive look and taste were developed in Jamaica.

The citrus fruit has rough, wrinkled skin ranging in color from yellowish-green to orange. The fruit is bigger than a grapefruit and relatively simple to peel.

The ugli fruit taste suits many cocktails, smoothies, sweets, and sauces. If you don’t like grapefruit, you might want to give this one a try because it’s much less acidic.

You can also tell people you’ve made an ‘ugli cocktail!’.

The botanical name of the ugli fruit tree is Citrus reticulata × paradisi.

Ugni

Only one letter different, ugni, commonly known as Chilean guava or Ugni molinae, is a fruit-bearing shrub from Chile and Argentina.

This U fruit is round or oval and approximately the size of a blueberry (or a tiny grape). Fresh berries are deep red in colour and have white flesh.

Taste-wise, ugni berries fall in between the sweetness of strawberries and the tartness of cranberries and kiwis. They’re used to make jams, jellies, sauces, sweets, and drinks.

Ugni also makes a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins (high levels of vitamin C), and minerals.

Umari

Umari fruit, technically known as Poraqueiba sericea, is a tropical fruit from the Amazon jungle in South America. Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador are its main locations.

Umari fruit is usually 2 to 4 cm in diameter. It has smooth and glossy skin that has a green or yellow color when unripe and turns a brilliant orange or red when completely ripe.

This unique fruit has a very creamy texture and buttery flavor. In fact, locals use it like butter to put over their bread. How cool is that?

Umbu

Spondias tuberosa, known as imbu, umbu, or Brazil plum is a Brazilian tropical fruit. It’s popular in the northeast of Brazil for its refreshing taste.

The round or oval Umbu fruit has thin and smooth green-to-yellow skin. Its sweet and tangy flesh combines pineapple, mango, and citrus burst of flavor.

Fresh umbu fruit is eaten by peeling the skin and eating the flesh or squeezing out the juice. Various drinks, ice cream, and pastries employ the juice.

Umbu jams and jellies can be smeared on toast or eaten as a topping or dip.

Umbra

Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands are home to the fruit-bearing tree Umbra (Spondias dulcis). You can also come across the names ambarella, June plum, and golden apple.

Umbra fruits are round, like little mangoes or apricots. Their ripe skin is smooth, yellow or golden, and somewhat fuzzy.

This U fruit tastes like a fusion of mango, pineapple, and citrus. It’s eaten raw or added to salads, sweets, and chutneys. Some cultures pickle young, immature fruit as a condiment.

Ume

Ume fruit also goes by the names Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. It’s a tree species native to East Asia and popular in Japanese dishes.

Its thin, fuzzy skin is green to yellow when unripe and crimson to orange when ripe. It has luscious, acidic flesh.

Ume fruit is culturally significant in Japanese cuisine and is used to produce umeboshi, a traditional condiment.

Umeboshi are pickled ume fruits preserved in salt and occasionally scented with shiso leaves. These sour, salty pickled fruits are consumed as a side dish or in rice balls (onigiri).

Umeshu, a Japanese liqueur, is also made from ume. It’s a sweet and fragrant drink created by soaking the fruits in alcohol, usually shochu or sake, and sugar.

Ume has potential health benefits in addition to its culinary usage. It may improve digestion, promote liver function, and supply antioxidants and vitamins.

This species is a member of the Prunus genus which includes plums, peaches, and cherries. It goes by the scientific name Prunus mume.

Usakhelauri grape

Usakhelauri, a rare Georgian grape variety (Vitis vinifera), makes excellent red wines. It’s mostly grown in Lechkhumi and Racha in western Georgia. Every year for my birthday I have red wine and cheese, and this one is my next plan. Roll on summer!

Usakhelauri grapes are dark purple or black and tiny. Their flavor profile and high sugar content create sweet and fragrant wines.

Usakhelauri grapes are notoriously low-yielding, making them a difficult variety to grow. Grapes are normally harvested with the utmost care and hand-picked.

Wines made from this grape are highly sought after by connoisseurs because of their rarity and high quality.

Uva Rara grape

Uva Rara is a red Italian wine grape varietal grown in Lombardy. Italian “Uva Rara” means “rare grape” due to its rarity compared to other grape varieties.

Uva Rara is typically blended with other red grapes to provide richness and depth to wines. It can include red berry, flowery, and spice notes.

Uva Rara grapes can also be developed into varietal wines. These medium-bodied wines with mild tannins include red fruit, herb, and earthy characteristics.

Uva Rara is also known as Bonarda Novarese.

Uva Tosca grape

Uva Tosca is a red wine grape produced in Emilia-Romagna, east-central Italy. It contributes to local wine production in Forlì-Cesena.

This type of grape was one of the few red wine grapes that could regularly mature in the foothills of the Apennines.

Uvalino grape

Uvalino is a red wine grape produced in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It contributes to Piedmont wine production despite its lesser fame.

Due to its high antioxidant resveratrol content, Uvalino has garnered notice in recent years for its health advantages.

As we’re starting to learn, many grapes start with U!

Uvilla

Uvilla (Physalis peruviana) is a fruit-bearing shrub endemic to Chile and Peru. It’s also commonly referred to as “Peruvian groundcherry,” “Cape gooseberry,” or simply “golden berry.”

Uvilla looks like a yellowish-green miniature tomato inside a husk, similar to a paper lantern, which turns from green to a golden or orange hue when the fruit is fully ripe.

The fruit has a nice sweetness-acidity balance. It’s frequently juiced, jammed, jellied, baked, or eaten fresh.

Uvilla or golden berry contains vitamin C, antioxidants, and dietary fiber.

This is my favourite fruit of all time. I love the sweet bite with just hint of a sour behind it. In Germany, where I live, they are called Physalis and are relatively popular. In English-speaking countries they have various names, including cape gooseberry.

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11 Surprising Fruits That Start With U: 2025 Edition!

Discover a world of extraordinary fruits that start with U. Explore their flavors, origins, and culinary possibilities in this captivating fruit guide.

Type round-up

Author Dave