Non-Meat Eaters and Muscle Gain

This blog is simply about my personal experience and opinion. I realize there are people who aren't going to agree with me, and that's Okay. 

I have been lifting weights for 28 years now and a personal trainer for 9.  I've helped a LOT of people get fit.  And from what I have witnessed with my own two eyes right in front of me, non-meat eaters don't gain muscle or get shapely as well or as quickly as meat eaters.

I've read the scientific explanation for this and, quite frankly, I don't remember it specifically.  It has something to do with animal proteins versus non-animal proteins and the way the body utilizes them.  The only thing that matters to me is the nitty gritty, and that is that my meat-eating clients see more progress, in both muscle growth and weight loss, than my non-meat eating ones.

Meat eaters see physical improvements fastest, Vegetarians who still eat animal products but not animal flesh are behind them, and Vegans come in at a distant third.  Sad, but true, because from what I've seen a Vegan lifestyle is very self-disciplined.

So why do I post a blog about this?  Well, it helps me to mentally accept where I am if I know why I am there. So if you are a Vegan or Vegetarian and not seeing the progress you'd like to, now you at least might have a potential reason why. 

I am not trying convince anyone to eat meat.  I assume that would be as intrusive and downright rude to a Vegan as it is it is to me when someone tries to convince me to STOP eating animal products.  How you choose to eat and your reasons for it are your business.  But on the other hand, don't expect me or any other trainer to be able to design a program that will have you making the same changes as your meat-eating peers.  We can't change the way your body processes nutrients.