As a vegan, I struggle to maintain good protein intake. So far, I rely on tofu, and nutritional yeast. Any other ideas? And how much is enough? : ) Thanks!
US What's Your Go-To Protein?
- Thread starter ConvenientVegan
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Lou
Forum Legend
I'm in the camp that thinks that Americans put too much emphasis on protein.
The advice I give people is that if you are eating enough calories (and eating good food) you are getting enough protein.
A good rule of thumb for most people is for every pound they weigh, they should consume at least 0.35 grams of protein. And to make things simple, the weight to use is the weight you want to be, (goal weight) no matter if you are tying to gain muscle mass or lose body fat. So if you want to weigh 150 you should try to get 50 grams of protein a day. Its not bad to get more that that but keep in mind that excess protein needs to broken down and the waste products (nitrogen) need to be flushed out of your body. So it's not only a waste of money but it can also be hard on your kidneys.
Another simple calculation: protein should make up 10 - 35% of your calories. Personally I like the 60/20/20 rule. 60% carbs, 20% fat, 20% protein.
I have seen so many articles saying we should strive for one gram of protein for each pound of body weight. this is misinformation - or a myth. I think a lot of the blame rests on our carnist society, the meat and diary industry, and the supplement industry for perpetuating the myth.
There are so many other things that American diets are deficient in. So our attention should be on those things. I think it was in the movie What the Health? where a doctor said the question should be not where do you get your protein but where do you get your fiber.
there is also something about how you consume your protein. The current thought is that you can only absorb so much protein at a time. So it's best to spread out your protein consumption over the course of a day - like in 3 meals as opposed to one protein shake.
further reading:
www.health.harvard.edu
The advice I give people is that if you are eating enough calories (and eating good food) you are getting enough protein.
A good rule of thumb for most people is for every pound they weigh, they should consume at least 0.35 grams of protein. And to make things simple, the weight to use is the weight you want to be, (goal weight) no matter if you are tying to gain muscle mass or lose body fat. So if you want to weigh 150 you should try to get 50 grams of protein a day. Its not bad to get more that that but keep in mind that excess protein needs to broken down and the waste products (nitrogen) need to be flushed out of your body. So it's not only a waste of money but it can also be hard on your kidneys.
Another simple calculation: protein should make up 10 - 35% of your calories. Personally I like the 60/20/20 rule. 60% carbs, 20% fat, 20% protein.
I have seen so many articles saying we should strive for one gram of protein for each pound of body weight. this is misinformation - or a myth. I think a lot of the blame rests on our carnist society, the meat and diary industry, and the supplement industry for perpetuating the myth.
There are so many other things that American diets are deficient in. So our attention should be on those things. I think it was in the movie What the Health? where a doctor said the question should be not where do you get your protein but where do you get your fiber.
there is also something about how you consume your protein. The current thought is that you can only absorb so much protein at a time. So it's best to spread out your protein consumption over the course of a day - like in 3 meals as opposed to one protein shake.
further reading:
How much protein do you need every day? - Harvard Health
Wondering how many grams of protein to have per day? The answer may surprise you. Discover the recommended daily protein intake and how to calculate it here....
www.health.harvard.edu
Thanks for this, Lou. Great article, too! After not eating beans for years (like so many people, they upset my stomach), I recently added them slowly back in. Now I have them, and lentils, quite a bit. And they are so satisfying, too. Inexpensive, and filling. And I find the canned versions, though a little salty, upset my system less. And very, my fave thing, convenient! And I like your 60-20-20 rule--makes sense, and is a good guide. And, yes, we ALL need more fiber! Beans, vegs, and nuts are great providers. And great breads, and cereals. Even a good corn chip, with quinoa added and other grains, is really good. And Yummy! Keep up the good work, and encouragement! : )I'm in the camp that thinks that Americans put too much emphasis on protein.
The advice I give people is that if you are eating enough calories (and eating good food) you are getting enough protein.
A good rule of thumb for most people is for every pound they weigh, they should consume at least 0.35 grams of protein. And to make things simple, the weight to use is the weight you want to be, (goal weight) no matter if you are tying to gain muscle mass or lose body fat. So if you want to weigh 150 you should try to get 50 grams of protein a day. Its not bad to get more that that but keep in mind that excess protein needs to broken down and the waste products (nitrogen) need to be flushed out of your body. So it's not only a waste of money but it can also be hard on your kidneys.
Another simple calculation: protein should make up 10 - 35% of your calories. Personally I like the 60/20/20 rule. 60% carbs, 20% fat, 20% protein.
I have seen so many articles saying we should strive for one gram of protein for each pound of body weight. this is misinformation - or a myth. I think a lot of the blame rests on our carnist society, the meat and diary industry, and the supplement industry for perpetuating the myth.
There are so many other things that American diets are deficient in. So our attention should be on those things. I think it was in the movie What the Health? where a doctor said the question should be not where do you get your protein but where do you get your fiber.
there is also something about how you consume your protein. The current thought is that you can only absorb so much protein at a time. So it's best to spread out your protein consumption over the course of a day - like in 3 meals as opposed to one protein shake.
further reading:
How much protein do you need every day? - Harvard Health
Wondering how many grams of protein to have per day? The answer may surprise you. Discover the recommended daily protein intake and how to calculate it here....
do you have access to Butler Soy Curls? you may enjoy them - I am never out of them and eat them at least 5 days out of 7 in either my noodley soup or crumbs in my oatmeal
split red lentils or split mung bean disappear into almost any food that you put it in and so I put it in with my steel cut oats
we do also eat a lot of canned or dry/cooked beans - whenever they are on sale I stock up and mostly buy the salt free cans however I usually rinse them anyways so most of the salt dissipates
you could also use the mung beans as an egg replacement as @PTree15 has suggested and so some frozen veggies mixed with this make a nice meal
Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
split red lentils or split mung bean disappear into almost any food that you put it in and so I put it in with my steel cut oats
we do also eat a lot of canned or dry/cooked beans - whenever they are on sale I stock up and mostly buy the salt free cans however I usually rinse them anyways so most of the salt dissipates
you could also use the mung beans as an egg replacement as @PTree15 has suggested and so some frozen veggies mixed with this make a nice meal
Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
Lou
Forum Legend
You're welcome. I actually find it quite fulfilling to provide info for people. And a little appreciation is the icing on the cake.
I was very lucky to stumble on the Protein for Vegetarians article early on. It is so chock full of info and heavily referenced. It should be required reading for any new vegetarian/vegan..
That could be the number one complaint we hear from newish vegans. Bloating and farting are commonly cited.
one of the main issues is how a vegan diet has so much more fiber than the SAD diet. The RDA for fiber is something above 20 g. The average American only gets like 15. A WFPB is more than double that.
There are bacteria in your gut that ferment your undigested fiber. If you double the amount of fiber you double the amount of those bacteria, too. And they produce gas as a byproduct. So double the fiber and you double the gas. I don't know the science behind this but I do know that people's body's adjust to that. But it takes time. That is one of the reasons you hear people recommend to gradually transition to a vegan diet.
Beans, especially black beans have high quantities of oligosaccharides (I had to look up how to spell that). And that is a type of fiber that is associated with gas. Canned beans have less of it that dry beans. but you can remove them even more by first rinsing your canned beans. Another good trick is if you are susceptible to bloating is to soak your dry beans for at least a few hours (preferably overnight) before cooking. and then discarding the liquid.
Another good reason to rinse canned beans is to reduce the salt level. In fact, rinse all your canned veggies to reduce the sodium.
It is cumbersome to calculate. I have an app called CronOmeter that does that calculations automatically. 60% carbs is a "high carb" diet. there is so much evidence that this is the healthiest type of diet. And it drives me crazy that there are journalists and health professionals promoting low carb dies.
Two notable exceptions. Real athletes do benefit from a 40-30-30 diet. The extra protein is good for muscle repair and the extra fat is good for energy reserves. I'm not a proponent of the Raw food diet but if you can maintain it - it's 80 -10- 10.
Even when I'm paying attention I have trouble getting 60-20-20. my protein is usually a little below 20 and my fat is usually a little above 20. but it's a good goal.
Besides fiber the SAD diet is deficient in so many things. When they survey groups they routinely find deficiencies in calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin D, etc. My point is that people should be more concerned with those things than protein. Which is not a real concern. But the majority of main stream health articles are about protein.
ProTip.
If you have the money and counter space get an InstantPot or something like it. Preparing dry beans is so much cheaper and healthier than canned beans. one internet chef estimates dry beans to be about 75% cheaper. And the instant pot makes cooking dry beans easy. My instant pot replaced my slow cooker, rice cooker, and soup pot.
but you can also just stick to lentils. they are easy to cook on the stove.
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Further reading
Gas Reduction Tips – The Bean Institute
beaninstitute.com
My Real-Life Experience with Cronometer Nutrition Tracker as a Nutritionist
For my Cronometer review, we’ll take a look at how this app works and how you can use it to meet your food-tracking needs and reach your health goals.
5 reasons to get yourself an Instant Pot
Safety, speed and easy cleanup are just a few of the reasons for their rising popularity.
www.cnet.com
Thanks, Emma! Love the soy curls! My go-to for all my casseroles, part of my Jumble Cooking! I just put a jumble of ingredients into a big bowl, starting with canned beans, quinoa, canned vegs, frozen vegs, tons of herbs, spices, seeds, chopped nuts. Toss, marinate for an hour covered, and even eat just room temp. Lentils, too. Love spoon food--no fork or knife required. Vegan food is easy and fun! I never was good at cooking animal stuff, anyway! : )
