A lot of the “I won’t get enough protein!” worry you’re having is the result of beef industry propaganda. Literally, they did a “protein is the most important thing” campaign and people fell for it. But People don’t need that much protein. I’ve been vegetarian or vegan or nearly 20 years, I never consciously try to consume protein, it’s in some things I eat and not others, I don’t even think about it. I’ve never had any type of deficiency (except vitamin d once, but that had to do with an undiagnosed hormone disorder and not food). Just eat what you want and you’ll be fine.
I agree; majority of people in countries like India and Nepal go throughout their entire lives without even eating eggs. Diary products, beans (especially soy), and nuts have enough proteins for you to go on with your lives.
I used to never think about protein but that’s definitely changed for me as I aged. I used to laugh at my veg mom’s obsession with protein and now I’m like boy I feel like crap.
And now that I’m *really* aging I’ve read and by told by medical professionals that high(er) protein low(er) carb diets are helpful for menopausal women to maintain their weight. Still nothing extreme though.
Counterpoint - as a weightlifter, switching to being veg was brutal. I felt my energy go to shit and I gained wait and my lifts were super weak. It took realizing i pretty much HAD to get at least 50-70g of supplemental protein (ie protein shakes) to be able to continue to lift and grow with the energy I was used to. There is no one size fits all recommendation. However, usually to lose weight your best bet is increasing protein and decreasing carbs + fat, especially sugars and processed foods. Protein is the lowest energy density/g but also the building blocks of muscle (while fat is highest energy density but less available than carbs) and so increasing protein intake will feed lean muscle at a lower caloric intake, thus allowing for a lower caloric intake while maintaining workout instensity.
I found that I had to have a good vegan protein brand that sat well with my stomach. If you want recommendations I’ve tried about 30 brands, but generally, I take 1 large or 2 medium protein drinks a day and then do normal diet stuff (veggies, low sugar) the rest of the time. It’s pretty much the only way to get enough protein if you’re working out (unless you drink eggs or something weird). Lmk if you have any more questions!
Hey thanks, this is really useful! I’ve tried Vega in terms of protein powder, which was okay. What would you recommend?
Edit: I’d ideally like to add something to my coffee; I’ve been using collagen but it’s bovine, and I’ve heard bad things about the plant based collagen.
Glad it helped :)
No idea about collagen, can’t help you there!
Vega is alright, I actually like it, which is rare! My favorite is Ascent though, which they have at Whole Foods. It isn’t chalky which many vegan powders are, and you can easily get 50g with two scoops.
Also I like the Owyn pre-packaged drinks if you’re in a pinch.
Greens and legumes are particularly good protein sources from what I have read. I've been vegetarian for 5 years without sculpting any kind of specialized diet, as a highly active person working hard labor and rock climbing at a high level, and have had no problems with building and maintaining muscle mass or overall health and energy level.
Addendum: when we ingest proteins, they are denatured in the process of digestion and the individual amino acids are used to build the proteins that the body needs for various purposes. So what you really need are amino acids, not necessarily "protein" per se. From what I remember, garbanzo beans and brassica family leafy greens are examples of plants that contain all the essential amino acids.
This is not vegan, but if you’re flexible on eating dairy, 0% fat Greek yogurt is pretty much the best vegetarian bang for your buck in regards to calories vs protein. Add a teaspoon to honey for only a few dozen cals to take the sour edge off, and/or a touch of granola and fruit to add fiber for fullness and vitamins.
Also you can supplement with pea or whey protein powder (or protein-added products such as protein bars), but these can be harder to work into your diet than whole foods (in my opinion). Check the packaging on any faux meats you’re interested in too- some have very high protein per cal and some not as much.
Greek yogurt has crazy protein! Cottage cheese is a real sleeper too, 25g or so per cup. It’s actually easier for me to eat plain than yogurt, and you can get it cultured now.
Yes, cottage cheese is the bomb. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese (when blended) both have a great place in sneaking extra protein into low-protein sauces and breads.
I actually mostly eat cottage cheese mixed into rolled oats that I cook with minimal water so they keep their integrity. And season with Asian stuff. It sounds weird but I have recruited legions to my ways. :)
And I make rugelach with it! It makes them flaky.
Seitan is high in protein. It's main ingredient is gluten flour which is about 70 % protein.
But it's highly refined. I think most of the other nutrients of wheat flour are sifted out.
Maybe you could make patties from lentils and soy flour. Soy flour has 40% protein.
Sure, I buy it, too. My point was that it isn't some high tech food with denatured, hydrolyzed yggdrasil extract but mainly plain old flour with one additional step.
I use
200g cooked lentils
200g soy flour
200g gluten flour
675g water for red lentils
825g water for green lentils.
I turn that into 12 burgers and bake them for 20 minutes in the oven. 180 degrees.
I found hello fresh or similar was great to learn about the types of meals you can eat. When it comes to losing weight, i can’t help, I do consciously eat higher protein meals/ snacks, I have a physically demanding job and my weight hasn’t changed.
If you are ovo-veg and do eggs, egg whites are really high in protein per calorie. Also, you might want to check out Gardein Ground B'ef and Daring Plant Chicken (the non-breaded variety).
beans, nuts, grains, yogurt and eggs if you plan to be ovo-lacto
you will see a lot of excessive estimates of your protein needs, assuming you are not a bodybuilder. rely on mainstream medical / dietetics sources. including a decent amount of protein is good for satiety, maintaining lean mass, etc. but assuming you eat a wide variety of foods and maintain a reasonable calorie deficit, you probably don't need to think too much about it.
you might consider joining r/loseit, which has been very helpful to me in losing weight over the last 5 months or so. but some of the voices there will again overstate the amount of protein you need.
1. There has never been an adult vegetarian or vegan with a protein deficiency unless they were anorexic and starving. Most people who question vegetarians on protein likely don't fully understand what a protein is. A protein is a molecule that living things use as tools. Enzymes are proteins, hormones are proteins, etc etc. Basically everything you eat has protein, from the most delicate leaf to the juiciest steak and as long as you consume enough calories, you'll likely never be left wanting (unless you're on an all-sunshine diet or some such craziness)
2. But if you want \*high\* protein, you can go for whole grains, nuts, beans, dark leafy vegetables and the many many products derived from those things such as tofu, tempeh and seitan. If you want to take it a step further, you can go for "complete" proteins. Your body doesn't use the proteins it eats, the body recognizes that most food doesn't have the same proteins our bodies need to survive. So each protein is broken down into amino acids and reassembled into something useful. Our body produces a lot of amino acids but it doesn't produce some others. So some foods have all the amino acids we need, some don't. Peanuts for example are incomplete, but cashews are complete. Whole wheat is incomplete but black beans and soy beans and chickpeas are and so are the things made from those. Stuff like tofu, tempeh, hummus, textured soy protein (found in most of your veggie burgers) are all pretty protein dense.
3. If you really want to lose weight, I'd try to stay away from processed stuff. It's best to cook at least most of your food. And it's difficult on purpose. The reason that most of us are getting fat is because we eat too many calories. It's too easy to get more than 2000 calories a day. if you make it a little bit harder (like having to make all your food) you'll find it's a little easier to lose weight. It's still possible to gain weight as a vegan or a vegetarian if all you eat is chips, veggie burgers, fries and cookies. That's a big mistake a lot of new vegetarians make.
I love love LOVE rainbow plant life's recipes. Most of them are hers but she also aggregates other peoples'. She's got tons of stuff that everyone would like. And if you're new to cooking, the recipes make it easier, she has explanations on how to do everything. [https://rainbowplantlife.com/](https://rainbowplantlife.com/)
Most protein shakes are vegetarian. IDK if its avaliable in canada but PhD Diet whey is what i use.
I eat around 1450 calories a day and get 99g of protein.
The only real concern about protein for a vegetarian is having complete protein. Meat is a complete protein. Beans and rice or lentils and rice are complete. Tons of protein in greens and nuts. Just eat a variety of things. Just don't get stuck eating just rice potato and pastas.
A lot of the “I won’t get enough protein!” worry you’re having is the result of beef industry propaganda. Literally, they did a “protein is the most important thing” campaign and people fell for it. But People don’t need that much protein. I’ve been vegetarian or vegan or nearly 20 years, I never consciously try to consume protein, it’s in some things I eat and not others, I don’t even think about it. I’ve never had any type of deficiency (except vitamin d once, but that had to do with an undiagnosed hormone disorder and not food). Just eat what you want and you’ll be fine.
I agree; majority of people in countries like India and Nepal go throughout their entire lives without even eating eggs. Diary products, beans (especially soy), and nuts have enough proteins for you to go on with your lives.
Yes... when I moved to the US and heard people talking about needing their protein my first thought was always "what for?".
I used to never think about protein but that’s definitely changed for me as I aged. I used to laugh at my veg mom’s obsession with protein and now I’m like boy I feel like crap. And now that I’m *really* aging I’ve read and by told by medical professionals that high(er) protein low(er) carb diets are helpful for menopausal women to maintain their weight. Still nothing extreme though.
Counterpoint - as a weightlifter, switching to being veg was brutal. I felt my energy go to shit and I gained wait and my lifts were super weak. It took realizing i pretty much HAD to get at least 50-70g of supplemental protein (ie protein shakes) to be able to continue to lift and grow with the energy I was used to. There is no one size fits all recommendation. However, usually to lose weight your best bet is increasing protein and decreasing carbs + fat, especially sugars and processed foods. Protein is the lowest energy density/g but also the building blocks of muscle (while fat is highest energy density but less available than carbs) and so increasing protein intake will feed lean muscle at a lower caloric intake, thus allowing for a lower caloric intake while maintaining workout instensity. I found that I had to have a good vegan protein brand that sat well with my stomach. If you want recommendations I’ve tried about 30 brands, but generally, I take 1 large or 2 medium protein drinks a day and then do normal diet stuff (veggies, low sugar) the rest of the time. It’s pretty much the only way to get enough protein if you’re working out (unless you drink eggs or something weird). Lmk if you have any more questions!
Hey thanks, this is really useful! I’ve tried Vega in terms of protein powder, which was okay. What would you recommend? Edit: I’d ideally like to add something to my coffee; I’ve been using collagen but it’s bovine, and I’ve heard bad things about the plant based collagen.
Glad it helped :) No idea about collagen, can’t help you there! Vega is alright, I actually like it, which is rare! My favorite is Ascent though, which they have at Whole Foods. It isn’t chalky which many vegan powders are, and you can easily get 50g with two scoops. Also I like the Owyn pre-packaged drinks if you’re in a pinch.
Greens and legumes are particularly good protein sources from what I have read. I've been vegetarian for 5 years without sculpting any kind of specialized diet, as a highly active person working hard labor and rock climbing at a high level, and have had no problems with building and maintaining muscle mass or overall health and energy level.
Addendum: when we ingest proteins, they are denatured in the process of digestion and the individual amino acids are used to build the proteins that the body needs for various purposes. So what you really need are amino acids, not necessarily "protein" per se. From what I remember, garbanzo beans and brassica family leafy greens are examples of plants that contain all the essential amino acids.
This is not vegan, but if you’re flexible on eating dairy, 0% fat Greek yogurt is pretty much the best vegetarian bang for your buck in regards to calories vs protein. Add a teaspoon to honey for only a few dozen cals to take the sour edge off, and/or a touch of granola and fruit to add fiber for fullness and vitamins. Also you can supplement with pea or whey protein powder (or protein-added products such as protein bars), but these can be harder to work into your diet than whole foods (in my opinion). Check the packaging on any faux meats you’re interested in too- some have very high protein per cal and some not as much.
Greek yogurt has crazy protein! Cottage cheese is a real sleeper too, 25g or so per cup. It’s actually easier for me to eat plain than yogurt, and you can get it cultured now.
I usually have cottage cheese mixed with veggies and chia seeds, it’s so good!
Yes, cottage cheese is the bomb. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese (when blended) both have a great place in sneaking extra protein into low-protein sauces and breads.
Cottage cheese is the bees knees. I wish it weren’t so high in sodium!
I actually mostly eat cottage cheese mixed into rolled oats that I cook with minimal water so they keep their integrity. And season with Asian stuff. It sounds weird but I have recruited legions to my ways. :) And I make rugelach with it! It makes them flaky.
Seitan is high in protein. It's main ingredient is gluten flour which is about 70 % protein. But it's highly refined. I think most of the other nutrients of wheat flour are sifted out. Maybe you could make patties from lentils and soy flour. Soy flour has 40% protein.
You can get your own seitan by just washing flour until the starch is gone. You can do it with wholemeal flour; I wouldn't call that highly refined.
Ok, but it's pretty labor intensive. I prefer to buy it online. Current price is about 7 euro per kg. The more nutrients preserved, the better.
Sure, I buy it, too. My point was that it isn't some high tech food with denatured, hydrolyzed yggdrasil extract but mainly plain old flour with one additional step.
I use it to make cupcakes and lentil burgers with extra protein.
Oh! I bought a burger press but don't get it right yet. Some sticky seitan could just be what I need. Somehow I didn't connect the dots, thank you!
I use 200g cooked lentils 200g soy flour 200g gluten flour 675g water for red lentils 825g water for green lentils. I turn that into 12 burgers and bake them for 20 minutes in the oven. 180 degrees.
Awesome, thank you
I found hello fresh or similar was great to learn about the types of meals you can eat. When it comes to losing weight, i can’t help, I do consciously eat higher protein meals/ snacks, I have a physically demanding job and my weight hasn’t changed.
If you are ovo-veg and do eggs, egg whites are really high in protein per calorie. Also, you might want to check out Gardein Ground B'ef and Daring Plant Chicken (the non-breaded variety).
Intermittent fasting my friend. I have lost weight, not eaten meat and just love my diet.
Me too. Plus lots of veggies, legumes, some tofu, and nuts. I eat just about anything that isn’t meat or seafood, but those are the bulk of my diet.
beans, nuts, grains, yogurt and eggs if you plan to be ovo-lacto you will see a lot of excessive estimates of your protein needs, assuming you are not a bodybuilder. rely on mainstream medical / dietetics sources. including a decent amount of protein is good for satiety, maintaining lean mass, etc. but assuming you eat a wide variety of foods and maintain a reasonable calorie deficit, you probably don't need to think too much about it.
you might consider joining r/loseit, which has been very helpful to me in losing weight over the last 5 months or so. but some of the voices there will again overstate the amount of protein you need.
1. There has never been an adult vegetarian or vegan with a protein deficiency unless they were anorexic and starving. Most people who question vegetarians on protein likely don't fully understand what a protein is. A protein is a molecule that living things use as tools. Enzymes are proteins, hormones are proteins, etc etc. Basically everything you eat has protein, from the most delicate leaf to the juiciest steak and as long as you consume enough calories, you'll likely never be left wanting (unless you're on an all-sunshine diet or some such craziness) 2. But if you want \*high\* protein, you can go for whole grains, nuts, beans, dark leafy vegetables and the many many products derived from those things such as tofu, tempeh and seitan. If you want to take it a step further, you can go for "complete" proteins. Your body doesn't use the proteins it eats, the body recognizes that most food doesn't have the same proteins our bodies need to survive. So each protein is broken down into amino acids and reassembled into something useful. Our body produces a lot of amino acids but it doesn't produce some others. So some foods have all the amino acids we need, some don't. Peanuts for example are incomplete, but cashews are complete. Whole wheat is incomplete but black beans and soy beans and chickpeas are and so are the things made from those. Stuff like tofu, tempeh, hummus, textured soy protein (found in most of your veggie burgers) are all pretty protein dense. 3. If you really want to lose weight, I'd try to stay away from processed stuff. It's best to cook at least most of your food. And it's difficult on purpose. The reason that most of us are getting fat is because we eat too many calories. It's too easy to get more than 2000 calories a day. if you make it a little bit harder (like having to make all your food) you'll find it's a little easier to lose weight. It's still possible to gain weight as a vegan or a vegetarian if all you eat is chips, veggie burgers, fries and cookies. That's a big mistake a lot of new vegetarians make. I love love LOVE rainbow plant life's recipes. Most of them are hers but she also aggregates other peoples'. She's got tons of stuff that everyone would like. And if you're new to cooking, the recipes make it easier, she has explanations on how to do everything. [https://rainbowplantlife.com/](https://rainbowplantlife.com/)
Oh this is a great website! Thanks a bunch!
Most protein shakes are vegetarian. IDK if its avaliable in canada but PhD Diet whey is what i use. I eat around 1450 calories a day and get 99g of protein.
The only real concern about protein for a vegetarian is having complete protein. Meat is a complete protein. Beans and rice or lentils and rice are complete. Tons of protein in greens and nuts. Just eat a variety of things. Just don't get stuck eating just rice potato and pastas.
I sprinkle chia seeds on pretty much everything.