Couple of questions for a newbie

[callador]

Hello Everyone.

I had a couple of questions for you guys and gals. This is now my second week going vegan. I came of a normal diet that was very high in animal proteins. Week 1 I made the mistake of not eating enough protein. I hit 170g based off some things I was reading. It wasn't enough for me. I do competitive powerlifting, and I felt really flat. Now I bumped it up to 250g, and I am feeling better. I still feel flat, but my strength is really good. The issue I am having is that I am doing a lot of soy and beans to get there. My fiber is way up compared to what I was doing, so I am getting a lot of gas and some diarrhea.

I've been taking beano and gas x to help, but it is still happening. Are there any other strategies to help witth this, until my stomach gets used to processing these kinds of protein better?

For strength athletes, what kind of macros do you guys shoot for? I am currently doing around 250g protein, 530g carbs and 73g fat. I seem to be holding steady weight wise or maybe just losing a little, which is ok. I mainly want to keep getting stronger/bigger while slowly leaning out.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Benjamin Ehinger]

The beano and gas x are just keeping your stomach and intestines from getting used to it. Quinoa has a decent amount of protein, too. You can add lentils to quinoa or brown rice for added protein. I remember when I started (not long ago) and was eating more beans than I was used to. I was getting gas bad and about 3 weeks in, it went away, well back to normal at least.

One trick to help is to cut the broccoli and other cruciferous veggies from meals that contain beans. Eat them, but not with beans, at least for now. The combination can be too much for your digestive system. For the diarrhea, if you're not eating bananas, add in one or two a day, it will help.

I am not a powerlifter or an athlete, but had the same problem when first starting out with a vegan diet. Keep some variety going with your sources of protein, as well.

 

[callador]

Thanks for the tips! So there is a light at the end of the gas tunnel (hopefully not an open flame!). I need to work on getting more veggies into my diet. I have been eating some tomatoes and peppers, but that is about it so far. I was never a big veggie guy before either, but I am working on it.

Right now I am doing 1 banana and a cup of frozen strawberries in my post workout protein shake (plant based). I will work on getting another banana in there.

I've been trying to combine protein sources to get a more well rounded amino acid profile. So I always combine rice with beans, etc. I've also been hitting soy which has a pretty favorable amino acid profile. Tofu is hella weird, but it doesn't taste awful. Still not my favorite.

 

[Benjamin Ehinger]

Probably need to get more veggies in there and you don't have to be a big veggie person to do it. Add leafy greens to your workout shake (spinach, kale, etc.) and add in some diced veggies with your rice and beans. Those are two easy ways to get some in there without really noticing it.

I love veggies, but my wife isn't so keen on them, so she's a lot like you on that one. I have to sneak them in almost like you would with your kid (she knows they are there, however). Over time, she has developed as taste for them.

They say we have to try things 15 times before we develop a taste for them and it takes about 2 weeks to change your taste buds.