New vegan

[ConnorR95]

Hey all, Its finally nice to speak to people who are also vegan or becoming a new vegan themselves

As I'm the only person I know I'm my family/group of friends to be doing a plant based diet/becoming a vegan , it's hard to know what's best to eat and not, researching has helped alot but people say one thing and then another
I work out regularly, about 5 times a week, including MMA, so I need to be getting alot of protein ,at the moment I've been eating kidney and black beans wrap fom lunches(is this good for me eating beans everyday) but dont want to keep eating beans all the time although they are very health , I've been eating tofu for dinner but people say dont eat to much tofu as it could be bad for me (online research) . I've been googling recipes which has also helped. I just need some guidance to what's the best things to eat thats high in protein to and best way to mix up my lunches and dinners

Thanks
Connor

 

[Three Chickpeas]

Welcome to the forum Connor!

First hand experience, I also work out 5-6 times per week and play soccer. I don't even track my protein, don't go out of my way to increase it, and I don't have any issues with muscle mass or weakness, etc. I'm not a bodybuilder, nor do I want to be, but the protein angle is... overhyped. If you consume enough calories through healthy whole-food plant based sources, you'll get your protein.

Also, if you haven't already, check out Gamechangers and their website for more bodybuilding priented views. They're the ones optimizing their intakes.

Good luck!

 

[betiPT]

Welcome Connor

Enjoy your food. Eat a variety of different produce. Get your B12 supplements.

If you want to track your nutrient levels periodically, use Cronometer. But you don’t need to do this everyday.

Enjoy

 

[Madorin]

Legumes are a great protein source so eating beans and tofu is definitely a great way to get protein in.
I know that online research about tofu or rather soy can be really confusing, especially since there's a lot of anti vegan propaganda talking about how bad soy is and that it contains estrogen which is bad for you.

First of all, you can be vegan without eating any soy products at all but if you're not one of the rare 2-3% of people who are allergic to soy there really isn't a reason why you shouldn't consume it.
(Quick info: about 66% of people who have been diagnosed with a soy allergy when they were children will lose this allergy while growing up).

And don't be scared because someone tells you that soy has estrogen in it. Soy contains phytoestrogens which are similar to the estrogens in the human body but 100 up to 10000 times weaker. Besides, they are bound to sugar molecules which the human body needs to seperate first. Before the phytoestrogens are free, about 90% of them are already lost.

There are even studies that show that soy can help lower the risk of certain types of breast cancer, prostate cancer and uterine cancer. So there's really no need to be afraid of that little bean
Just eat it in moderately like everything else and you'll be fine.
(Btw cows milk contains real estrogen in pretty large amounts)

Of course you can get protein from other foods as well so if you're not sure about how much you're really consuming, I'd recommend the app "Cronometer". You can track your food there and it'll show all nutrients you're getting or maybe lacking.

If you track your food for a while and still don't get enough protein for gaining muscle you could always get some plant based protein powder to add to your smoothies, porridge etc.

 

[Three Chickpeas]

Here's the Gamechangers great breakdown of protein: https://gamechangersmovie.com/food/protein/

Also, some great recipres from them with an eye on protein consumption: https://gamechangersmovie.com/food/recipes/

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum, Connor

In addition to the above info you can watch some great YouTubers who are vegan and body builders. Nimai Delgado you would have seen on Game Changers, Jon Venus, Simnett Nutrition, Brian Turner, to name a few. Brian and Jon just did a couple of videos together and they addressed the soy issue along with the protein non-issue. SPOILER: they both eat lots of soy.

Emma JC