Protein Problems

GuruOnAMountain

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  1. Vegan newbie
I decided to do Veganuary basically on a dare. I'd mentioned reading about it to a friend and joked about doing it and she replied with, "You'll never manage to stick out being vegan for a month." Being one of the type of people who doesn't like being told what they can and can't do, I decided I had to prove her wrong.

It has all been a bit of a shock to me because I thought I was going to endure a month of terrible suffering and craving and then go straight back to my omnivorous ways on the 1st of February but I'm now seriously considering becoming vegan long-term. I still stay at home and had made a deal with my parents that they would support my vegan 'experiment' in January so long as I ate an omnivorous diet in February as we have a freezer full of meat that they don't want to throw out. After that, if I want to go vegan, then they'll support me.

I'm not missing meat at all and, in fact, the thought of eating it again in February is making me feel a bit sick. The only things I'm missing at all are tuna and cheese although I'm currently experimenting with vegan cheeses but I've been recording all I eat in My Fitness Pal and keeping an eye on my protein levels and they are nearly always way too low.

I'm not too worried about it now as I'm sure I've got enough reserves to see me through the month but if I'm going to make the change longer term, it could become an issue. I feel like I'm consciously trying to eat protein all the time but still not hitting my protein targets for the day unless I eat something like Linda McCartney sausages for dinner and I'm not keen on the idea of eating processed "meats" too often. I bought some tofu to try but I suspect I might not like it and I'm also a bit reluctant to rely on too much soya-based foods in my diet. I feel like I've been eating a tonne of nuts which probably isn't all that good for me and I'm still not hitting my protein targets. And as much as I love black beans, I feel like I can't eat many more of them for dinner or I might turn into one!

I've been reading about seitan and tempeh but they don't seem all that easy to find in the UK or maybe I just don't know where to look for them?

So any tips for a newbie? I'm considering finding some sort of vegan protein powder as an emergency stand-by if I do decide to do this for life so any tips on that will be welcome, too.
 
Hi Damo,
I've had my protein targets set at 60g per day on My Fitness Pal and other protein calculators I've used have given me a goal of anything between 48-169g! Doing my own calculations based on 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight, the 60g that MFP has been quoting me seems to be about right although if I lose weight over time on a vegan diet, I suppose this will gradually go down a bit but I do work out fairly often, too, although I tend to do more cardio than weights work.

The problem is that most days I'm averaging out at getting between 25-35g of protein. I feel like I'd need to eat massive portions and loads of snacks to get my protein up to the 60g mark and I'm feeling too full at the end of the day to try to stuff in some extra protein. I'm also really aware of the fact that if I eat too many nuts, I'll be consuming quite a lot of fat.
 
Hi GoaM, welcome to the community and here's to you for doing Veganuary!:party:

I've always been a fan of https://cronometer.com myself, which tends to be a little more detailed than MyFitnessPal when it comes to having the macros built-in and ready (and it's free). My personal protein target is 57g per day. Cronometer is a good option because it has the 30bananasaday guidelines built in. But since you are just a newbie I wouldn't worry too much about the 'High Carb Low Fat' stuff just yet (if ever you're into the more healthy vegan diets later on you can go take a look)! If you are eating a varied diet it is almost impossible not to meet the minimum protein guidelines. For instance, there is no medical term in the world for a protein deficiency because it is so very rare. Even fruit has a minimum 2.5-3% protein and so, if you only got your calories from fruit the whole day, you would still meet your minimum protein need (USDA calls for 2.5% daily caloric intake to be protein). So there is a good chance, I think, that MyFitnessPal is missing lots of macros. Or, yes, you could add protein powder into your daily smoothies but only vegan body-builders tend to bother with this (and there is an argument within the vegan fitness community whether protein supplementing is really necessary at that - if you're aware of just how athletic Tim Shieff is, a near-fruitarian, then you'd see why!). There are even some flavoured vegan protein powders out there. These are usually made from brown rice, because rice has a high percentage of protein - as do many dark green vegetables, such as broccoli.

I have a great recipe for vegan tuna (sometimes called 'toona') which is basically just a blend of kidney beans, chick peas, salt, lemon, (sometimes a little dill) and seaweed. Yes, seaweed - you can buy the very inoffensive crunchy stuff or sheets in health foods stores and by the time you blend all the above ingredients together (don't over blend it though you want to keep it a little fibrous or you'll end up with toona slop) it will taste wonderful. Adding the kidney beans to the chickpeas even alters the colour of the blend making it a little more 'grey'. I have made this recipe tons of times, I like adding spring onions into the blender too, then cooked myself jacket potatoes and stuffed them. I have also made toona pasta bakes with it though I do recommend it raw - rather than cooked - because it tends to lose its flavour when cooked. Or, if you're planning on cooking it, just be sure to make it over-pungent to begin with.

Violife is a decent vegan cheese. I also tried mozzarissela which wasn't so bad. I am not a fan of cheezly or sheese and don't really recommend those, but each to their own. Vegusto are also a decent UK brand. I do have my own vegan cheese recipe on this site which you can check out as well - and it's soy free, which is a bonus.

I've posted this video on this site before but you might like it:

Another informative video with Dr Michael Klaper:
 
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Thanks so much winter.frost! Loads of good information and links for me to get my teeth into there!
 
Tim Shieff is definitely one of my fitness inspirations and I've done a lot more movement since following his exploits on YouTube. I also particularly like this video, which is a little more humble than the 'showreel' I put in the post above (he does acting for music videos as well which is why it was so highly stylised). I tackles the protein issue again.

 
Hi Damo,
I've had my protein targets set at 60g per day on My Fitness Pal and other protein calculators I've used have given me a goal of anything between 48-169g! Doing my own calculations based on 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight, the 60g that MFP has been quoting me seems to be about right although if I lose weight over time on a vegan diet, I suppose this will gradually go down a bit but I do work out fairly often, too, although I tend to do more cardio than weights work.

The problem is that most days I'm averaging out at getting between 25-35g of protein. I feel like I'd need to eat massive portions and loads of snacks to get my protein up to the 60g mark and I'm feeling too full at the end of the day to try to stuff in some extra protein. I'm also really aware of the fact that if I eat too many nuts, I'll be consuming quite a lot of fat.

A few work friends use protein powder for their protein though they're fitness nuts, I've found the website one of them uses and they stock vegan protein power.

Other than that have you heard of something called "tempeh" ? It's basically soy bean cake... I've never tried it myself though it's very high in protein.
 
You might enjoy tofu if it's mixed into a recipe with lots of seasoning and vegetables. I've had a lot of success with non-vegans who didn't like tofu with this taco recipe - http://myvegansupermarket.co.uk/2016/02/07/easy-lazy-vegan-tacos-uk-ingredients/

easy-tacos.jpg


I also find that making a banana smoothie with soy milk at breakfast, and drinking soy milk during the day is an easy way to sneak in some extra protein. Good luck!
 
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