Vegetarian protein

[Onthehuntstill]

AIBU to think it's just too hard for a vegetarian to get enough protein?

I am on the large side and apparently you need so much protein per kilo of bodyweight. I've never come close to enough and I don't see how I ever will without over eating certain foods.

Does anyone else who's vege have these problems? I'm very anaemic too so I have to take iron because the main most ideal source of iron is meat.

I've been vege for 35 years. I don't think I could go back now but think it may have been a mistake.

I have no idea how vegetarians hit protein targets to be honest.

I aim for 100g a day (I’m around 60kg). I would not hit that without meat. I know tofu has protein and nuts etc but it’s not the same amount and hard to get enough.

I use Mindful Chef and choose 2 meat and one veggie dish a week. The veggie dish always has about half the protein of a meat dish. Even with tofu.

I am also prone to anemia and exercise lots so veggie is off the table for me. I’ve accepted that good quality meat is healthy and necessary for me personally.

Are you overweight or large framed? Just asking because that can make a difference.

You can supplement with protein powder. Not always recommended. I do think it's hard without eating a lot of eggs, cottage cheese, lentils and pulses.

Today I had poached eggs on toast, sometimes I'll have peanut butter. A bean stew for lunch with wholegrain rice. We are having dahl for tea with a chickpea and potato stew.

I'm not veggie but often eat vegetarian food. I have to think about my iron too so will sometimes need a supplement.

But I do eat lamb, fish and chicken because I like them, they provide nutrients and protein.

I have eggs for breakfast but that is still not enough. 2 eggs is around 14 grams of protein. I can’t face any more eggs than 2! I also eat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese and lots of nuts. Yet still get lots of my protein from meat.

I have also been vegetarian for well over 30 years. I don't worry about protein (or indeed carbs or fats) - I just eat food.

What problems do you feel your protein intake has caused you?

Is there a reason why you feel you need to eat more protein if you've managed fine as a vegetarian for 35 years?

I'd actually find a reliable source for how to calculate protein requirements for your age, sex, weight, activity levels and then look at if you meet those requirements. Rather than worry about it without any definitive evidence that it's an issue.

Lots of cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt and eggs, beans etc.

I aim for 80/90 grams a day which is between 1.2 - 1.5g/kg some yoghurt has got 20grams for quite little calories so I eat a lot of that and cottage cheese as snack. I tend to pick chickpea / lentil pasta too over the normal wheat, same calorie but higher protein. It’s hard, especially on a low calorie diet but doable if you eat the same stuff day in

I easily hit my protein consistently and I am mostly vegan!
my partner is vegetarian and also has more than the minimal recommended level of protein intake.

tofu, nuts, eggs, seeds like pumpkin chia hemp, lentils, any beans/legumes, milk such as soy (or dairy if you drink it) nut butters, quinoa, giant cous cous, seitan /tempeh, oats, nutritional yeast (‘nooch’), yogurts, all great sources of veggie protein and on my weekly shopping list

if you are having these problems it may be that you have something else going on or that you would benefit from adding protein into your meals in ways such as nutritional yeast on pastas, chia seeds on top of yoghurt etc, any kind of rice and beans would be an amazing complete protein source. it all adds up quickly!

You really don’t need to eat meat to get adequate protein (if you don’t want to)

I'm vegetarian and regularly eat 100 - 150g of protein a day. There is tons of protein in quark yogurts such as Skyr for example, beans and pulses, tofu etc etc it really depends on what your diet is like but it is definitely doable. I have been doing protein smoothies lately which can have 60g of protein in it just from powder and yogurt.

Yeah to be honest I wouldn’t want to get 60 grams of protein from a smoothie. I think that’s what you have to do when you’re a veggie though - bulk up the protein side with protein powder.

Out of interest what do you think your protein requirements are?

Unless you are weight training your protein needs are probably not as high as many places will tell you they are. Diets fads come and go, remember the high fibre diet, then the low fat one, then low carbs / no sugars? Now there's a lot of instagramers talking about weights and super high protein. This is a useful read/ listen https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/extra-protein-making-fatter-tim-27845801

Also, use your lean weight or ideal weight when working out your protein needs... you don't need to 'feed' your fat cells with protein, only your muscles can use it, the excess is just stored as more fat!

Huel black is 20g protein per 200Kcal of powder, I use this as a top up/snack if I feel I need extra protein (while trying to cut calories). I also take an iron supplement most days (used to have v heavy periods) and B12. Also Vit D in the winter.

@Delatron I've been vegetarian for over 30 years, been in various states of fitness and weight over those years and never had an issue with not getting enough protein. I've never used protein powder.

I'd think that high protein powders, bars and so on would only be needed if you were doing some serious muscle building (or similar) for which meat eaters would need supplementing or significantly alter their normal diet.

For example Tofu has 8g of protein per 100g versus 27 grams for the same amount of chicken.

Also think about UPFs. If you are giving up meat for ethical reasons then fine. But from a health perspective replacing pure good quality meat protein (grass fed steak for example) with something like Huel which is ultra processed and full of emulsifiers and seed oils it’s not a healthy swap. And I was fooled by Huel until I read the ingredients list. Ditto some protein powders.

I’m sure it’s possible but I do think it’s harder. Especially now we understand the old 1gram of protein per kg of body weight was wrong and insufficient. Women going through menopause need a good amount of protein.

But I accept I am not fully knowledgeable. I just know the days I eat veggie I do not hit protein targets and it’s far easier for me when like today I can have a can of tuna and hit about 28 grams without thinking.

I would love a breakdown of what 100 grams of protein on a veggie diet per day looks like.

Im vegan and have no issue getting over 80g, no protein powders/bars required!

I literally said I've been using protein powders lately, this is because I'm doing a lot of weight lifting. I don't have any issues getting enough protein for regular life through a vegetarian diet.

I’m genuinely interested- and I’m
sure the OP is too, if people could list how they get to 100 grams of protein a day on a veggie diet. Without protein powders or bars. I just can’t do it. Or eat the volume of tofu and nuts etc required.

Why do you need 100g of protein daily? Is that a specific target for weight loss or training, or is it an estimate of what an average woman (age, weight, height, activity) would need daily?

I’m going off 1.8g per kg of body weight.

That’s a vast amount and completely unnecessary for most people. Most adults need around 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight per day (British Heart Foundation). Don’t take notice of high protein social media fads.

Beans, lentils and other pulses, cheese, eggs, nuts.
Green veg for iron
Buy a veggie cookbook - will be helpful

Even if you are 'on the large side' you don't need vast amounts of protein.
British Heart Foundation has very good article about protein- says 0.75gram of protein per kilo bodyweight. They calculate that for an average woman that works out at around 45gram protein per day.
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/protein

Across the pond, Harvard Medical School says we need very slightly more (0.8g protein per kilo bodyweight per day) - for an average woman that's 53gram protein per day.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-much-protein-do-you-need-every-day-201506188096

Both authorities say that more protein is not necesssarily good for us.

I think there’s lots of new research (not social media l) suggesting that this is inadequate. It’s also far more individual than we think. Men and women have different protein requirements. When we go through different stages of life we have different protein requirements.

Thats a very generic suggestion ‘all
adults need 0.75 grams’ what everyone needs the same amount? So someone exercising lots with an active job needs the same amount of protein as a sedentary person??

It’s obviously more nuanced than that.

It’s a contentious area that I will say. So I would recommend doing your own research (and not relying on outdated NHS recommendations).

Most studies with regards to protein were done on men for example.

Sorry @TipsyKoala - cross- posted. Didn't mean to repeat what you said.