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'm not vegetarian but only eat meat two days per week (usually Saturday and Sunday). I hate tofu but eat lots of nuts, pulses, eggs, yogurts and PNB. I dont really think about my protein intake - maybe I should. I try to limit my cheese intake.

Mt sister is vegan and also doesn't eat any UPF. She runs marathons. She seems to be fine.

Why are you worried about your protein intake?

50 gram protein is very easily achievable - two eggs alone equals almost half that amount.

Very informative article and reliable tables of the amount of protein in foods from the British Nutrition Foundation, here:
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritional-information/protein/

And yet scientific community largely disagrees with this. RDAs are based on needs of an average person without any health conditions. We do know that we require more protein as we age, if we have a chronic or acute health condition, if we are recovering from a surgery etc. (M. Phillips, et al, 2016)
Having said that, the target should be calculated based on lean body mass, rather than total mass which means that an overweight individual may well end up in the 0.45-0.8g per lb margin.

I have been veggie all my life and do ok for protein but then I am a lentilweaver. 😁Definitely don't get 100 gm a day though. Never been anemic as I eat a lot of greens. I don't eat meat substitutes ever.
Daily protein usually includes
two eggs
lentils of some sort: chickpeas, daal, kidney beans or blackbeans
Greek yoghurt
Nuts
Paneer once or twice a week
I dont think that much about my protein tbh.

I've been veggie now for over 35 years and have never worried about the protein content of my meals.

Most of or food is cooked from scratch and we have eggs, cheese, nuts and tofu as well as lentils, beans, pulses etc. Tonight ,for example, we are having a mushroom truffle linguine where the protein will come from the nuts and a cheese topping.

I've never had to supplement it.

@Delatron (1) The 75g per kilo body weight per day comes from international authorities - nothing to do with the NHS (2) It is an up to date estimate. (3) It is an AVERAGE. Of course people in different circumstances (eg pregnant, bodybuilding) need more. Those websites say that. Even the NHS says that; for instance, after a major operation I was given a leaflet telling me to eat protein-rich foods plus lots of fruit and veg to help the body repair itaself. (3) If by 'do your own research' you mean 'set up a scientific study, to be peer-reviewed', then fine. But otherwise.....

Eggs, yogurt, a portion of peas has 5g so is handy for adding protein to a meal.

I eat around 50g per day which is really easy.

Are you counting all protein sources ?

2 eggs 13g and 2 slices multigrain bread gives another 10g

That's half my protein need in breakfast

7g from 50g uncooked rice before I add the beans in my curry, 2 for the mushrooms and I guess the other veg has sone too

Crème cheese in lunch buttie,

handful of nuts another 7g

Yes but it’s not individualised. Someone who lifts weights and exercises lots needs more. The elderly need more to mantain muscle mass. Men and women need different amounts.

Do we really want to accept that recommendations from 40 years ago that lump everyone together are still accurate? Have we not got more research now (we do). These guidelines are outdated. By all
means follow them. But there’s
newer research out there.

0.75 grams/kg is the minimum recommended amount and based on a sedentary adult. So not massively helpful. What does that tell us about what protein we need as an individual? Absolutely nothing.

Completely agree. Most people don't realise that the gap between evidence and practice can be anywhere between 10 and 20 years (which is why there was a massive uproar about the quick introduction of Covid vaccine, if anyone still remembers it). Sometimes it's for a good reason, a lot of the time it isn't. I definitely wouldn't take nutritional guidelines as a given based on research over the last 10 years.

I am vegan and eat plenty of protein every day. It's a myth that it has to be hard.

Off the top of my head:
Chickpeas
Lentils
Beans
Loads of different vegetables
Tofu
Soya milk
Hummus

Lots more if I had more time to think.

Since going vegan my iron levels increased as proven by a blood test. I'm a size 8, have loads of energy, recently ran a half marathon and plank for 5 consecutive minutes every day.

Simnett nutrition has lots of good ideas if you need inspiration.

This. I’ve been vegetarian since 1992, and have had no issues with lack of protein or being iron-deficient.

I’ve never tried but...

breakfast
2 egg omelette with 30g of cheese is about 20g

lunch
200g of beans on 2 slices of whole meal toast is nearly 20g

snacks
hummus made with about half a tin of chickpeas would be 10g with carrot sticks or something

100g of green yoghurt with fruit another 10g

dinner
stir fry with 100g tofu, 25g of edamame in your veg and 1/4 pkt of whole wheat noodles is 20g or a shepherds pie with 225g (cooked) green lentils in it, or a Bolognese with 75g quorn mince and spaghetti, wholewheat would take you over 20g

tea or coffee using 250ml milk is 8 or 9 depending on which you use

leaves you with like 11 to still get, so 130g of milk chocolate 😐😂

Or more sensibly like, another snack with green yoghurt or double the hummus... or have cheese and biscuits or something

I probably get about 50 gm a day which seems ok for me. I don't lift but I walk everywhere. All the women in my family are veggie and live long and healthy lives, so I feel confident enough. My mum doesn't even eat eggs.

I’m vegan and weight train, I have no problem eating 100 to 125g of protein per day. One example of a days food would be Breakfast- 4 vegan sausages and 2 slices seeded bread -34g protein. Lunch - homemade bean stew, it has 3 types of beans, loads of veg including peas for extra protein, approx 30g protein. Dinner - tofu, rice and steamed veg including edamame and peas - approx 35g protein.

I have a protein shake on the 4 days a week I go to the gym which is about 25g protein. Some days I might have a snack which would be either apple slices and peanut butter, hummus and carrot sticks or la vie vegan ham slices (5 slices is 19g protein).

@Delatron today I had a protein shake, cereal and some peanut butter and banana on toast

Avocado on toast with tofu scramble, veg and beans

Fruit snack

Tea was risotto full of protein rich veg & nutritional yeast.

It is honestly so easy to eat plant based protein and it's so clean and healthy. My only regret is not switching over sooner.

I'm another veggie who never has any problem getting enough protein even without great planning tbh. Our kids also vegetarian and we calculate their protein carefully but don't find that it's difficult to get them their required intake either.

We eat a lot of tofu, peanut butter, yoghurt/quark, Quorn products, eggs, cheese and milk.

@Delatron THIS is not 40 years old: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5872778/ It is part of a large research project.
It says - as I did - that the 0.8/0.75g figure does not fit all. People with particular needs/at particular life stages may well need more protein. But I was making the point that we don't all - as a general rule - need vast amounts of protein (one poster mentioned 1.8gram per kilo bodyweight, for instance, which is a lot). It also says (section 2.2) "Interestingly, ‘the more, the better’ approach is not necessarily optimal". It concludes (section 6) "The currently recommended protein intake for ageing adults may [my emphasis] not be sufficient for muscle mass and strength maintenance."

Separately, it has also been suggested that too much protein may be bad for some people, eg those prone to kidney disease This article (written for the general public) refers to recommendations* from the US government health authorities for 2022-2025:
https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/are-you-getting-too-much-protein

• https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-dietary-guidelines-online-materials

www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/protein/how-to-get-protein-without-the-meat

Haven't seen it mentioned & it's not widely used, but have you tried seitan? You can buy it or make it yourself. Totally unsuitable for coeliacs or even in the same house, if you're going to make it. But it's got a lot of protein.

I’ve never struggled to get enough protein as a vegan. when I was a vegetarian it was even easier. I eat between 50g and 90g per day, I’m health and exercise regularly.

I'm veggie and eat lots of egg on toast/beans on toast and I make vegetable curries and chilli with beans and chickpeas. I don't measure my protein intake but I'm aware that I need to get it in my diet. I also love peanut butter and could eat it with a spoon.

The only time I've ever struggled was during pregnancy when I did become anemic and I was told that vitamin c is really important for your body to absorb iron. So I was given iron tablets and told to take them with orange juice.

Dried apricots and spinach also contain iron, it's not just from protein sources. Since becoming anemic in pregnancy I buy spinach to add to my curries and things. Not really a fan of dried apricots though.

The other thing you have to look out for is vitamin B12. It's in marmite and certain products that are fortified with B12 like cereal.

I'm in my 50's and was vegetarian since age 12. I started eating fish a few years back for this reason.. also because it's so much healthier and easier than some of the 'plant based' highly processed crap around now.
Also when you travel as a vegetarian it's not easy.

2 eggs is not 25 grams of protein! It’s 12.

The protein guidelines haven’t changed in 40 years. Whereas surely our understanding on nutrition has? My argument is that how is an average minimum requirement for a sedentary woman (who knows what age?) relevant for say and active menopausal woman?

I’d personally like to see the guidelines being a bit more nuanced and helpful.

No wonder people are confused. There is actually a massive lack of consensus within the scientific community about this. If people feel good on 50 grams of protein then great.

But personally protein fills me up. It
stops me craving sugar. I run and lift heavy weights. I know that protein after exercise contributes to recovery and muscle growth. I know as a menopausal woman I need to work hard to offset muscle loss.

Someone sat at a desk all day may do fine on 50 grams.