Vegan Weight Loss + Muscle Gain (Protein)

FitVegetarian14516

I've been vegetarian for a long time, and I'm finally vegan. However, I have no idea where to start with protein for weight lifting. I still want to lose weight, so I was wondering if someone could help me figure out where to start? I don't have a goal of what I want to lose just enough to where I can really start to see my muscles.

kimny72

Would you be willing to provide your stats? Height, weight, age? Are you just starting the weightlifting? It is pretty difficult to build muscle and lose weight at the same time, though there are exceptions. In general, you work to maintain muscle until you get to a healthy weight, then you start eating more cals and build muscle. And again in general, the recommendation is to eat 0.8g or so of protein per lb of weight to support muscle maintenance/building.

psuLemon

In general terms you should consume between 1.5 - 2.2g/kg and follow a proven progressive overload lifting program. If you have a moderate deficit and are a new lifter than you can probably gain a little muscle or at the very least, maintain your muscle.

Id aim for the higher end of that range for protein since most plant based proteins don't have as high levels of leucine (soy is the exception).

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Dofflin

I've been vegan for about 8 years and can try to share some insights...
Don't be too strict. Calorie requirements are the same as for any other diet when it comes to weight loss/gain. There are a lot of vegan fad diets out there, but ignore them and focus on variety and nutrition and don't be too hard on yourself.
Set a protein goal (g/day).
Set a calorie goal (decide how you'll allow for calories burned)
Find new recipes that match both requirements (macros & calories).
Get supplements to help you through the transition period (if you may).
There are many variables (do your homework &/or hire a PT/nutritionist).
People tend to recommend somewhere between the ranges of 0.5-1g of protein per pound of body weight.
Eating at a caloric deficit increases protein requirements as the body can turn protein into carbs for energy ("gluconeogenesis").
Increasing exercise can increase required amount of protein.
Other macros have their place too (carbs=energy, fats=hormone production, give or take).
Micronutrients are important too.
Being vegan makes you need to remember certain nutrients (B12, iron, calcium, selenium, zinc, D). Get a blood test once or twice a year until you are sure you're on top of it, especially if you're exercising heavily or dieting - just to make sure you're not getting low in anything.
There's a lot of vegan proteins out there. Soy products are most convenient: unsweetened fortified soy milk (buy a bunch of it when it's on sale), tofu (hard is best value). Frozen edamame can be bought in the freezer section in the asian supermarkets, and that is incidentally where you can buy a tonne of vegan faux "meats" like mock chicken, duck, fish fillets, beef, etc. It also comes in cans in brine, sort of like you would buy tuna. Don't buy faux meats in generic supermarkets, as they can be expensive and really high in salt.
Nutmeat (Australian supermarkets) is a combination of vital wheat gluten and peanuts.
Ground soy (UK and EU) can be found in health food shops like Holland and Barretts.
Defatted coconut flour can be used in baking (very dry though, need to add flax seed grounds and extra water). it is super high in protein and fibre. Double bonus.
Hummus is delicious. You can mix into into salad as a creamy dressing. I sometimes blend it with tofu and soy sauce and nutritional yeast (high in B12 and has a yummy parmesan cheese flavour) and this makes a big batch of high-protein, low-carb sauce, which I stir into stir-fry sauces, or salads (napa/chinese cabbage keeps well in the fridge for salad, is not chewy like regular cabbage, low in calories and very high in calcium), or spread it on crackers or use as a dip for veggie sticks.
Canned beans (obviously). you can mix with some oil and herbs and bake on a tray and make a yummy batch of baked beans. Much better than canned baked beans.
Seaweed is a good snack and high in protein (relative to weight) and iodine.
Soy flour is another high-protein alternative for baking. If you buy too many bananas, either freeze them for smoothies (with some protein powder - buy online or on sale or see if your gym has affiliations with a supplement shop) or mash your bananas with some soy milk, stevia, cinnamon, and soy flour to make a delicious banana bread that is higher in protein.
The trick for me is to stick to low-starch veggies (broccoli, kale, zucchini, capsicum) and beans (soy, black, lentils), with some fruit (berries, melons and grapefruit) and nuts (almonds, peanut butter), lattes (almond/soy), and cereals like oats, and sometimes rice. Usually I use beans or lentils or quinoa in place of rice though. Soy yoghurts in the UK are great but not so great down under, as they are loaded with sugar. not sure about USA as I wasn't very vegan there.
Hope that helps xx