Transitioning to a plant based diet! (first day)

Kitsgirl2

There's so many options for vegetarian and vegan meals. I'm not vegan but have greatly reduced meat for health reasons so try to chose vegan or vegetarian options when out.

I'm hoping you like ethnic foods because there's so much to choose from that you can try when out and then try to replicate at home. Think Thai food (thai curries), Indian (daal) or Lebanese (falafels, hummus), Mexican (bean burritos) and there's lots of 'meat' substitutes.

If you've eaten meat before and like the taste of meat, then things like Beyond Meat burgers and brats are a great substitute. Don't be turned off by some of the things you find out there. It's experimenting with vegan food because some of it is really bad tasting so just because one thing doesn't taste good from a product line doesn't mean that another isn't good.
Gardein Mandarin Chick'n is pretty good and with stir fry veggies and rice make a nice meal.
Violife gouda cheese is really good and Kite Hill 'cream cheese' with herbs is yummy.

Just know it's hit and miss so don't be turned off by one thing. Keep experimenting and Whole Foods takes returns of things you didn't like so it's not as scary to try new things.

caleb_93

My advice to you, don’t do it! Your life will be miserable and for no good reason at all.

jwoolman5

I find it hard not to get enough protein when eating vegan... So it must not be that hard.

Check out this site run by a registered dietician and aimed at vegan eating:

jacknorrisrd.com

He has a huge article on Protein somewhere in the archives, going into it amino acid by amino acid, that also has a calculator to give guidelines for minimum protein goals based on your ideal weight (not necessarily your current weight, but the ideal weight since if we're over - it ain't muscle for most of us).

For instance, ideal weight of 110 lbs gives minimum 40 grams protein per day. My ideal weight is just that, and it is easy to make that and more even eating strictly vegan and being low on calories sometimes. If I were more active and eating more, it would be even easier. Athletes typically need more - I know a vegan athlete who goes for about 100 grams per day. Not sure she really needs that much, but Americans do tend to obsess about protein. So it depends on your activities as well as your ideal weight.

erickirb

jwoolman5 wrote: »

I find it hard not to get enough protein when eating vegan... So it must not be that hard.

Check out this site run by a registered dietician and aimed at vegan eating:

jacknorrisrd.com

He has a huge article on Protein somewhere in the archives, going into it amino acid by amino acid, that also has a calculator to give guidelines for minimum protein goals based on your ideal weight (not necessarily your current weight, but the ideal weight since if we're over - it ain't muscle for most of us).

For instance, ideal weight of 110 lbs gives minimum 40 grams protein per day. My ideal weight is just that, and it is easy to make that and more even eating strictly vegan and being low on calories sometimes. If I were more active and eating more, it would be even easier. Athletes typically need more - I know a vegan athlete who goes for about 100 grams per day. Not sure she really needs that much, but Americans do tend to obsess about protein. So it depends on your activities as well as your ideal weight.

That 40 grams would be for a sedentary individual eating maintenance calories. if you workout and need muscle repair or are in a deficit your protein requirements increase and working out in a deficit even more (as in 0.8-1 gram per lb of lean body mass, so at 110, 15% bf% that would be 75 to 94 grams, or about double the 40 grams) being vegan/plant base does not lower your body's need for protein.

AnnPT77

erickirb wrote: »

jwoolman5 wrote: »

I find it hard not to get enough protein when eating vegan... So it must not be that hard.

Check out this site run by a registered dietician and aimed at vegan eating:

jacknorrisrd.com

He has a huge article on Protein somewhere in the archives, going into it amino acid by amino acid, that also has a calculator to give guidelines for minimum protein goals based on your ideal weight (not necessarily your current weight, but the ideal weight since if we're over - it ain't muscle for most of us).

For instance, ideal weight of 110 lbs gives minimum 40 grams protein per day. My ideal weight is just that, and it is easy to make that and more even eating strictly vegan and being low on calories sometimes. If I were more active and eating more, it would be even easier. Athletes typically need more - I know a vegan athlete who goes for about 100 grams per day. Not sure she really needs that much, but Americans do tend to obsess about protein. So it depends on your activities as well as your ideal weight.

That 40 grams would be for a sedentary individual eating maintenance calories. if you workout and need muscle repair or are in a deficit your protein requirements increase and working out in a deficit even more (as in 0.8-1 gram per lb of lean body mass, so at 110, 15% bf% that would be 75 to 94 grams, or about double the 40 grams) being vegan/plant base does not lower your body's need for protein.

100% agree with this.

Sounds like the calculator mentioned is using the USDA recommendations, or something close. I like the article linked below for a discussion of who needs how much protein for best risk management:

https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/

The best very general advice I could give is not to rely on advocacy sites for data on how much of any nutrient you need, but to consider their advice when it comes to which foods to eat in order to get more of that nutrient, and - in a much more cautious way - to identify nutrients that may need special attention in a fully plant-based diet.

wilson10102018

I got pretty good at identifying the vegans from the vegetarians from the among the parade of lasses my two hunky sons would bring by for swimming or socializing. I could predict from that sickly look which they had and got to the point that snack or meals I would fix were almost always on target: "Did Jay tell you I was vegan?" "Uh, no, I just guessed."

Advice: try Plant + dairy +eggs first.