Animal protein vs. Plant Protein

cstuartdc

Has anyone found that saiety from the latter much less than the former?

BACKSTORY: Lifelong struggle with obesity - fitness has been a strong suit. I'm a distance swimmer so appetite is always, always an issue. Tried everything. . .after narrowing some culprits down I came down to this:

A. No gluten (my 23andme confirms I'm at risk and carry one of two genes for celiac disease)
B. Need a decent amount of protein (like 200g for my weight) to not feel ravenous. I aim for 30% per day.

I have tried pure plant protein meals and I'm hungry 2 hours later, sometimes ravenous. If I have a meal with some fish, greek yogurt, or eggs, MUCH longer lasting on same caloric density (like 1/2 animal, 1/2 plant is the sweet spot for me).

Anyway. .. I suppose this pretty closely mimics a Paleo lifestyle. I've bought into the science of a plant based diet yet participating in such also seems to turn my bowels upside down, along with bouts of ravenous hunger. I'd appreciate SUCCESS and FAILURE stories with plant based diets, esp. in relation to weight loss/proteins. I do try when I can to eat plants - I love bean pasta (very high protein) and am experimenting with tofu this week in the air fryer. Oatmeal and brown rice have a share but not enough to propel me to saiety and I found out spinach actually has a little (go figure, Popeye).

AnnPT77

I'm speculating here, so read with caution!

I've been vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for 47+ now. Nutritionally speaking, for those of us getting a fair fraction of our protein from plant sources, protein quality is a consideration, essential amino acid (EAA) completeness, specifically. Meat eaters don't much have to think about that at all.

Back in the 1970s, when I first became vegetarian, we thought that one had to combine specific plant protein choices together in the same meal in specific proportions in order to get EAA-complete protein for adequate nutrition. Fortunately, subsequent research suggested that that is not essential. We can be getting the right mix of EAAs over a short time period (day or so, loosely, probably), not necessarily all in the same meal.

Still, EAA completeness is a consideration, when a lot of one's protein comes from plants. Is there any possibility that your preferred mix of plant protein sources is leaving you short on one or more EAAs, thus is not being as sating as it could be? I admit, I've not heard of anyone experiencing hunger as a consequence of inadequate EAA completeness, but satiation tends to be quite individual, so maybe it's possible. 🤷‍♀️

I suspect some people may just not adapt well to a fully-plant-based diet, though many advocates of such diets would argue with me. I'm basing that speculation on having known quite a number of people over the years who experimented with vegetarian or fully-plant-based eating, noting that some seemed to thrive while others eating similarly didn't.

yirara

It might just be the same as with any other way of eating: some things work for you individually, some don't. And what works for you might not work for others. Animal protein doesn't really fill me up a lot, and it causes reflux (especially eggs and lean meat). Plant-based protein is fine for me. It's quite possible though that the total amount of protein is lower and more carbs are included overall.