Goals

decostakaren823

I am vegan and 57 years old trying to gain muscle what should my protein and carbs a day look like ?

neanderthin

What are they now? We really need to know your stats and lean mass if you know that as well.

Lietchi

Your carbs aren't we relevant as your protein intake, if you're trying to gain muscle.

I like this calculator for protein, it's based on research:
https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/

AnnPT77

Lietchi wrote: »

Your carbs aren't we relevant as your protein intake, if you're trying to gain muscle.

I like this calculator for protein, it's based on research:
https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/

This. ^^^

Carbs are protein sparing to some extent, but protein is the big deal. (Obviously, overall well-rounded nutrition is a good adjunct - healthy fats, micros, other beneficials, etc.). Estimate your protein needs in grams, not just by percent. Also, if you're trying to lose weight, keep the loss rate moderate: Calorie deficit limits muscle gain potential.

Also, your strength training program is a major vital component: The best diet in the world won't compensate for deficiencies in that. A well-designed progressive weight lifting program is your best bet. I hope you have that going?

Speaking as a vegetarian, so someone getting a fair fraction of her protein from plants (for 48 years now!), we want to err on the high side for protein grams. Obviously, we want to be getting complete proteins (in essential amino acid (EAA) terms) as much as possible, but it's likely that a larger fraction of our protein comes from less EAA complete sources than is the case for omnivores. Varying protein sources through the day, and shooting for the high side of a sensible range, are insurance measures that IMO can make sense for those of us getting relatively more protein from plants.

There's some evidence (not definitive) that as we age we metabolize protein less efficiently, so as a bet-hedge I'm a believer in recommendations to spread protein through the day, getting a meaningful amount in each meal/snack. (I'm female, age 67, FWIW.)

Best wishes with your muscle gain goal: That's a great thing!

tomcustombuilder

Being a vegan and it’s a lot harder to get in the required protein. Being 57 also makes it challenging.

What is your height and weight?

AnnPT77

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

Being a vegan and it’s a lot harder to get in the required protein. Being 57 also makes it challenging.

What is your height and weight?

Harder? Yes.

A lot harder? I don't think so.

Have you been vegan or vegetarian?

I got 82g of plant protein yesterday, out of a total of 117g total protein, a reasonable intake for someone my size (133 pounds this morning, figure LBM is a bit under 100lb, above average for a woman my age/height, so 1.94g/kg bodyweight, 2.6g/kg LBM). I could get to a similar level with just plants, but I do like my yogurt and cheese.

That was without protein powder, protein bars, or faux meat, unless you count the tablespoon of peanut butter powder in my oatmeal as protein powder. A decent chunk of that plant protein was EAA complete. Getting to a sensible level with just plants would be quite achievable, it just takes a little bit of attention to eating patterns, NBD. (NB, there's nothing wrong with protein powder, bars, or faux meat IMO - I just don't find them tasty or satisfying, so mostly don't eat them.)

OP, I should've mentioned this in my PP on your thread, in case you haven't run across it. This is an excellent source for vegan nutrition information, level-headed and evidence-based, developed by registered dietitians who are themselves vegan:

https://veganhealth.org/

I'm sure you've run across vegan advocacy sites that are more about encouraging people to become vegan (or worse yet, to buy their vegan products!). This is not one of those.

They even have an article for weightlifting vegans that you can find via the site search.

Best wishes!