More protein and less fat without animals ?

Nohortax

Hey guys, I'm encountering an issue since I pay attention to the macros. I try not to eat animals and I usually eat them when someone else cooked and prepared nothing vegetarian
Anyway, I noticed that the veggie diet gives me less protein and more carb and fat. If I want more protein, I also get more fat which is inconvenient. The only thing that gives me only protein is fish and I'd like to stop eating them.

How do you manage to get enough protein and less fat without meat/fish and dairy produces ?

wqngw67kqs

Protein pasta, legumes

sollyn23l2

Nohortax wrote: »

Hey guys, I'm encountering an issue since I pay attention to the macros. I try not to eat animals and I usually eat them when someone else cooked and prepared nothing vegetarian
Anyway, I noticed that the veggie diet gives me less protein and more carb and fat. If I want more protein, I also get more fat which is inconvenient. The only thing that gives me only protein is fish and I'd like to stop eating them.

How do you manage to get enough protein and less fat without meat/fish and dairy produces ?

Beans, legumes, soy/tofu and mock meat will all give you plenty of protein with limited fat. Mock meats will have more added fat. Nuts are mostly fat (as in, like 80% depending on the nut) with a tiny bit of protein.

neanderthin

Soy is probably your best bet considering most plant protein is much less bioavailable or absorbable than animal protein for the simple reason we are animals and not plants. Where are these excessive fats coming from your plant diet?

kshama2001

Also curious about where your fat is coming from. If you are trying to use nuts as a protein source, don't - they are a better source of fat. The posters above have given better protein suggestions.

AnnPT77

I also am confused about the fat. Are you eating a lot of full-fat dairy or something like that? Nuts? Seeds? Fried things? Mayo, oil, other add-on fats?

I'm vegetarian (long-term, not for weight loss), and nowadays fat is the macro I have to pay attention to, otherwise I'll get too little. Usually vegetarians do get quite a few carbs, because so many of our protein sources have some carbs as well.

I'm ovo-lacto, do eat a lot of dairy (mostly low/no fat), not many eggs. Now (on maintenance calories), I get at least 100g protein daily, 50g fats. Often I exceed the protein (usually 110-120g), usually close on fat, and the rest is carbs (probably well over 200g most days).

I do get a lot of protein from plant sources. The biggest non-animal sources would be soy in various forms (edamame, tofu, tempeh, soy pasta, etc.), a little bit of seitan, beans/legumes. (Faux meats are an option, but read labels: Some are surprisingly low in protein, high in fats. I don't eat faux meats myself because I don't find them generally tasty or satisfying, but YMMV. There's nothing wrong with them in theory, IMO.)

To get more protein on a more plant-centric diet, of course you want to get some major protein source in each meal.

In addition to that, look for other ways to get additional bits of protein in other foods besides the main: There are breads with more protein than others, pastas with more protein, grains with more protein, veggies and even fruits with more protein, snacks with more protein, etc. There are even seasoning ingredients that add a little protein (miso, nutritional yeast, peanut butter powder or almond butter powder, etc.). Look for snacks with protein, such as crispy chickpeas or dry-toasted soybeans. Those small bits can add up over the course of the day.

Some of those smaller sources are less complete (in essential amino acids, EAAs), but varying them widely can compensate for that to some extent, and you can learn more about protein complements as another way to achieve more balanced EAA completeness across a day, if you wish). Neanderthin is also correct that bioavailability is a consideration. I set my protein goal to a high-ish level to compensate for that somewhat, but also try to get most of my protein from quite bioavailable/EAA complete sources.

Along the way to getting what I consider adequate protein on reduced calories, I found this thread helpful:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

It links to a spreadsheet that lists many foods in order by protein efficiency, i.e., most protein for fewest calories. As you'd expect, most of the things near the top of the list are meaty/fishy/dairy. If you scroll down, you'll also find plant foods. That can be a source for finding some of the sides and such that will give you extra protein.

If you find yourself short, of course some kind of protein supplement would be an option: Protein powder, protein bars, and that sort of things. There are fully plant-based options. I don't use these, because I can get adequate protein from food, and I prefer that. I would 100% prefer protein supplementation to getting woefully inadequate protein, though.

IvoryParchment

Don't forget mushrooms. A cup of mushrooms is 21 calories and 3 g of protein, about the same protein density per calorie as lean beef with almost no fat. In addition, the amino acid makeup tends to complement other vegetable proteins, making those more efficient sources of nutrition, too.