Lack of protein intake

CPLT

I found that my protein in take is less then what I need. I’m a vegetarian always take eggs and plant base protein powder. I would like to know food that can help me to get protein.
thanks

sollyn23l2

Beans, tofu, vegetarian mock meats, cheese, milk

yirara

Is it too low? How much protein do you get in a day, and what are you current stats and goals?

AnnPT77

Sometimes people are trying to get more protein than they actually need, and I'm saying that as someone who believes in a higher-protein way of eating as healthful. (I'm also vegetarian, for 51 years now, BTW.)

A rough generic rule of thumb is to get a minimum of about 0.6-0.8 grams of good-quality protein per day per pound of healthy goal weight. If someone wants a more nuanced evidence-based estimate, this is a sound source:

https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

If still quite overweight, you can consider using a lower weight, such as healthy goal weight, in the calculator.

The guide part of that page has one of the better discussions I've seen about nuances of getting adequate protein on a diet that's more plant-based. (It's labeled as vegan content there, but it applies to any of us who eat less meat/fish.)

Some fully-committed omnivores here will tell you that a person will need more protein as a vegetarian than an omnivore. That's true at the 50000 foot level, but the real issue is protein quality in terms of essential amino acid (EAA) completeness/balance and bioavailability. Many plant sources are incomplete or less bioavailable. The guide has a more nuanced way of looking at that question. Loosely, plant-centric eaters probably need somewhat more protein than those full-bore omnivores, but the specific plant protein choices influence how much more.

As personal context, I'm 5'5", started at 183 pounds - which is class 1 obese at my height - in 2015, reached a healthy goal weight in 2016, and have stayed at a healthy weight since. (I weighed 131-point-something pounds this morning, BMI 21.9.) My personal protein minimum in maintenance is 100g, and I usually exceed it, usually by as much as 20% or more. When I was losing, so at reduced calories, my protein intake was often more in the 80s-90s grams, which is lower than ideal IMO but not dangerously so. I don't use protein powder, bars, or similar supplements. I don't think there's anything wrong with those, but I don't personally find them particularly tasty or satisfying, so I prefer to get my protein from tasty foods. I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian. I technically eat eggs, but I don't usually eat many of them. I do eat a lot of dairy, but I'd take the same route even if fully plant-based and believe I could hit similar protein goals doing so.

Other people have already given you food lists. I'd add tempeh, seitan, natto, dry-roasted edamame to that short list. You know about eggs. If you eat dairy, nonfat Greek yogurt or skyr or kefir (low or no sugar versions), skim milk, cottage cheese, other calorie-efficient cheeses can be useful.

In case you haven't seen it, there's a thread here that links a spreadsheet that's the mother of all protein food lists. It's in order by most protein for fewest calories, so there's a lot of meaty/fishy stuff at the top, but there are other good dairy and plant sources as you scroll down the list. It helped me when I was starting to reduce calories to lose weight.

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

Beyond that, I think the best answer isn't a food list, it's a process, and one I used myself.

It takes quite a few words to explain that process, so I'll apologize for that in advance. Here it is:

You already have a protein goal, and I've already suggested some ways to check that for reasonableness. For most people the MFP default goal is a reasonable starting point, unless they're trying to lose weight too aggressively fast. It's an OK-ish starting point for a vegetarian or near-vegetarian, but might not be enough for reasons related to completeness/balance or bioavailability of the protein sources.

A second step - an extremely important one - is to reasonableness-check your intended weight loss rate, if loss is your goal. There's no way to get adequate nutrition, protein or otherwise, when trying to lose weight too aggressively fast for a person's current size. I'd suggest losing no more than 0.5-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward the lower end of that range unless severely obese and under close medical supervision for deficiencies or complications.

Log your eating here, and review your food diary regularly. Identify foods you're eating that have relatively many calories, relatively little protein, and that you can eliminate or reduce (frequency or portion size) to free up calories, without shorting other nutrition or torpedoing your happiness.

Using the spreadsheet in the thread linked above, or any other source, find foods you like that have more protein for those calories, and work those foods into your routine habits. Repeat that process, and over time your routine protein intake will creep up. I like doing it that way so I don't need to micromanage protein every single day: Once the habits are in place, it's more automatic.

For sure, try to include at least one major protein source in each meal, ideally an essential amino acid (EAA) complete and bioavailable source. But beyond that, try to find sides, snacks, flavoring ingredients and more that have a little bit of protein. That will add up through the day. There are veggies with more protein, grains with more protein, even fruits with some protein. Those sources tend to be less EAA complete or bioavailable, but varying the types may compensate somewhat for the completeness issue.

At the store, read labels. Find breads with more protein, maybe protein pasta, etc. I have rules of thumb for roughly evaluating protein in foods in the store. Your specific numbers may differ, but I think having rules of thumb is helpful. For myself, I figure that something that has no more than around 10 calories (from all macros) per gram of protein is a good individual protein ingredient. For prepared foods, like a frozen meal, say, I look for ideally around 20 calories per gram of protein, up to maybe 30 calories per gram if the food is desirable in other respects.

I'll say a little more about flavoring ingredients, because that's one thing some people aren't as attuned to. Vegans tend to use nutritional yeast to add a cheesy flavor to foods, and that has a reasonable amount of protein. Miso is another flavoring with protein. I also use peanut butter powder (a.k.a. defatted peanut flour) to add peanut flavor and a little protein to dressings, sauces, my oatmeal, etc. Those are some examples. We eat things like that in quite small amounts, but there's at least some protein.

Don't let people tell you whole nuts, nut butters or seeds are a good plant protein source. IMO, they aren't. They're nutritious foods, absolutely, but are better sources of good fats than protein. The calorie to protein ratio is quite high. For example, almonds are one of the higher protein nuts. 72% of their calories are from fats, only 14% from protein. It's like 164 calories for 6g of protein. That's not great, and they're not EAA-complete (particularly low in lysine and methionine), and not extremely bioavailable, either. Their healthy fats are their main contribution; the small amount of protein is just a bonus.

As you know, protein powder can be a reasonable thing to use, especially at first while trying to get more protein from food. There are mixed-source vegan types that are reasonably complete/bioavailable, but if you eat dairy, whey protein would be better, or soy.

The closer you are to actually fully plant-based in your eating, the more you may need to also pay attention to some nutrients other than simply protein. I think protein is pretty easy, TBH. I'm talking about things like vitamins D, B12, iron, calcium, etc. If you eat dairy and since you eat eggs, some of those would potentially be well-covered. Details about food choices matter.

For the other nutritional issues, I'll link another source I think is pretty good, also aimed at vegans but with useful info for anyone eating mostly plant-based, too:

https://veganhealth.org/

They have better than average info about the micronutrient side of things, too. The site's content is from registered dietitians who are themselves vegan, and it's much more science-based than some of the silly advocacy sites out in the blogosphere.

I hope something in there helps. If you have follow-up questions, please ask.

Best wishes!