Veggies/vegans and low carb high protein

Nateorious

Hello there,

I been a vegetarian for 7 years + with no eggs, fish or meat and not plaining to start now. I been working on p90x and the fat shredder diet (30% carb, 50% protein and 20% fat) but I am finding if very difficult to get in my protein without having my carbs jump up to high. I have come to the conclusion that I may need to eat at least a whole cube of tofu a day to get even close plus a whole pack of boca burgers (i am joking a bit but not really). My nutrition goals are set at 2720 calories 204 carbs 340 protein and 60 fat... i am very large right now . Any vegies out there that know what I am going through and have some advice? Carbs are my enemy!

doobabe

I am a vegetarian and have been since I was 6. I do eat eggbeaters, however. I manage to get plenty of protein, and my calorie and carb goals are much lower than yours.
I would suggest a protein shake (definately if you are working out), string cheese, cottage cheese, greek yogurt.........

VegGrrl

Wow, 50% protein?! I had the same problem - hard to get in enough protein sometimes when you're trying to build muscle. (And I'm only doing a 40/30/30 split!) I started using powders/shakes. You can get 30g protein for 110 cals. or so if you don't mind using soy (protein isolate) - that's also the cheapest one I found. I try not to overdo the soy, so I also use Vega Sport and hemp protein. If you look around (on the 'net), there really are lots of vegan protein supplements out there - it's just a matter of finding the one that fits your needs best. (Since you have a lot more cals. than me, you'll probably have an easier time of it.)

I also buy the high-protein tofu when I do eat soy - Trader Joe's has a good extra firm one that's really versatile.

Check out veganvodybuilding.com - you might find more useful info on there. I know Robert and he's living proof that it can be done! : )

MrsCon40

I am a vegan and I use Naturade - Soy Free Veg Protein Booster. It has 22g protein and 2g carbs.

That being said, it's difficult to go low-carb as a vegan. If you do eat dairy still, the protein that you get from it also has cholesterol so it's not optimal. The best sources of veg protein all have carbs (ie: legumes).

:happy:

Nateorious

Thanks for the replies so far. I am taking a protein shake (gnc amp) with 20 protein and 2 carbs x3 scoops. Which does help a lot of course. I guess what I need to ask is if its ok to eat a cube of tofu a day? The sunrise tofu i get has 8 carbs 52 protien but has 32 grams of fat in the whole pack. But my fat intake doesn't seem to be a problem. But I guess as you can see 340 grams of protein is a bear. And 2 boca burgers have 12 carbs 26 protein and only 1 gram of fat, hints why i am talking a whole pack of boca burgers a day. Is that ok for you? I would like to follow the fat shredder diet for some time so I am hoping to figure this out but maybe it isnt completely manageable. Or I really do need to go on a tofu and boca burger eating spree for some time. If there are any out there that have done the fat shredder p90x diet as vegies i would really like to hear from you.


GO CUBBIES!

stronglikebull

be careful with veggie burgers, they have an INSANE amount of sodium.

do you do dairy? i'd strongly second the recommendation for cottage cheese. you can add it to pretty much anything and even make pancakes with it. for 22g protein and 200 calories a cup, a container gets you a decent dent in your intake plus you get the benefits of dairy and its really pretty versatile.

MrsCon40

340 grams of protein

That is A LOT of protein. That amount could be really stressful on your liver. I would talk with my doctor and maybe run some liver function tests before and during that kind of diet. That extremely high amount of protein is usually done short term by body builders preparing for a competition.

Slow and steady is the best approach for sustainable weight loss. Our livers are super resilient, but quick fat loss may not be worth the tradeoff.

Go Cubbies! (And keep Marmol off the mound! Yikes!)

Nateorious

be careful with veggie burgers, they have an INSANE amount of sodium.

do you do dairy? i'd strongly second the recommendation for cottage cheese. you can add it to pretty much anything and even make pancakes with it. for 22g protein and 200 calories a cup, a container gets you a decent dent in your intake plus you get the benefits of dairy and its really pretty versatile.

Yea i am doing a diary. It is one of the things making me realize how hard this 50/30/20 is. But Cottage cheese is the goods! Just checked the nutrition info on the cottage cheese i have in the fridge. Thanks for the suggestion.Now i have Tofu, Boca burgers ( i have noticed also how much freaking sodium they have in them so i will try to limit on them), and cottage cheese for my power foods. Any others?

sweet_lotus

Seiten is high protein. It's made from gluten, and found in asian markets and sometimes natural foods stores, I think it's 20g protein per 100 calories? Kidney beans are 13g protein per cup (about 200 calories), greek yogurt 10-13g a serving, soy nuts are 11g protein per 2 tbsp, 22g per 1/4 cup.

340 g of protein is a lot. The amino acids that you don't use (which will be most of it) will be filtered out in your kidneys. I don't that's necessarily unsafe, but, I would definitely run it by your doctor if you haven't already. It definitely puts you more at risk for kidney stones. And, if you have underlying kidney disease, a high protein diet hasten progression. You might want to get some bloodwork just to make sure everything is swell with your kidneys before starting out.

CraftyGirl4

Do you do dairy? There is a protein bar out there called Think Thin. They have about 20 grams of protein per bar and 0g of sugar. That doesn't mean they are carb free, but they're fairly low.

imabigvegan

For extra protein I make homemade seitan sausages which have 26g of protein per 4oz portion. Here is the breakdown:

Calories Carbs Fat Protein Calcium Fiber
217

---

13

---

4

---

26

---

2

---

2

Delish too! 100% vegan.

Les

Nateorious

Going to try finding some seitan for sure. Anyone else with some excellent vegie/vegan high protein low carb suggestions? And yes I do dairy.

bcattoes

Hello there,

I been a vegetarian for 7 years + with no eggs, fish or meat and not plaining to start now. I been working on p90x and the fat shredder diet (30% carb, 50% protein and 20% fat) but I am finding if very difficult to get in my protein without having my carbs jump up to high. I have come to the conclusion that I may need to eat at least a whole cube of tofu a day to get even close plus a whole pack of boca burgers (i am joking a bit but not really). My nutrition goals are set at 2720 calories 204 carbs 340 protein and 60 fat... i am very large right now . Any vegies out there that know what I am going through and have some advice? Carbs are my enemy!

If tofu is okay then why not go with that because it's so versatile? Or try adding TVP to your meals to up the protein.

Nateorious

If tofu is okay then why not go with that because it's so versatile? Or try adding TVP to your meals to up the protein.

Well it doesnt seem like there is any problem with eating so much tofu. Just wasnt sure if eating that much would have some problems. But besides that it be nice to get in a few different proteins if I can find them. Last night I had a chowder ( "hearty tuscan vegetable chowder" good stuff) with some TVP in it and it was good so I will be adding it. Thanks

Oishii

I was really into tofu, but have avoided it since I was told I was anaemic because it inhibits iron uptake.

bcattoes

I was really into tofu, but have avoided it since I was told I was anaemic because it inhibits iron uptake.

That is true. Soybeans contain phytates which inhibits iron and calcium absorption.

yiffanarff

I'm vegan and doing P90x right now too! I've definitely been working pretty hard to up my protein, but I haven't been stressing too much on my percentages. I have my MFP on the regular settings, and while I do try to go over on my protein every day, and I tend to be under on my carbs, I don't worry about P90x numbers. I figure, as long as my carbs are primarily complex carbohydrates, it's ok. Before P90x I had gotten really lazy with my diet, and had been eating way too much junk food, like chips, pop, and vegan cupcakes. I've been eating really clean since I started p90x and have already lost 5 pounds in the first two weeks. I do take a vegan protein powder now, but other than that, most of my protein comes from lentils, beans, nuts and seeds.

Personally, I would avoid eating a cube of tofu a day. I love tofu, but I try to limit just because some evidence suggests that soy products in large quantities can be a bad thing. Not only that, but it's difficult for a lot of people to digest, and I know several people who have developed soy allergies due to overexposure. And believe me, you don't want that, because soy is in EVERYTHING! In the end, I feel far more comfortable eating more lentils and going over on carbs than I do over-indulging in a ton of soy products.

milaxx

I'm vegetarian, but I do eat eggs. Feel free to look at my diary. I would limit boca burgers as they are simply vegetarian processed food. I make my own beans and veggie burgers. Try adding (if you don't already eat them) lentils, quinoa and nuts (almond, walnut, sunflower seeds) to your diet.

runnerdad

Hello there,

I been a vegetarian for 7 years + with no eggs, fish or meat and not plaining to start now. I been working on p90x and the fat shredder diet (30% carb, 50% protein and 20% fat) but I am finding if very difficult to get in my protein without having my carbs jump up to high. I have come to the conclusion that I may need to eat at least a whole cube of tofu a day to get even close plus a whole pack of boca burgers (i am joking a bit but not really). My nutrition goals are set at 2720 calories 204 carbs 340 protein and 60 fat... i am very large right now . Any vegies out there that know what I am going through and have some advice? Carbs are my enemy!

Are your nutrition goals set by a doctor / nutritionist, or based on do-it-yourself, BB/ MFP type guidelines? Couple of impressions; unless you are very active, a goal of 2720 calories seems like a lot, regardless of your size. I have done P90X, and I don't think my calorie goal was nearly that high. Protein levels also seem way too high. Most guidelines top out at 1 gram protein / pound of goal weight, so even if your goal weight is 170, you could cut that protein requirement in half, making it much more attainable. Seriously, if you have a lot of weight to lose, and you have dietary restrictions that limit your choices, it would be worth seeing a dietician, even just for a single consult, to get you on the right track.