vegetarian advice

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kateguy1981
kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
in Food and Nutrition
:happy: Hello all I am a vegetarian and am trying to increase my protein intake does anyone know of any natural food that is high in protein (not meat lol). I eat eggs and lots of beans and pulses does the fact that these are also high in carbs hinder me if I want to build muscle? I have lost quite a bit of weight eating 1200 calories a day but I have just been on a body fat calculator and have had a bit of a shock I am going to try and build some muscles up. I do a lot of CV work which I love but have been incorporating strengh training recently I know Rome wasn't built in a day but would really appriciate any advice people could give x
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  • kateguy1981
    kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
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    P.S. I know eggs don't have carbs lol grammar was never my strong point x
  • Lecterman
    Lecterman Posts: 97 Member
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    ...does the fact that these are also high in carbs hinder me if I want to build muscle? I have lost quite a bit of weight eating 1200 calories a day....

    It does not matter if you are vegetarian or not, you will not build muscle on 1200 calories a day.
  • atrebor18
    atrebor18 Posts: 235 Member
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    If you eat dairy then I suggest adding in low-fat cottage cheese and greek yogurt. I'm a vegetarian for the most part and also do weight lifting. I have a protein shake once a day, twice if I didn't get enough protein from food that day.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Do you eat milk products? Cottage cheese and greek yogurt have a lot of protein. Peanut butter has a moderate amount of protein. There are also veggie protein shakes if you're finding you can't increase protein any other way.
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,171 Member
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    tempeh, tofu, seitan (altho i think its pretty high in carbs) also oatmeal, bread high in protein (mine has 7g per slice!) but yeah feel free to add me for more ideas
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    ...does the fact that these are also high in carbs hinder me if I want to build muscle? I have lost quite a bit of weight eating 1200 calories a day....

    It does not matter if you are vegetarian or not, you will not build muscle on 1200 calories a day.
    ^This. To build muscle you need to eat at a surplus. To maintain the LBM you currently have, you need to eat a lot of protein and lift (and likely eat more than 1200 because you're going to need to feed your body to support the workouts, otherwise, you'll just bonk, which is not fun when you're holding anything heavy).
  • megan_sunshine
    megan_sunshine Posts: 19
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    I'm also a vegetarian (returning) and protein shakes, protein bars, egg whites, and fish (if you eat fish like me) are probably your best bets.

    Please don't up your dairy...it's REALLY bad for you. I do eat dairy but I try not to eat a lot of it.

    And also, 1200 cals is a little low...That's the one thing I hate about this site - it puts you at 1200 if you say you want to lose any more than a pound a week. You can definitely lose over a pound a week eating more than that.

    :smooched:
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    Do you eat milk products? Cottage cheese and greek yogurt have a lot of protein. Peanut butter has a moderate amount of protein. There are also veggie protein shakes if you're finding you can't increase protein any other way.

    Peanut butter *has* protein, but you might as well eat peanut M&m's...as a vegetarian, I use whey protein shakes to supplement my diet ( as well as peanut M&m's)....
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
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    Seitan is very high in protein and has a similar nutrient profile to skinless boneless chicken breast - it does have more carbs than meat, but not nearly as much as beans and legumes.

    Also, you might want to consider adding protein powder to your diet - I like adding it to shakes and oatmeal for a protein boost.
  • GoTeamMeaghan
    GoTeamMeaghan Posts: 347 Member
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    I've been vegetarian for almost 3 years and eat between 130-170g of protein a day. I agree with previous responses that you will not gain muscle on 1,200 calories a day...you main gain some strength, but not actual muscle. Unless you have some sort of medical condition, carbs aren't bad for you and milk products aren't bad for you. Carbs provide energy for strenuous workouts...plus they taste really good. Feel free to add me or check out my diary for ideas.
  • atrebor18
    atrebor18 Posts: 235 Member
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    I agree with upping your calories as well, I was on 1200 for a while and lost like 6 pounds but now I'm focusing on building muscle so I eat at least 1500 calories a day and have noticed more muscle definition.
  • lnkarban
    lnkarban Posts: 1
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    I've been mostly vegetarian for about 4 or 5 years now, and I almost never have problems meeting my protein intake. I eat a lot of Greek Yogurt and peanut butter. My breakfast every morning is a smoothie made of about a cup of fresh fruit, one flavored greek yogurt, and one tablespoon of creamy peanut butter. That smoothie gives me about half my daily protein. Another good food for protein is quinoa. It doesn't necessarily have a large amount of protein, but what it does have is considered "perfect protein." Other than that, it sounds like you're already eating a lot of what I would suggest for protein: eggs and beans. Chickpeas are also pretty good if you're not eating those already. Also, maybe make a snake of different nuts. They're a little high in calories, but plain nuts are pretty good for you too. I hope this helps!
  • littleblackcar
    littleblackcar Posts: 24
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    Dairy is only bad for you if you're allergic to it or lactose intolerant. If you can eat it, go for it.

    If you're doing any exercise it all (actually, if you're doing anything other than lying in bed all day) you need to eat quite a bit more than 1200 calories.
  • kateguy1981
    kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
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    sorry I should have said I have increased my calorie in-take when I did my body fat % I also did my BMR x
  • kateguy1981
    kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
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    thanks all this has been really helpful I will deffo be upping my calories will have to google some of the foods as I am in the UK (may have diferent ames etc) xx:happy:
  • kateguy1981
    kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
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    Does anyone on here eat quorn? Is that high in protien?
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    I have eaten it, but it is very expensive over here in the US. Check out my diary and see if there are any tips you could incorporate into your diet. I do not eat any meat, chicken, eggs, seafood, tofu, tempeh. I get my protein from yoghurt, I make my own almond milk, eat a lot of lentils (especially the black ones). It is very difficult as you say, I always look at the ingredients before buying my food.
  • kateguy1981
    kateguy1981 Posts: 68 Member
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    adjusted my calories and protein/fat/carb ratio 30/30/40 think it will be a struggle though as it wants me to have 113g of protein in the day eeeekkk will give it my best shot may have to invest in some veggie protein shake!
  • musenchild
    musenchild Posts: 182 Member
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    I am still working on getting my protein intake up without increasing dairy, here are some things that have helped me so far:

    Smoothies with silken tofu as the base (very creamy when pureed with fruit and a little almond milk)
    Whole grains instead of the refined versions have way more protein
    Nutritional yeast
    Lots of vegetables: http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/vegetables-high-in-protein.php
    Snack on baked tofu
    Texturized vegetable protein/TVP (cook with it: soups, taco filling, etc)
    Edamame

    Good luck!
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
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    Does anyone on here eat quorn? Is that high in protien?

    I do, yes it is, yummy too.

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