vegetarian advice
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kateguy1981
Posts: 68 Member
: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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P.S. I know eggs don't have carbs lol grammar was never my strong point x0
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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.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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 ideas0
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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.0 -
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.
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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)....0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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!0
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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.0 -
sorry I should have said I have increased my calorie in-take when I did my body fat % I also did my BMR x0
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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:0
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Does anyone on here eat quorn? Is that high in protien?0
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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.0
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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!0
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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!0 -
Does anyone on here eat quorn? Is that high in protien?
I do, yes it is, yummy too.0
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