Vegetarian & Lack of Protein Rigmarole

I have vegetarian days where I reach 80+ grams in the day. I don't think you need 116 unless you have a very high current weight. I think you should meet with a dietitian for a daily meal plan and to come up with a realistic protein goal.

Feel free to look at my diary, I've been training for a body building comp so there's lots of proteins in there. If you're not losing muscle with the amount of protein you're currently eating then you don't really need to change anything.

When I had trouble getting my protein in, I kept Costco Premier Protein shakes handy (30g protein each). If it was a bad day, I'd have one of those at the end of the day.

I work at getting protein in at every meal, every snack (diabetic training) so it's usually not hard. I didn't see hummus mentioned. You might try that, too.

Breakfast foods look like a trouble spot. You might be sensitive to textures. Try preparing eggs differently, like in a quiche, a frittata, or soufflé. Or start your morning with a shake, whey protein.

So a daily meal plan might look something like this:

Breakfast: Protein shake w/banana
Snack 1: Hummus and crackers
Lunch: Tuna on salad or noodles
Dinner: Tofu stir fry
Snack 2: Apple and peanut butter

or

Breakfast: Crustless quiche
Snack 1: Cheddar and celery
Lunch: Baked beans with Dinner Roll
Dinner: Spaghetti with mushroom based sauce
Snack 2: Edamame in hot dipping sauce

I average 120g of vegetarian protein per day at around 2000 calories. You can feel free to look at my diary if you'd like, but it may or may not help (I love cottage cheese and greek yogurt -- they're staples in my diet). I also use quiche, hard boiled eggs, protein powder/bars, whole milk and beans to meet my protein goal.

At a certain point, if you need/choose to restrict certain food groups, you have less flexibility in terms of how you meet your protein goal. I have to plan my protein first and then fit in other foods with whatever calories I have left; there are days when I have to eat 3-4 scrambled eggs for dinner because I'm low on protein and that's what I have to do in order to meet my goal. The trade-off is worth it to me because I don't want to eat meat, but I don't always get to eat what I want to eat.

Edit to say: homemade fried rice or pad thai might be good options for you, especially if you like tofu. If you scramble the eggs well and "break" them into small pieces, you can hide an egg or two in the rice/noodles and the texture might not bother you as much. If you add a lot of veggies and take it easy on the oil, you can get a large portion without a lot of calories.

I make a quiche like the lady above, cottage cheese, eggs, spinach, carrots, brocolli and I have it with baked beans, its high protein and low calorie, I know it sounds yukky but its a better texture and taste when cooked. You could also have a glass of skimmed milk with meals to up protein.

I understand I have problems with some textures too, dont know how you feel about cereals and stuff but you can get protein porridge, protein weetabix, protein granola and protein bread, you can also mix protein powder in lots of different recipes, ive seen some people mix it in cakes!

vivmom2014 wrote: »

Hey thanks for the reply. My weight is 145 (I'm about 3 lbs. from goal weight) so I multiplied that by .8, which I thought was the formula for figuring ideal daily protein.

.8 * lean body weight.

So more like 145 * .75 * .8 -> 87g

I thought the equation involved converting body weight to kg (divide by 2.2), then multiply by .8 if sedentary, 1.3 if active, and 1.5 if very active (pro athlete, body builder, etc). I am active and in the low 130's, so my goal is just shy of 80 g per day. I'm a vegetarian too, and for me I find I have to supplement with protein bars and powders to get close. As far as general protein intake, you are beating most American women, but higher levels of lean protein help you conserve lean tissues when dieting.

I routinely eat salmon for breakfast, and salmon for lunch. No problems with not having enough protein. Eating fish is not just "cans of tuna". I often grill fish for dinner.