Vegetarian struggling with protein, whey powder?

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Jennak87
Jennak87 Posts: 112 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm new-ish!

I'm finding that as a vegetarian, I really struggle to get anywhere near my daily protein goal set by MFP. I was vegan for quite a while and I've really put myself off eggs and milk in their raw forms. I sometimes eat things that have eggs and milk in them (as long as I can't taste them) and I do eat cheese on occasion but not very often due to the high calorie count, but I mainly use dairy alternatives such as almond milk and soy products. I've been thinking of ordering some sort of whey powder to up my protein intake but I'm concerned about the increase in calories. I could use the shakes as a meal replacement (breakfast) and swap out my usual post workout banana for a shake and that should bring me pretty close to my goal, but I'm not sure if that's healthy or not. Basically, I'm just utterly clueless, haha. Any advice?

Replies

  • Azexas
    Azexas Posts: 4,334 Member
    http://myvega.com/

    Vega makes a plant based protein powder. 20G protein, 160calories

    For whey protein, personally I like the cellucor molton chocolate. It's 120 calories and 20G of protein. I usually just mix it with water and it seems to blend pretty well.
  • NatalieRaar
    NatalieRaar Posts: 1 Member
    Holland and Barrett do vegan soy protein powder that has pretty good reviews
  • Jennak87
    Jennak87 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm not vegan anymore, as long as it's vegetarian that's fine with me! I've been looking at PhD Diet Whey on Amazon, it has 35g of protein and only 5.5 carbs (I always struggle to stay below the carb intake) and about 200cal when mixed. Has anyone tried that one? It's on offer and it seems to have really good reviews.

    I'll probably mix whatever I get with almond milk, for some reason the thought of powder with just water seems like it would taste awful? haha. I might be wrong though, I'll give it a go!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    "Healthy" is relative. It kind of depends on your goals and views.

    For example, I personally would never do a vegan diet, but that is just my view and what you decide is best for you is none of my business!

    As far as protein goes, it certainly complicates things. Not that it can't be done, but plant protein sources typically have quite a few tagalong carbs and fats that make it difficult to hit protein goals without going over on calories. Also, they are not complete proteins so you have to blend them to get more complete amino acids.

    Your choice about whey, although confusing to me why you will eat whey but not milk, is a good choice because it has a good (nearly perfect) amino acid profile. The calorie "increase" would actually be a decrease if you were to eat the same amount of plant based natural protein source. I mean, you can go with something like this http://truenutrition.com/p-947-whey-protein-isolate-1lb-milk.aspx? and get 26.7g protein for 114 calories - that is nearly pure protein.

    If you really want to go vegan, you can use something like http://truenutrition.com/p-1169-vegan-protein-optimizer-formula-1lb.aspx which is blended to provide a more complete amino acid profile.

    As for the question of are protein powders healthy? It is food that has been separated and processed to pull out mainly just the protein out of the food. I wouldn't get ALL your protein that way. In fact, I would aim to get the majority of my protein from real food. However, powders are fine as a supplement to just bump up the protein content of your diet some. I try not to get more than 20-25% of my protein from powder, but that is just me.
  • Jennak87
    Jennak87 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm not vegan, or planning on becoming vegan again :) I just really don't like the taste of milk, I much prefer almond, coconut, soy milk. To be honest, I didn't know there were so many different types of protein! Whey is just the one I hear/ see people talking about the most. I am open to trying other kinds though!

    Thank you for the advice and the suggestions!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    In that case, whey is just an awesome protein because of the AA profile and because it is relatively cheap. The only downside is that it is really fast absorbing. This makes it great as a pre/post workout supplement to spike your blood with lots of aminos.

    However, during weightloss, it has been suggested that muscle mass is protected more with slower digesting proteins. My personal favorite is a blend of whey and casein. This is nearly ideal for a weight loss regime. http://truenutrition.com/p-1016-night-timemiddle-of-the-night-formula-1lb-milk.aspx
    If I could only buy one bag of protein, this is what I would buy. If I can buy 2 bags, I'd buy this and a bag of the whey I mentioned above!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    by the way, protein powder with almond milk is the way to go!
  • Jennak87
    Jennak87 Posts: 112 Member
    Those flavours look fantastic! If I can find it in the UK, I'll definitely try the one you linked! I do worry about being hungry if I replace a meal with a protein shake (I get super grumpy when I'm hungry! It's not pleasant.) so the mix of whey and casein might be a good shout! Thank you!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    The ones I linked are mailorder only. I don't know if they ship internationally. There are a lot of brands that offer a whey/casein blend though. MuscleTech Phase8 is an example. I have used it before and it tastes great, but it is pricey.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    by the way, in case you are wondering "why not use just plain casein", there are several reasons.
    1) Casein is expensive
    2) The amino acid profile isn't as complete as whey
    3) It doesn't mix well and ends up thick and chalky.
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