Vegetarian?

Me too - for the last 30 years

catalac24 wrote: »

I’m just transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle and I’m having trouble finding an easy plan with the right amt of protein - don’t mind eating a lot of the same stuff for the most part during the work week.

@catalac24, this is a pretty old thread - 2015. I'm not sure whether any of those people are even around MFP anymore.

What kind of vegetarian are you planning to become? (Fully plant based, lacto-, ovo-lacto, or . . . ?).

I've been ovo-lacto vegetarian for about 49 years so far, though I don't eat a lot of eggs. I'm not sure what you mean by "a plan" . . . I don't think I have one, just habitual ways of shopping/cooking/eating. Around 8 years ago, I started remodeling my routine to make it calorie appropriate, but didn't dramatically change the range of foods I eat, just changed portion sizes, proportions on the plate, and frequencies of some calorie-dense things.

I got about 80-90 grams of protein while losing weight, now shoot for a minimum of 100 grams most days in maintenance but usually get more than that (120-ish, mostly). (For reference, I'm female, 5'5", currently around 130 pounds, quite active, age 67, eating 1850 + exercise calories in maintenance, but it was more like 1400-1600 + exercise while losing.) I eat quite a bit of dairy, but think I could do that level of protein fully plant-based, though I'd probably have to eat more soy foods than I really prefer taste-wise.

I don't normally use protein powder or bars, nor faux meats. I don't think there's anything wrong with those, just don't find them tasty or satisfying, personally.

My biggest tip would be to go beyond the omnivore idea of "one big protein per meal". Sure, do that, but also think about getting small amounts of protein from many other things you eat - breads, veggies, flavoring ingredients (like nutritional yeast, miso, etc.), fruits, etc. Many of those will be lower quality proteins (in terms of essential amino acid (EAA) completeness), but eating a wide variety can somewhat make up for that. I'm also biased toward a relatively high-ish protein goal, because of bioavailability issues. It will also be easier to get to a higher protein total by including a fair amount in every meal: Some omnivores lean toward more protein at dinner, not much during the day, but that doesn't work out as well for a vegetarian, IMO.

I know you're not saying vegan, but this site (link below) has really helpful nutritional information, and - unlike many - it's very evidence based, written by vegan registered dietitians. Way too much info in the blogosphere is pure advocacy, sold via poor science.

https://veganhealth.org/

Protein isn't the only nutrient that can require extra attention for vegetarians/vegans (or really anyone on with a diet low in animal-source foods). That site will fill you in on that.

I think eatthismuch.com will do vegetarian (or other eating style) plans with recipes for various calorie levels. I've played with it a little, but don't use it: I'm not fond of that rigid a structure, personally . . . which is not at all to say I think it's universally bad to be more structured. It's just not my style. (I'm not affiliated with that or the other site in any way, BTW, except as an average consumer.)

If you have specific questions, please ask. Best wishes!

P.S. I hope your motivation for becoming vegetarian isn't purely weight loss or health, because I don't think it has special powers for either of those. I got fat then obese as a vegetarian; and had quite a range of health issues associated with excess weight as a consequence. Lots healthier now, though, in terms of the regular health markers and subjectively based on how I feel.