Starting a loose vegan diet, having trouble with nutrition

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cpalumbo89
cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm eating loosely as a vegan, but with eggs and occasionally seafood, as an experiment. I feel good, but keep coming up short on calcium, iron and protein. Any suggestions? My calorie limit is 1560 but I usually hang out between 1250-1400
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  • Big_Jim_86
    Big_Jim_86 Posts: 11 Member
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    I believe that eating style is called pescatarian, but beans and nuts are all full of the nutrients you are trying to add, if they aren't already a part of your diet. Good luck ☺
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    I'm not eating any dairy, so I'm not sure what to call myself
  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
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    If you eat fish and eggs you are definitely 100% *not* a vegan who do not eat any animal products at all. You would be a pescatarian specifically and an omnivore more broadly since you you eat plants and animals (fish/seafood).
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    it's 2016. why do we insist on putting labels on ourselves?

    in all seriousness though, i wouldn't use the term "loosely vegan" at all. if you really want to describe your eating habits specifically, i'd say "i avoid meat and most dairy, but eat seafood occasionally."
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    K not really the help I was looking for but cool
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    So is that like "a little bit pregnant"?
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    What?
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    Capt_Apollo wrote: »
    it's 2016. why do we insist on putting labels on ourselves?

    in all seriousness though, i wouldn't use the term "loosely vegan" at all. if you really want to describe your eating habits specifically, i'd say "i avoid meat and most dairy, but eat seafood occasionally."

    I just thought it was easier then saying all that ^^
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    My vegan friends get their protein from legumes and nuts and calcium from leafy greens and nuts. Looks like legumes have calcium too: http://greatist.com/health/18-surprising-dairy-free-sources-calcium
  • x311Tifa
    x311Tifa Posts: 357 Member
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    http://veganhealth.org/articles/protein The Unnatural Vegan also did a few videos on vegan nutrition and good sources to find nutritional help/research.

    Good luck!
  • j_baerg
    j_baerg Posts: 6 Member
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    Could you give us an idea of what you normally eat in a day? I am not currently vegan but was for 2.5 years and never had a problem with getting nutrition. I usually stuck to consuming a protein shake with soy milk and a good all around vegan protein powder, like Vega, mid morning was a high fibre bread with a nut butter and lunch - dark greens with a protein (Vegamonicon's Chickpea patties) and some kind of Nut/Bean stirfry for dinner (Vegan Dad's blog has a chickpea and cashew one that's amazing), fill it in with fruit, dried roasted chickpeas etc.
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    Ok great, legumes I'll have to look them up. I'll look up the unnatural vegan too, sounds interesting. Thanks!
  • andream25mac
    andream25mac Posts: 1 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I've given up all meat and some dairy, I'd like to eliminate all animal products and artificial preservatives but its a process. I end up eating something I thought was clean and it wasn't. Its relearning everything. While I am still learning, I am not hitting my macros so I it found it helpful to supplement with shakes. This is a brand I love - www.amazinggrass.com that you might like to try.
    Also, greens are full of calcium and iron, so you might be not counting those correctly or eating too little of them.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    Calcium- The problem with calcium for vegans is getting it in volume. Try making a habit of choosing calcium rich options, like almonds instead of cashews and dried figs instead of bananas. Drink plant milks, and make sure they're fortified with calcium. This is important because they are usually also fortified with iron and b12 (other hard to get nutrients). If you want to eat fish, eat sardines. They come with the bones in and are loaded with calcium.

    Iron- Make sure you get legumes and dark leafy greens with at least half of your meals, and eat them with a good source of vitamin c because non-heme (plant) iron is harder for your body to absorb than heme (animal) iron. Choose plant milks (soy, almond, etc) and grain products (pasta, bread, cereal etc) that are fortified with iron.

    Protein- Firstly, most people's expectations for protein are too high. It should take up about 10-35% of your calories. Most people eating a deficit are fine with 15%. If you are pregnant, nursing or doing a rigorous strength training program it will need to be higher. Usually when vegans don't get enough protein it's because they're sacrificing nutritious food for junk food while restricting calories. So if you're eating 1200 calories a day as a vegan, you're probably not going to be able to fit in things like soda, candy, or margarine on a daily basis.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    In addition to eggs and seafood, pescatarians can use beans, grains, and vegetables to meet their calcium, iron, and protein needs. I'm vegan and I get iron from beans, nuts, molasses, and enriched grain products (like bagels), I get calcium from fortified plant milks, greens, and tofu, and I get protein from beans, grains, vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and seitan.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    For starters, you can't be loosely vegan. Being vegan is a moral position that goes well beyond diet. Vegans do not utilize animal products whatsoever...they don't eat them, they don't wear them, they don't have leather handbags, etc.

    As far as being vegetarian or pescatarian goes, you'll need to eat more legumes, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, etc for iron and protein. Diary for calcium or supplement. It is possible that you will need to supplement B12 as well.
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    holothuroidea wrote: »
    Calcium- The problem with calcium for vegans is getting it in volume. Try making a habit of choosing calcium rich options, like almonds instead of cashews and dried figs instead of bananas. Drink plant milks, and make sure they're fortified with calcium. This is important because they are usually also fortified with iron and b12 (other hard to get nutrients). If you want to eat fish, eat sardines. They come with the bones in and are loaded with calcium.

    Iron- Make sure you get legumes and dark leafy greens with at least half of your meals, and eat them with a good source of vitamin c because non-heme (plant) iron is harder for your body to absorb than heme (animal) iron. Choose plant milks (soy, almond, etc) and grain products (pasta, bread, cereal etc) that are fortified with iron.

    Protein- Firstly, most people's expectations for protein are too high. It should take up about 10-35% of your calories. Most people eating a deficit are fine with 15%. If you are pregnant, nursing or doing a rigorous strength training program it will need to be higher. Usually when vegans don't get enough protein it's because they're sacrificing nutritious food for junk food while restricting calories. So if you're eating 1200 calories a day as a vegan, you're probably not going to be able to fit in things like soda, candy, or margarine on a daily basis.

    Thanks this is actually really helpful! I'll definitely adjust my grocery list.
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    In addition to eggs and seafood, pescatarians can use beans, grains, and vegetables to meet their calcium, iron, and protein needs. I'm vegan and I get iron from beans, nuts, molasses, and enriched grain products (like bagels), I get calcium from fortified plant milks, greens, and tofu, and I get protein from beans, grains, vegetables, tofu, tempeh, and seitan.

    Molasses ok that's interesting I'll definitely have to try to use that.
  • cpalumbo89
    cpalumbo89 Posts: 71 Member
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    Thanks everyone! Sorry for my misuse of the word, I thought it would be easier than getting specific but that's clearly not the case. I'm aware of what a vegan actually is, and was looking for foods I wasn't familiar with to supplement my diet. Thanks for all the great info!
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    cpalumbo89 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone! Sorry for my misuse of the word, I thought it would be easier than getting specific but that's clearly not the case. I'm aware of what a vegan actually is, and was looking for foods I wasn't familiar with to supplement my diet. Thanks for all the great info!

    Please don't let the semantics discourage you. Every time you choose a meal without animal products you are having a positive impact on your planet and your health no matter what you chose to eat yesterday. :)

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