Vegan weight loss macros?

There is no reason why macros would be different for a vegan than a non vegan. I say this as someone who has been vegan since they are little and training for a little over a year

High fiber foods = leafy green vegetables
Protein = i eat tofu and pea protein shakes (supplemented with leucine). But there are a tonne of places to get protein. like beans and the like, i just cant eat them due to allergies/intollerances

But all in all, no theres no reason your macros should be different to anyone else

Well, based on the goals that your diary is showing today, that's not how you have your macros set up. Of 1200 total calories, your goals say:

90g carbs (1g of carbs has 4 calories, so you have 360 calories coming from carbs, or 30%)
40g fat (1g of fat has 9 calories, so you have 360 calories coming from fat, or 30%)
120g of protein (1g of protein has 4 calories, so you have 480 calories coming from protein, or 40%)

Your protein goal is really high and your carb goal is kind of low. I would suggest setting a more reasonable protein goal, then working to meet that with vegan sources (vegan protein powder, tofu, seitan, etc.)

AliceDark wrote: »

90g carbs (1g of carbs has 4 calories, so you have 360 calories coming from carbs, or 30%)
40g fat (1g of fat has 9 calories, so you have 360 calories coming from fat, or 30%)
120g of protein (1g of protein has 4 calories, so you have 480 calories coming from protein, or 40%)

Your protein goal is really high and your carb goal is kind of low. I would suggest setting a more reasonable protein goal, then working to meet that with vegan sources (vegan protein powder, tofu, seitan, etc.)

If her goal is to lose weight, and "tone up", her macros are perfect!

I agree that a higher carb/lower protein answer is more realistic, given a vegan diet, but that doesn't mean her macro targets are incorrect.

Have you read McDougall's info on his website? I really love the Starch Solution (one of his books), it's a pretty good read if you haven't read it already.

AliceDark wrote: »

I didn't say that they were incorrect for her, I said that she didn't have them set in the way she thought she did. Depending on her stats, she probably doesn't need to be trying to hit 120g of protein.

Totally fair! Thanks for clearing that up!

I'm vegetarian and average 120g protein (still hard for me, but not as difficult as it would be if I were vegan). I sit down for maybe 5 minutes each morning with my coffee and pre-log most of my day. I plan my meals around protein sources, then fit in carbs and fat with whatever calories are left over. Finding a good vegan protein powder would probably really help -- they tend to help you get a lot of protein for a relatively small number of calories.

Hey OP, I'm relatively new to veganism myself and the person who most helped me to find my feet diet-wise and also lifestyle-wise is the speaker / author Colleen Patrick Goudreau ...if you haven't heard of her before now, I would highly recommend that you check out her podcast, Vegetation Food for Thought. It's a fantastic resource. She is truly a wonderful and warm person. Good luck with your journey!

When it comes to weight loss, it's calories in vs calories out. It doesn't matter what you're eating. Burn more than you consume and you'll lose weight. However, when it comes to cutting body fat, monitoring macros comes into play. I found this macro calculator spreadsheet on a bodybuilding forum and it helped me develop a decent vegan meal plan. Obviously it's geared towards meatheads who have a much easier time loading up on protein while avoiding carbs, but I made it work.

Peanut butter (or nut butter of any kind) is the great vegan macro corrector if you're trying to cut body fat. Flaxseed meal, peanut butter and a little bit of molasses mixed with hot water is a well-macroed alternative to oatmeal. I'd eat that in the morning, a shake in the afternoon (unsweeteened soy milk, half a block of tofu, soy protein powder, cocoa powder, flaxmeal, peanut butter - tastes like a butterfinger bar!) and a huge salad and lentils for dinner. Some people are soy-averse based either on things they've heard or a legit allergy, so obviously that wouldn't work for everybody.

The cool thing about the plan as referenced in the link is that you get a 36-hour window each week to go nuts and eat whatever you want. The idea behind that being to keep your metabolism on it's toes. YMMV, but it worked wonders for me.

I'd like to go back to that at some point, but right now I'm cruising along at 50/35/15

Also, I've heard eating fat before a workout and carbs after (when metabolism is humming) is key when attempting to reduce body fat percentage.

rand486 wrote: »

SammyBoo1980 wrote: »

I'm a newly turned vegan trying to lose weight. My macros are set at 45 carbs, 35 protein, and 20 fat. Every day I go way over on carbs and way under on protein (about 18g). I also heard fibre is important for weight loss so I'm wondering what the best foods are (high protein, high fibre, low fat), and if my macros are set wrong? I eat whole grains, beans, soy, tofu, quinoa, loads of veg every day. I supplement with EngevitA nutritional yeast flakes with b12, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and I use maca powder. I know all the veg is obviously carb, but my fat is still pretty high. I didn't really want to supplement protein as I'm useless at getting up in the morning and this is really the only time I'd get chance to do this I.e with a shake with pea protein etc.

Any ideas on my macro levels and food/ protein supplement suggestions? My diary is (should be) open to view.

Your macros sound quite low to me, but I'm male, so I'm likely just not used to that.

Macro distribution is optimal at 40/30/30 for athletes, but if your goal is weight loss in general, you don't really care.

Fiber is good for satiety, but doesn't make a major difference in terms of weight loss.

Your food list is great! Note: Beans & Lentils make a complete protein - many vegan sources of protein are incomplete amino acids, but as long as you vary it up, you'll be fine. However, you're right - this list is going to be very carb heavy.

A morning shake of just protein powder and water takes all of 30 seconds, and would be a great source - what's the problem there? I used to do that all the time, and I hate mornings.

As far as vegan diets go, I don't feel you should follow anyone's advice on here (myself included). It's quite difficult to do sustainably, and is best left to reliable resources such as a doctor/nutritionist or a book with scientific sources (ie: Don't take advice based on food ethics/speculation). Eating according to ideology is great, but your body has certain requirements, and you need to fulfill them. A nutritionist can help you figure that out in a way that fits your food philosophy.

I just wanted to point out that the incomplete protein myth is just that... a myth. It's been debunked by science over and over again.

Check out my series of posts on vegan macros:

http://www.runningonrealfood.com/vegan-iifym-tips-tricks-and-meal-plans-from-week-two/

http://www.runningonrealfood.com/best-foods-for-vegan-flexible-dieting-or-iifym/

http://www.runningonrealfood.com/my-experiences-after-6-weeks-of-vegan-iifym

http://www.runningonrealfood.com/macro-friendly-foods-for-vegan-flexible-dieting/

http://www.runningonrealfood.com/vegan-iifym-what-i-learned-after-week-one/

Your macros sound very low but it does depend on your weight, age and activity level. I eat around 200 g carbs, 55 g fat and 155 g protein for a body weight of 165 lbs and 5 day a week training schedule.

Hope that helps!!

Hey! It's awesome you are trying the vegan life. I know I'm a little late to this post but when I was doing iifym all vegan I aimed for 100g protein ... And even that was a little hard. Also, if you are new to eating vegan it may be hard for you to go straight to the whole tofu Seitan bit. It's an acquired taste. Boca makes a few meatless vegan products that's are high protein low carb/ fat. Try their vegan veggie burgers and meatless veggie crumbles. And yes get a good protein powder. I recommend vega sport. 30g protein and it has the best texture of all vegan protein powders.