Have vegetarians met their macros within their calorie limits?

What do you vegetarians think? Its either one or the other for me, what about you? Found any sort of balance between the two?

I start realizing I will never meet my macros and stay within calories limit, and this is thanks to my diet.
Constantly in deficit of protein/fat and sometimes carbs

Average day, today for example:
1500 cal reached my daily intake but :
- 20 g protein
- 83 g carbs
- 16 grams fat
+ 501% vitamin A
+ 224% vitamin C
Salt always below limit which i guess is good,

So I cant have anything else unless I want to upper my calorie limit..

No meat/fish/cheese here.......
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Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Check your numbers for protein, carbs, fat. Maybe there is a typo.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,871 Member
    What kind of vegetarian? I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian, and was able to get 65-80g of protein most days on 1200 net calories. I'm currently at 1800 net, striving to get 100g protein daily, and rarely missing it. (I eat back exercise calories of 300 or so a lot of days, so my 1200 net was probably 1500-1600 eaten, making it around where you say you're eating now.) And my MFP friends include vegans getting way more than 20 grams of protein on 1500 calories.

    If you have the macros you list, I don't understand where your calories are coming from, unless it's alcohol: Carbs & protein have 4 calories per gram, fat has 9. Your calories from the macros you list would be ((20 grams protein * 4 calories per gram) + (83 grams carbs * 4 calories per gram) + (16 grams fat * 9 calories per gram)) = 556 calories. If you're eating 1500, this literally doesn't add up.

    20 grams of protein in seriously not enough.
  • cate320
    cate320 Posts: 130 Member
    Try adding nuts to your diet and drink protein shakes with almond milk.

    Are you vegan? I noticed you said no cheese, but what about eggs?
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    i'm a vegetarian, and i get over 80 grams of protein on workout days and days after. i do eat dairy, but i also eat egg whites and soy, plus some protein from other sources like quinoa and the mixed egg/fungi protein in quorn products.
  • ASH_DVM
    ASH_DVM Posts: 160 Member
    edited April 2016
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    What do you vegetarians think? Its either one or the other for me, what about you? Found any sort of balance between the two?

    I start realizing I will never meet my macros and stay within calories limit, and this is thanks to my diet.
    Constantly in deficit of protein/fat and sometimes carbs

    Average day, today for example:
    1500 cal reached my daily intake but :
    - 20 g protein
    - 83 g carbs
    - 16 grams fat
    + 501% vitamin A
    + 224% vitamin C
    Salt always below limit which i guess is good,

    So I cant have anything else unless I want to upper my calorie limit..

    No meat/fish/cheese here.......

    Unless you are drinking extreme amounts of alcohol to reach 1500 cals (7 calories per gram) which I'm assuming you're not, something is wrong in your entries or diary,

    20g protein = 80 cals
    83 g carb = 332 cals
    16 g fat = 144 cals

    Total = 556 cals.

    Something is wildly amiss in your logging. Check your entries and try to use only USDA entries and make sure that your packaged food matches the label.
  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    cate320 wrote: »
    Try adding nuts to your diet and drink protein shakes with almond milk.

    Are you vegan? I noticed you said no cheese, but what about eggs?

    Yes i eat eggs but max one egg 2 times a week and i drink milk in the morning.
  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    Now tonight Iadded a shake and stats looked better but i sumup to 1780cal
    No i dont drink alcohol at all
  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    Sorry guys you misunderstood:

    Average day, today for example:
    1500 cal reached my daily intake but :
    - 20 g protein means i have 20 grams left
    - 83 g carbs means I have 83 left still
    - 16 grams fat means i have 16 grams left
    + 501% vitamin A means i went over
    + 224% vitamin C means i went over
    Salt always below limit which i guess is good,

    The - symbol was "minus"
  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    After having a shake now stats are better but I am at 1786 .
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    Doesn't it really depend on where you set your macros? Everybody does not follow the same goal proportions.
  • ASH_DVM
    ASH_DVM Posts: 160 Member
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    Sorry guys you misunderstood:

    Average day, today for example:
    1500 cal reached my daily intake but :
    - 20 g protein means i have 20 grams left
    - 83 g carbs means I have 83 left still
    - 16 grams fat means i have 16 grams left
    + 501% vitamin A means i went over
    + 224% vitamin C means i went over
    Salt always below limit which i guess is good,

    The - symbol was "minus"

    Well, then my post still makes sense, as you'd have about 500 cals to play with. Remember, not all the entries are correct and reliable. Calorie counts for packaged are, but some items users didn't input carbs, fats, proteins, etc, or entered them wrong. I'd just check the labels and entries, making sure they are correct, and you'll probably be closer to being correct.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,871 Member
    How about yogurt: Greek yogurt has a lot of protein for the number of calories.

    Other possibilities: Soy foods like tempeh, edamame, dry-roasted soybeans; chickpea pasta or black bean pasta; any and all beans/legumes; nuts in reasonable portions including peanuts & peanut butter; vegetables that have at least a little protein rather than those with none; seeds; grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, teff, triticale, spelt, etc. If you don't need to eat gluten-free, seitan is also an option.

    Personally, I don't enjoy fake meats, protein bars, or protein powder supplements, so I don't eat them, therefore I can't suggest any that are tasty, but I'm sure others can/will.

    Check out the spreadsheet described in this forum post: Carbs and Fats are cheap. Here's a Guide to getting your PROTEIN's worth. Fiber also...

    The top of the spreadsheet has a lot of meat items, but if you scroll down it, you'll find vegetarian sources. Find the most calorie-efficient protein sources that you like, and eat more of those.
  • Rit1603
    Rit1603 Posts: 122 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    How about yogurt: Greek yogurt has a lot of protein for the number of calories.

    Other possibilities: Soy foods like tempeh, edamame, dry-roasted soybeans; chickpea pasta or black bean pasta; any and all beans/legumes; nuts in reasonable portions including peanuts & peanut butter; vegetables that have at least a little protein rather than those with none; seeds; grains such as quinoa, buckwheat, teff, triticale, spelt, etc. If you don't need to eat gluten-free, seitan is also an option.

    Personally, I don't enjoy fake meats, protein bars, or protein powder supplements, so I don't eat them, therefore I can't suggest any that are tasty, but I'm sure others can/will.

    Check out the spreadsheet described in this forum post: Carbs and Fats are cheap. Here's a Guide to getting your PROTEIN's worth. Fiber also...

    The top of the spreadsheet has a lot of meat items, but if you scroll down it, you'll find vegetarian sources. Find the most calorie-efficient protein sources that you like, and eat more of those.

    Thank you so much help and info!
  • lainy1979
    lainy1979 Posts: 173 Member
    I always struggle to hit my protein goal. I'm the same, usually I haven't got the calories left in my day to balance it all out. I'm just a carb lover I think. I try to incorporate cottage cheese, nuts and eggs into my meals. Sometimes I think that this dieting malarkey would be easier if I could just chew on a big old steak every day but that isn't going to happen :D
  • lainy1979
    lainy1979 Posts: 173 Member
    ... i do sometimes use diet shakes/smoothies and they do boost my protein intake :)
  • katiebean
    katiebean Posts: 110 Member
    I'm not vegetarian but I eat very little meat, and I struggle to reach my protein goal through food alone. I tend to have a protein shake to up it if I've got enough calories left.

    If you can eat some dairy, try greek yogurt (I believe low fat yogurt tends to have a higher protein than full-fat). I eat greek yogurt with a banana and nuts for breakfast. Also, cottage cheese! Can't believe I never used to eat this. Low fat cottage cheese is really low in fat so you can have a big pile of it on your plate, it tastes really good and it's got a lot of protein in it. The cottage cheese I get has about 74 calories and 11g worth of protein per 100g. Yay. Also, eggs!
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    edited April 2016
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    What do you vegetarians think? Its either one or the other for me, what about you? Found any sort of balance between the two?

    I start realizing I will never meet my macros and stay within calories limit, and this is thanks to my diet.
    Constantly in deficit of protein/fat and sometimes carbs

    Average day, today for example:
    1500 cal reached my daily intake but :
    - 20 g protein
    - 83 g carbs
    - 16 grams fat
    + 501% vitamin A
    + 224% vitamin C
    Salt always below limit which i guess is good,

    So I cant have anything else unless I want to upper my calorie limit..

    No meat/fish/cheese here.......
    That's 556 calories.

    Edit: Saw your clarifying post above. Carry on!
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I'm vegetarian and eat around 140-160 grams of protein on a regular basis. Dairy does it for me!
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    I'm vegan and I eat upward of 200grams/day. Occasionally, I supplement powder, but it's really all in the foods you choose to meet your goals.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    edited April 2016
    Rit1603 wrote: »
    cate320 wrote: »
    Try adding nuts to your diet and drink protein shakes with almond milk.

    Are you vegan? I noticed you said no cheese, but what about eggs?

    Yes i eat eggs but max one egg 2 times a week and i drink milk in the morning.

    Why only two eggs a week?

    What are your macros set to and why?

    Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings