Low fat protein for vegans

Hi All, I am pretty much vegan and my PT wants me to aim for 30% protein in my diet. Any advice would be welcome ;)

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    What did he suggest, seeing as he's giving you nutritional advice?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Why does your PT recommend 30% protein? Is this for a specific purpose or goal?

    High protein plant-based foods include beans, tempeh, tofu, and seitan. These are generally lower in fat (if you make your own seitan, you can control the fat content even more). You might also find soy-based dairy substitutes (milk or yogurt, for example) helpful (check the fat content on these, they can vary). Protein powders are usually low fat too -- options include rice, hemp, soy, and pea protein. You don't have to have these just as shakes -- I use them in baked goods and in things like lentil loaf, veggie burgers, and baked falafel.
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    What did he suggest, seeing as he's giving you nutritional advice?
    I have only had my initial session so will ask him tomorrow when i start properly. I asked on here as there may be fellow vegans who have more experience in vegan nutrition than he does. Never hurts to ask :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited October 2018
    What did he suggest, seeing as he's giving you nutritional advice?
    I have only had my initial session so will ask him tomorrow when i start properly. I asked on here as there may be fellow vegans who have more experience in vegan nutrition than he does. Never hurts to ask :)

    People who are experienced in vegan nutrition will generally recommend shooting for a certain number of protein grams per day, not a percentage (this is also what people who are more experienced in general nutrition will recommend, FYI).

    Your body doesn't really care if you're getting 25% or 30% or 20% of your calories from protein. Your body needs a certain number of grams per pound of lean body weight. IMO, that's what you should be considering. The percentage that is may go up or down depending on what your overall calorie goal is.

    Is your PT experienced in vegan diets?
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    Why does your PT recommend 30% protein? Is this for a specific purpose or goal?

    High protein plant-based foods include beans, tempeh, tofu, and seitan. These are generally lower in fat (if you make your own seitan, you can control the fat content even more). You might also find soy-based dairy substitutes (milk or yogurt, for example) helpful (check the fat content on these, they can vary). Protein powders are usually low fat too -- options include rice, hemp, soy, and pea protein. You don't have to have these just as shakes -- I use them in baked goods and in things like lentil loaf, veggie burgers, and baked falafel.

    Thank you. I need to lose a couple of stone+ and recovering from a back injury so lost a lot of fitness and put weight on. Im active but not fit at the moment so have booked a month of pt sessions to kick start recovery and fitness. My diet is pretty good but as I eat a lot of veg, my diet is fairly high carb. I cook for me and my omni hubby so looking for things I can cook that he will also eat which can be tricky. I will grab some Tempah, I like the tofurky stuff but can't get it at the moment as my local holland and barret is the only place that does it and they never have it in stock. I live in rural Cornwall so vegan substitutes aren't particularly easy to get. I think I will learn as I go along. A protein powder may be good solution in the short term or for days I'm struggling.
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    What did he suggest, seeing as he's giving you nutritional advice?
    I have only had my initial session so will ask him tomorrow when i start properly. I asked on here as there may be fellow vegans who have more experience in vegan nutrition than he does. Never hurts to ask :)

    People who are experienced in vegan nutrition will generally recommend shooting for a certain number of protein grams per day, not a percentage (this is also what people who are more experienced in general nutrition will recommend, FYI).

    Your body doesn't really care if you're getting 25% or 30% or 20% of your calories from protein. Your body needs a certain number of grams per pound of lean body weight. IMO, that's what you should be considering. The percentage that is may go up or down depending on what your overall calorie goal is.

    Is your PT experienced in vegan diets?

    I will see what he says tomorrow. Hopefully he knows about vegan nutrition. There aren't many of us around in my area so not sure how much he has come across it. I want to lose 3 stone overall (loads I know :( )
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Why does your PT recommend 30% protein? Is this for a specific purpose or goal?

    High protein plant-based foods include beans, tempeh, tofu, and seitan. These are generally lower in fat (if you make your own seitan, you can control the fat content even more). You might also find soy-based dairy substitutes (milk or yogurt, for example) helpful (check the fat content on these, they can vary). Protein powders are usually low fat too -- options include rice, hemp, soy, and pea protein. You don't have to have these just as shakes -- I use them in baked goods and in things like lentil loaf, veggie burgers, and baked falafel.

    Thank you. I need to lose a couple of stone+ and recovering from a back injury so lost a lot of fitness and put weight on. Im active but not fit at the moment so have booked a month of pt sessions to kick start recovery and fitness. My diet is pretty good but as I eat a lot of veg, my diet is fairly high carb. I cook for me and my omni hubby so looking for things I can cook that he will also eat which can be tricky. I will grab some Tempah, I like the tofurky stuff but can't get it at the moment as my local holland and barret is the only place that does it and they never have it in stock. I live in rural Cornwall so vegan substitutes aren't particularly easy to get. I think I will learn as I go along. A protein powder may be good solution in the short term or for days I'm struggling.

    My personal experience: I did fine with a higher carbohydrate diet as long as I was meeting my protein needs overall. I personally get about 50-60% of my calories from carbohydrates -- it's never been a problem for my weight loss or maintaining weight loss (I've been counting calories since the beginning of 2015). Not sure if you're able to get beans easily in your area, but they are a good food as well. They can be calorie-dense if you eat a lot of them, so I usually mixed them with lower calorie vegetables or had them in soups.

    Protein powder can be a good boost, especially when you're shooting for a calorie deficit.
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    I eat a fair few beans, I love mixed bean chilli. I think it's harder for vegans to get lots of protein easily and lower carbs as most of our protein sources are carby also. Guess it will all fit into place ad the weeks go on. X
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I eat a fair few beans, I love mixed bean chilli. I think it's harder for vegans to get lots of protein easily and lower carbs as most of our protein sources are carby also. Guess it will all fit into place ad the weeks go on. X

    Yep, our diet patterns tend to be moderate or high carbohydrate even when we're easily meeting our needs for protein. That's why I think it's a good idea for the professionals we're working with (RDs, doctors, PTs, whoever) to understand that and not expect us to necessarily go low carbohydrate (unless that is something that interests us).
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    Yes definitely. He did say it may be hard for me to meet that percentage and as long as it doesn't come from loads of pasta etc. I'm finding I'm not eating enough calories as any extras I snack on just add to the carb or fat % it's a learning curve for sure. X
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    WFPB Vegan here. I get 50-75g per days, mostly from beans and soy. Vega or PlantFusion shakes for breakfast
  • Lauragribble2244
    Lauragribble2244 Posts: 8 Member
    Bought some vegan powder today. It's not as horrid as I thought it would be :)