Vegetarian weight lifters, help!

sineceilidh
sineceilidh Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
 working my way to a plant based diet but am finding that foods that are high in protein are also calorie dense (chick peas, nuts & seeds, beans etc). I lift weights frequently and am not trying to lose weight but gain muscle. I'm frequently going well over my calorie limit, but I eat quite clean. Am I focusing too much on calories? Is it okay to go over if they're clean foods? I'd love to hear some suggestions :)

Replies

  • RealWorldStrengthLLC
    RealWorldStrengthLLC Posts: 552 Member
    Calorie deficit = weight loss
    Maintenence calories = maintain weight
    Caloric surplus = gain weight

    Doesn't matter how "clean" they are or otherwise.

    There are vegan protien powders out there.

    If you are vegetarian, not vegan, do you have a problem with things like egg whites, cottage cheese, whey protein isolate, casein protien, milk etc? Those are all good sources and to my knowledge vegetarian friendly (I honestly know nothing about it, I'm not one myself. I'm sure if I was I would struggle to get the the 200+g protien a day I eat)
  • sineceilidh
    sineceilidh Posts: 8 Member
    I've only been trying out this diet for a couple weeks, so it's pretty new to me. I'm still eating dairy right now, so cottage cheese has been a life saver. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and go hungry here and there 😅. Thanks for the advice!
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    edited December 2018
    How much protein are you trying to get for how many calories?
    I wouldn't consider beans calorie dense. Black beans have 15 grams of protein per 240 calories. Chickpeas are around the same number.

    Lentils have around 18 grams of protein per 230 calories, which is quite good. Tofu isn't high in calories either. Textured vegetable protein has a good amount of protein for the calories, too - Can be used like minced meat. If you aren't gluten free, seitan is very high in protein.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Greek yogurt, and Beyond Meat products like fake chicken strips.
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    Eggs are about your best band for money as far as Calorie to protein ratio. Also tofu is fairly low in Calorie, high in protein. You can get vegan protein powders (I'm lactose intolerant as well as veggie) I love hemp powder, banana and peanut butter shakes.
  • sineceilidh
    sineceilidh Posts: 8 Member
    jessandreia92 wrote: »
    How much protein are you trying to get for how many calories?
    I wouldn't consider beans calorie dense. Black beans have 15 grams of protein per 240 calories. Chickpeas are around the same number.

    Lentils have around 18 grams of protein per 230 calories, which is quite good. Tofu isn't high in calories either. Textured vegetable protein has a good amount of protein for the calories, too - Can be used like minced meat. If you aren't gluten free, seitan is very high in protein.

    I suppose they aren't calorie dense, but for me to get any significant amount of protein from them, it ends up adding up. I have my calories currently set to 2000 and have my protein intake set to 25%. Do you think that's too high? Because I'm struggling to meet it. I'm always 20g to 30g short because I've reached my calorie limit.
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    If my calculations are correct, that's 125 grams. No, I wouldn't say that's too high for 2000 calories.

    I pretty much always add tofu to my chickpeas, and it helps boost protein for not many more calories.
    If you can afford them, legume pastas like lentil, chickpea or black bean pasta are also a good source. Just had some quinoa and lentil pasta. 14 grams per 200 calories compared to the usual 12 grams per 300 plus calories of white or whole wheat pasta. Protein powder, like someone mentioned, is definitely a good idea if you are struggling to reach your protein goal. My favourite I've tried is Garden of Life Sports Chocolate. 30 grams per 170 calories.

    Could it be that you're often eating low protein calorie dense foods, like avocado for example?
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Siggi's Icelandic Yogurt is a great protein to calories ratio.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    sineceilidh wrote: »
    I've only been trying out this diet for a couple weeks, so it's pretty new to me. I'm still eating dairy right now, so cottage cheese has been a life saver. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and go hungry here and there 😅. Thanks for the advice!

    What's your training for going Vege? Lacto-ovo is by far the easiest approach and gets you a good macro balance.

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