Vegetarian weight lifters, help!
sineceilidh
Posts: 8 Member
I'm 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 
2
Replies
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Are you ovo/lacto or just all plant based?
If you want to maintain your weight, you still need to balance your calories rather than go over them. It doesn't matter how nutritious your intake is. Too much food is too much food. I was a 210 pound whole foods vegetarian at one point!
Remember that tofu is fairly low calorie and high protein.7 -
I'm eating dairy right now but would eventually like to shy away from it if I can. I get worried when I'm hungry because I don't want my body to use up the muscle that I have gained. I'm loving weight lifting but I'm still pretty new to it so I don't know all the science behind it! Thanks for the advice 0
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In the process of gaining muscle you are going to gain some weight. Calories are your friend. Focus on compound exercises, get adequate protein and sufficient sleep.1
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How much protein are you trying to get, for what current body weight or lean body mass? Having looked at a number of posts like yours, sometimes the crucial problem is what to eat, sometimes it's having an unnecessarily high protein goal. (And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't believe in seriously lowball protein goals.)3
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When eating whole foods, like beans, you will absorb less calories than you will eating ground up foods, like flour or sugar. Some will pass right through you. I wouldn't worry too much about going over on calories if you are getting the results you want. I personally have no problem building muscle and strength while eating plenty of beans. Nuts should be included in your diet, but it's really easy to go overboard. I add flax seeds to my oatmeal and walnuts to my salads, but i try to avoid eating nuts directly due to the tendency to eat too many.
I don't really worry too much about calories or protein percentages on paper, it's the results that matter.9 -
How much protein are you trying to get, for what current body weight or lean body mass? Having looked at a number of posts like yours, sometimes the crucial problem is what to eat, sometimes it's having an unnecessarily high protein goal. (And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't believe in seriously lowball protein goals.)
These are crucial questions!0 -
Tofu, tempeh, and seitan are all relatively high in protein relative to their calorie density.
Going over is going to impact how you reach your goals, even if they are "clean" foods. Calories provide energy and no matter how you define "clean," those foods have it. Over time, consuming more energy than you're using will result in weight gain, whether the food is potato chips, coconut oil, pineapple, or kale.
But if you're trying to gain weight, you want to consume more calories than you're using. So I think the first step for you is to ensure that your calorie goals are set up to allow you to do what it is you want to do.2 -
How much protein are you trying to get, for what current body weight or lean body mass? Having looked at a number of posts like yours, sometimes the crucial problem is what to eat, sometimes it's having an unnecessarily high protein goal. (And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't believe in seriously lowball protein goals.)
Right now I'm a 135 lb, and have my protein set to 25% of my caloric intake. There seems to be plenty of debate as to what constitutes as too much or too little protein when weight lifting. I'm struggling to meet the 25% right now. Do you think that's too high?1 -
sineceilidh wrote: »How much protein are you trying to get, for what current body weight or lean body mass? Having looked at a number of posts like yours, sometimes the crucial problem is what to eat, sometimes it's having an unnecessarily high protein goal. (And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't believe in seriously lowball protein goals.)
Right now I'm a 135 lb, and have my protein set to 25% of my caloric intake. There seems to be plenty of debate as to what constitutes as too much or too little protein when weight lifting. I'm struggling to meet the 25% right now. Do you think that's too high?
Since I don't know your calorie level or goal weight or body fat percent, that's hard to assess.
I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian (44+ years). I believe in the 0.6-0.8g protein daily per pound of healthy goal weight formula, for people who are active and in weight loss, which equates to around 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for most people. That's around twice the RDA.
Now, in maintenance, I target 100g minimum daily for 120lb goal weight at 5'5", age 63. I usually exceed it. That's around 21% of my routine base calorie goal (before exercise), but I eat to the gram goal, not the % goal.
While I was losing, I was getting slightly fewer grams on average than now, but definitely within the 0.6-0.8g/goal-pound range, once I got my eating oriented where I wanted it.
I think I could do it fully plant-based, but I think I'd need to eat more soy than I really enjoy. I love dairy, get probably half my protein from it, and my Northern European genetics are compatible with the strategy, so I'm not motivated to change my eating patterns. So, I'd say I'm at half dairy, half plants, as protein sources right now, and that's fine with me. (I don't eat many eggs.)
While I usually only lift in rowing off-season, the rowing itself places demands on muscle repair, and I don't change my protein goal in the off-season.
If you're at a calorie deficit, 25% may be close to what I'd suggest; if so, then yeah, working on the intake side to increase protein is the best strategy. "Clean", IMO, is kind of a red herring. (And I say that as someone who cooks from scratch and eats mostly one-ingredient or simple foods, believes in solid nutrition, and thinks it's wise to mostly prefer foods humans have thrived on for centuries or millennia in preference to 'food products'.
)
What I'd suggest is reviewing your food diary, looking for foods that "cost" relatively many calories, but bring you little protein. Reduce/eliminate those, and substitute foods you enjoy that contain more protein per calorie. Think not just about "one big protein per meal" (like omnivores often do), but also try to get bits of protein from almost every significant calorie-contributor you eat. Those small amounts add add up.
When using plant-based sources, many are incomplete proteins (in terms of amino acid profile). There are ways to combine them for best effect, but if you don't want to get that science-y about it at first, just put a priority on varying the types of sources through your day and week - grains, veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, etc., i.e., different foods and different categories of foods as protein sources, not the same exact things all the time.
The thread below is a great resource for identifying protein foods you like that you might not have considered. It links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods by protein efficiency (most protein for fewest calories). You'll need to scroll past the meaty/fishy stuff concentrated near the top, but you'll find the plant sources there, further down.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also
Best wishes!1 -
sineceilidh wrote: »How much protein are you trying to get, for what current body weight or lean body mass? Having looked at a number of posts like yours, sometimes the crucial problem is what to eat, sometimes it's having an unnecessarily high protein goal. (And I'm saying that as someone who doesn't believe in seriously lowball protein goals.)
Right now I'm a 135 lb, and have my protein set to 25% of my caloric intake. There seems to be plenty of debate as to what constitutes as too much or too little protein when weight lifting. I'm struggling to meet the 25% right now. Do you think that's too high?
Since I don't know your calorie level or goal weight or body fat percent, that's hard to assess.
I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian (44+ years). I believe in the 0.6-0.8g protein daily per pound of healthy goal weight formula, for people who are active and in weight loss, which equates to around 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for most people. That's around twice the RDA.
Now, in maintenance, I target 100g minimum daily for 120lb goal weight at 5'5", age 63. I usually exceed it. That's around 21% of my routine base calorie goal (before exercise), but I eat to the gram goal, not the % goal.
While I was losing, I was getting slightly fewer grams on average than now, but definitely within the 0.6-0.8g/goal-pound range, once I got my eating oriented where I wanted it.
I think I could do it fully plant-based, but I think I'd need to eat more soy than I really enjoy. I love dairy, get probably half my protein from it, and my Northern European genetics are compatible with the strategy, so I'm not motivated to change my eating patterns. So, I'd say I'm at half dairy, half plants, as protein sources right now, and that's fine with me. (I don't eat many eggs.)
While I usually only lift in rowing off-season, the rowing itself places demands on muscle repair, and I don't change my protein goal in the off-season.
If you're at a calorie deficit, 25% may be close to what I'd suggest; if so, then yeah, working on the intake side to increase protein is the best strategy. "Clean", IMO, is kind of a red herring. (And I say that as someone who cooks from scratch and eats mostly one-ingredient or simple foods, believes in solid nutrition, and thinks it's wise to mostly prefer foods humans have thrived on for centuries or millennia in preference to 'food products'. )
What I'd suggest is reviewing your food diary, looking for foods that "cost" relatively many calories, but bring you little protein. Reduce/eliminate those, and substitute foods you enjoy that contain more protein per calorie. Think not just about "one big protein per meal" (like omnivores often do), but also try to get bits of protein from almost every significant calorie-contributor you eat. Those small amounts add add up.
When using plant-based sources, many are incomplete proteins (in terms of amino acid profile). There are ways to combine them for best effect, but if you don't want to get that science-y about it at first, just put a priority on varying the types of sources through your day and week - grains, veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, etc., i.e., different foods and different categories of foods as protein sources, not the same exact things all the time.
The thread below is a great resource for identifying protein foods you like that you might not have considered. It links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods by protein efficiency (most protein for fewest calories). You'll need to scroll past the meaty/fishy stuff concentrated near the top, but you'll find the plant sources there, further down.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also
Best wishes!
Thanks so much, I appreciate the feedback! I'll go through my foods and eliminate the ones that are low protein/ high calorie!1
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