How do you get enough protein?

@nathanpaul That's awesome!! I'm 5'10 female, looking to lose weight (currently too close to 200) I have a hard time putting together healthy meals with enough protein. I was lifting but aggravated an old back injury so now I'm stuck with walking and Pilates/barre for the next few weeks at least.
 
@tianyalu2 It’s kind of a mindset thing, like a game for me. So think what you’re in the mood for, then focus on the protein. I want mac and cheese… so I’m going to use protein pasta, and make the sauce from tofu and cashews, then add a veggie like peas or broccoli for nutrition.
And seitan, seitan, seitan. Learn to make it and you’ll unlock a whole new level of protein intake.
 
@wevrul I use a bunch of different ones. I do try to mix protein sources for completeness (vital wheat gluten + beans/chickpea flour/pea protein). I highly recommend checking out Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s recipes. She has a couple on her old blog Post Punk Kitchen, but I think her books are worth the money. Don’t be afraid to just try things. Most seitan fuck ups will be edible, and you’ll learn something!
 
@nathanpaul I'm 5'2" and about 108lb. Get an hour of incline cardio in every day, and hit the gym 4x a week. There's also yoga, HIIT, and cycling that I do when I get the chance, and daily exercises with a resistance band to keep my muscles loose.

I prefer getting a large chunk of my calories in the morning so that I use them during the day. My breakfast usually gives me somewhere between 1000-1100 calories, depending on what I pair it with. It's a mixture of seeds, nuts, fruit, protein powder, peanut butter and vegan milk (usually coconut).

I don't eat lunch, but I do grab an afternoon snack of some sort with another scoop of protein powder. Anywhere from 300-700 calories in snacks.

Dinner depends on what I have on hand, and what I need in terms of micronutrients after what all I've eaten earlier in the day. It'll be a mix of vegetables, beans, tofu, mushrooms... those sorts of whole foods. Rarely do I eat grains, and even more rarely do I eat any kind of processed food beyond tofu.

After dinner I'll sometimes have another small snack of 150-300 calories.

Proteins on any particular day come in anywhere from a minimum of 80g up to 100g. The only micronutrient I routinely have to do extra to pick up is B3 (niacin), otherwise my targets are 100%+.

According to my Chronometer report I averaged 2200 calories this week, however that's lower than usual due to me being in the middle of a small recomp. I'm trying to trim off 1% of body fat without losing muscle.
 
@nathanpaul Seitan and protein powder. Seitan has the best protein:calorie ratio out of basically any other food; even chicken and fish. 18g protein for 90 calories. So I eat 2 servings of Seitan with different dishes and I have a 40g protein shake for breakfast. That’s a quick 80g of protein and the I get in additional protein from other sources, but don’t need to focus on it too much with that 80g as a base.
 
@nathanpaul I don’t think I do. I can’t spend all day eating and I cannot volume eat. So I’m getting around 70-80g but I really can’t figure away to get more without living at my kitchen table which I won’t do. I used to be a perfectly happy OMADer but I’m now taking a protein shake (~275kcal for about 50g of protein) between 2-3 p.m. a few hours after morning training. Then I get around 10g more in my leafy green smoothie (~250cal) that I sip between 3 and 6 p.m. I never finish it before I go train in the evening around 6:30-7 p.m. When I come home from training, I try to make up some calories and usually can find some protein but I’m not a volume eater and hate training unfasted so this has not been fun. Plus to add more challenge, I’m not a big fan of cooked foods. I’m high raw. Lentil and buckwheat sprouts have been a godsend. I like legumes regardless of whether they’re cooked TBH. And tofu and seitan which aren’t raw are the reason I couldn’t stick with a strict raw diet. I couldn’t get enough protein on 100% raw.

I’m cutting 15 pounds so the caloric deficit isn’t a big issue right now. But I still always feel stuffed and I hate it. And fuck me if I will know what to do after I’m done. I have no idea how I’ll get enough calories, protein, nutrients and water without being absolutely miserable. I’m 5’9” and 158.
 
@warriorforchrist2020 I got some great advice that protein is extremely satiating, so you have to wean up. I increased my amounts slowly so my satiety could adjust. Now I’m hungry if I get too little in a day. Doing it raw is hard, of course, because of all the fiber. I hope you find something that works for you!
 
@nathanpaul Thanks. Right now I think this is probably as good as it gets. In two months? Well….we’ll see what happens. It gives me a bit of anxiety because really I feel fine with how things were and I am adjusting to having food in my stomach in the afternoon — albeit poorly. But by the time I get to dinner time I really don’t feel a need to eat but I do. It anyway because 600 calories ain’t it. Even during a cut. And once I’m at maintenance I’ll have to find a lot more calories than I’m even taking now. Maybe I’ll become the queen of nuts. 🤣
 
@nathanpaul I love blending a mixture of silken and medfirm tofu with protein powder and cocoa powder for a yummy pudding. If you add a little milk or just use silken, it’s the consistency of melted icecream, which then I like to add shaven unsweetened chocolate and sliced almonds/crushed cashews
 
@nathanpaul My calories are a bit higher than yours (3000-3300) and I’m about the same protein. Goal is 200g a day. Even though someone will say “that’s too much protein” they need to keep in mind 200g of plant protein isnt the same as 200g as animal protein so the regular numbers don’t exactly apply to a vegan diet. Additionally I perform much better in the gym with the level of protein I have. I can 100% tell days my diet is off as soon as I’m into my workout a bit.
 
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