How do you reconcile the "we don't need that much protein!" attitude of veg*n communities with the "ALL THE PROTEIN!" attitude of fitness communities?

[jdowler]

@christopherv So here's the perspective of a not-vegan:

I used to be vegan, and coincidentally I was in the best shape of my life back then. I had absolutely no problem getting the amount of protein I felt best on, which was only 100+ grams. I made great gains on that and recovered fine. Which was neat because I was in college and rice and beans were what I could afford lol. That's the thing - you can show me all the scientific studies you want about how much protein I need or how one particular style of eating is "optimal" for my goals but you can't argue me out of how I feel. Even if it's a placebo effect. I mean I wish you could, because I would love for a lower protein diet to make me feel less hungry than it does. The reason I had no problem getting tons of protein was because this was back in college and I played 3 sports in addition to lifting. I had trouble getting enough food period, so protein absolutely wasn't an issue.

But now it's several years later and aside from long distance backpacking I've fallen into the "sports guy graduates uni and gets fat" meme. My diet is ~1200-1500 kcal/day (basically same stats as OP but a man) and I've found a high protein diet helps me not be hungry.

I prefer eating plant-based for the environment. After I diet down and can go back to eating a more normal 2000-2500 kcals/day I will go back to mostly plant based. But to be mostly plant based right now would require eating like tons of DIY soylent made from soy protein isolate and PB2 and I don't love the environment enough to do that for months. I already do that when hiking because it's light and you don't need to cook it lol.

So if y'all could be understanding and maybe help me out that would be cool. I wish keto-style didn't work so well for me but it does.

 

[savinghopexx]

@jdowler Do you eat a can of black beans? Or soak your own and cook them till tender in a crock pot? Do you have a whole foods or a veg-friendly grocery store nearby? They should have something called tempeh. It's delicious and around $1 a serving. There are hundreds of youtube videos on how to make delicious tofu.

You can also buy lentils. Lentils are unbelievably filling. They do take a couple weeks to get used to but it's worth it. Unbelievably cheap and high satiation.

 

[jdowler]

@savinghopexx You know what I might actually just try that. Maybe beans will be filling enough even though they have a lot of carbs. Back when I was in college I went though ~1/3-1/2 lb dried beans a day because I was in college and beans are cheap lol. Just beans + leafy veggies like collards would probably be pretty filling.

You know I actually did pick up tempeh the other day to try it out (never had tempeh before because that $4 was too much for me at the time compared to the $2 for tofu). I didn't even have to go to a specific grocery store for the tempeh, it was right next to the tofu in my normal grocery store. Still haven't done anything with them yet though because I forgot how to cool them lol. TVP is decently low in carbs too.

Actually this is a lot more do-able than I thought it would be.

 

[savinghopexx]

@jdowler I steam the tempeh on a pan for about 1 minute and then drench it in soy sauce or if i'm feeling sassy some good bbq sauce, in a couple minutes it's perfect. don't overcook it it can break down real quick.

here's what i ate a couple days ago

https://imgur.com/a/YHOZ8

https://imgur.com/a/YHOZ8

dropped from 200lbs since new years and am now 182lbs eating this way.

 

[grademacher]

@christopherv

5'3 woman sitting at ~135lbs who wants to lose a little weight (maybe 10 lbs or so).

So you don't like being thicc?

Jokes aside, this article shows you only need between .6-.8 g protein/LB of BW if you're working out.

Considering you don't seem to work out that much, how much you're eating rn (70 g) seems perfectly reasonable.

Edit: the answer to your question: I usually go with .6-.8 number as the studies show, but most of the time I eat roughly the same stuff, so I don't really keep track of my protein or macros/micros.