I’m struggling with protein

T

thedalo

New member
I’ve been vegan for about 1 year. My fiancé helped me switch after ‘Game changers’ aired on Netflix. I was a huge meat consumer and I just had enough of the ecological damage as well as the ethical treatment of animals.
Well my question is that during that documentary they said soy did not cause estrogen levels to climb, so I’ve been using that as my main source of protein. Then on No meat athlete podcast they said to only consume it 1-2 times a week. I’m not sure where to get factual information.
For reference I’m 6ft 4in male and 240lbs. I’m concerned my slow weight gain is from this. Any help would be cool!
 
@thedalo Certified Nutritionist and certified personal trainer here. Also vegan and powerlifter.

Soy is completely fine, no issues at all. It’s just beans, Asian countries have been eating it for years. If not tofu, I eat beans. There’s also plenty of protein in vegetables (like mushrooms and edamame and broccoli), just do a tiny bit of research and you’ll find a world of information.

If you’re still struggling, there’s vegan protein milk you can buy “silks ultra protein plus” and “silks cashew protein.”

For clients that are looking to gain weight, there’s a protein mass gainer on Amazon called “naked mass” that I put them on. It’s kinda pricy but it lasts forever if you use 1 scoop a day, with 8-10oz protein milk, and a few scoops of cashew ice cream. Makes a great milkshake and it’s tons of calories and a real nice kick of protein. Extra calories if you toss in a banana or peanut butter.

Message for questions.

Edit- also I keep plenty of nuts on hand all the time. In my car, around the house, etc. I put it in my breakfast every morning.
 
@jonpheretic I struggle to get in enough calories a day, I just don’t often have much of an appetite and it’s easy for me to forget to eat. Also, tbh I don’t work out much currently (I walk a lot at my job and I power walk, but that’s mostly it). Would having a naked mass shake be bad if I’m not working out that much but just generally need to consume more calories?
 
@salom You can drink it and gain weight but the weight will be in the form of fatty deposits. It’s hard to say how the weight gain will look on you without knowing what you look like currently but also Depending on if you’re a man or a woman that means the weight will go to specific and usually undesirable places (stomach, hips, butt, etc).

The gainer shake isn’t very nutritious, as for vitamins and minerals. So you should think about taking a complete multivitamin if you’re not going to be eating well.

You don’t have an appetite because you have suppressed it overtime. If you force yourself to eat breakfast lunch and dinner every day consistently for a few months, you’ll find that you will gain an appetite back.
 
@didy1 Looks very nice and quality. I can see that they took extra steps processing/manufacturing wise to have each ingredient fully measured. Some brands will just have “estimated blend” which means they don’t have it weighted.. you’d Definitely be paying for straight nutritional content with no filler. I think this would be a great powder but honestly probably tastes god awful based on what I can see.
 
@thedalo Beans. Beans. And more beans. : )

I eat alot of beans and legumes for protein. It's satisfying, very clean protein, economical and helps with weight loss.

I soak beans for 4 hours with a small 2x2" square of kombu (a seaweed) which totally gets rid of gas. Then I drain and rinse the beans and throw out the kombu. I add about 2 cups per cup of dry beans to my pressure cooker for 15".
 
@thedalo You really want to vary your protein sources just like your vegetable and fruit sources. NMA recommends beans daily and hemp protein among tofu and tempeh and others. When it comes to soy the less processed the better, so if you are eating organic soybeans and edamame, fantastic, and then tofu and tempeh, great! But if you are getting your soy in the form of super processed soy products, not so great. Check out Very Good Butchers for “cleaner” fake meats if you need those burgers and brats occasionally (we do). Here’s the full detail on what NMA says about soy. And check out Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen app - great easy daily checklist of vegan foods to eat daily. His book is fantastic too.

https://www.nomeatathlete.com/is-soy-bad-for-you/

As fitness addicts, my husband and I need a little extra so we make smoothies with rotating leafy greens plus nutiva cold pressed hemp powder, ground flaxseed, Oriya 100% greens, rotating milks (organic soy, almond, oat), cinnamon, frozen berries (rotating), mango or pineapple. Gives us an extra 30g protein or so and we drink it (slowly!) post workout for recovery. Sometimes we put white beans in it for a big extra protein boost (idea from NMA) - you can’t taste them.

Other vegans maybe have more tips for minimally processed/clean protein. Oh and MyFitnessPal for tracking to see what you’re actually getting in terms of protein and other macros and nutrients.

Good nutrition—and learning the right things about it—is hard whether you are vegan or not. It’s like a whole other skill set.

Good luck and keep going - you got this!

Edit: nuts are also great, so is seitan — Lauren Toyota’s Hot for Food cookbook has a KILLER seitan recipe (“Saved by Seitan”) that is to die for shaved thin on sandwiches with mustard. Super high protein. We get the organic vital wheat gluten from Azure Standard — they deliver near your home likely if you are in the U.S.
 
@thedalo Weight gain or loss is caused by one thing and one thing only, calories in vs calories out. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight, if you burn more calories than you eat, you will gain weight. I feel like the education system has failed the world whenever I see people in adulthood genuinely not know how simple the concept of weight gain and weight loss is. Hopefully this helps with you understanding that gaining or losing weight (depending on what you're aiming for) is going to achieved by keeping this in mind.
 
@thedalo The Protein Works do some fantastic Vegan mass gainers that are perfect if you're struggling to meet your daily calorie intake. I used them for a long time when I started my own business, so I could still meet my daily goals when I didn't have time to prep a meal during the day. So if you're worried about the amount of soy protein you're consuming, then you could add them to your routine as an easy way to keep your protein and calorie levels up
 
@thedalo Nuts is something that is very often mentioned for the daily snacks but as someone with allergies I just want to offer my alternative for people who might be curious or are in the same seat: Salted & roasted soy beans.
The ones I get have a nutritional value of 42g protein for every 100g of beans.

Apart from that, a sprinkle of seeds in general can be a great addition to meals as toppings etc just to add to your fiber-intake and an easy way to squeeze in some extra protein!
 
@thedalo You have to calculate TDEE and you have to eat enough to fuel your workout. I play football, go running and ride my bike off season, I walk a lot and I go to the gym so I have to eat 3600kcal or more. It's about calories so eat a bit less(300 to 500kcal) than your body needs and you'll lose weight. Eat a bit more(300kcal) and you'll gain weight.

I have a meal plan and be creative it's just about the calories and protein want to eat more veggies? Eat less oats or whole wheat pasta. I make wok, lasagne, spaghetti, curry, chili, wraps and so on. Don't let it fool you. Be creative!

Eat a whole foods plant based diet so eat oats, brown rice, potatoes, lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas! I eat a high carb low fat diet with 3600kcal and 170g of protein. I lowered my body fat percentage from 12% to below 8%.

Here's a typical day of eating for me while bulking with 170g of protein and 3600kcal.

Here's a typical day of eating while cutting with 120g of protein and 2000kcal without a protein shake.

Another typical day of eating while cutting with 94g of protein and 1500kcal without a protein shake.

Another typical day of eating while cutting with 112g of protein and 1505kcal including a protein shake.

Here's a meal plan with 1173kcal and 92g of protein including a protein shake.

1173kcal 92g protein Meal plan 64% carbs, 9% fat, 27% protein

Use cronometer to track calories.

According to this article you don't need to overkill on protein : https://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

There is normally no advantage to consuming more than 0.82g/lb (1.8g/kg) of protein per day to preserve or build muscle for natural trainees. This already includes a mark-up, since most research finds no more benefits after 0.64g/lb.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5867436/

Study from 2018, Protein supplementation beyond total protein intakes of 1.62 g/kg/day resulted in no further RET-induced gains in FFM. Credits AromaticLab7.

I'm 72kg and need max 120g of protein and min 100g of protein. When cutting I had a protein shake.
 
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