One gram of protein per pound? How?

[drobbyb]

Hey all, I keep reading that one should get about one gram of protein per pound. I'm only about 140 pounds right now so that would mean eating 140 grams of proteins per day! But how is this possible?

My tofu packs are 56g proteins here, so that would mean I'd need to eat like a whole protein pack, three times a day to reach that objective! Yet, I feel I'm going to explode with only half a pack! And that's my biggest and protein-richest meal of the day.

My shakes, with one scoop protein (as per the instructions) are only 20g, so that means I'd need to drink 7 damn shakes a day! When I do shakes, I do try to put two scoops though to hack this a little bit (although apparently absorption reduces significantly after 30g within a single meal?). But I don't drink them every day because I feel like my eating schedule is pretty full already... Like I'm having trouble fitting the shakes in because I'm still full from the previous meal come next meal (also isn't it boring to drink more than one shake a day?).

Indeed, I feel full all day from my current diet, and try to incorporate high-protein meat alternatives when possible. At the same time, overeating too much makes me extremely tired, which I can't afford because of work. I don't eat fruits or vegetables because they take precious protein space. I could eliminate carbs and then my only food group would be proteins haha, but is this recommended for mass gains? Also can't eat too much before bed because of GERD. (Also not doing cardio because I'm afraid to lose weight, but that's unrelated).

So how do you guys actually manage to get all that shit in while being vegan and without throwing up or falling asleep all day?

Here's a typical diet just in case it is helpful:

Breakfast:

• 2 toasts with chocolate spread and a bunch of pumpkin seeds = 13 g
• Coffee with soy milk = 1.75 g
• Total = 14.75

Lunch:

• Sandwich with fake meats and ketchup chips = 26 g

Snack:

• Protein bar (or sometimes shake) = 16 g

Diner:

• Fried rice with tofu (half a tofu pack and 1/4 cup of cooked rice) = 29.1 g

______________________________________________

Grand Total = 10.75 + 26 + 16 + 29.1 = 85.85

Target = 140 g (body weight in pounds)

So I'm at about 60% of my objective right now. Tell me your hacks, tips, and tricks to go next level!

Edit: Goal is mass gain and I'm physically active (training every day/week).

Edit 2: wow this blew up. Thanks so much for all your tips and suggestions and suggested resources everyone!!!! I'll have lots of homework to implement from now on! Getting to work NOW!

 

[jesusiseverything2me]

@drobbyb I’d first worry about getting rid of stuff like Chocolate Spread and ketchup chips.

140g split into 4 meals is only 35g protein per meal

Meal 1
- Switch to oats, 100g is something close to 15g Protein or high protein bread for even more
- 2 Cups of Soy Milk is another 15

Lunch
- You can find high protein vegan breads like sprouted Power. 2 slices is over 20g protein
- You can also switch to A bean based pasta, some have 20+g protein per 100g
- Add nutritional yeast, 1 tbsp is an extra few g of protein

Meal 3
- Stick to your shake of 20g (bars usually have high sugar)
- Do another 2 cups soy milk for another 15

Meal 4
- Turn this into a stir fry with some peas, and some more nutritional yeast

Easy fixes

 

[dawn16]

@jesusiseverything2me How can you eating anything after 100g of oat

 

[fiddlegal]

@dawn16 How many cups is that? I've switched to tofu scrambles for my meal prep to save on calories, but when I was doing overnight oats I'd do a full cup, a cup of whatever milk was on hand (most worked great, but Silk Ultra was a little too thick), fruit of choice, mashed banana, and two tablespoons of peanut/almond/mixed nut butter.

 

[fireheartis1]

@fiddlegal It’s over 1 cup oats I’m pretty sure. Or at least 1 full cup. I do 50g, with 3/4 cup soy milk and 20-25g of PB, and I am usually pretty stuffed.

 

[audreyann]

@dawn16 I can have 150g of oats with a scoop of protein powder and a table spoon of peanut butter and still eat an hour later.

Oats just don't fill me up lol

 

[stevo1]

@jesusiseverything2me This!
Im adding a tablespoon of peanutbutter to my oats. It adds about 10g extra protein to your breakfast and is cheap as fuck.

Lentil pasta is a geeat one too. 24g pr 100

Im getting my shake daily with no exception and am reaching between 150 and 180g with ease. Im about 170 pounds

 

[fireheartis1]

@jesusiseverything2me Holy crap that’s 1L of soy milk every day!

 

[poiu0987]

@jesusiseverything2me This. Holy crap dude you really should consider eating more whole grains and vegetables and dropping the vegan junk food. so many nutrients that will help with muscle gain and recovery. protein too.

 

[basik0981]

@drobbyb 1g/lb is definitely erring on the side of excess protein, and really only makes sense for people doing high intensity hypertrophy training / bodybuilding.

Here's a video with example meals from Clarence Kenndy, a vegan powerlifter.

Here's a video from Jeff Nippard about protein intake guidelines.

Keep in mind that Jeff goes by grams per pound of *lean* body mass.

 

[drobbyb]

@basik0981 Thanks! And thanks for the videos, really interesting! I would consider that I do high-intensity hypertrophy bodybuilding (not that I'm good, but training to get there).

At ~ 14% body fat, that's a 140 * 0.85 = 119 lean body mass, so 1.6 g per pound of lean body mass would be 1.6 * 119 = 190 g of proteins! Damn even worse than I thought!!!

 

[tromba]

@drobbyb do you mean 1.6 grams per kilogram lean mass?

 

[drobbyb]

@tromba No in the video shared by /@basik0981 from Jeff Nippard, he recommends 1.6g protein / lb LBM,

 

[monte]

@drobbyb as much as I like jeff nippard, his video on protein intake is bro science, he just cherry picks studies which recommend the highest amount you can find

 

[sonofstephen]

@drobbyb (Using metric units)
You can be fine with 1.6g per kg he does an interview about how much protein you need and they basically say that doing 2.2g per kg/1g per pound of body weight is more ideal. That 2.2g/kg is for safety and if you can reach that amount you should. I’m new to fitness and can reach 1.6g/kg but I can’t do any higher yet, but I don’t think it’s too serious you can get decently ripped with just 1.6g/kg.

 

[maryjosephine]

@drobbyb Your numbers on everything seem low to me, I think you could be choosing higher density sources.

• Italian veggie sausages and mock duck are nearly the highest density vegan protein sources I've found, but beyond ground beef blows everything out of the water. Tofu is kind of weak as a protein source and very filling.
• Oats+nuts > any other kind of breakfast carb.
• You can find protein bars w/ twice that amount of protein.
• Just dip some whole grain bread in hummus and it'll help you get ahead.
• Get a higher protein soymilk and put in everything, 1.75g is water. I really like Eden Soy Extra. It's slightly more expensive, but buy it in a 12 pack on their site and you won't notice the difference-- worth every penny for how good it is.

Don't neglect carbs and fat if you want mass. 1g/lb body weight is probably too high, but completely achievable.

 

[happymama58]

@drobbyb Yeah, people get this shit confused all the time.

It's 1g of protein for every pound of LEAN MASS that you have. NOT TOTAL BODY WEIGHT.

Get your BF calculated, do the math and have it be 1g per pound of lean mass.

 

[lutheranteacher]

@happymama58 Damn I did not know that thanks!!

 

[ladyestellarose]

@happymama58 Sure you don't mean kg instead of pound?

 

[leagueofordinarygentleman]

@ladyestellarose I also remember there was not much evidence beyond 1g/kg bodyweight. (Not lean mass, just bodyweight)

Too much protein is not good for the body too! That said, plant protein is a lot cleaner, judging from body odour.