Q: Protein Intake while cutting as a vegan

[juliedespino]

@raiders47 I buy my tofu, every major grocery store around me carries it. Asian markets normally have the freshest and sometimes the cheapest options. I make my own seitan because it's much more cost effective and I can be creative with the flavors. If you live near a WinCo see if they have vital wheat gluten in their bulk section. WinCo will special order bulk items if you ask so I recently got a 25lb bag of it.

 

[etgibs]

@raiders47 You can find tofu at just about any grocery store. Seitan is less available. I get it at Trader Joe’s

 

[metatronscube]

@raiders47 Try to find a local Asian Market. The tofu is usually super cheap, around $1.50-2.50. General grocery stores will charge $4-5

 

[raiders47]

@metatronscube good idea

 

[natalijaasbj]

@audreykate Idk, but I red that using BCAA while cutting is the live safer to retain most of the muscle mass.

 

[judie076]

@audreykate Dude I was about to post this same thing

 

[audreykate]

@judie076 what's your current macro?

I am currenly at:
Protein: 150g Carbs: 160g Fat: 40g

but I wanna bring my protein intake down:
b) Protein: 110g Carbs: 200g Fat: 40g

I am just curious as if I will be able to retain as much LBS as possible while cutting

 

[judie076]

@audreykate I cant seem to get over 110 protein whatever I eat in a cut, might be how im calculating it but i really doubt it, rn its 111g pro, 279g carbs, 74g fat

 

[audreykate]

@judie076 woa. that's pretty high in fat for a cut, no?

 

[vanitysmurf]

@audreykate There is apparently no benefit to consuming more than 1.6-1.8g protein per kg bodyweight. And I think those amounts might be for people who are working out for hours every day.

I usually get between 130-150g protein each day. I use a mix of pea protein (80% protein), spirulina (60% protein), hemp flour (30% protein), pumpkin seeds (25% protein), sourdough with peanut butter (25% protein), tofu/mock meats, etc, and I'll usually have a protein snack bar too.

On workout days it can be a little tight because I am doing IF and only eat between 12 pm and 8 pm normally.

 

[car356]

@vanitysmurf

There is apparently no benefit to consuming more than 1.6-1.8g protein per kg bodyweight.

This is true for people eating animal products, but as far as I know the problem with vegan diet is that the vegan protein does not have as good amino acid composition as animal products. You have to mix many different vegan sources to get all the amino acids you need and even after that the amounts of BCAA and EAA stay at moderate level.

Also the absorption of vegan protein is clearly lower than the absorption of animal protein (google Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score DIAAS).

This is why 1,6-1,8 is not enough for a vegan who wants to maximize his or hers growth of muscle and strength. Proper amount for a vegan would be something like 1,8-2,7 g/kg (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28924423 -> sci-hub.tw).

 

[jeanxon]

@audreykate You have to look at how much you are working out while in a deficit and how much muscle mass you have to maintain. Our body will prioritize the breakdown protein into fats to use for energy when in a caloric deficit. It will also stop replacing muscle cells that die off. The only way to positively impact that is to make sure there is enough protein in your body so that your muscles have something to work with. I would stick with 1.0 to 1.2 g per lb and check your strength during the cut. Experiment with lowering it to see where your strength starts to suffer. Our genetic predispositions can be quite different.

 

[leejoe12]

@audreykate Excess protein causes disease and inflammation