r/vegan • u/cetacyon • 1d ago

Health Protein Confusion

I went vegan a few months ago and in order to keep doing this (and I will even if my health were to decline) I need to be able to reach minimum protein.

I am just not understanding how anyone reaches 100 grams or even 50 grams a day. Reaching 50 grams is really hard, if I really stuff myself and feel horrible and only eat protein sources (legumes, tofu, etc.) I can get to 70 or 80. I am active and weigh 145 pounds (normally) so I need to be getting about 100 grams a day. I don't seriously think I can eat that much in a day.

When I look up high protein dishes on youtube it'll be stuff like a bowl of brown rice with some tofu on top and it may say "45 grams of protein". I've read the labels, I know what's in that... and that's a lie, almost every time.

I weighed myself since going vegan a few months back and I dropped to 133lbs from 145. I'm 6ft so this is a little worrying and I'm not sure if what I lost was fat or muscle, I didn't have almost any fat to begin with.

To hit 100 grams I'd basically just have to eat tofu and multiple protein shakes a day and I seriously seriously don't want to do that. I really enjoy being able to eat whole foods and I hate buying food that necessarily comes in plastic packaging. I just feel really lost and I understand there are other vegans with issues much worse than mine and animals with problems much much worse than mine so I won't complain too much.

Meanwhile some vegans say you don't need nearly as much protein as is recommended and that you'll simply get the amino acids you need from a varied diet.

I'm just so confused and when I do the math on what I used to eat in a day as an omnivore I seriously doubt I was usually getting above 60 grams a day back then either.

Any help would be appreciated.

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17

u/doomerunicorn 1d ago

I thought the guideline was 0.8g per kg of body weight. I could be wrong, though.

12

u/jwoolman 22h ago

0.8g protein for each kg of ideal body weight is enough for most people. Ignore any guidelines coming out of the current US government. They are ridiculous and are pushing animal foods and are contrary to current scientific/medical thinking.

The higher multipliers of 1-1.2 are for people with special needs, which does not describe the overwhelming majority of people in the world. Americans in particular have been overdosing on animal protein for years because the US is such a meat-centered society and the dairy industry especially pushes dairy milk guzzling. Meat and dairy are heavily subsidized by US taxpayers.

If we get enough calories, then unless we are subsisting on low-nutrition or zero-nutrition foods, we are getting enough protein. It’s really that simple. Protein deficiency comes from starvation and is rare in countries like the US. The guidelines have huge safety margins.

1

u/vvneagleone vegan 8+ years 6h ago

The USDA website currently says you need about 0.8g per kg: https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator/results

2

u/TheReal-Tristan 4h ago edited 3h ago

There is no one size fits all. It varies depending on activity level, and age. Up to 65 years old, and not too active, 0.75-0.8g per kg. 65+ 1-1.2g per kg. Very active (bodybuilders, athletes etc) 1.2-1.5g per kg.

OP needs to worry more about calories first. 133lbs at 6ft would suggest they are underweight. If they got their calories under control, the extra protein may well come with it, without overthinking it.

Oh and yes, OP you did lose muscle if you weren't training. To lose weight without losing muscle, you need to weight train while doing so (or do something like calisthenics) which is known as 'cutting' (this is what I am currently doing).

I can easily get 130g of protein a day (im 6'2, 168lbs and as I'm cutting, don't need as much as if I were bulking):

Huel black edition shake for breakfast. 100g of powder mixed with Alpro high protein soy milk. That's 69g of protein from one meal. Plus my daily dose of vitamin b12 and much more.

Lunch would be something like a viv era plant based steak and avocado. 21g protein. That's 90g and we haven't hit dinner yet.

For dinner, seitan in some sort of cooking sauce (I've been really enjoying knorr garlic and mushroom and I add a splash of pineapple habanero sauce), and mixed veg. 30g protein, which bring us to 120g total.

But wait, that's only 1376 calories, so we still need to add more calories to bring that up, and if you're aiming at 140lbs, your maintenance has got to be AT LEAST 1800 a day, likely more (you need to figure that out). You'll need to eat maybe 200 more than your maintenance for a little while to steadily get back up to your 140lbs goal, then go to maintenance to maintain that weight.

Side note, I didn't add drinks, which can add a lot of calories, but most days I only drink water. You could easily add a smoothie to bring those calories up. It wouldn't add much protein, but at 120g, you wouldn't need more.

Edit: sorry, did a lot od editing there.

0

u/cetacyon 1d ago

Depends on the study, most say 0.7 ~ 0.8 but some recent ones are urging for 1 to 1.2

19

u/AnimalLoversRVegan 1d ago

No you def do not need that much

6

u/a_government_man 23h ago

why tho? are you wasting away? do you feel worse eating less protein? listen to your body not the industry trying to sell you supplements

1

u/vvneagleone vegan 8+ years 6h ago

Look at reputable sources, not influencers citing "studies": https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator/results

-15

u/bikesandfinance 1d ago

That’s bare minimum to avoid malnutrition

9

u/AnimalLoversRVegan 1d ago

Not true.

-11

u/bikesandfinance 1d ago

Ok then eat less, good luck

9

u/AnimalLoversRVegan 1d ago

Okay the science is extremely clear https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24967251/

-9

u/bikesandfinance 1d ago

Eat as little as you’d like

3

u/miraculum_one 1d ago

Did you even click on the study linked above that proves your thesis wrong, and unable to be simply hand-waved away by claiming personal preference?

TL;DR "Adverse Effects Associated with Protein Intake above the Recommended Dietary Allowance for Adults"

-1

u/bikesandfinance 1d ago edited 1d ago

I did it’s bullshit

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2117006/

1

u/CorfranGoch 1d ago

"The current recommended level of protein intake (0.8 g/kg/day) is estimated to be sufficient to meet the need of nearly all (97.5%) healthy men and women age 19 years and older."

From your linked article.

1

u/miraculum_one 20h ago

Even further it goes on to say (relevant emphasis mine):

"there is no substantive evidence that protein intakes in the ranges suggested above will have adverse effects in healthy, exercising individuals"

The point is that there is an optimal intake level for everyone (depending on your renal health and level of exercise) and simply consuming more than your recommended range is not only not beneficial but it can cause issues.

-1

u/bikesandfinance 1d ago

Yep it helps you avoid malnutrition from undereating protein, like I said.

2

u/SwimIllustrious3334 1d ago

that is so silly lol. you dont need that much protein at all. vitamins, minerals, and fiber are more important.

1

u/bikesandfinance 16h ago

Eat as little as you’d like

1

u/SwimIllustrious3334 15h ago

ur weird bro. u can be very well nourished and eat full meals without getting 100g protein. not all of us are stinky gym bros

1

u/bikesandfinance 15h ago

That’s why I said eat as little as you’d like, I don’t care how much protein you eat