Mastodawn

Since I became vegan (1 year and 7 months ago) I haven't eaten out much.

I did bring home food from a place now and while it was tasty I can't help to think that there can't have been much protein in the meal.

Also, all TV shows I see when they make vegan food it seems to be missing the needed amount of protein.

I've seen a YouTube video with professor Christopher Gardner from Stanford University, and while it's true that 98% of people does not need more than 0.8g potein/kg body mass, one have to take into the calculation that A - the body can't absorb all protein from a plant based source, and B - even if you mix for example beans with rice you can't get a perfectly complete protein profile (compared animal based protein).

So even if you have 40g of plant based protein in front of you in a mix of say beans and rice, your body might only get 32g complete protein.

So instead of calcualate 0,8g/kg body mass you should aim for 1.1-1.3g/kg.

Yes, I am a overthinker and I tend to obsess about stuff.

Any long time vegans out there that have some insights of this?

#Vegan #Vegans #PlantBased #VeganFood #PlantBasedFood #Protein #VeganProtein #AskFedi

We Must Dissent 1d ago

@spacebug
I have never been into looking at the nutritional balance of my food for good or bad but generally how I am dealing with this is very inconsistent intake.

Some days I might be eating barely any protein, e.g. veggies in a noodle soup, where others are way more loaded with em, e.g. tortillas filled with beans and soy.

Also nuts. Nuts are a great snack and extra source of protein.

spacebug 1d ago

@MxSpoon ah I see. Have made any tests to see if you get enough protein?

We Must Dissent 1d ago

@spacebug
I've had bloodwork done a few times which I *think* included protein and it was all within the normal values but I wouldn't swear by that.

spacebug 1d ago

@MxSpoon Ah ok 👍🏻
I will do blood tests closer to the summer.
I eat much protein and I take multi vitamine supplements that contains both B12 adn more but I still want to know hehe.

@spacebug Thanks for bringing this up. My health-conscious carnivorous friends often cite protein availability as a major driver for their diet.

spacebug 1d ago

@kai It's not difficult to get enough protein, but I think you might have to be aware about how much you eat.
Whenever I make a new recipie I calculate the amount of protein and kcal in every portion.

Here's the video with the professor if you would like get some insights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMwf_9wqWY0

Everything You Thought You Knew About Protein Is Wrong | Stanford's Professor Christopher Gardner

🥑 Make smarter food choices. Become a member at https://zoe.comGet 10% off membership with code PODCASTProteins, carbs, and fats … most people understand ...

YouTube

@spacebug Thanks. I think it would tremendously help me to be part of some sort of sane vegan community.

spacebug 1d ago

@kai Same here. When I had Facebook I was in a vegan group, but now I'm kind of alone

@spacebug this is going to make me sound as lazy as I actually am: My dream should be to cook vegan food for others; my actual dream is to live with vegans so I can just eat their food and not think about it. 😂

spacebug 1d ago

@kai haha. Yeah, well before I became vegan I wanted to date a vegan and hope he would cook vegan food for me 😅
I say you are quite normal :D

@spacebug more specifically, my dream is to live with @pinkprius 😂

(joking because I only know them from the internet, but the occasional food pic has left a positive impression) 😉

spacebug 1d ago

@kai @pinkprius hehe ok 😉👍🏻

waffles 🇨🇦1d ago

@spacebug I’ve been vegan for 23 years and I just yolo it. You’ll likely be fine. Just eat what you want to eat and if you’re craving protein, you’ll find ways to eat it.

spacebug 1d ago

@waffles Thanks!

Seitansbraten 1d ago

@spacebug you're right regarding TV shows cause most of the time the people cooking are omni & think, vegan is a healthy diet & serve vegetables with vegetables and vegetables and as a side a salad.

And unfortunately Chefs in restaurants also have this false opinion

But at the end of the day it's just one meal.

Same is with the 'complete amino acids': it's false. You do not need them in one meal but within days. Soy is 'complete'. So if you eat TVP, Tempeh, Tofu, drink soy milk or eat skyr

Seitansbraten 1d ago

@spacebug in one meal & the next has for example Quinoa & chickpeas & then you have oats with peanutbutter you'll get more than enough.

Even if you just have a salat with kidneybeans for lunch or something like that

I'm vegan for 5 years now & have additional need (medically). I just eat what I like & it's OK. There are some days I recognise the last days I had not enough protein, so I eat a bit more & everything is alright again.

spacebug 1d ago

@Seitansbraten Thanks for your input 🙏🏻

Seitansbraten 1d ago

@spacebug Here is one example if you feel 'underdosed'

https://youtube.com/shorts/WFKzBJ-A8c0

So if you think today was not enough, just eat something like this for dinner ;)

DOUBLE TOFU CURRY #Tofu #TofuRecipe #TofuRecipes #VeganProtein #PlantProtein #PlantBasedProtein

YouTube

Susann Auer 1d ago

@spacebug agree, most restaurants that provide a vegan option don't seem to think too much about providing enough protein, it's often carbs and veggies, sometimes too much fat.

Gardeners point as I understand him is mostly to say that if you eat too much protein 1) it will be metabolised to fat and thus not help losing weight if that's your goal and 2) it can harm your kidneys because of the nitrogen excess.

The optimal amount of protein for you will depend on your lifestyle and age. 1/n

Susann Auer 1d ago

@spacebug If you didn't feel satisfied after you meals they might have contained not enough protein.

I think your calculation is on point, 0.8-1g/kg body weight - that counts for your ideal body weight though.

Very active people who lift weights and wanna gain muscle are more in the 1g/kg mark to repair muscle during rest days. Also, older people can't absorb protein as well and have a higher need.

The WFPB community has good resources and information on that, e.g. nutritionfacts.org 2/2

spacebug 1d ago

@SusannAuer Thank you 😊

Susann Auer 1d ago

@spacebug you're welcome. As a researcher who also reads the papers that are cited by people on YouTube 😅 I have to disagree a bit with the "just do what you think is best".

The current status quo in science is that it's best to have a good amount of protein with every meal. Not too much obviously, but let's say you eat three main meals a day and weigh 80 kg, you should aim for 25-30 g protein with each of these meals. It's best to spread out protein consumption over the day.

spacebug 1d ago

@SusannAuer
I'm currently fat so I can't really estiamte how much I need, but I tend to eat quite much protein right now.
Breakfast: soygurt with nuts/seeds (16g)
Lunch: different meals (30g)
Between meals: protein powder (26g)
Dinner: different meals (30g)
Evening meal: oat meal with soy drink (15g)

Susann Auer 1d ago

@spacebug ok, there's a very rough estimate that your height in cm minus 100 is your ideal weight.

BMI is not the best measure but it's another estimate to see where your are and where the range is that would be good for you.

If you know your more ideal weight, start calculating your protein needs for that weight. That will tell you if your are overboard. I am not a dietician, it's just the info I pieced together over years of reading about the topic in the plant based science community.

spacebug 1d ago

@SusannAuer Ah. Again thank you soo much. I'm learning a lot.

@spacebug been vegan for about a decade and I never have worried about this. just eat beans and nuts on a regular basis. protein deficiency is extremely rare and mainly a result of starvation in regions suffering famines

I don't count or measure anything I eat

spacebug 1d ago

@lalah Thanks for your input.

robtherunt🌱💚1d ago

@spacebug
You can do no better that have a browse through the videos of NutritionFacts.org. Dr. Greger’s a well respected voice on nutrition and there’s probably lots of info about plant-based protein intake you can find there.

https://www.youtube.com/@NutritionFactsOrg

NutritionFacts.org

NutritionFacts.org is a science-based nonprofit organization founded by Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM, that provides free updates on the latest in nutrition research via bite-sized videos, blogs, podcasts, and infographics. We are strictly non-commercial, without any sponsors, ads, brand partnerships, or paid subscriptions. More than 2,000 videos on virtually every aspect of healthy eating are available online, and new videos and blogs are uploaded weekly. Our reach is global, with a Spanish-language site, Chinese platforms, and video captions in many languages. NutritionFacts.org is a labor of love—a tribute to Dr. Greger’s grandmother whose own life was saved by improving her diet. Videos-of-the-day are released Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and podcasts are released Thursday. Our videos are always ad-free. If you would like to support our work, visit https://nutritionfacts.org/donate/.

YouTube

spacebug 1d ago

@robtherunt thanks!

robtherunt🌱💚1d ago

@spacebug
No probs.

Also, worth checking out the Vegan Society pages…

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health

Nutrition and health

Expert tips for making the most of your vegan diet

The Vegan Society

mahadevank 18h ago

@spacebug lots of crappy advice on this, I've been a vegan for over 40 years now, was born that way.

I'd say, work backwards - start from how you feel - are you lacking energy/stamina etc. and then try to compensate from there.

A lot of buzzwords like protein etc. are media manufactured.

I don't have the recommended dietary protein intake but I can happily do 4 sets of upper-body exercises without feeling weak or tired.

spacebug 15h ago

@mahadevank Thank you 😊🙏🏻