Hello from CT!

[elmcityslim]

A little about me:

 

I am 25 years old and work out at Gold's in New Haven, CT. I was a little late to the party since I only started working out at 21/22 (thus I never "put it on" as a teenager). I was never interested in bodybuilding for competition...just for my own general health. Which is why I recently decided to go vegan.

I know you must hear this all the time...but the protein does worry me. I never believed in the 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight theory. And I've been chugging along just fine for the past three years without shoving 170 (or at one time 220+...I was fat) grams of protein into my body. Since I went vegan I did notice a slight performance drop at the gym. I never really took any protein powder drink since they have always upset my stomach. I relied on general food intake for that. Recently tho I started mixing 25g (one scoop) of GNC soy protein with a packet of oatmeal as my post-workout recovery meal. I also have been trying to eat tofu and bean based meals and I snack on nuts.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about the vegan diet. I've lost 10 pounds so far, feel fantastic and have more energy, I am guilt-free, I crap like a champ and the recipes are tasty!

 

I am just looking for suggestions. I can't ask any of the vegans I know since they arn't into body building and strength training and most don't weight train at all.

 

Thank you

 

- Mark

[robert]

Welcome Mark!

 

Great to have you here. I've been away so I'm catching up on forum posts and wanted to make sure I gave you a welcome and invited you to explore around the forum to get some of your questions answered.

 

Thanks for being part of our community!

 

All the best and welcome aboard!

[dropSoul]

It is about 1-1.5 g of protein per lb. or 30% percent of calories. Giacomo, see veganproteins.com, takes in more last I read, perhaps when he's cutting. He's a raw vegan. Spirulina is a good source. Basically if you read New Rules of Lifting for Men and do that program with a vegan diet (follow the macro nutrients and add in more greens) then you'll gain loads of lean mass. I like all about those books (New Rules for men and women) except the diet advice, they need to check out the profiles page here.

[crypto]

i just got in a custom protein mix from trueprotein.com and i couldnt be more pleased. no grit and no bloat or stomach issues.. took in about 60 grams of that alone today along with 40g from food sources (seitan and legumes.) could have taken in more but the appetite wasnt in high gear today.

[lobsteriffic]

Welcome to the forum! I also use trueprotein.com, I get a gemma (pea) and rice protein blend.

[MaryStella]

Welcome, glad to have u here. what about adding lentils, quinoa, tempeh into your diet for additional protein sources?

[elmcityslim]

So everybody here is going to HATE me for this:

 

A few weeks ago I hurt my calves while skid stopping on my bike. A skid stop is a way to stop a bicycle without brakes (most fixed gear bikes do not have brakes anyway). The healing process hasn't seem to have taken place. That, combined with my decreased performance at the gym caused me to break down and eat turkey once a day, every day last week. I'm sorry (I don't even know why I'm apologizing to strangers on the internet...I feel like shit about eating it). I'm still new to the vegan diet and am truly frightened about what mistakes I make will do to my body.

 

But now i am back on track. I finally found time to do some research and found this:

http://www.grapplearts.com/Vegan-diet-for-size.htm

 

Through links I discovered rice protein (I think someone posting on this topic mentioned rice protein mix). And many high protein recipes.

I've just been so tired at the gym this past month. I just don't want to lose what I've gained.

One positive aspect of the vegan diet is the fat loss. I lost over ten pounds of body fat in the first three weeks.

Another positive aspect: no guilt. That turkey also tasted like shit and each bite was a chore to eat.

 

i will also check out the links you guys sent me. Thanks again. I'm sure you can all agree with me that this will not be an easy road for me to take. But I'm really determined to do this. Thanks for your time.