DrBulldog Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Good afternoon! I had a question regarding protein intake. I'm been a raw vegan for only 6 weeks now but I'm loving the changes. I've lifted/bodybuilt practically my whole life and have been used to taking protein and amino acid supplements (protein intake/day was probably close to 200 grams). Since going raw I only eat raw fruits and veggies, no nuts, seeds or dried fruits (or avocados). I've read that the nuts and seeds have too much protein and can be hard to digest and by eating fruits and vegetables I can easily get enough protein to build muscle. The amount recommended seems to be about 5% of total calories. I track my calories so I'm getting about 3000 calories a day with 35-40 grams of protein, which comes to right around 5% of my intake. Since starting this diet I've lost 10 pounds and my lean muscle mass has gone from: Jan 9 BW 172.5 bf% 17.3 142.16 lbs muscle June 8 BW 166 bf% 13.7 143.26 lbs muscle June 28 BW 162 bf% 14.5 138.51 lbs muscle I started at Jan 9 because that was my weight, bf% from that point until I started eating raw near the middle/end of May. This is a net loss of 5 pounds of muscle (if my fickle bf% scale is correct, I'll recheck tomorrow). I've lost an inch off my arms as well. I had expected to lose bodyfat and was hoping to maintain or gain muscle as I still am training, but as you can see, I've actually lost muscle. I really don't think I can eat anymore than I've been eating and the only other option I have is either protein supplementation or the addition of raw nuts/seeds. What is your opinion on % of calories that should come from protein and what sort of estimate would you make for someone in my situation? Thanks in advance! Oh, and if this posts, this was me 3 years ago. I'll post more recent pictures in the next week or so! http://www.exercisecertification.com/success/Dambrosio/Dambrosio.jpg John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionategirl Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Wow, you're a nice lookin' fella John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBulldog Posted June 28, 2006 Author Share Posted June 28, 2006 Thanks compassionate! You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Looking good! Raw foodies will argue the protein issue. Most of the bodybuilders I know who are raw...are high raw, they suppliment with post workout protein shakes. I have seen people say anywhere from .5 - 1 per pound of bodyweight. I personally see results at .8 per pound. I have never heard of the proteins in nuts being a problem, but you should soak raw nuts before eating them. Another issue you may want to look at is fat intake...too little or too much. I try to stay around 30% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBulldog Posted June 28, 2006 Author Share Posted June 28, 2006 Thanks Denise! Geez, I guess all vegan women are gorgeous! Wow, per pound or is that per kg? I'm read 1 gram per kg of bodyweight on some raw and vegan sites, and that's high compared to the 5% of caloric intake, but 1 gram per pound is only something I've read in bodybuilding magazines. I had thought it was less for vegans, but I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking! Thanks again, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9nines Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Research on the subject: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2003issue4/vj2003issue4weight.htm What was your diet before? Are you eating less calories, now? If you are, maybe your body is using muscle more than fat for the reserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBulldog Posted June 28, 2006 Author Share Posted June 28, 2006 I'm probably eating less calories, but my bodyfat was higher back then. I honestly can't eat anymore than I'm eating now unless I supplement protein with shakes and/or start eating some nuts/seeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 This may help, scroll to "off season"http://www.veganbodybuilding.org/robbie.htm#diet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 How are you determining your fat...if your doing skin folds that doesn't cut it. I'm probably around 12% but since I used to be 320lbs my fold would probably be 20+ so thats not a good guage...the only real guage is the float test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesty leroux Posted July 2, 2006 Share Posted July 2, 2006 i know that you can get raw hemp protein to supplement with. I used some when I was raw. It's not too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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