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Help with nutrition


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Hi, I'm new to the board, and currently not a vegan. BUT, I really want to be. I have been struggling with this now for some time, going back and forth. I of course won't "demand" that any of you help me, that's up to you. But I would really appreciate it, and it would make taking the step a lot easier for me.

 

Now, I know most of you here seem to be of the opinion you don't need a lot of protein, so before I start I just want to say that I don't want you to question why I want a certain amount of protein. I don't care what your opinion is on it, I just want help setting up a vegan nutritional program suited for my needs. And I need a lot of protein, no matter what you think.

 

And that's my biggest concern going vegan. Where do I get that much protein without going overboard with the carbs at the same time?

 

I'll specify my needs below, and also write my current, non vegan, nutritional program. Here goes:

 

- At least 300g of protein everyday, and of course the protein has to be "complete" (all aminos) for every meal.

 

- No more than 250g of carbs. (a little more on training days)

 

- It can't be too expensive. Right now for example, I buy fish for ~$6 for 2.2lbs, and 33lbs of whey protein for ~$185.

 

My current schedule (i'll use european measurements, cause that's what i'm used to):

 

Breakfast: 2dl oatmeal, 45g whey protein, 3dl milk, 1g vitamin c

 

after workout: 45g whey, 1dl dextrose, 5g creatine

 

Meal #1: 400g cod, 2dl rice

 

Meal #2: 1 can of beans, 10 salmon "meatballs"

 

Meal #3: 500g cottage cheese, 1 cheese sandwhich (lots of cheese)

 

Meal #4: 250g cottage cheese, 3 tbl spoons olive oil, a carrot + some vegetables

 

Meal #5: 2 scoops of caseine protein

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The protein you are taking are some of the worst types you could possibly consume...vegan or not. You'd be better off eating hot dogs for protein.

Anyway...it doesn't make sense to ask for nutrition advice and say you don't want to take advice on a subject as important as protein.

 

Anyhow...you can eat 300g a day. I've did it as a vegan for 3 years as my minimum intake and upwards of 500g on other days. It gave me nothing. I never noticed how useless that was until I stopped training for a year and came back just eating what I wanted...rarely eating 300g but still eating tons and tons of calories. Calories are what matters for bulking...not protein. Protein free calories are bad but thats not an easy thing to do. Carbs are everything and 250g is nothing. You need carbs to handle lots of heavy sets and for recovery. Not to say 300g will hurt you(it will in the long run but it won't keep you from gaining muscle or anything), but only 250g of carbs will kill your progress.

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Ok.. I will listen to your arguments, and if you give me good reasons for your opinions, i might reconsider.

I might've come of as arrogant at first, but I'm not.

 

First, why are my sources for protein "the worst kind"? What makes it bad?

anyway, i'm unemployed right now and i don't have much choice but to eat the cheapest possible foods available.

 

about the protein and carbs.. I have been following Dante's advice, and he is a big spokesperson for high protein, medium/low carbs (depends on the person, how carb sensitive he is), and medium/semi-high fat.

(no he didn't design my meal schedule, i'm not paying him.. just reading his work)

 

The diet i posted isn't a bulk btw.. but if I wanted to bulk i'd up the carbs maybe 50-100g at most and increase my fats more. a bit more carbs on training days.

and my strength is going up even on this diet so it can't be that bad.

 

the longer i go on a diet, the lower the amount of carbs i'll be using. so i really need to be able to keep my protein up without going overboard on the carbs. on a standard "meat eating" diet, i'd cut out the milk/cottage cheese and sweeteners first, then switch from rice and such to vegetables more and more, but still keeping the protein high with fish and meat.

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I have a bunch of nutrition programs I posted on the main website:

 

http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=menu_nutrition

 

Some of them are for 300-gram protein days.

 

I will also come up with more and post them on the main website under Nutrition soon.

 

For a long time I was consuming 300 grams of protein on a pure vegan diet. Now, I'm closer to 200 grams but I have some great suggestions on getting up to 300 grams. Back then I ate a lot of soy and now I barely eat any soy but there are a ton of other quality sources out there including:

 

Hemp protein

Rice protein

Pea protein

Flax protein

 

Nuts

Grains (quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, etc.)

Seeds

Beans

Legumes

Green Vegetables

 

 

Check out that section of the main website for a variety of nutrition programs.

 

All the best!

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Ok.. I will listen to your arguments, and if you give me good reasons for your opinions, i might reconsider.

I might've come of as arrogant at first, but I'm not.

 

First, why are my sources for protein "the worst kind"? What makes it bad?

 

I'll chime in here. Consuming so much fish exposes you to some hefty level of heavy metals and toxins, more than just Mercury (PCBs, dioxins and more). There have been a number of safety advisories about the level of consumption of fish.

 

do a google search and you'll find a ton of articles:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/03/07/mercury-health.html

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/uow-mco030207.php

 

In terms of protein I'm a big fan of hemp protein. Amazon sells 2 16-Ounce Jars of Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein Powder for $15.46 (if you do their subscription program... which you can even cancel right after you get your first order). That's $0.48 an oz of one of the best sources of protein you'll find out there - high in Essential Fatty Acids and damn tasty.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Nutiva-Organic-Protein-Powder-16-Ounce/dp/B000H31U4A/r

 

In terms of milk and whey, see http://www.notmilk.com/ it'll go into the issues with cow's milk and milk products better than I ever could.

 

I guess the big question is... Do you get a lot of colds in the winter and/or ear infections? With that level of casein and milk I'd bet you do.

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Vegan protein is extremely cheap and easy to get in mass. Its just as easy to get too much vegan protein as it is to get too much non vegan protein. Beans are dirt cheap if you buy them dry and peas are in some ways even better. 1/4 cup of dried peas has 10grams of protein and one pound of organic peas in bulk may only run you $0.99 US.

 

By the way...how big are you and why do you think you need so much protein???

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ljk11 - i wrote cod, but i actually meant alaska pollock.. language barrier problems there. it's really cheap.

 

gkleinman - true, about the mercury and all that. i'll keep it in mind. (although my goal is to go vegan, so.. hopefully wont have to worry about that soon enough)

 

but enough about fish.. i won't turn into a discussion about that, zack. don't worry.

 

and no, actually i very seldom get colds.. like maybe once a year at most. never had an ear infection in my life. but i'm not lactose intolerant, I think being Scandinavian has something to do with it. Most people here drink milk more or less every day from birth all the way to the grave.

 

about protein needs. like i said, Dante is a big spokesperson for high protein intake, and actually wants his clients to use about 2g protein/lbs. I don't do that, but i still keep it higher than i did before. And I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like my recovery is better now.

 

and when it comes to protein powder, I've heard about a new vegetable protein powder coming out within a month or 2.. don't know what it will contain, still under wraps. but it's supposed to be about as cheap as whey used to be.

because of the fact that milk prices has soured recently, and is gonna keep rising, more and more people will probably turn to vegan alternatives for protein powder.

 

I heard there's a powder out there that uses a mix of hemp, rice and some other vegatable protein source.. dunno the price though, but if it's not too expensive I might use that.

 

 

thanks again for the replies. cheers.

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I was at one point 320lbs on purpose eating 300+grams a day. But once I picked up cycling I had to drop all that weight. For about a year I stayed at 200lbs(where I am now) and I tried everything to lose muscle. I even went 6 months on 1500 calories with as little protein as possible. My goal was to keep under 30g and on most days I did it. Some days I was in the low 20s. I didn't lose a single pound. If I can't lose muscle on 30g a day you should be able to gain muscle on 60-100 at the weight you are at.

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I didn't lose a single pound. If I can't lose muscle on 30g a day you should be able to gain muscle on 60-100 at the weight you are at.

 

Sounds like you have awesome genetics my friend. I didn't workout this summer at all, I've already lost 20lbs. Most of it muscle mass.

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If I didn't do anything for a week I'd probably gain 10lbs of muscle. If taking a break would make me lose that much muscle I'd do it in a second.

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Best proteins is rice, hemp, or pea

their all organic and raw and made from plants..

Plants are the best sore of protien out there..

It quick and easy to digest on the body

I recomand reading the thrive diet by Brendan Brazier !

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hi, I'm new to the board, and currently not a vegan. BUT, I really want to be. I have been struggling with this now for some time, going back and forth. I of course won't "demand" that any of you help me, that's up to you. But I would really appreciate it, and it would make taking the step a lot easier for me.

 

Now, I know most of you here seem to be of the opinion you don't need a lot of protein, so before I start I just want to say that I don't want you to question why I want a certain amount of protein. I don't care what your opinion is on it, I just want help setting up a vegan nutritional program suited for my needs. And I need a lot of protein, no matter what you think.

 

And that's my biggest concern going vegan. Where do I get that much protein without going overboard with the carbs at the same time?

 

I'll specify my needs below, and also write my current, non vegan, nutritional program. Here goes:

 

- At least 300g of protein everyday, and of course the protein has to be "complete" (all aminos) for every meal.

 

- No more than 250g of carbs. (a little more on training days)

 

- It can't be too expensive. Right now for example, I buy fish for ~$6 for 2.2lbs, and 33lbs of whey protein for ~$185.

 

My current schedule (i'll use european measurements, cause that's what i'm used to):

 

Breakfast: 2dl oatmeal, 45g whey protein, 3dl milk, 1g vitamin c

 

after workout: 45g whey, 1dl dextrose, 5g creatine

 

Meal #1: 400g cod, 2dl rice

 

Meal #2: 1 can of beans, 10 salmon "meatballs"

 

Meal #3: 500g cottage cheese, 1 cheese sandwhich (lots of cheese)

 

Meal #4: 250g cottage cheese, 3 tbl spoons olive oil, a carrot + some vegetables

 

Meal #5: 2 scoops of caseine protein

 

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in on this thread. Sorry, because I know you asked not to comment on it, but when I saw your diet I just had to ask. Why do you feel so strongly about ingesting all of those grams of protein? I am very curious what your reasoning is. Is it based on your thought that you can't build muscle without all of that protein? If it is, and I don't say this to be cocky, but look at my avatar. I have built this body on a vegan diet with probably a third of the daily protein that you have been consuming. Therefore, if you're large amount of protein intake is based on muscle building, please reconsider. It's totally not necessary and, in my opinion, harmful.

 

In regards to alternative protein sources, my favorite is tempeh, tofu, peas and lentils. Those proteins sources along with a large influx of assorted vegetables will certainly build muscle. Best of luck. Peace.

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