Hi everyone, I’ve been sticking to 1500kcals for a little over a month now, and already lost almost 8lbs, which is great, but I feel like my diet is lacking in protein. I don’t even get to half my recommended protein intake, but fats and carbs is almost always around 100%. Even on days when I eat eggs I don’t get much higher than 50%. Any suggestions what I can add/replace to get more protein in a vegetarian diet? I now generally eat 2-3 slices of whole wheat bread with veggie spreads, yoghurt, 1-2 pieces of fruit, sometimes an egg or another snack like a cereal bar or a popsicle, and as a main meal rice/potatoes/pasta (max 5 oz. cooked) with a lot of vegetables and a meat replacer.
by Riseofthealpaca
6 Comments
Oops I botched the title, vegetarian was supposed to come after my of course…
What meat replacements are you eating? Soy based ‘meats’? Look for options with high protein content.
Protein-enriched bread or wraps
Milk
Cheese or nuts/nut butters
Beans and lentils
Are you okay with protein shakes? I love the Owyn chocolate shakes on ice. They’re plant-based protein.
I find it helps to focus on getting min 20-30g protein per meal makes things more achievable.
Breakfast is a great place to boost protein – I don’t even eat solid breakfast but do protein coffee or protein drink for a very easy 20 – 40g to start my day.
I would suggest swapping your cereal bar or popsicle snacks for protein-ier options – something like a Greek yogurt pop or a protein bar in their place would definitely help you boost your intake.
Try Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt.
If you’re worried about satiety/calories of cheese, try fresher cheeses like ricotta, they’re often lower caloric density and more filling.
Seek every opportunity to add an egg to your dish. Add them to sandos, pastas, rice, etc. Always be seaking an opportunity to egg.
Tofu, tempeh, seitan, tvp, soy curls, edamame, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, cheese, egg whites, fat free cheese, milk, whole grains, carb alternatives like banza pasta, rightrice, carbanada pasta, store bought meatless substitutes, supplement with protein powder/protein bars
Focus on how you can add protein to meals. Like your bread with veggie spreads (idk what that means though) you might choose sprouted bread or protein bread (haven’t had protein bread before but it exists) and then add some slices of tofurky (homemade or store bought) and mix cottage cheese with the spreads
Your yogurt/fruit would be greek yogurt with fruit and half-one scoop of protein powder mixed in
If your carbs, fats, and calories are right on target, but your protein is far off, that means your macro targets aren’t set to equal your calorie target. If you had 50 more grams of protein that would be 200 more calories so you would need a calorie target of 1700.
Go into Cronometer settings to set your nutrient targets, and it should tell you what your macro targets add up to. I would say your protein target doesn’t need to be *that* high, though you should get more than the 40 you are now. Carbs could be lower if necessary to balance the numbers, fat could be higher or stay the same depending on if it would make your diet easier to have more fatty foods. I would try something like 75/150/60 grams, that should get in the ballpark of 1500.