Sunday, March 3, 2019

The Protein Question

I have been doing the low-fat vegan diet for two weeks now.  I keep track of what I eat and have been watching my nutrition statistics.  My average calories have dropped by about 60/day.  That is not a bad thing, since I haven't lost the weight I gained over Christmas yet.  The statistic that worries me is that I have been eating much less of my calories as protein.  I was eating about 15% of calories from protein, and that last two weeks it has dropped down to about 10%.  Since my calories has also dropped, I am guessing my protein intake has decreased from about 50 grams a day to about 30 grams a day.  I don't know if that is a problem or not.  The calculators online recommend that a woman my size eat about 50 grams/day (what I was eating before).  I am also more active than many women my age, so I might need more.  I think I need to watch my protein more carefullly.

A struggle is that the things that are plant based and have a lot of protein, also give my indigestion.  I enjoy the taste of beans and lentils, but it is hard for me to digest them, even with digestive enzymes.  I like soy milk, but it is not particularly low fat, nor is tofu.  (both about 30% of calories from fat.)  What is a woman to do?  I wish they had protein supplements, like they have calcium supplements. 


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