When Figs Fly

Where do you get your protein from?! Food.

 

Protein is ESSENTIAL. However, it is not difficult to come by. I will be the first to admit that I really thought protein was only in meat. I thought I needed to eat meat because I knew I needed protein. This is a common thought among Americans because the meat industry does a great job at marketing this to us. They know we are a protein obsessed culture, so they market their products like they are the only way to get protein. When in fact, protein is very easy to come by - even eating plant-based!

 

How much protein do we really need?

Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a nutrient recommendation amount issued by Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine. The DRI for protein is 0.36 grams per pound for a moderately active person. For example, at 150 pounds, that would equal 54 grams of protein a day.

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Your weight in pounds X 0.36 = grams of protein per day to eat

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You need to take into account your age, muscle mass, and activity level when calculating how much protein you need. If you are above age 65 you may want to eat a little more protein to maintain muscle mass. The Mayo Clinic recommends between 0.44 and 0.52 grams per pound. At 150 pounds, that would equate to 66-78 grams.

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If you are actively exercising to build muscle, the recommendation is 0.45 grams per pound. So at 150 pounds (and actively engaged in a workouts to build muscle), that would equal 67.5 grams of protein per day. (But you must be actually exercising! Although I’m sure we wish it did, protein does not magically turn into muscle. In fact, excess protein is converted into fat.)

As you will see, both these amounts of protein are EASILY reached with a plant based diet!

 

How will I know if I am getting enough protein?

If you are eating enough calories, you are most likely eating enough protein. Even if you ate only brown rice all day, you would be getting enough protein! 2,000 calories of brown rice has about 50 grams of protein in it! Only 3% of Americans are protein deficient, and this is likely because they are not eating enough calories.

 

Side note: 97% of Americans do not eat enough fiber! So don’t worry too much about protein, but do worry about fiber (fiber is not found in meat, dairy, or eggs). A plant-based diet will help ensure you get enough fiber, which is also essential!

 

Here are the nutrition facts for a sample day of plant-based eating amounting to 2,000 calories. Without the help of meat, dairy, or protein shakes or bars, the recommended amount of protein was easily exceeded, because protein is found in a variety of foods and it adds up quick!

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