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I only eat meat occasionally, so what about my protein?

The recommended daily intake for protein is not as much as you think. It’s only 0.8g per kilogram of body weight. For the average person, that’s 46g for women and 56g for men.

However, it is important to note that there are specific groups of people who need more protein, like athletes, pregnant women and the elderly.

I meet my protein requirements very easily on plant foods. I’m an average person weighing 58 kg so I need at least 46.4g of protein daily.

I don’t check my calories or macros daily. Since eating plant-based, I only checked those metrics twice just to see if I’m doing things right.

Let’s take what I recorded on one of those days as an example:

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Breakfast = 15.6g

1 Banana 1.3g 1 tbsp ground flaxseed 1.3g 1 tbsp hemp seed 3g 2 cups cooked oats 10g 2 tbsp date syrup 0g
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Snack = 6.4g

1 small apple 0.4g 1 oz mixed nuts 6g
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Lunch = 10.05g

1 cup Green beans adobo 1.8g 1.5 cup brown rice 8.25g
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Dinner = 22.45g

1 cup Mung bean soup 14.2g 1.5 cup brown rice 8.25g

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Chia pudding = 13.7g

1 cup strawberries 1g 1 cup soy milk 8g

1 oz chia seeds 4.7g

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My total protein intake is 68.2g. That is ****around 47% more than my minimum of 46.4g.
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Here are 6 Facts About Protein:

1. Protein is not a food group. It’s a macronutrient, a component of food.

2. Protein is not synonymous with meat. This wrong belief has led so many people to eat too much meat and develop chronic diseases as a consequence.

3. All essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) originally come from plants. Check this study for more info. Where do the cows, chickens, elephants, and gorillas get their protein? How about we cut the middle man and get our proteins from the original source instead?

4. All plant foods contain all the essential amino acids in varying amounts. Some plants have more protein than others. So as long as you eat a diversity of plant foods and eat enough calories daily, it is nearly impossible to become deficient in any one essential amino acid.

5. All proteins, both plant and animal, are digested similarly upon entering the stomach. They are broken down into their amino acid building blocks, absorbed by cells, and built into proteins within the body as needed.

6. Protein comes packaged better in plant foods with disease-fighting fiber and phytonutrients.

As you see above, my lab results do not show protein deficiency and my doctor is not even worried about it. It’s easy to get the minimum daily protein requirements on a plant-based diet as long as you eat enough calories from a diversity of whole plant foods. Just don’t starve yourself.

Let’s be protein-aware and not protein-obsessed. Hopefully this article answered some questions you may have had regarding protein.
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❤️ My Favourite Things This Week

1. Recipe - I love sweets! This Vegan Granola Cups by Simply Quinoa is easy to make and looks absolutely cute too!

2. App - I’ve been using the Day One App for journaling daily for more than 2 months now. I like how I can just open it from my phone and write whenever or wherever I am. They have a free version by the way.

3. Documentary - You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment on Netflix. I read the Stanford Twin Study in December 2023 and was quite impressed about the research design. If you don’t like reading boring research papers then try watching the Netflix documentary version and let me know what you think.
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📝 Quote of the Week