Am I getting enough protein?

Question

Ok so I am a vegetarian, and my mom keeps going on about how I am not getting enough protein.
So I found out that like power bars, stuff like that have a lot of protein. If I eat one of those everyday am I getting enough protein? Or not enough?

If that is to much protein then do you have any other suggestions of how I can get protein?

Or if it is not enough, should I eat two a day?

Each bar has a different amount of protrein.

Somewhere between 10-18 grams of protein. In one bar.

I do not eat any kind of meat. So I don't get very much protein.

10 points for best answer and most help..
Please don't be mean.

Answer 1

Well, since we don't know what you eat, we can't exactly tell you that, but I can help you find out how much you need! Find out your weight in kilograms (you can find a pound to kilogram converter on google) and for each kg you weigh, you need 1 gram of protein. For example, if someone weights 60 kg, they need 60 grams of protein a day.

Hope it helps!

Answer 2

That person is wrong! Your body does not store protein. It stores Iron and Vitamin B (which are both primarily found in meat). The RDA for a woman aged 30-59 is 50 grams per day. You can continue to eat the protein bars but also get more protein from other foods like: almonds, avocado, kidney beans, bread, broccoli, cheese, eggs, lentils, skim milk or soy milk, oatmeal, peanut butter, potatoes, soybeans and yogurt.

You may want to get some literature on vegetarians and their daily requirements. I recommend "Vegetarian times - Vegetarian Beginner's Guide". I just finished reading it and it really helped me. The link is below to buy it online or you can find it at Barnes & Noble. That's where I got it.

Answer 3

Ask yourself the following questions:

1) Am I getting enough calories (between 1,700 and 2,200 a day)?
2) Are they from sources besides junk food?

If the answer both questions is yes, you're getting enough protein.

I have read varied estimates, but you typically need .3 to .5 gram of protein per pound of body weight (more if you're an athlete), and that's pretty easy to get. Legumes, grains, and nuts are all excellent sources of protein. But be careful about the nuts, as they also have a lot of fat.

And you do NOT have to combine your proteins to get the benefits. Just eat a variety of foods throughout the day, and you should be fine.

Answer 4

There are already some awesome answers here. This is what I do for protein as a vegan: I love black beans and rice. I love throwing together any type of bean with kale, cayenne pepper, broccoli, cauliflower and olive oil into a cast iron skillet, cook it up, and then put over a portion of quinoa. Mmmm. And so easy. Beans, quinoa, tofu, are all great sources of protein. It might be beneficial to figure out how much protein you actually need. I think as a vegan it's easy to go way overboard. Good luck! I added our blog website as we have a lot of links from there that might help as far as recipes go.

Answer 5

ok.....

Ask yourself(and your mom) - Why does she say you're not getting enough???Can she prove it???

Is it just because she knows your not eating meat? If so, it's just in her head. The northern world has been manipulated with propoganda to think of meat as synonomous with protein - thus, implanting the suggestion that other foods do NOT have protein(where do the animals get it?? The animals humans eat are vegans!!!)

If its because you're getting weak, then you either AREN'T getting enough(only possible if your not eating enough), or your eating a detox diet.

Ask your mom what a protein deficiency is called. She won't know. Ask her to ask a doctor. They won't know either.

Give your mom things to read(like my post)... it's better than talking, because people often don't listen, and interupt.

This topic just won't go away, despite no veg*n developing a protein deficiency.

And speaking of "beating a dead animal"....

Janettet - Humans are the LEAST humane....Factory farming practices are not based on the welfare of the animal, but on efficiency/money. It's become worse than hunting.

Kyla - I say you only need .7 grams per kg of body weight.

Answer 6

The idea that you have to eat meat to get complete proteins and vitamins is absolute nonsense.

Soy is the only source of 'complete' proteins, but as long as you eat a varied diet with plenty of wholegrains, veggies, corn and rice, you don't have anything to worry about. Every food you eat has protein. 28% of the calories in beans come from protein, and around 40% of your calories in veggies come from protein. Just one glass of milk has 8 grams of protein. One cup of lentils has 18 grams of protein. One slice of wholegrain bread has 2 grams of protein.

Most healthy women need around 50 grams of protein per day.

If you're very concerned, track your daily protein intake with http://www.fitday.com - it's really easy to use and could help you make sure you're getting enough fibre, protein, and vitamins and minerals.

Answer 7

Try following your daily value. Food with accurate packaging contains the amounts of DV%, in other words look at that to see if you are intaking enough protein. Most DV% are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Most likely you are getting enough protein, and don't take it too seriously as my mom says the exact same thing

Answer 8

Paige, let your mom know that most American meat eaters get a whopping 4x the protein they need and the average American vegetarian gets 2.5x the protein needed daily. We have been quite thoroughly brainwashed by the beef lobby to think that protein is the end-all-be-all of nutrients and that meat is the end-all-be-all of protein sources. What most meat eaters don't know is that too much protein is bad for you: it's an immune system irritant, it taxes your kidneys, and processing animal sourced proteins leaches calcium from your bones. Your mom probably won't believe any of this because, like I said, Americans have been force fed information by the animal foods industries. So, look up the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's website. They have a flyer called The Protein Myth, which explains how little you really need.

Protein deficiency is almost unheard of in the developed world, which is why someone else correctly said that your mom almost certainly doesn't know the medical name for it. Your doctor has probably never treated a case of it. The only people who routinely suffer from protein deficiency are famine victims and people who are living almost completely off a single starchy staple food. In other words, people in developing nations. If you have access to the internet, you have access to a wide range of protein foods and as long as you're eating a balanced diet with enough calories to meet your energy needs, you are getting plenty of protien.

Vegetarians get theirs from soybeans and soy products (tofu, tempeh, tvp, edamame, and faux "meats",) beans and other legumes (lentils, peas, peanuts, chickpeas,) nuts and seeds, whole grains, fruits and veggies (especially your dark green vegetables,) and mushrooms. If you're eating dairy products and/or eggs, that's just that much more insurance that you're not lacking protein, but even vegans find it easy to get plenty.

Something like a power bar (I like the Odwalla brand chocolate chip peanut ones) are a decent snack. But don't feel like you *need* to eat them to get enough protein. You're much better off just making sure you're eating from all the vegetarian food groups.

If you want more information on protein requirements for vegetarians, as well as information on all other aspects of vegetarian nutrition, I highly recommend "Becoming Vegetarian" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. It's very thorough and there is even coverage addressing the needs of teen vegetarians (I'm just assuming - you could be 30 and your mom could still be bugging you about eating right!)

Answer 9

Your body stores protein, it isn't expelled like Vitamin C. You are probably getting enough protein, but there are certain B Vitamins and Amino Acids only found in red meats. If the B Vitamins are deficient, you can develop dementia. If you think it is inhumane to kill animals for food, we are probably the most humane of all the meat-eating species. At least we don't run them down and eat them while they are still alive. I believe humans are omnivores and should balance both meats and vegetables.

Answer 10

I think it's ok with the protein bar.
You can also eat, in order to get protein:
- muesli
- nuts, peanuts, almonds
- cheese
- yogurt
- milk
- sour cream
- eggs
- peanut butter
- green peas