This blog post explores why protein is important for the body, how much you should aim to eat for optimal efficiency and good plant-based sources to fuel your recovery.
Why do we need protein?
Repair and maintenance
Put simply, you damage muscle fibres through exercise. After you workout, your body repairs or replaces damaged muscle fibers through a cellular process where it fuses muscle fibers together to form new muscle protein strands.
These repair with increase in thickness and number to create muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth).
Sufficient protein is essential in order to workout optimally and make sound progress with your goals.
How much protein do we need?
Activity Levels (protein in grams per kg of bodyweight)
Sedentary adult = 0.8-1g/kg
Recreational adult exerciser – general training = 0.8-1.5g/kg
Adult endurance athlete – heavy training = 1.2-1.7g/kg
Adult strength athlete – heavy training = 1.2-1.7g/kg
Adult endurance athlete – extreme training = 2g/kg
Growing teenage athlete = 1.5-2g/kg
Adult building muscle mass = 1.5-1.7g/kg
Estimated upper limits (adults) = 2.2g/kg
For example, an 80kg adult building muscle protein target would be between (1.5 x 80) = 120g Protein (lower limit) to 136g Protein (Upper limit) a day.
Good sources of protein
Lentils - curries, salads, buddha bowls
Tofu/Tempeh - scramble, stir frys, breadcrumbed
Beans - salads, buddha bowls, burritos
Chickpeas - curries, "chuna," buddha bowls, stews
Bean based pasta - any pasta dish
Soya milk - smoothies, shakes
Vegan Protein Powder - neck it, porridge, cookies
Soy Protein - meat substitutes
Nutritional Yeast - sauces, dips, anything savoury
Seitan - doner kebab!
If you're interested in some high protein vegan recipes click here.
For more info on vegan protein check out this article here.
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