I’d never really logged my meals to see how many calories and how much protein I was really eating. I’m pretty sure the answer to both was not enough.
My fitness goals have been incoherent for a long time, with nutrition goals to match:
- Eat a lot of protein.
- Keep the carbs down.
- Forget about the rest.
It took me 20 years of adulthood to decide to want to start Eating My Vegetables™.
Protein, brah.
Provided I consume enough protein and BCAAs to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, a plant-based diet will unquestionably be healthier for me than my former diet, which contained practically no fruits or vegetables at all except for the occasional salad. I’m embarrassed by that last bit.
There’s a stark difference in protein requirements for survival and for muscle growth. Online research of resources for plant-based diets recommends anywhere from 0.5-0.8 g of protein per kg of bodyweight. For me, that’s about 80-150 g.
For muscle growth, the recommendation I trust most is from Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum’s To Be a Beast article. For males attempting body recomposition, it’s 1.15 g/lb, or 2.5 g/kg. For me, that’s about 200 g per day.
That’s a challenging goal, even on my previous diet based on meat and dairy.
Let’s be reasonable.
I tried meeting that goal for a few days. I had to spend the entire day eating, and I didn’t feel great when I was done. Granted, I’m sure it would take some time for my digestive tract to fully adjust to the sudden increase in protein, but the amount of time and focus it required seemed like compliance would throw my life out of balance, affecting my social and work life.
I’m willing to take a chance on a recommendation I found at VeganLiftz.com, based on the findings of a 2007 meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine:
Protein supplementation beyond total protein intakes of 1.62 g/kg/day resulted in no further RET-induced gains in FFM.
This is about 130 g/day, which seems challenging but attainable.
Fat
My BMI is currently 22.2, and my waist measures 35”. I first noticed the adipose tissue around my midsection around 10 years ago, and it’s been growing slowly since then. An estimation of fat volume based on photographs that can be found online of 5 lb of fat ex vivo, I’d guess it amounts to 5-10 pounds.
No one with a less-lean genetic predisposition wants to hear me complain about being “fat,” or even “skinny-fat,” but I’d like to see my version of a “spare tire” gone ASAP. Abdominal fat correlates strongly with several harmful outcomes:
Among both women and men, subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue and visceral adipose tissue were significantly associated with blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and with increased odds of hypertension, impaired fasting glucose, diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome (P range < 0.01).
Even after having modified my eating habits pretty drastically, I think I’d have to work really hard to achieve a fat intake low enough to be unhealthy. 35 g would constitute a fairly low-fat diet (~ 15% of total calories) while still allowing a little bit of indulgence. It’s easily well below my previous diet, which was probably closer to 100 g/day.
The rest of my calories can be obtained from carbs – preferably high-bulk starchy vegetables and leafy greens – and that leaves room for about 315 g/day. Can do!
Speaking of carbs…
Fiber
I used to consume almost no fiber.
Now I’m aiming for at least 35 g per day, which happens practically by accident while using plants to hit my macronutrient targets.
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