Protein Sources

I have toyed with the idea of becoming vegetarian a couple of times over the years, not because I have ethical issues with eating meat, but for the health benefits. For example, vegetarians have half the risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes and have a 12% lower risk of getting cancer. In fact, current research suggests that we should be getting 70 to 80% of our diet from plants such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes (lentils and beans), and only 20 to 30% of our calories from animal products and processed foods. This is advice I have taken to heart and so try to integrate into my daily diet by varying my sources of protein. Of the 21 meals I’ve had in the last 7 days (breakfast, lunch and supper), 8 have been vegetarian (bean or egg based), 4 have been fish based, 6 have been poultry based (including the turkey bacon I like to have for breakfast), and only 3 have been meat based.

Unfortunately, getting enough protein to support heavy training is more difficult on a purely vegetarian diet. If you only need 15% of your calories or less from protein, you can get that quite easily from non-meat sources. However, I’m struggling to get 25% of my calories from protein on a meat inclusive diet! As well, most plant sources of protein are not complete proteins – they don’t have all 9 of the essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that our bodies need, whereas most fish and animal sources do. You can get all 9 by combining foods with the different amino acids, such as pairing beans with corn, but this takes care and planning. Plant proteins also don’t usually come with the added iron, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids found in meat and fish, which are key for muscle repair and improved performance.   

However, the biggest problem I have with going vegetarian is that my diet is already restricted by being gluten free. I just don’t think I would cope very well if I went egg, dairy and meat free as well! So, a few small steps to reduce the meat in my diet without eliminating anything.

The Score:

Calories:	Protein:	Carbs:	Fat:	Alcohol:	Fibre:
2158.70	134.41g	288.42g	58.87g	0	29.71g
	24%	53%	24%
Calories burned through exercise:		434

What I ate:

Time	Item	Amount
07:45	Vitamins - Centrum Advance A to Zinc, 400iu of Vitamin E, 1000iu Vitamin D3 and 500mg Glucosamine sulphate	1 each
	Cold water	200mL
	Mattesson's Turkey rashers	3 rashers
	Mesa Sunrise cereal	60g
	Alpro Soy milk	120mL
	Sainsbury's orange, mango and passionfruit juice	200mL
08:30	Black Tea	500mL
10:00	Workout - resistance training (1 set) + 30 min Bike
	Lemon-lime Nuun electrolyte tablet in water	750mL
11:15	Sponser Protein Snack bar	1 bar
14:45	Assorted Sushi	10 pieces
	Pod Lemon and yoghurt pot	1 pot
	Green Tea	200mL
15:45	Green Tea	200mL
17:30	Bounce peanut protein blast ball	49g
20:30	Cook Moroccan Spiced Lamb Tagine	300g
	Merchant Gourmet Red and White Quinoa	100g
22:00	Butterkist Microwave butter popcorn	30g popped

Plus 500 to 1500mL of cold water sipped from a water bottle throughout the day.