This weekend involved a few personal revelations and a lot of motivation. One of the results? The decision to up my protein intake (and my gym efforts–more on that later this week) and do that thing where you eat regular meals at regular intervals and include balanced ingredients and stuff. Yes, stuff. I figured I’d share Day One, show my successes and failures, and provide (and ask for) some ideas of where/how to sneak some in.
The Plan, Man
I have my whole week charted out, but let’s just start with yesterday.
Breakfast: 4:30 am. 32g.
That’s what I time I wake up. On Sundays.
You’d wake up then, too, if you got chocolate pudding and banana for breakfast.
Snack #1: 7:30 am. 20g.
I don’t consider this “health” food, but I do consider a Sunday treat that just so happens to have protein.
Snack #2: 10:45 am. 9g.
Frozen fruit and pumpkin seeds. Perfect for snacking on while reading on my patio.
Lunch: 1:00 pm. 24g.
I inhaled a huge bowl of tofu scramblers with sauteed onion, portobella mushroom and collard greens. Next time I (might) pause for the camera.
Evening Snack: 3:30 pm. 23g.
I straight killed it at the gym–the fact that Olympic female power-lifting was on at the time may have helped.
Unfortunately I didn’t think I was that hungry right after (plus lunch was a lot of food), so I changed the plan and just had a protein shake. Never change the plan. I was woozy with real food hunger 30 minutes later.
Dinner: 5:30 pm. 19g.
I somehow managed to wait two hours for this. It was not an easy two hours.
A protein-ful PB&J involving sunflower seed butter, sprouted bread and homemade chia-berry jam for a protein-kick of a kid’s favorite.
PM snack: 6:30 pm. 5g.
This wasn’t on the schedule either, but being a dumb-bum and not eating real food left me still hungry, so I had another slice of bread and jam. Since this was as late as I could wait (and no, that’s not very late), you can bet I was starving when I woke up this morning.
Grand Total: 132g of Protein.
And that’s a grand total of suck it to all those, “But how do you get enough protein as a vegan?” folk. (I love you omnivores, just not such a fan of those omnivores.)
Have you ever planned out a week of meals? Favorite protein sources? Any interest in seeing the rest of my daily protein efforts for the week?
ForgottenBeast 
Holy cripes that’s a lot of protein – way to show that it’s possible without animal products! And yes, totally interested in more posts about your protein intake!
I definitely meal plan like a maniac- I hate buying groceries that I don’t use, so I do it to reduce the amount of things I buy that get thrown away.
I didn’t even stop to think of how much more efficient this is going to be! I just thought I was doing it to keep better track of nutrition, but you’re totally right, so much less waste.
Holy crap! Now I’m worried that I’m getting like, 5 grams of protein. I’m gonna go count …
Well, 5 might a little low, haha, but absolutely no reason for the average person to need as much as I’m getting, just a gym/life experiment I’m going with for the next few weeks…Totally fun to tally it all up, though.
I love that you are doing this. when I get that question, can I just send people here!?
Of course! There’s going to be a week of these, so lots of proof that it can be done!
I’m so proud of you!!! Way to go. 🙂
There is nothing better than chocolate and bananas. Nom.
P.S. I just read that Venus Williams is on a vegan diet now.
Thanks Laura! And yes, it’s a magical combination… And I already adore Venus Williams, that just makes her even more kick-ass.
How much should you be eating a day?
Women really only need around 50 (there are different calculations based on weight, etc.), but I have some new gym goals that require a big protein boost.
Whoa that’s a lot of protein, but good for you for getting it in from real food for the most part! My favorite protein sources are eggs, peanut butter and fish.
Yeah, definitely more than the average person needs, but I’m trying to meet some new gym goals, so I’m giving it a try! Could definitely use some more peanut butter 🙂
Good for you. I don’t think adding in protein is a bad thing, as long as your kidneys tolerate it okay (they do all the filter of the excess). Personally my kidneys are all jacked up and prone to stones/infections so I cut back on protein powders and things like that.
I’m not surprised at all that you can down that much protein in a day. You eat so good most of the time. It’s also proof positive that just ingesting grams of protein won’t guarantee you feel full all day. It’s still comes down to what you’re eating and when and all that. I wish it were that easy!
I’m in a similar boat, trying to ramp up my training a little bit and watch my nutritional intake. I totally blew it nutritionally (not to mention financially) over the last couple months (Italy, Cabo, Vegas, the last two weeks with friends in town going out every.single.night), and my measurements are starting to show. I’ve been avoiding the scale because I get neurotic and focus purely on inches. I workout just fine, it’s the nutrition. Time to lay off the unnecessary drinking and bad food.
There’s no way to keep eating simple on vacation, too many good options/new things to try. Love the attitude toward measurements over scales though, scales are terrible terrible things that really don’t reflect health.
That does seem like a lot of protein, but good luck with your gym goals! I think I tend to be low on protein, higher on carbs. Chocolate pudding and bananas for breakfast? Yum!
You go girl! That’s a lot of protein–that chocolate pudding looks so silky!
It had the best texture! I didn’t have high expectations, and yet it just came out perfect.
If I don’t get enough protein I am often left with lots of cravings, so I usually have a pretty high protein diet. That said I am not vegetarian so I have a lot more options. I do meal plan a lot I find it saves me so much time, money and effort. My favourite protein source is eggs (so versatile!) 🙂
I’m hoping adding a lot of protein will curb my appetite–I feel like I’m hungry ALL the time, so it will be interesting to see how this meal planning experiment affects that.
4.30am?! I’m quite impressed if I’m up by 9am on a Sunday 😉
I love being able to prove things like this to doubters; like making vegan cakes when everyone thought they’d be horrible.
I’ll have two helpings of that pudding please -oh, and one of those sandwiches on the side…
You definitely picked the two best items from the day–I seriously could live on just pudding and PB&J. Okay, and maaaybe a vegetable or two…
hahaha, love that post! just checked my protein intake yesterday and noticed that without giving a damn about protein rich foods, I had over 70 grams. So much about that 😉
Awesome! If you’re eating a healthy diet, the number is usually pretty high to start with–I should have done a normal day of eating first, just so I could compare!
Holy protein- damn you’re good! I love seeing how you fit it all in although I gotta ask- how was that pb & j so high in protein?? I’m guessing the bread is protein-packed! My favorite protein sources are eggs & yogurt (sorry vegans ;))! Keep these posts coming!
Yeah, each slice of that bread has 5g, the sunflower seed butter has 7g, and a serving of the chia jam has 2g. And there’ll be another protein post tomorrow, I’m munching on my protein as I type 🙂
Yeah those mean omnivores can suck it :p! I eat meat & I’m pretty sure you get more protein than I do.. Rock on!