strong and sculpted
A vegan dinner with more protein than 5 eggs
Jan
Here’s an example of a vegan-obsessed-with-weight-lifting dinner.
Aka…
What I stuffed my face with the other night.
Mmmmmmmm. If you were here in my Irish kitchen with me, you’d get to breathe in the delightful scent of Tofu chili stir fry + Steamed broccoli + Rice.
So damn good. SO packed with protein…35g to be exact.
Now, that’s only dinner. Overall, I’m eating 3 – 4x that much protein in a day! By drinking protein-packed shakes. Downing protein-infused oatmeal.
It’s necessary to consume a lot of protein…but I see protein-intake mistakes a lot.
Women are often nervous about having “too much” protein, especially on the Sculpted Vegan plans – which recommend what could seem like a lot.
The other day, my trainer, Mark Getty, and I were discussing these fears around protein. How much ya actually need…the mistakes we see so many people make…
That’s why we put the conversation into a video, so you could reap all the benefits and information from it.
In this video, I share with you:
- How much protein your body needs…and why
- The truth on if powder-based protein is any different or “less healthy” than protein from whole foods (like tofu)
- How vegans can get just as much protein needed as meat eaters
Remember, the best conversations happen in the comments.
After you’ve watched the video here a la Youtube, leave a comment below and share what takeaway you got from the video!
Cheers to your muscles!
Kim xo
[otw_shortcode_content_toggle title=”Video Transcript” opened=”closed” icon_type=”social foundicon-youtube”]Kim: Hi this is Kim Constable and welcome to this week’s episode of Strong and Sculpted.
Now today, I have a very excited guest with me. This is someone who I know personally because I have been training with this person since May of this year. So my guest today is a very prolific, heavy weight bodybuilder called Mark Getty.
I’ll tell you what I wanted to talk specifically about today was, I have just launched, as you know, in my new programme called The 4 Week Shred.
Mark: Yeah.
Kim: And I make big promises in this programme which is, you could lose up to half your body fat in 4 weeks.
Mark: Yeah.
Kim: A lot of women have concerns in the programme, they’re saying that the protein is possibly too high or they don’t feel comfortable consuming this amount of protein and when I say this amount, we’re maybe talking anywhere between 140g to 190g, maybe 200g depending on the person’s weight and body mass.
Mark: Yeah, so roughly a gram per pound?
Kim: A gram per pound yes or just over a gram per pound. So what we I wanted to ask was your personal opinion on protein in general, do we need it for muscle growth?
Mark: Yeah.
Kim: Also how much protein is too much protein and is consuming more protein than you normally would detrimental in a short period of time like 4 weeks?
Mark: Well first of all, as most of you hopefully know, protein is essential for muscle gain, at the end of the day it’s amino acids in the protein that’s going to be broken down and fuel your muscles. Also things like hair growth, nails etc. all needs protein. So if your goal is to increase muscle mass and lose fat, you obviously need to increase the protein in your diet.
Kim: Right.
Mark: For me personally, a gram per pound isn’t a high amount, it’s a normal amount. I’ve seen me taking in up to 2g per pound of body weight and even higher especially when I’m dieting. So to keep my body anabolic and not falling into catabolism I’m burning off muscle tissue.
Kim: Now, I have to go on, tell me a little bit about anabolic and catabolic first because maybe our listeners won’t actually know what that is?
Mark: Anabolic basically means that your body is in an anabolic state which means it’s muscle burn and muscle building which means basically you’re giving your body the correct nutrition in order build and maintain muscle mass. Catabolic is the opposite, catabolic is when your body is in an environment non-conducive to muscle growth i.e. you’re not taking in enough nutrients in order to facilitate even gain in muscle and certainly even losing muscle, do you know what I mean? So for proper bodybuilding or health or anything, you always want to be in an anabolic state i.e. taking in enough calories, nutrition, protein in order for facilitate muscle growth.
Kim: Yeah, because when I’m prepping I would usually aim for, especially when I’m on lower carbs towards the end, I would aim for 2.2g per kilogram of body weight, I’m not sure what that is in pounds.
Mark: Yeah.
Kim: But just in general, in off season but whenever I’m prepping and I’m low calorie, I can go up to 3g.
Mark: You know protein is one of the …you know protein at the end is obviously all calories being equally, you know you can maintain or lose or gain fat depending how much calories you’re taking in, so if your protein is too high in terms of your calorie intake, you can lose fat or you can also gain fat but at the end of the day, all things being equal, if you’re dieting and your calories are balanced and your protein is high, it’s going to stop the body burning muscle which will in turn speed up your metabolism which will in turn help your body lose fat. So that’s why when we’re prepping, as we go on, our protein intake tends to be higher to keep our body in that anabolic state and help our body switch the metabolism into overdrive which will in turn help the body burn fat.
Kim: And is it going to harm the kidneys having that much protein?
Mark: No not after 4 weeks. At the end of the day, obviously, you know, for me the kidneys are a fantastic organ you know, they’re a flushing system for the body and they get rid of waste but if you think about normal people in society that are drinking alcohol, they’re doing recreational drugs, they’re doing whatever else, these things all harm the kidneys too but they don’t harm them after one week, they harm them over a prolonged period of time. It’s the prolonged period of time of doing something wrong or doing a lot of things wrong i.e. most people in general life are taking in a lot of protein, so alcohol …
Kim: A lot of McDonalds.
Mark: So alcohol, fatty food etc., etc. so if you’re doing all these things week in week out, month in mouth out, year in year out obviously the kidneys are going to take a whack on down the line but if you’re doing it for 4 weeks, if you go on a mad drinking frenzy and I’m not suggesting anybody here does but if you do it for 4 weeks, realistically, you’re not going to damage your kidneys. So taking in even 10g of protein per pound of body weight isn’t going to damage the kidneys after 4 weeks, do you know what I mean?
Kim: Yeah that’s actually a really good point and it’s something I never thought of, you know, people change when they come into this 4 Week Shred which is you know whole vegan food, exercise, so we’re doing everything they tell you to do. We’re exercising more, we’re eating less we’re being healthy.
Mark: You’re not drinking.
Kim: There’s no alcohol, none of that is coming into play here but yeah people are worried about ruining their kidneys.
Mark: So basically the only thing you could sort away saying is damaging your kidneys but it’s not, is the protein, like if all you’ve got to consider is protein intake to your kidneys, you’re definitely a lot better than 90% of the population.
Kim: It’s something that I actually never thought of but it is so, so true. We beat our kidneys, we beat our digestive systems, like you said we give up alcohol we give up processed food, we give up too much sugar, the diet coke and whatever else these things are not good for our body …
Mark: No definitely not.
Kim: But yet we pour them into them every day and then suddenly we change to a very healthy diet with lots of exercise and we worry that we’re having too much protein.
Mark: Do you know what I mean?
Kim: Yeah it doesn’t really seem to make sense. People often say, there’s the whole myth about you can’t get enough protein on a non-animal based diet, on a vegan diet which obviously I kind of bust that myth right out of the window because I have a good amount of muscle and I don’t eat any animal products but I mean, in your personal opinion, is there one superior source of protein or as long as you’re getting your protein and amino acids, does it matter what source it comes from?
Mark: No protein is protein no matter where it comes from. There was this big belief years and years ago about staggering your sources and getting your source of protein via different methods. You know as long as there’s 22, 23 amino acids and you’re getting it from a full spectrum of amino acids, it doesn’t matter whether it’s animal based, plant based, powder based anything. At the end of the day your body breaks down protein in the same way no matter what the style of protein so therefore it doesn’t matter at all, it’s all going to be broken down into the building blocks which are amino acids and then utilised and used through the bloodstream in order to build muscle, nails hair etc., etc.
Kim: Is it true, in your opinion, from what you know that the body can only process 30g of protein at any one time?
Mark: That’s very specific, just 30g, not 29g and not 31g.
Kim: Not 29g, not 31g just 30g.
Mark: No. I’ve heard that and without using my usual language I would say no definitely not. At the end of the day there’s no study that I’ve seen or ever read that can be telling that the body can do this, it’s impossible to even quantify the number that your body can store, that takes into consideration things like different factors where people’s digestive systems working better, people’s not working as well, you know, people training, people not training, your 30g is just too vague a number.
Kim: Right.
Mark: My big belief is, the more protein your body is getting, within reason then the more chance it’s going to have in building muscle. So I believe [0:06:37 unclear] but I do believe that out of that 507g which works out about 80g for me, not 30g. I do believe that 80g is necessary for my body to fuel what I need in order to maintain and grow muscle.
Kim: Okay. Last question about protein. Another common concern that comes up is that people don’t want to be taking protein powder because they say I like to get my protein from whole sources and protein powder isn’t a whole food, it’s a powder food and therefore it’s not a good source of protein. What are your thoughts on protein powder?
Mark: I couldn’t do without it. At the end of the day, like I said, for me to eat 507g of protein from whole food, I would have serious digestive issues, do you know what I mean? I would have serious bloat, I would have serious wind and gas my stomach wouldn’t be feeling too good so therefore I would supplement 2 – 3 protein drinks a day especially after training when I want the protein to get straight into the bloodstream quicker. So to me I think it’s a myth again, you know, everybody, every athlete that I know, every person that I know uses protein powder, if that again wasn’t the case, why is it suggested I’m pushed onto this you know. I have guys who help me out, you know, well up the chain and protein powders are always present in my diet.
Kim: Yeah well they are in mine too. I always teach my girls that it’s almost impossible on a vegan diet to reach your protein requirements without supplementing with protein powder but this isn’t something that just vegans have to do.
Mark: It’s everybody.
Kim: This is something that professional bodybuilders do.
Mark: I would take a protein drink first thing in the morning, straight after training and again before I go to bed at night.
Kim: That’s exactly what I do.
Mark: Religiously 7 days a week, do you know what I mean and I’ve never had any issues and I never will have any issues with it.
Kim: Perfect great. Well Mark thank you so much for your time.
Mark: No problem, it’s a pleasure.
Kim: I absolutely appreciate your knowledge bombs that you drop on us every single day and the thing is I actually get these, I train with Mark 5 days a week so I get to listen to Mark talk in here, this is Mark’s gym we’re in today, 5 days a week so I get this every single day but I’m going to bring you more of these from Mark every week and if you have questions that you would like to ask Mark, I want you to drop a comment below this video and even if you just want to say Mark is the boss, whatever you want to comment on Mark.
Mark: The boss.
Kim: Or if you do have a question or a comment for Mark, then we can answer them in future videos, so make sure that you comment below this video, you let us know what you thought. Do you think you’re eating too much protein? How much protein did you think was too much? Have you not been having enough protein? Did you not believe in protein powder? Whatever your questions comments or concerns are write them below this video because we really want to interact with you in the comments. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you again soon.
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Great info. Thanks Mark and Kim!
Very good infos & reassurance to answer people who questioned me the same thing though.
Bravo.
love it the more I get into this working out and vegan lifestyle the more things make sense including that popular question I get all the time where do you get your proteins from or what source?
Great video, very informative!! And easy to understand
Thank you knowing how much protein and how often to take it is awesome. The video was great , thank you Mark for taking the time to give out information with Kim . Very informative.
Great video. I am definitely not eating enough protein.
Thank you for the video…you guys rock! (And I love your accents!)
I broke my foot in three places, but I can’t wait to start lifting as soon as I heal. Kim, I went vegan first of the year. 🙂
Cheers!
Sheeesh than you so much Mark amd kim for shedding the light on the whole protein concern. You’ve answered questions I’ve had for quite some time!!!!! Thanks again!!!
Wonderful!
Great video. Appreciated the protein powder versus real protein question
Loved this. Mark you made me feel better about taking the protein powders. Kim keep these videos coming please ❤️
This was great and yes he is the boss !! Knew a bit of this and I wanted to know isnit best to calculate protein needs by current weight or against a weight you hope to reach ? I am quite skinny and my issue is I am not sure what weight I would need to aim for to add muscle but remain more or less the same size ? Also to balance out iron and other vitamin needs as a vegan do you supplement with additional vitamins ? Thank you ! Loving all the info I am getting !
Yes, but if you try to eat normally, without shoving tofu or pea protein into every meal, it is almost impossible to get more than 20g a day on a vegan diet. That has been my problem for the past year. If I tweak every meal into something foul, I can get to maybe 50g a day. Supposedly, I need at least 85 g a day for my weight, even more if I want to lose weight, and even more if I am over 60, both of which apply. This is impossible. Over the past year of eating vegan, I have put on 3 stone and am exhausted all the time.
There are loads of high protein sources such as sunflower mince, tempeh, tofu, seitan as well as beans, lentils, edamame… the list is endless! I only take one protein shake per day post workout. The rest of my protein comes from food.
I have alway worried about powdered protein because it is processed. So according to the video it is the amino acids in the protein that we need, no matter what source of protein. What about just taking amino acid tablets?
No it’s the amino acid profile that makes up the protein. You need the full spectrum. Protein is an essential macro nutrient. Taking an amino acid supplement wouldn’t yield the same results
Great video! Good to hear that higher protein amounts are ok. I use a powder based protein shake after I work out. But none of my friends do it. So I started questioning if I had this all wrong. I need that shake afterwards because I feel such a difference when I don’t. Again, great video! Great information!
You’re doing great! Keep going athlete. x
What protein powder are you using and do you only add water to it ?
I am having a hard time with them these days.
So think or gritty.
I’ve been using sprouted iron….
Christina, I use the sprouted iron as well, the chocolate one. I blend it with frozen berries and water and it’s great!
Thanks Monique for the tips! x
I use The Protein Works choc mint brownie or vanilla cream. You can check them both out here https://www.thesculptedvegan.com/tpw
Hello from Down Under. I am just starting on my journey of lifting heavy. I have my motivation down pat and I LOVE working out everyday and I even get grumpy if I have to miss one. thank you for your time and effort to give us all of this free information. I am learning so much. So many people are surprised at how naturally strong I am so I decided to start lifting heavier so I can explore this side of myself more. And in fact I can already do 115kgs on the calf raise machine with no training at all which shocked the hell out of me to be honest. It probably seems light to both of you but to me I was shocked! Haha…So again thank you for everything you both do to help us out. (I have just joined the 5 day motivation group that has started today, I’m really excited to learn more!)
Hello gorgeous! Get those gains, load is Queen! You sound like a beast in the gym, looking forward to getting to know you in the 5 day challenge, make sure to say hello and tag me! xoxo