Protein Sources?

[auntsushi]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and new to McDougalling and am wondering what you all eat for protein? Is it mainly beans since we should not be eating dairy, eggs or meat?

Thanks for your help!
Suzanne

[happyalyssa]

Hi Suzanne!

Ironically, protein is one of the most over-consumed nutrients in the North American (aka Western) diet today, which leads to all kinds of health problems. If you're eating a diet rich in whole grains, beans and legumes, fruits and veggies, and the occasional tofu, nuts, and seeds, you won't have a thing to worry about.

For example, the multi-grain bread in my fridge has 4 grams of protein per slice. A simple tomato-lettuce-onion sandwich with a couple tablespoons of chickpea spread, then, has 13 grams of protein, but is also low in fat, and high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals and is cholesterol free. Compare this to 2 scrambled eggs which has 14 grams of protein, but has almost 500 mg. of cholesterol, 10 g. of fat (3 is saturated fat), and contains 0 fiber (not including whatever oil you use to fry it!); and you can easily see which would be a healthier choice. Not only would the sandwich contain more nutrients but it would also fill you up more than the two scrambled eggs, which often leads to effortless weightloss

I've only been doing this program since January first but I've lost about 12 lbs. I also now eat about twice the volume of foods I was eating before so I never have to feel hungry or deprived.

May you have the best of health,
Alyssa

[auntsushi]

Thanks for your reply! I've been on every diet known to man and it seems now that I have been brainwashed into thinking that I must have things like chicken, fish, eggs and other dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese. I think of things like bread as carbs (which they are) but forget that it also has some protein.

I would like a good answer from anyone who knows ......just how much protein do our bodies need on a daily basis? I know that protein is good for building muscle so surely we must need some protein in our diet.

Thanks again and I hope to hear from some other folks here.

[happyalyssa]

I found this chart online, however I've read somewhere that the US RDA is higher than the world-wide reccommendation, though I'm not finding much information on it currently. I'll have to look some more.

Protein Recommended Dietary/Daily Allowance (RDA)
Infants Up to 12 months 13-14 grams

Children 1-3 yrs old 16 grams
4-6 yrs old 24 grams
9-10 yrs old 28 grams
Males 11-14 yrs old 45 grams
15-18 yrs old 59 grams
19-24 yrs old 58 grams
25 and older 63 grams
Females 11-14 yrs old 46 grams
15-18 yrs old 44 grams
19-24 yrs old 46 grams
25 and older 50 grams

[auntsushi]

Thanks. I've read that protein requirements are based on our body weight (a 100 pound female wouldn't need the same amount of protein as a 160 pound woman).

I guess I'm still wondering how I'd get 50 grams of protein on the McDougall plan. I'd love to try this but am concerned about not getting near the protein that I should be having. I guess I need to start looking at more labels.

[hope101]

I know this was one of my major concerns that stopped me from persisting with a vegan diet last year. I would highly recommend you see Dr. McDougall's videos. I don't remember the numbers perfectly, but he states that the World Health Organization looked at the amount of protein people needed to be healthy, then doubled it to make sure to cover pregnant and nursing women, children and the ill, all of whom require more protein. I believe the total protein required was 5% of daily calories. Then he showed how basically anything you might eat that is unprocessed (broccoli, tofu, beans, potatoes, corn...) were all above that value. His basic point is that nature was wise enough to provide a food source that provided all the macronutrients without us having to panic. I wish I could remember which video it was in, but it was very compelling. Also, in the T. Colin Campbell book "The China Study", which I highly recommend reading if you haven't already to cement your sense of safety with this diet, he states that the MAXIMUM protein anyone should eat would be 12% of calories. Anything above that provides for a vastly heightened risk of cancer.

[SueZQuilter]

Hi there,

Just my 2 cents. We do not need more than 5-10% protein for our bodies. Anything over that amount leads to catastrophic illness. If you would like to hear it from the proverbial horse's mouth, please do yourself a favor and read The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD. I found the book awe inspiring and it answers many questions that we all have relative to our health.

Good luck. Enjoy this site, it's fabulous.

[auntsushi]

Thanks again for your help with this!

I will look into getting The China Study. One of the reasons I'm "investigating" all of this to help myself get over some of the (possibly) incorrect things I've heard and learned over the years about foods.

I come from a family of obese people and my highest weight ever was 240 lbs. (I'm 5'6") until I had lap band surgery in January 2004. I currently weigh 158 but am really perplexed by my inability to keep weight off without such a struggle. I'm really tired of having this food addiciton of mine and wish I could wave a magic wand to be able to eat like a "normal" person (sigh). I am not convinced that I can lose weight by eating so many carbs, like on the McDougall program, and I think I really have a huge fear of gaining ALOT of weight back by doing so. We've been so bombarded lately with the "danger" of so many carbs, I don't know what to think anymore. Can anyone relate?

Thanks for listening.

Suzanne

[happyalyssa]

Well, you're taking the first step by trying to educate yourself as much as possible, so big /pats on the back to you I'm relatively new at this also, though I'm coming down from my highest weight ever. I'd like to lose about 40 more lbs. This lifestyle seems to be really good for a lot of people here and they've given me plenty of advice and tips.

What I CAN relate to is feeling like you can not eat like "a normal person" without gaining a ton of weight. I used to diet all the time in order to maintain a healthy weight and nearly ended up going anorexic one year because of it (not quite, I got a reality check when a friend of mine, who's the singer in a rock band, wrote a song for me called "I don't want no birthday cake") Anyway, I finally did not diet after I got married and gained 30 lbs in only 6 months (I'm 5'9" btw).

I've looked at this program, and veganism (I've been vegetarian for years now) for a long time, but never thought I had the courage to do it. Well, after my clothes stopped fitting, and I started feeling very un-sexy, not to mention tired and winded, I had to do SOMETHING. So after having read for years on nutrition and about lowfat vegan diets, I figured this was the route for me to take.

So far I'm loving it. I really enjoy being able to eat 3 meals a day (something I haven't done since I was a kid) + a snack or two if I'm hungry. I do miss junkfood sometimes, and sometimes I think it would be nice to have cheese on my whole wheat pizza; but then I remember that the scale is now going in the direction I want it, and when the pizza arrives, I realize it tastes pretty damn good without the cheese anyway.

All the anti-carbohydrate hype has really skewed the facts on healthy eating. Now, don't get me wrong, white flour and white sugar are NOT good for you, however I'm living proof (along with all the other people here) that you an fill up on healthy carbs and with light to moderate exercise, one can lose weight without ever having to feel hungry. Some people here don't even exercise and are still losing weight.

Anyway, back to the question of protein, once you're eating 3 meals a day and learn to incorporate different foods into your diet, you will find it really isn't too difficult to get enough protein. I've been lifting weights since the beginning of January, and as far as the leg workouts go, I can now do twice what I started at so I know I'm building muscle.

Here's an example of a typical day's meals you could try, filled with protein and all kinds of extra goodness:

B- 1 c. oatmeal with 1/4 cup soymilk = 9 g. protein

L- the sandwich I mentioned earlier + 1 cup cooked broccoli = 17 g. protein

D- split pea soup & 1 baked potato = 27 g. protein

Total = 53 grams of protein

I bet you wouldn't think of broccoli & potatoes & peas having so much protein, but really, almost everything we eat has some protein in it, and it adds up quick

[Sunny]

Welcome to the board, glad to have you here. I am not sure if you have any of the McDougall books on hand, but according to the 12-day program book protein consumption should not exeed 15% of calories consumed daily. Too much protein puts a strain on your kidneys and liver.
There are many good books out there and lots of help here. I am adding a link : http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ this site has great recipes and so does the website here. You can lose weight and keep it off by following this lifestyle.

[DianeR]

More from Dr. McDougall about protein, including links to relevant articles in his newsletter (the first one Carroll has already linked to):

http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_protein.html

Be sure to read about the dangers of having too much protein!

If you have any other questions, the medical information section of this web site is excellent. Of course, you can ask us, too

Always happy to see new people coming to the program!

[margiereilly]

Pick up any McDougall book. Watch the McDougall videos. There are few people in the U.S.A. suffering from a lack of protein. Excess protein is damaging to the kidneys(something I am watching as I have to take a drug that also can affect my kidneys.)

There is protein in soy or rice milk, in every vegetable we consume...There is protein in oats and actually eating beans every day is very healthy. You will not lack for protein because you are not consuming dead animals.

[libellule]

Hello and welcome!
You may like to read Carl Lewis' story and meeting with Dr. McDougall. He ran his fastest applying the advice of Dr. McDougall and eating a low-fat vegan diet. No, protein problems there! He even had trouble on his old non-vegan diet maintaining a healthy weight for running.
Read the article. It's good!
Good luck on your research.

--Li

http://www.vegsource.com/articles/lewis_intro.htm

[DK]

Just to chime in with what everyone else is saying: there is protein in every food. The RNA/DNA in the nucleus of every cell - those are made of amino acids. (And the cell walls of all living tissue contain fat, too; it's biologically necessary.)
The fear of not getting enough protein is understandable given all the mis-information we're exposed to. But the reality is that it is impossible to have a dietary protein deficiency. That can only happen if you are not getting enough calories; i.e., starving to death. (I suppose it could also happen if all you ate was white crystalline sugar, but in the real world, dietary protein deficiency does not exist.)
So, relax. As Dr. McDougall has pointed out, if all you ate was potatoes, you'd get enough protein. Same for brown rice, and really any other whole food.
One other point of McDougall's: the time in our lives when we absolutely need the most protein, when we are growing the most muscle at the fastest rate, doubling & tripling in size, is when we are newborns and infants. And mother's milk is just 5% protein.
The fear of carbs is a different, but similar, story. Read up on the materials on Dr.McDougall's site and / or in his books. But most importantly, just give it a try. Do a strict McDougall-style diet for just two weeks, following the guidelines, filling up on healthy carbs, never letting yourself get hungry, and you will see & feel the results for yourself. Good luck!

[DianeR]

Ack, it is so frustrating. I've been arguing about protein with somebody on a celiac board. I even linked to Dr. McDougall's writing. All I get in response is a hard to follow screed that basically just repeats that the amino acids in plant foods are "unbalanced."

When will I learn just to stay with the rational folk on this here board I don't know that anyone at the other place ever listens to me