It is no secret that protein is an essential nutrient for the growth, repair and maintenance of lean muscle tissue. If you don't consume enough protein (more importantly the essential amino acids) you'll be more prone to sacrificing lean muscle especially when on a lower calorie diet.
If you're a vegetarian looking to lose weight or building lean muscle pay special attention here. Muscle tissue preservation is an absolute MUST if you want to decrease body fat and maintain good health. Low calorie diets (especially those lacking enough protein) will create muscle loss and make fat loss very, very difficult. Let me explain why.
The main regulator of your metabolism is your thyroid. The most common cause of a sluggish metabolism is a decrease in thyroid hormone. There are a few reasons why your thyroid levels would drop. First, thyroid levels adjust to the amount of muscle in the body. When you lose muscle the thyroid gland secretes less. Not completing resistance training and hormonal shifts (ex. menopause) will both lead to muscle loss. Second, low calorie diets will cause your thyroid levels to drop. Thirdly, protein deficiency, more specifically amino acid deficiency will create a decrease in thyroid secretion.
So then..if you're a vegetarian on a low calorie diet not paying much attention to your protein intake you're much more prone to suffer muscle loss, a decrease in thyroid production and yes a lower metabolism. Not a good combination if you're trying to lose weight OR trying to build and maintain muscle (let's say toning and firming). Sounds much better.
As a vegetarian you need to be plan your meals out with some thought in order to get in the essential amino acids from protein your body needs. You can produce 10 of the 20 amino acids on your own but the others must be supplied from the food you eat. Failure to obtain enough of even 1 of the 10 essential amino acids, those that we cannot make, will result in your body breaking down muscle tissue to obtain the one amino acid that is needed. Unlike fat and starch, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use.the amino acids must be in the food we eat every day.
Plant proteins (with the exception of soybean) are incomplete because they lack one or more essential amino acids. What you can do however is eat plant proteins in combinations so amino acids that one food may be lacking is covered by the other food and vice versa. Here are some examples of plant based food combinations that can help your body receive complete protein.
- Tofu & Rice
- Beans & Rice
- Lentils & Rice
- Corn Tortilla & Black or Pinto Beans
- Peanut Butter on Whole Grain Bread
- Pasta & Beans
Due to soy protein being a complete protein, I highly recommend you look for ways to incorporate it into your diet. There are several soy protein based supplements now available in bars and shakes that can be very helpful. One of my favorites is the Cliff Bar. The bars taste great and yes best of all they provide essential amino acids from soy protein.
Depending on what type of vegetarian you are you can also look at getting protein from.
- Eggs
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Cashews
- Sunflower Seeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Peanut Butter
- Beans/
- Lentils
- Soybeans, etc
I know there are many advantages to a vegetarian diet and although I do not endorse one way or the other (to each his own) I believe you can be healthy by always looking to eat a variety of whole, natural foods regardless of your preferences (the way God intended us to).
As a vegetarian it's just important you recognize that most plant proteins are incomplete and food combinations (eating a wide variety of plant proteins) is essential if you want to maintain and continue to build lean muscle tissue.
You simply cannot eat only fruit, grains and some leafy greens and expect to get in the essential amino acids your body needs.
I hope this article helped you see the importance of protein for the vegetarian and gave you some insight on how to combine foods for complete proteins. For a personal nutrition consultation you may reach us contact@shapingconcepts.com.