How can I get protein into my diet?

Question:

I became a Vegetarian late last year and I have had trouble getting protein into my diet. I am scared to drink whey protein shakes becuase they might bulk me up when I work out.. How can i get a healthy amount of protein?

Answers:
It is really tough to get enough good protein as a vegetarian but if you don't, you will have a hard time keeping enough healthy muscle and you need that muscle to be both fit and trim.

(note, I used to train body builders and bulking up isn't all that easy to do. If you stick to higher reps (10-15 per set) and do exercises that lengthen your muscles (yoga, pilates, leg lunges) you shouldn't have to sweat bulking up)

Of course any kind of soy is good. Tofu feels weird but assumes the taste of the foods you eat with it so it can taste pretty good.

Nuts (a handful a couple of times a day is good)
Eggs (a great overall nutrition source)
Peanut butter (yeah, its high in fat but when you only eat a couple of tablespoons at a time, the fat isn't going to hurt you)
Fish..if this doesn't conflict with your reasons to be a vegetarian
Yogurt - another great source of nutrients
Dairy products

A more complicated way to get complete proteins (soy is the only plant source that is a complete protein - defined as having all 17 essential amino acids) is food combining. This means eating two different vegetable protein sources at the same time so together they form a complete protein.

Rice and beans
rice and corn (btw..the grains will make you fat a lot faster than ANY source of protein)

It's been a while since I've been a vegetarian (these days I live by Atkins) so I don't remember the other combinations but you can find them, probably on the Internet.

Hope that helps.

Other Answers:
You could eat alot of beans.

eat eggs and meat or you could switch to oral sex for protein shots. Soy

Try different kinds of tofu.good protein source and it takes the flavor of whatever you are cooking.sort of like polenta for the Italians.

You could try protein shakes.there are some that are NOT high calorie.and there are some that ARE.

Also, as a vegetarian, will you eat eggs? I know some do, some don't. That is another idea for you.

How do you like it? I gave it a shot for a little less than a year and was amazed at how often I ate.

Also- talk to your doctor. He/she should have some good alternatives too.

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How can I get protein into my diet?

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