Obtaining protein from alternative non-meat sources for bodybuilding

Question

I have allergies towards egg whites and meat. I cannot eat chicken, beef, or pork. Others meats though like quail, fish are fine.

What products can I substitute for eggs and meat? I would like to get my body toned and muscular.

Answer 1

Build yourself a healthy diet similar to what they used to eat in Mediterranean villages in the old days : before electricity, when the meat had to be eaten fresh there, so they used to eat less meat and more full of protein grains/ veggies.

Before giving you a list, some of the foods in the list contain a good amout of carbs but not the type of carbs that make you fat, because of the following:

Carbs are two main kind:

• "Complex carbs": must first be broken down into simple sugars and then those simple sugars have to be converted to glucose before they can be absorbed into the blood.(slow absorption)

• "Simple carbs": are found in foods such as fruit (fructose), dairy products (lactose), and table sugar (sucrose).(fast absorption)
  

In general,a fast absorption into the bloodstream produces a strong release of insulin which makes your body to store fat.. BUT some simple carbs absorb at a much slower rate than many complex carbs because they contain fiber that slows down the digestion process.

So Here is a list of some foods:

• "Beans": they are Loaded of protein, in addition a lot of fiber and vitamins/mineral.(Good carbs)
• "Nuts": contains the good poly/mono unsaturated fat and good amounts of protein
• "raw spinach": this is a very underrated yet amazing food. Spinach has uric acid which gets transformed into protein (amino acids) in the body, and helps you build muscles. In addition it has lots of iron and vitamins. You have to eat a good amount, and to do so i recommended cooking a large qtity of spinach, add to it black peppers, chopped onions, chopped cilantro and crushed garlic (and some spicy herbs if you like). When the spinach get smooth and cooked, turn off the heat and add 1-2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. Stir and wait for it to get a bit colder.
• "cottage cheese": (not a traditional Mediterranean but worth mentioning): 125g of cottage cheese has 15g of protein, a lot of calcium and minerals. By itself it doesn't taste good, but mix it with one chopped banana, some blueberries and 1 or 2 Tbsp honey and it'll taste really awesome

Answer 2

I'm a vegetarian and strength training. My primary sources of protein and fat are:

• milk
• yogurt
• whey protein powder
• lentils
• almonds
• chickpeas

I've been choosing high fat milk and yogurt to make sure my calorie intake is high enough to support my activity level, but you could eat lower fat stuff and just eat more of it.

Answer 3

Depending on your allergies, low-fat dairy can be a good source of protein such as milk, cheese (choose less processed cheese like goat cheese, or mozzerella), and yogurt. Other animal protein sources include, wild salmon, tuna, other fish, turkey etc.

Since you have allergies to several animal sources, consider plant sources of protein including whole grains (brown rice, quinoa etc.), legumes, beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds.

Mark's Daily Apple gives a list of the amount of protein found in meats, dairy, beans, legumes and nuts.

According to Tom Venuto, the bodybuilder:

For the purposes of developing muscle, the only guidelines for protein that you must follow are:

• (1) consume a source of complete protein with every meal,
• (2) eat at frequent intervals approximately three hours apart (about six times per day) and
• (3) consume a minimum of .8 grams to 1 gram per pound of body weight.