My daughter, who is a vegan, might disagree but I know that one of the issues with becoming a vegan is that they may not get enough protein in their diet. As my daughter has pointed out there are other ways of introducing protein into your diet, even if you do not eat meat. There are some vegan high protein meal options that can give you the best of both worlds; you can be a vegan and greatly reduce the fat and calories you take in, all while still getting enough lean protein into your system so you can keep your lean muscle mass.
While it certainly is not impossible to get enough protein, zinc and B12 into your diet if you cut out all animal by products such as meat, eggs, cheese and milk, it will be a little more challenging to do so. As long as you are aware of the need to keep vegan high protein alternatives around and introduce them into your daily diet, it should all work out just fine.
Of course, one easy way to get these vitamins and minerals into your daily diet is to take a full spectrum multi vitamin. There are many on the market and some are better than others. In a lot of cases, so I have been told, the liquid nutritional supplements are better than the pills because they are absorbed more easily. I don't know if that is true, talk to your doctor to make sure. Either way, introducing a quality multi vitamin into your daily diet can't be a bad thing.
There are more and more vegetarian and vegan products on the market all the time. I live in a very small town, population around 4,000, and even we have an organic store that has a full line of vegan and vegetarian foods. Just go look around your nearest organic store and you will be amazed at your options.
Along with some of the brands of organic and vegan processed foods you can get at your local organic store, you also have a wide variety of raw foods from which to choose. A great source of protein are beans. All kinds of beans but especially kidney beans. Black beans are also loaded with protein and they can make a wild chile!
Many kinds of nuts can really pack a lot of protein into a small size. Almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios and cashews are a great high protein snack. And since you can eat them raw, they are easy and quick too.
As I hope I have illustrated, even though you do need to keep a close eye on your nutritional needs if you are a vegan or vegetarian, there are many ways to ensure that you get all the vegan high protein into your diet that you need. Whether you opt for a supplement or you choose to add some nuts to your daily snacks, or both, you can keep your lean muscle mass while still lowering your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.
