Master Your Fitness:
Vegan Protein Targets

For everyday health, muscle & strength, cardio, and weight loss

 

Article by Caitlin Arnold. Caitlin is a plant-based Coach and Founder of Plant Forged. She’s an Accredited Sports Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning coach, vegan bodybuilder, and bodybuilding judge. She spends much of her time working with plant-based clients of all ages and goals to help them achieve their best health and bodies.

One of the most frequently asked questions among those following a plant-based or vegan diet is how much protein they actually need.

Many wonder if their protein requirements differ from those who consume animal products, or whether these needs change based on their specific health and fitness goals.

The short answer? Yes! In this article we’ll go through why plant proteins are unique, the approach you need to take, and exactly how much protein you need per day for your unique goals.

What is Protein and Why is it Important?

Protein is one of the three macronutrients, alongside carbohydrates and fats. It plays a crucial role in muscle growth, repair, and recovery, as well as supporting overall cellular health. Proteins are made up of 20 amino acids, 9 of which are essential and must come from your diet.

The Unique Puzzle of Plant Proteins

You can think of proteins as a puzzle: complete proteins have all pieces, while incomplete ones are missing one or a few. Many plant proteins are considered “incomplete,” as they lack one or more of these 9 essential amino acids, with the exception of soy, which is a complete protein.

Because of this, plant-based proteins are less anabolic than animal proteins – meaning they are less efficient at promoting muscle growth.

Vegans can manage this by ensuring they’re getting enough protein, which is about 10-20% more than non-vegans to create the same anabolic effect.

You also prioritise getting complete proteins where you can, so ensure you’re getting all 9 essential amino acids needed for muscle growth.

One option is to regularly incorporate soy into your diet. However, most people don’t consume soy with every meal.

So another approach is to eat a variety of incomplete proteins throughout the day. By combining different plant-based sources in your meals (such as rice and peas or wheat and legumes), you can compensate for the missing amino acids in one protein by getting them from another, and so filling in the “missing” puzzle pieces.

Think of your protein intake like filling a bucket with puzzle pieces throughout the day. By having a higher protein intake and a variety of proteins, there’s a better chance you’ll get more of the puzzle pieces you need even if you don’t have complete proteins at each meal.

Determining Your Protein Needs: Weight and Goals Matter

Your protein needs should be based on body weight, along with your goal and general activity level.

This is because the more muscle mass you have, the more protein you need to maintain it. Therefore, it’s more accurate to estimate your protein needs based on your weight rather than your calorie intake.

You’ll sometimes see approaches that recommend a protein goal based on a percentage of your total calories – usually anywhere from 20-40%. This approach tends to cause issues because you need a set amount of protein each day to maintain or build muscle mass, and this rarely needs to fluctuate unlike your calories.For example – if someone is on a low-calorie diet, a percentage-based approach could result in a lower than needed protein intake increasing the risk of losing muscle mass.On the other hand – if someone is eating a high-calorie diet, they could end up consuming more protein than necessary. While excess protein isn’t harmful, it doesn’t provide additional benefits once your needs are met, and those extra calories might be better spent on carbs or fats to support performance and overall health.

And so basing your protein goals on body weight is a more reliable method as it ensures that your protein intake is aligned with your body’s specific requirements.

How Much Protein Is Enough? Your Guide to Daily Intake

Here are daily protein recommendations, based on grams per kilogram of body weight, tailored to your activity level or physique goals.

Goal / Activity Level	Vegan Daily Protein Needs (g/kg/day)
General Health	1
Fat Loss	1.6 – 3
Endurance Athletes & Cardio Goals	1.6 – 1.8
Strength Athletes & Muscle Building Goals	1.8 – 2.4

General Health

For vegans who aren’t athletes, engaging in lifting or cardio exercise, or don’t have specific physique, strength or muscle goals, around 1.0g of protein per kg of body weight per day is sufficient. This is enough to ensure that you’re getting enough protein to maintain your muscle mass, support basic bodily functions, including cell repair and overall health.

This goal would suit people who are also lightly active, like walking, yoga, or stretching.

A 70kg person would aim to consume about 70g of protein per day from a variety of sources, prioritising complete proteins (tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein) and secondary incomplete proteins (legumes, beans, wheat, rice, grains).

Endurance Athletes & Cardio Goals

If you are regularly doing a type of cardiovascular exercise or endurance sport, like running, heavy hiking, cycling, or swimming, that does not involve resistance training or lifting weights, your protein needs are slightly higher.

This is because whenever you exercise, your muscles naturally break down a bit from natural wear and tear, but that’s also the stimulus for it to start to grow back stronger. So it is important to eat enough protein to support that muscle-building process and keep up your recovery.

Imagine it’s like building a sandcastle each day and a little gets washed away by the waves. You want to make sure you’re replacing any sand lost so your castle stays strong.

As a vegan, you want to aim for around 1.6-1.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight, per day.

No matter if you’re just dabbling in a casual 5km or running a marathon, your protein needs will fit within this range in most cases.

A 70kg person would aim to consume about 120g of protein per day, prioritising complete proteins, and utilising a variety of incomplete proteins. They would also benefit from including protein in the hours before and after training in a pre & post workout meal (i.e. 1-4hrs either side of training)

Strength Athletes & Muscle Building Goals

If you’re lifting weights regularly, doing resistance training, aiming to build muscle or strength, or involved in a strength-based sport, your protein needs are a bit higher.

This is because the demands of resistance training and weightlifting are typically greater than those of endurance sports. You’ll need more protein to repair your muscles after those intense workouts as well as additional protein to support any increases in muscle mass and strength.

Again, think of it like building a sandcastle but the waves are a bit bigger this time. Not only do you need to repair it against the impact of the waves, but you also have decided you want to make your sandcastle stronger and bigger too. So in this case, you require more sand to add those extra reinforcements on top.

As a vegan, you want to hit 1.8-2.4g of protein per kg of bodyweight, per day.

If you’re just starting out in the gym or are an experienced lifter, your protein needs will fit within this category in most cases.

A 70kg person would aim to consume about 140g of protein per day, again prioritising complete proteins, and utilising a variety of incomplete proteins. They would benefit from including protein in the 1-4hrs before and after training in a pre & post workout meal, and spreading out the remainder of their protein in fairly even “chunks” throughout the day.

Fat Loss

For those focused on fat loss, protein intake typically remains important as most people want to still preserve their muscle mass while shedding body fat.

When you’re in a calorie deficit for fat loss, your body will tap into various tissues for energy, including muscle tissue. To preserve muscle and prevent your body from “eroding” it (again, like waves washing away our sandcastle) it’s important to get enough protein.

Vegans looking to lose fat should aim for at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, with a potential maximum of up to 3 grams. This increased protein intake ensures that your body has the amino acids necessary to prevent muscle breakdown while you’re losing fat.

In Conclusion

In a nutshell, nailing your plant protein intake is key to smashing your fitness goals—whether you’re looking to shed some kilos, build muscle, enhance strength, or just stay healthy. Remember, your protein needs vary based on your weight and fitness objectives, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Aim for around 1.0g/kg for general health, ramp it up to 1.6–1.8g/kg for cardio lovers, and push it to 1.8–2.4g/kg for strength training champs or fat loss goals.

Ensure you prioritise those complete proteins, but it’s also not the end of the world if you can’t – use a variety and mix of incomplete proteins as support to fill in all the nutritional gaps.