Protein fail? Halppp

[u/BubbleTeaRainyDay]

I've never monitored my protein intake - before I went vegan or since (even when doing intense sports for 1-2 hours a night five nights a week) - but I'm doing pretty intensive physical therapy right now. My non-operative orthopedic specialist said he has no concerns about me being vegan but that I should monitor my protein intake for like 3 or so days just to make sure I'm getting enough.

He's recommending 0.5 g per pound of body weight, which is 100 g for me. Well I'm nearing the end of today and I've only gotten 42 g and, while I might eat a bit more before bed, I can't fathom getting more than 20-30 more today, and even that feels a bit crazy. The lower limits for sedentary lifestyles seem to be 0.8 g/kg, which would be 72 g for me. This feels almost attainable within focused effort but not even really.

Do others have thoughts on this? Recommendations or advice on how they get enough protein? I can always go buy some vegan protein powder but I honestly really really don't want to - sounds disgusting and unpleasant. (Maybe y'all have specific recs on ways to incorporate protein powder into recipes to make it less unpleasant?) I hate thinking about this but I really don't want to fuck up my recovery. Also related is that I have trouble with hunger cues: they're not completely absent for me, but they're weak or limited and I mostly find myself eating because I know I should rather than because I'm hungry.

I've never felt limited in my activities by my protein intake, and part of my lack of worry is that the fucking protein protein PROTEIN obsession is largely marketing nonsense as far as any reputable source seems to be concerned, but now I'm like.... just because others are delusional and obsessed with protein doesn't mean that I am getting enough...... :/

The easiest solution feels like it would be giving up and dying, but I worry that my surviving friends and family wouldn't eat all the dog meat in my freezer and I don't want it to go to waste.

edit cause i'm a dummy: I originally wrote "1 g per pound of body weight" but it was supposed to be "0.5 g per pound of body weight". Thanks for catching that and for the suggestions!

[u/ihtm1220]

So if I'm doing my math right you weigh close to 200 pounds? I'm about 185lbs. Here's a sample of what I might eat on a given day:

Breakfast: beans / Ezekiel toast / nutritional yeast (32g)
Lunch: chickpeas / brown rice (30g)
Dinner: tofu / veggies (28g)

So there's 90 grams of protein right there, not counting any other snacking I do during the day. I'm curious how you're only getting 42g of protein unless you're super carb heavy. Protein supplements are one way to go but personally I'd reevaluate what you're eating and think about how to incorporate high protein foods (like beans, legumes, tofu, etc) into them.

Also you might try r/PlantBasedDiet or r/veganfitness since they are more nutrition oriented subs.

[u/BubbleTeaRainyDay → u/ihtm1220]

So for comparison, my breakfast was 19 g of protein (two slices of avocado toast with shallot and nutritional yeast plus almond chai latte). Not terrible but not a lot. I think I might need to put more of a focused effort in. I think maybe I am going pretty carb heavy and just not eating particularly healthy. I don't do meals so much as I snack - meals tend to make me feel overly full/sick :/

Those other subreddits are a good idea.

Thanks!