How to get more protein
gsp90x
Posts: 416 Member
Ok, so I think I know how this is going to play out (sort of) especially if FIT_goat replies...lol...
I'm looking for people's ideas on which way to change things (or not change them) in regards to not meeting my protein "targets".
I am 210lbs 5'4" female. I feel healthiest at 150lbs (I don't know if any of that matters)
So:
#1 - I never meet my protein goals unless I use whey protein which I'm not really keen on.
#2 Before keto I LIVED on red meat. Now I don't EVER crave it and find it difficult to eat. I don't ever "want" it.
#3 I mostly just "want" fat. I don't feel "better" when I eat meat like I used to pre keto.
#4 I am (almost) always satiated with my 1200 cals a day. Although after a 500cal "fast" day two days ago, I'm still finding almost constant hunger!!
#5 Though I have this nagging hunger since the "fast" I just don't want to eat. As in I really would just rather not eat, that's the feeling in my body. Though logically my brain is saying you should eat. So I did.
K. Those are the main symptoms.
Should I just suck it up and eat meat until I get enough protein then work around it?
If find if I do eat enough meat then I'm left a bit hungry if I don't want to go over my calorie goal. I know GOAT you don't believe in calories and I'm considering your point of view.
By not reaching protein targets is that having negative effects on muscle etc?
And finally, do my targets even make sense? I don't remember when they came from. OH yeah, I put percentages into mfp and those were the grams they gave me back.
If you can't see my diarly pls let me know. And let me know how to change it so you can.
I do like the idea of counting calories/macros at the moment. Somehow makes me feel safe. Throw back from CICO probably.
Thank you wise folks!
I'm looking for people's ideas on which way to change things (or not change them) in regards to not meeting my protein "targets".
I am 210lbs 5'4" female. I feel healthiest at 150lbs (I don't know if any of that matters)
So:
#1 - I never meet my protein goals unless I use whey protein which I'm not really keen on.
#2 Before keto I LIVED on red meat. Now I don't EVER crave it and find it difficult to eat. I don't ever "want" it.
#3 I mostly just "want" fat. I don't feel "better" when I eat meat like I used to pre keto.
#4 I am (almost) always satiated with my 1200 cals a day. Although after a 500cal "fast" day two days ago, I'm still finding almost constant hunger!!
#5 Though I have this nagging hunger since the "fast" I just don't want to eat. As in I really would just rather not eat, that's the feeling in my body. Though logically my brain is saying you should eat. So I did.
K. Those are the main symptoms.
Should I just suck it up and eat meat until I get enough protein then work around it?
If find if I do eat enough meat then I'm left a bit hungry if I don't want to go over my calorie goal. I know GOAT you don't believe in calories and I'm considering your point of view.
By not reaching protein targets is that having negative effects on muscle etc?
And finally, do my targets even make sense? I don't remember when they came from. OH yeah, I put percentages into mfp and those were the grams they gave me back.
If you can't see my diarly pls let me know. And let me know how to change it so you can.
I do like the idea of counting calories/macros at the moment. Somehow makes me feel safe. Throw back from CICO probably.
Thank you wise folks!
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Replies
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I promise I will respect your targets. But, I can't see them. What are you aiming for?
Side note: How do you feel about eggs, chicken, and/or tuna fish?
You can either accept my friend request (if your diary is open to friends). Or open it to everyone.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
The bottom of that link is where you change it.
Edit: I promise to not push my view of things. If you want to stick to that calorie goal, I'll try to help you find a mix of foods you'll want to eat that meet your macros and fits into that goal.0 -
Cool! Thanks Fit_Goat. I suspected it wasn't viewable. I've changed it to public. OH! and the "meal" that each food is in, is not necessarily when I actually ate it. It was the most convenient place to put it because of where I had eaten before and using the "recent foods" option.
I do enjoy eggs at the moment. Chicken I used to love but now it seems to fall into the unpalatable meet category. Ground beef I crave from time to time. Tuna...though I have about 100 cans in my basement (gift from parents) I can't say I'm too terribly interested.
Though don't get the idea I WONT eat any of this. I will indeed. I will find ways if that's where I feel I need to go. I'm just saying at the moment (it actually feels weird and a bit concerning) that I don't WANT meat.
Thanks in advance for taking a look. Greatly appreciate!0 -
Alright, a 90g protein goal seems perfectly reasonable. I was wondering if you had it up to like 150-180g or something. You probably won't be doing any harm if you end up a bit under it (depends on your lean body mass). It's good to try for though.
Ground beef is excellent, when you want it. 8 oz of it will get you a third of the way (~36+ gram). You can drain it to reduce the calories a bit.
I like eggs. I am not sure if you will like eggs as much as I do. I generally start my day with 4-5 of them (24-30g right there) and some bacon (adds another 5-10g per serving). The eggs are also not bad for the calories. If you had 5 eggs, you'd be a third of the way there and would only use up about 400 calories. That's 1/3 of your goal.
I like deviled eggs, but they're going to be hard to fit into your calorie goal, due to the increase in fats.
I have a lot of tuna right now. I also have a complete lack of desire to eat any of it. A can is like 20g. That's a nice thing. It's also really low calorie by itself. You could have it over a salad.
Some nuts are good for a little boost, I forget which ones. But they're easy to eat.
Deli-meats are general low calorie and get a good amount of protein. You could roll some of the meats and cheeses together. Even then it should stay low enough.
Quest bars... I'm not a huge fan of these. But they'll push you up.
Wow, this is harder than I thought. A lot of my protein comes with a lot of fat (and in red meat). So, it's hard to keep the calories low.0 -
Yeah. Glad I'm not the only one. Not such a dumb question after all then. That's why I was considering the "not counting calories" approach for a while.
If I had red meat it made it difficult to get enough fat to feel satiated. Otherwise, yeah, it was tuna or eggs out the wazoo. It's just recently I've realized I'm almost never hitting the protein number.
Probably better to meet minimum protein goals even if it means going over on calories?
Thoughts?0 -
Well, you know how I feel about that. Let's first investigate how low you can go with the protein and remain reasonable.
When you go to the following site: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
What range does it give you for protein? You'll need a current weight and a "semi-accurate" guess as to your body fat percentage. It doesn't need to be super close, but the protein range is based on those numbers.0 -
Oh yes, I was at that site before. It suggests between 64-105. I am (for now) sedentary.
Edit: Ok, so if we use that criteria... I went back through my diary and I've almost always hit at least 65g. So, theoretically I'm at least hitting minimums. So although it doesn't hit the macro percentages, hopefully it is theoretically enough to sustain muscle mass. Right?
That was a good idea Goat. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much then. And just maybe try and be conscious to have meat a few times a week. That feasible, just up it a little more potentially.0 -
OK, I would be trying to get somewhere in that range, if I was you. Are you currently hitting the 64g+ lower limit each day? Most of the ones I skipped back through seemed close.
Maybe it's better to just think of hitting at least 64g each day as your goal. It might be easier to hit with your calorie goals. Now, obviously that's your lower limit. If you feel like more protein one day, you could go even higher (up to 105g it seems).
I think that's more achievable for you that any real dramatic changes. And, you're really close to it already.0 -
If you want to get in more protein without more meat/food, the latest craze seems to be gelatin. Or you can get collagen hydrolysate, as that dissolves more readily (doesn't thicken the liquid like gelatin does). So you can add it to a liquid you are drinking anyway and get more protein. I haven't tried it personally, but I am tempted (I got back and forth on whether I should up my protein or not). Great Lakes Gelatin is the brand that seems to get a lot of buzz: http://www.greatlakesgelatin.com/consumer/index.php. It is available on Amazon and other sites also in single canisters. NOW brand is also supposed to be pretty good also.0
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If you want to get in more protein without more meat/food, the latest craze seems to be gelatin. Or even better, collagen, as that dissolves more readily. So you can add it to a liquid you are drinking anyway and get more protein. I haven't tried it personally, but I am tempted (I got back and forth on whether I should up my protein or not). Great Lakes Gelatin is the brand that seems to get a lot of buzz: http://www.greatlakesgelatin.com/consumer/index.php. It is available on Amazon and other sites also.
huh! Weird. Gelatin eh? I'll read it for sure out of curiosity sake.
@FIT_Goat Thanks a bunch for helping me reframe that. It makes sense. I think that would be a good approach for now. Reassuring that I'm not just wasting away completely, that it is likely going to be fat coming off. As body composition changes, I'll check back with it. It's not as bad as I thought.
Thanks again! I appreciate that experience you have and your willingness to share.
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Glad I could help. I do know my way is not everyone's way.
As long as you're meeting the minimum, you'll be fine. Now, that's only 11 eggs (66g). Sounds like a great breakfast to me.
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Here is a chart from my spreadsheet for meats. If you see any meat you would like me to add, let me know. (source: CalorieKing.com)
I hope this helps,
Dan the Man from Michigan
Keto Abbreviations, Acronyms & Terminology Used in LCD & Keto Discussion Groups
My Past Discussions (lots of easy Keto recipes and other useful Keto info)0 -
Thanks Dan,
That's a helpful visual comparison. Gives me some options to think about.0 -
Where on my chart is beef? ARRRGH! How did that get left out!!!0
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I always had a major aversion to meat and eggs when I was pregnant, which wasn't good because my midwife had me on a high protein diet to avoid complications. I found that the ground meats/ground sausage were easier to get down than a chunk of meat. And if you can spare the carbs, Greek yogurt has a good bit of protein. Also hemp seeds, I use them in place of bread crumbs for things like meatballs, or in salads, stir-fry, etc... 2 tbsp has 4.5g protein, with 2.5 net carbs. Bone broth has protein too, in addition to lots of other good stuff, and you can add that dissolvable gelatin mentioned above to add even more...0
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And pork rinds have 7g protein in 9 pieces w/ 0 carbs0
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Nope, needs work. Sausage could be added. What other meats are there? Maybe a couple more fish.....0
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The Baken-ets brand is what I have, I got them to "bread" some pork chops the other night and discovered that I no longer hate them, so they may become a new favorite snack
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My fiance told me the other day that there are two main kinds of pork rinds / chicharrones. One has more skin than the other, which may account for the higher protein on some. The package I have is from HEB and says, "Original chicharrones * Pork cracklins * Fried out pork fat with attached skin". They do indeed seem thick and substantial.
For a 1/2 oz (14g) serving, the nutritional info is:
80 calories
6g fat
280mg sodium
0g carbs
7g protein
I like to have these for a snack with Daisy full fat sour cream. Pork chips and dip! haha
When I was trying to get my protein up, I started adding a half serving of Greek yogurt to my breakfast with a couple tablespoons of heavy cream for extra fat.
In the evening if I was low on protein, I would DRINK a fat and protein shake with some nice chocolate protein powder, unsweetened almond-coconut milk, and however many tablespoons of macadamia nut / flax / walnut oil as I needed. This is especially helpful because I was a seafood vegetarian for 26 years and still sometimes have trouble with the taste / texture of meats and just don't want to CHEW.
Somebody mentioned gelatin earlier. The unflavoured powder linked is awesome for other reasons, but it only has like a couple grams of protein - I don't really consider it a significant protein source and instead use it as a vehicle for fat and flavour, plus helping build my weak nails and hair.
For the record, I am 5'4" female and currently weight 143.3 lbs (as of this morning).
My daily targets for keto are:
1300 calories
16g net carbs
108g fat
65g protein
(That works out to 70% fat - 20% protein - 5% carbs)
As has been mentioned, EGGS ARE GREAT. My fiance is on keto and lifts weights. He eats like a dozen (OR TWO?!?) eggs a day. And bacon. And cheese.
-T.
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Somebody mentioned gelatin earlier. The unflavoured powder linked is awesome for other reasons, but it only has like a couple grams of protein - I don't really consider it a significant protein source and instead use it as a vehicle for fat and flavour, plus helping build my weak nails and hair.
The gelatin is pretty much pure protein. 7 g gelatin (about 1 tbsp.) has 6 g protein and 12 g collagen hydrolysate (about 2 tbsp.) has 11 g protein. So on a per weight basis you can't do much better. Whether a person wants to consume large quantities is another question, but I know some people use use several tablespoons a day in beverages, so it can add up.0 -
The gelatin is pretty much pure protein. 7 g gelatin (about 1 tbsp.) has 6 g protein and 12 g collagen hydrolysate (about 2 tbsp.) has 11 g protein. So on a per weight basis you can't do much better. Whether a person wants to consume large quantities is another question, but I know some people use use several tablespoons a day in beverages, so it can add up.
*looks at the label again*
Yeah, I suppose if you're supplementing it by the tablespoon! I was thinking only in terms of using it to make jello. A tablespoon is split amongst 4 servings when it's mixed up with tea / Kevita / coffee / etc. >_>
-T.
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let's go with your count! 
This discussion has been closed.