Protein with every meal?

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  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
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    I would. Every meal should be balanced and if you cram all your protein in at once, the body won't be able to process it. Different proteins have different adsorption rates, so I would spread it out, especially if you work out.
  • FitnessTim
    FitnessTim Posts: 234 Member
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    Annie_01 wrote: »
    FitnessTim wrote: »
    lemonsnowdrop wrote: »
    I don't. I really like cereals and oatmeal and waffles/pancakes for breakfast. Instead I make sure I hit my daily goal. If that isn't done through meals, I eat a Quest bar (25 g) or supplement with a shake of sorts.

    If you have syrup with those pancakes, a moderate portion could be over 100 grams of carbohydrates. I'm about 190 pounds and my current carb goal is 143 grams. Having pancakes in the morning would mean I only have 43 carbs left for the day. I could manage that but it would be tough.

    By the way, I love Quest bars as well.

    Aunt Jemima Lite only has 26g of carbs per quarter cup. Regular has 52g per quarter cup. You must use about 1/2 cups if you're getting over 100g.

    The 100 grams are the pancakes and syrup together, not just the syrup. I used McDonalds as a base but I'm sure there are options with home made that could reduce the total carbs.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    Sometimes I do sometimes I don't, I personally have not noticed a difference in energy. I believe in the motto "do not sweat the details". If it comes naturally to you to eat protein with every meal and it keeps your energy in check, then great. If you have to force it, it may do more harm than good.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    For the most part I do. But there are days such as yesterday, when I had pasta for lunch, that the only protein really came from the cheese I put in it. Even today...a cup of Greek yogurt for breakfast, eggs for lunch, Quest bar as a snack, and then dinner will be some sort of protein focus.
  • pumpkinpocalypse
    pumpkinpocalypse Posts: 104 Member
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    It's mostly an advice given to ensure satiety, as that's what protein offers. So you're more likely to be able to wait til your next meal without getting too hungry in the meantime. Also, some people have higher protein goals to reach/have trouble getting enoguh protein in one day so having some at every meal helps with balancing it out over the course of the day instead of being stuck with let's say, making ONE BIG meal worth your total protein goal....which would be a pain in the butt. But I guess if you don't struggle getting enough protein already with the way you're eating, I don't think there's a problem with having a meal without a significant amount of protein in it, like a high-carb meal or whatever. It's all fine, just make up for it during your next meals later that day. It doesn't matter ''when'' exactly you get your protein, on average (except if you work out reaaally hard, in that case it's often recommended that you eat a good quantity of protein after in order to recover and nourrish your muscle tissue).
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    FitnessTim wrote: »
    lemonsnowdrop wrote: »
    I don't. I really like cereals and oatmeal and waffles/pancakes for breakfast. Instead I make sure I hit my daily goal. If that isn't done through meals, I eat a Quest bar (25 g) or supplement with a shake of sorts.

    If you have syrup with those pancakes, a moderate portion could be over 100 grams of carbohydrates. I'm about 190 pounds and my current carb goal is 143 grams. Having pancakes in the morning would mean I only have 43 carbs left for the day. I could manage that but it would be tough.

    By the way, I love Quest bars as well.

    Ah, well I didn't see you mention that you watch your carbs. Since I don't monitor mine and instead just make sure I hit protein goals, it's obviously easier. But Quest products take care of that problem, although they're way too pricey for me to eat more than one a day (and their chips are garbage, imo). :(
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    My personal experience has been that I need to balance carbs and protein. If I eat carbs alone my blood sugar will spike and then crash in 2 - 3 hours causing the shakes.

    If I always consume protein with carbs my blood sugar stays on a even keel and I avoid that crash.

    Same here.
  • shawnmstout
    shawnmstout Posts: 131 Member
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    lemonsnowdrop wrote: »
    I don't. I really like cereals and oatmeal and waffles/pancakes for breakfast. Instead I make sure I hit my daily goal. If that isn't done through meals, I eat a Quest bar (25 g) or supplement with a shake of sorts.
    It's 20g not 25
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    shawnmstout wrote: »
    lemonsnowdrop wrote: »
    I don't. I really like cereals and oatmeal and waffles/pancakes for breakfast. Instead I make sure I hit my daily goal. If that isn't done through meals, I eat a Quest bar (25 g) or supplement with a shake of sorts.
    It's 20g not 25

    Ah, didn't realize I'd typed that. Thanks for correcting me.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,969 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    My personal experience has been that I need to balance carbs and protein. If I eat carbs alone my blood sugar will spike and then crash in 2 - 3 hours causing the shakes.

    If I always consume protein with carbs my blood sugar stays on a even keel and I avoid that crash.

    I get the crash too plus I would be hungry again soon after having something like pancakes and syrup. And sleepy.

    I will have cottage cheese pancakes from time to time as a bed time snack. That has 13 g of protein from the 1/4 C of cottage cheese and the egg. I haven't had that in the past two months so don't have the complete breakdown at the moment.



  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,779 Member
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    DeguelloTex wrote: »
    I can't get enough without having it at every meal, anyway, so it is what it is.

    Same. I never hit my 90-gram minimum without it. I ate mostly vegan meals when I first started losing weight, but now I eat meat or dairy every meal.
  • WifeofPastor
    WifeofPastor Posts: 26 Member
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    My dh and I decided to work on the 'Food Lovers' program which has you eating every 2 to 3 hrs with a high protein content. The idea behind it is to change your metabolism so your body burns fat and doesn't store it. You have to eat as soon as you wake-up, so I eat a smart for life snack, I get down stairs about 2hrs later when I make a smoothie adding whey protein to it. for me I eat approx every 2 - 2.5 hrs otherwise I get hungry. I also drink 10 - 12 cups of water a day. we are on day 18 of 21 days program. Also added to this is exercise. I'm usually over my calories each day but believe I am still losing weight. You weigh in the first day then three weeks later. This type of eating is then for life.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    don't know about the whole energy thing, if I didn't have some kind of protein source at every meal, I'd probably be hitting less than 100 grams per day.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,779 Member
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    WifeofPastor wrote: »
    My dh and I decided to work on the 'Food Lovers' program which has you eating every 2 to 3 hrs with a high protein content. The idea behind it is to change your metabolism so your body burns fat and doesn't store it. You have to eat as soon as you wake-up, so I eat a smart for life snack, I get down stairs about 2hrs later when I make a smoothie adding whey protein to it. for me I eat approx every 2 - 2.5 hrs otherwise I get hungry. I also drink 10 - 12 cups of water a day. we are on day 18 of 21 days program. Also added to this is exercise. I'm usually over my calories each day but believe I am still losing weight. You weigh in the first day then three weeks later. This type of eating is then for life.

    Meal timing is irrelevant to weight loss. Personally, I have lost 61 pounds eating several hours after wake-up, but there are many people who have lost eating huge breakfasts first thing. It's all about the total number of calories, not when.

    Your metabolism changes with weight loss-it slows down. You burn fewer calories as you weigh less, simply because it requires less energy to move 130 pounds around vs. 200. Your body will store fat as long as you eat more than you burn.

    If you are losing weight, then you are not over your maintenance calories. You are still eating less than you burn.

    If this is a sustainable and enjoyable way of eating for you, don't let me knock it. But you have bought into marketing and are repeating untruths.

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