Never enough protein

ObsidianMist

I was doing protein shakes, protein bars, greek yogurt, everything I could think of that seemed easy, and the only thing that's shot me up from only ever getting halfway to my protein goal to suddenly going over it is chicken breast. huge amounts of protein there.

smileymaxine

I get cranky if I don't have enough protein , I don't eat dairy either so most is from lean meats.
I love my shakes, not all protein powder is awful, and can be made into pancakes

try having eggs at breakfast , Greek yoghurt with your oatmeal

I have protein for basically every meal and snack normally hitting around 150-170gr a day

Lean meats or fish or eggs with each meal
Cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt , fish , meat or beans with snacks.

Try higher protein pastas as a change from normal pastas , bean pastas are great.

My diary is open , but I try keep my carbs lower and no dairy or gluten so might be bit different

CasperNaegle

You are more than welcome to look at my diary I eat lots of protein and while I do eat protein enriched foods like protein chips, protein shakes, etc. I get most of mine from lean meats, low fat beef, chicken, turkey, egg whites, fat free cheeses. I take in about 1.2 grams per pound so I use and need help getting there.

MityMax96

a_candler wrote: »

As I love carbs I often find my calories being used up from them before I've had an adequate amount of protein.

How do you all manage to hit the protein goal? And please don't tell me by eating protein bars or shakes. I need real (tasty) ideas to boost intake.

For example I like oatmeal for breakfast, but this it has next to no protein. Lunch while working is often a Healthy Choice meal or something similar, 15+ grams protein. So you can see how quickly I begin to lack in the area. I need helpful ideas.

Scrambled egg whites w/ your oatmeal....
All protein then.
Add in Skim milk

TR0berts

Whenever I eat oatmeal, I do one of two things: eat some eggs with it; stir in a scoop of protein powder and a chunked-up banana.

Monterae

I like greek yogurt, avacados and low fat cheese

xmichaelyx

I buy a crapload of chicken, cook it all at once, dice it, freeze in individual bags (in marinade), and add it to omelets and salads.

If I need more protein late in the day, I can just eat some diced chicken (although I usually just have a green drink with some protein powder).

You can do a similar thing with chili, btw - cook a ton in a slow-cooker, freeze it in small tupperware, and eat as needed for extra protein.

extra_medium

Chicken, egg whites, cottage cheese, greek yogurt

emmadonaldson95

a_candler wrote: »

As I love carbs I often find my calories being used up from them before I've had an adequate amount of protein.

How do you all manage to hit the protein goal? And please don't tell me by eating protein bars or shakes. I need real (tasty) ideas to boost intake.

For example I like oatmeal for breakfast, but this it has next to no protein. Lunch while working is often a Healthy Choice meal or something similar, 15+ grams protein. So you can see how quickly I begin to lack in the area. I need helpful ideas.

Ive swapped my morning weetabix to weetabix with added protein. Tastes the same but helps boost a macro i was always lacking in. Perhaps you could look for a protein enhanced oatmeal?

At lunch i have a sandwhich (sandwhich thins not generic bread) with ham and a spreadable cheese like laughing cow light if i need to bump up protein.

I know you said no protein bars but i have a couple in the back of my cupboard. Ill have one instead of a cereal bar on a day im doing a big workout but dont look like ill get near my protein. It could be good to have a couple just for emergency days(i like the atkins ones but naked also make decent looking ones).

Another thing i added when i realised how little protein i get is nuts and low fat greek yoghurt! Greek yoghurt has crazy amounts of protein and the low fat versions are very low calorie.
You could also add spinach or kale. Kale is higher protein but i dont like it so it's spinach for me.
You could swap some carbs e.g. pasta rice noodles etc for quinoa which has a good amount of protein.
Also look for lean proteins like turkey you get plenty protein but not too many calories.

If you want any other ideas feel free to drop me a message as i had this exact crisis a few weeks ago.

GlitterUnicorn81

I am having the same challenge.
I make overnight oatmeal that is protein-rich, simple and tasty to give me a jump start on protein for the day. It also makes a good snack.

(3 servings)
1 cup each oats, milk, Greek yogurt
optional: cinnamon, vanilla extract, chia seeds, fruit, nut butter, etc.

cwolfman13

I eat some kind of lean protein with every meal and most snacks. Egg whites in the morning along with my oats and some peanutbutter; lean steak, chicken, or fish for lunch, lean steak, chicken, or fish for dinner. Usually a Greek Yogurt snack in the afternoon with some fruit and a whey supplement sometime during the day.

BeYouTiful94

When I eat oatmeal, I typically stir in some vanilla protein powder. I find that it doesn't change the taste at all. I also will have a boiled egg with it.

Other suggestions:
-Eggs/egg whites
-Lean meats
-Ham and cheese roll-ups
-Greek yogurt (I love oikos triple zero)
-Cottage cheese (I'll sometimes add it to my yogurt, or have it with fruit. You could do it savory as well)
-Beef jerky
-Seafood
-String cheese

mallygirl420

Seriously, the OH Yeah cake bars are like candy. I know you said no bars but they can't count. They are amazing.

cecsav1

JeromeBarry1 wrote: »

I just insist on getting at least some protein in every meal. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Yep. Eat eggs for breakfast. Eat tuna for lunch. Greek yogurt with protein powder for a snack. Chicken or beef (or turkey or fish or pork... but I like chicken and beef...) for dinner.

Gisel2015

I eat protein with every meal, if I don't and I eat mostly carbs, I would fall asleep in the middle of the day. Oatmeal is something that is not in my list.
For breakfast: scramble egg whites with or without added eggs, or a cheese omelet; a whole grain English muffin or whole wheat toast with cheese, fage or cottage cheese with fruit are good breakfast choices with a good amount of protein. If you still prefer more carbs, add a couple of eggs to 1/2 cup or kidneys beans.
For lunch: a sandwich with low sodium ham and cheese, or salads with tuna and hard boiled egg. Dinners: tilapia, salmon, chicken, beef, chili, pork chops, etc.
My protein intake is between 90 and 120 grams a day and most of the time without even having a protein drink.

a_candler

BecomingBane wrote: »

Meat
Dairy
Cheese
Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese
Eggs
Tofu
Tempeh
Seitan
Bacon because it needs its own category


Basically any protein rich food. There are tons of meat, dairy, and plant based proteins and the worlds your oyster.. which is also a protein source.

Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with shakes either, they come in a million differing kinds of protein and and endless array of flavors. Provided you get a good quality product, it's just powdered food.

I am mostly Dairy free as it causes stomach issues. And I'm not huge on Tofu. Bacon I do like but my 4 boys and husband fight me over it and I'm usually on the loosing side of things. LOL

a_candler

indiacaitlin wrote: »

I know you said not to mention protein shakes BUT, I use protein powder every day but hardly ever have them as an actual shake. It's easy to add a scoop to something like Greek yogurt and top with some nuts and it's a pretty high protein/low carb snack and tastes great! You can also add it to things like oats in the morning, again it's not like having it as an actual shake but adds a nice flavour (depending on what flavour you go for) and gives you a big boost of protein. If you're creative with how you use protein powder you can have some really tasty stuff without actually having it as a conventional shake

I usually have oats with protein powder and peanut butter for breakfast, chicken and veggies for lunch with no carbs, and then more lean meat for dinner. Snacks wise I have nuts, protein bars and you could cook up some chicken in bulk and have it ready to snack on in the fridge. I manage to get about 40% protein a day.

I need to find a good plant based protein powder, if one excists that is. I am mostly dairy free, so the protein powders tend to be dairy based and I try to stay away from soy. Any suggestions on good plant based ones?

RodaRose

Hemp seed, pea protein, rice protein.