(IIFYM) How do you plan meals/get more protein in?

Loves2snack

If I try to wing it, boy am I in a world of hurt by dinner. LOL. Usually by dinner I am out of fat and carbs and have tons of protein. What is your usual breakfast and lunch while doing IIFYM? How do you get more protein in your breakfast? I've seen people add eggs to their oatmeal. But, oats just don't keep me full for long. I know everyone's different. I love hearing about what people eat in a day!

Second, how do you plan out your eating. I'm having issues with this. I find this to be so complicated! Do pick a meal you know you will eat or thats important and then work your way around it?

kommodevaran

Macros aren't set in stone, they are to be adjusted to your needs. Start with food you like and work around that, not with a set of arbitrary rules and work around those.

Francl27

I just make sure to have a good source of protein for every meal, and if I know that I won't, I have high protein snacks.

TR0berts

Eggs for breakfast;
Protein bar for a snack at some point during the day;
Leftover meat and whatever from the previous night's dinner for lunch

lmew91

Protein in breakfast- scrambled eggs with veggies, omelet with cheese, ham/turkey bacon/chicken or turkey sausage and veggies, overnight oats (or instant oats) with protein powder, shake with protein powder... there are a LOT of options.
I don't have much of a problem getting plenty of protein in through a balanced diet. Protein bars are a convenient way to add protein to your diet, but read the nutrition labels because I find a lot of tasty-looking ones don't have the macros and/or the micros I'm looking for.

007Aggie

I eat not breakfast foods a lot...chicken, refried beans, etc. I also eat 1-2 containers of skyr style yogurt (Siggis) each day. They are 100-120 cals, 14-16g protein for the non fat. There is a full fat version that is similar cals, just less protein/more fat.

T0M_K

Protein Powder in water along with 2 or 3 eggs for breakfast gets you on a good protein base for the day. and its quick and easy.

AliceDark

I also take 5 minutes each morning to sit down with a cup of coffee and plan out my day. It helps me avoid the "I only have 200 calories left for dinner and need a bunch of protein, so I guess I'm eating hard-boiled eggs and lettuce" days.

_L_A_

Breakfast:
- Baked beans, low fat cottage cheese, two eggs. I generally mix the cottage cheese and beans together it makes the beans creamier and the cheese less bland!
- 0% fat greek yoghurt, pumpkin seeds, berries

Lunches proteins:
- Humus, other chickpea based foods, cheese, quorn, cottage cheese

Dinner proteins
- Quorn, cheese, chickpeas, seeds, lentils, other high protein plant based food

Snacks
- Yoghurts: natural full fat (low fat seem to be crammed full of sugar, flavoured is full of sugar too), or 0% fat greek yoghurt
- Nuts (not a regular for me as I don't like nuts much)
- Protein bars etc (I like Bounce energy bites!)
- Cottage cheese, berries, seeds and sweetener (or greek yoghurt without the sweetener added)
- Cheese; portioned chunks of cheddar or cheese strings usually
- Protein shakes (I like "For goodness shake" chocolate protein shake, check the sugar content of protein shakes, some of them are very very sugary)


(If you hadn't guessed I'm vegetarian! I eat about 120g of protein a day on a 2000kcal diet)

tomteboda

I have a 20% protein goal, which is easy to meet if I include protein in each meal. Above that was way too much work for me.

aquablue_1111

I try to have a good amount of protein at breakfast. So lately I've been eating an egg with toast and a protein shake. Or I've done Kirkland protein bars (I think it has like 20 g of protein) b/c sometimes I crave something sweet for breakfast. I've also done a slice of the Trader Joe's cinnamon swirl bread + butter plus a protein "shake" (whey protein plus water)...mmm..so good. Or I've done 2 eggs with a slice of bread. I like eggs so I tend to reach for those to build around my breakfasts. It really kind of depends what kind of mood I'm in. Do I want something sweet? Do I want to eat a piece of toast today or oatmeal?

For lunch, I try to get about 20 grams of protein at least. One of my lunches has been cod + butter + veggies. Or I'll do a salad with lots of greens, Kirkland canned chicken, Bolthouse dressing and veggies. I find I'm a bit of a 'volume' eater so I end up eating lots of salads. When it gets colder, I'll probably do lots of soups.

For snacks, lately I've been enjoying the 2% greek yogurt with 10 g of flax and 3 g of honey. Totally dense, lays like a brick in my stomach and tons of protein.

Making my meals has gotten easier b/c I have a better sense of the macros for certain foods/meals. If you meal prep, even if it's the night before, you can see what you need to change up. I agree that you should take the meals you normally like to eat and adjust accordingly. If I'm having steak, I'll have a big salad with veggies and some dressing. If I'm having baked ziti, I'll add in a lean protein to go with it.