How to eat 130 grams of protein a day?

serapel
serapel Posts: 502 Member
edited December 4 in Health and Weight Loss
I need about 2100 cals a day and 130 grams of that should be protein. I'm currently eating about 85 grams a day of protein.

- 2 eggs with cheese (20 g)
- handful of almonds (9 g)
- oatmeal (3 g)
- protein shake (30 g)
- meat with dinner (25 g)

approx: 85 g per day

How do I get an other 50 grams of protein in me??? After my workout, I doubled up my protein shake...there must be a better way without eating too much food. Help MFP friends :smile:
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Replies

  • folgers86
    folgers86 Posts: 84 Member
    edited October 2016
    I was told by my nutritionist to eat a good quality protein bar (I like FitJoy) and protein shakes. And chicken. Lots and lots of chicken. My goal is 140g/day and I can make it.

    ETA: There have been days where I eat chicken for breakfast! You may have to swap some foods around to get to your protein goal: for example I don't eat eggs due to the fat content and my macros but use chicken as a more protein dense source. Another word of wisdom from my nutritionist was to make sure you're getting plenty of protein with every meal - I didn't see what your protein was for lunch is why I mention it :)
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    cottage cheese with protein powder
    Greek yogurt
    low fat mozzarella cheese sticks
    Canadian bacon
    egg whites in your protein shake
    omelets
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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Eat more meat ..2 x chicken thighs is 42g
    0% Greek yogurt ... 170g is 18
    Egg whites ...100g is 10
    Cottage cheese

    I hit 139g today for under 2000 calories and I never take supplements
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited October 2016
    I aim for 100g out of 1550 cals and it's rare I don't hit it, without the need of protein shakes...

    Protein enriched cereal, a decent amount of lean meat in a sandwich or salad and a larger portions of meat with your evening meal (with less carbs if necessary to balance your calories)

    Snacks of boiled eggs, cheese etc or high protein cereal bars/flapjack
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Here's how I do it (and I eat much more than you do protein wise):

    Breakfast (after my workout): 60g protein shake
    Mid-Morning Snack: 30g protein bar (the large ones)
    Lunch: Meat of some sort, or eggs, at least 15-20g protein if I can manage it. If there is leftover from a previous dinner I can easily hit 30g at lunch.
    Dinner: 40-50g protein by way of either 8oz or more of chicken/pork/beef (lean varieties)

    Usually with the protein that other things I eat during the day off and on have in them I can hit my goal of 180g/day, and sometimes, depending on the leanness of the meat I eat I can go over which is a bonus. It shouldn't be too hard to hit 130g. The big thing that pushed me to my goal was that first 60g (2 scoops of whey protein isolate) shake in the mornings. It kicks off the day right with protein, and since I work out before breakfast it fuels me back up.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    I eat 120-140 no problem on a lot less calories than you have, 1400. Feel free to look through my diary. 20-30 grams in each of 5 meals and snacks a day.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    What carb or fat-heavy foods are you eating that you can swap for a protein-heavy alternative?

    I see oatmeal (carb-heavy) that can be switched for meat, for example.
  • katthouse499
    katthouse499 Posts: 50 Member
    I eat Ezekiel bread toasted and have all natural peanut butter lots of protein in peanut butter
  • kathrynjean_
    kathrynjean_ Posts: 428 Member
    I eat 120-140 no problem on a lot less calories than you have, 1400. Feel free to look through my diary. 20-30 grams in each of 5 meals and snacks a day.

    Yes - I agree! I don't eat meat or dairy and I manage 100-110 grams a day on significantly fewer calories than you have to work with. I make an effort to incorporate protein into every meal and snack, and to double up on protein sources in a meal. For me, this means that I eat lentils + tempeh together, or something with tofu + edamame. For an omnivore diet, I guess this would look different, but you can combine legumes with meat or something else.

    Jerky and Greek yogurt are pretty high protein snack ideas.

    Just figure out what proteins you like to eat and find ways to weave them into your day more consistently.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    More meat, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.
    Nuts are a bad source of protein.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    Yesterday, I hit 140g of protein on 1800 calories total.

    I had 165g of pot roast which provided me with 64g of protein right there. I also had eggs for breakfast, chicken thighs and bacon for dinner, along with cheese.

    Try having some more meat at dinner or adding cheese at dinner.

    Also, don't forget that things like broccoli do contain small amounts of protein but you might be able to get some more grams in if you eat more of it. It is also lower calorie too, so you wouldn't have to break your calorie budget.
  • subcounter
    subcounter Posts: 2,382 Member
    edited October 2016
    Honestly this really depends on your taste preference. Dairy products (low fat milk, yoghurts, cheese etc), lean meats (chicken breast, ground turkey, 90+percent lean ground beef etc), veggies with higher proteins (peas) comes to mind.

    If you feel like you hate to deal with those, for convenience & if you like the taste you can use protein powders. Personal fav is oat meal & low fat milk microwaved, and around 40 grams of protein powder mixed in it afterwards while warm. Its just yum for me.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
    cottage cheese with protein powder

    Just threwup in my mouth a bit. That is some hardcore dedication right there.

    OP I flipped through my diary to see if I could find a day where I was at around 2100 calories and 135g protein just to see what that looked like for me. Found 2,230 calories and 148g protein from Oct 16th so figure that is close enough.

    kgnb9wlnafwc.png

    So looks like I had two protein bars, a good amount of chicken, some bacon, some cheese. Protein spaced out pretty evenly throughout the day, not that that is necessary just makes it easier to eat imo.

    My diary is publically viewable, probably other days like that in there.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    cottage cheese with protein powder

    Just threwup in my mouth a bit. That is some hardcore dedication right there.

    You must not like cottage cheese or your protein powder is gross.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
    cathipa wrote: »
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    cottage cheese with protein powder

    Just threwup in my mouth a bit. That is some hardcore dedication right there.

    You must not like cottage cheese or your protein powder is gross.

    Mostly I don't like cottage cheese :-) and my protein powder is chocolate flavored so picturing a psuedo-chocolate flavored slightly grainy from the powder cottage cheese was a bit naseau inducing. But i get different tastes for different folks. Not trying to be judgy, just saying not for me no thank you.

    I think back to early dieting before I knew what I was doing and trying to make scrambled eggs with cottage cheese to up my protein. That was the worst tasting worst smelling thing I have ever had the misfortune of trying to eat.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Cottage cheese and tuna is surprisingly good, and it packs a nice protein punch.

    But you have to like cottage cheese and tuna. I like it best with salt and pepper, maybe a bit of dill relish and chopped onion.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    No protein powder

    And excellent battery charge :)

    59p9s8x3cl4o.png
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
    Cottage cheese and tuna is surprisingly good, and it packs a nice protein punch.

    But you have to like cottage cheese and tuna. I like it best with salt and pepper, maybe a bit of dill relish and chopped onion.

    Does remind me, if you are feeling a bit lazy and/or cheap then cans of tuna do pretty well for upping your protein. If you are feeling less lazy can probably incorporate the can of tuna into things you are cooking to bulk it up a bit.

    In my more "Clean" eating phase where I thought it was all about the vegetables and protein sources I remember thinking mustard with tuna wasn't a bad cheap combo for lots of protein and some flavor.

    These days I just cook with chicken and make sure to have lots of chicken in there (usually like 3x what the recipe calls for).
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    No protein powder

    And excellent battery charge :)

    59p9s8x3cl4o.png

    oh look at you with your spot-on targets, eating of nothing but whole foods and meticulous logging :-P
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Do I eat whole foods? That surprises me..I thought my breads and cookies would count me out

    I'm cutting atm so fewer ice cream / chips
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Cottage cheese and tuna is surprisingly good, and it packs a nice protein punch.

    But you have to like cottage cheese and tuna. I like it best with salt and pepper, maybe a bit of dill relish and chopped onion.

    Does remind me, if you are feeling a bit lazy and/or cheap then cans of tuna do pretty well for upping your protein. If you are feeling less lazy can probably incorporate the can of tuna into things you are cooking to bulk it up a bit.

    In my more "Clean" eating phase where I thought it was all about the vegetables and protein sources I remember thinking mustard with tuna wasn't a bad cheap combo for lots of protein and some flavor.

    These days I just cook with chicken and make sure to have lots of chicken in there (usually like 3x what the recipe calls for).

    Yeah, I don't eat "clean" by any means, but I really like tuna. I usually have a tuna salad in the fridge at least every other week.

    Tuna and cottage cheese is one of those concoctions that I usually eat if I really need to get more protein for not a lot of calories and I'm out of protein powder.

    I eat a lot of chicken also.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    ARGriffy wrote: »
    God I wish I could eat 2100 a day...

    Me too! I noticed that those who posted screenshots of their diaries have a base calorie goal that is at about my maintenance calories and then earn a lot more calories to eat from exercise. Until recently, I've just not had time to exercise. My schedule just opened up yesterday, though I'm trying to figure out the right exercise plan before I actually start something, so... probably have a regimen next week and then I can eat that 2K calories per day. I might even decide to switch to maintenance or bulk... I just haven't figured that out yet. But I have been so hungry for so long and I get just jealous of people eating 2K+ calories. And with my appetite, I can (and have) eat tens of thousands of calories a day if I really want to be satisfied.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited October 2016
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Do I eat whole foods? That surprises me..I thought my breads and cookies would count me out

    I'm cutting atm so fewer ice cream / chips

    Bread!?!??! you are dead to me

    :bigsmile:
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    I eat way over that much on 1800-1900 a day. tnu7nwp434ar.jpg
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2016
    I maintain at about 3000 calories on average so 2400 daily is about 1.2 pound loss per week for me. My lean mass is about 137 and I weigh about 167 at the moment, so ~110-137g is probably good for me but I tend to aim a bit higher just in case and for satiety.

    I don't even feel like I'm that active of a person but I get the sense from here that I must be.
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