Finding it hard to eat enough protein
brittneyalley
Posts: 274 Member
Can someone give me some low calorie, high protein foods? I'm eating 1200 calories. I weigh 129 pounds. I'm trying to preserve as much muscle as possible (and hopefully gain a little in the process).
I'm finding it hard to eat more than 60-70 grams of protein in a day. Would a protein supplement shake be beneficial for me?
I'm finding it hard to eat more than 60-70 grams of protein in a day. Would a protein supplement shake be beneficial for me?
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Well your gonna get alot of advice on this I am sure. However, they will need to know alot more about you. Like age, height and are you doing any kind of exercise as well? If you doing strength training 1200 calories is not enough if you wish to gain muscle. I will leave it at that and let other chime in.0
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That's probably enough protein for you...I'm confused about your goal. Are you trying to gain muscle? You have to eat at a surplus and do a progressive resistance plan for that (like lifting heavy stuff). I doubt 1200 calories is a surplus.2
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Protein has 4 calories per gram, so if your goal is to lose weight (and eat less), you have to choose your foods wisely. 60-70 grams sounds perfect. Why do you think you need more protein?2
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Well your gonna get alot of advice on this I am sure. However, they will need to know alot more about you. Like age, height and are you doing any kind of exercise as well? If you doing strength training 1200 calories is not enough if you wish to gain muscle. I will leave it at that and let other chime in.
I'm 5 foot and 20 years old. I do body weight exercise almost daily and have recently started lifting weights at the gym 1-2 times a week (I'd like to Increase that soon)
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cmriverside wrote: »That's probably enough protein for you...I'm confused about your goal. Are you trying to gain muscle? You have to eat at a surplus and do a progressive resistance plan for that (like lifting heavy stuff). I doubt 1200 calories is a surplus.
My body fat percent is way too high to eat at a surplus. My body fat % is between 30-35. I want to preserve as much muscle as I can while I shed more fat.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »Protein has 4 calories per gram, so if your goal is to lose weight (and eat less), you have to choose your foods wisely. 60-70 grams sounds perfect. Why do you think you need more protein?
I read that .8-1g of protein per pound of body weight was ideal while losing weight to try to preserve muscle. So I was thinking of trying to get 100-130g/day.
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brittneyalley wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »That's probably enough protein for you...I'm confused about your goal. Are you trying to gain muscle? You have to eat at a surplus and do a progressive resistance plan for that (like lifting heavy stuff). I doubt 1200 calories is a surplus.
My body fat percent is way too high to eat at a surplus. My body fat % is between 30-35. I want to preserve as much muscle as I can while I shed more fat.
You said you weigh 129...how tall are you?
OP:brittneyalley wrote: »Can someone give me some low calorie, high protein foods? I'm eating 1200 calories. I weigh 129 pounds. I'm trying to preserve as much muscle as possible (and hopefully gain a little in the process).
I'm finding it hard to eat more than 60-70 grams of protein in a day. Would a protein supplement shake be beneficial for me?
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How tall are you, OP? 1200 cals is quite low unless you are short and sedentary (and you're not sedentary if you're exercising). Are you eating exercise cals back? How much weight are you trying to lose? And how did you estimate your body fat %?0
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I'm 5 foot tall and pretty sedentary. I do eat exercise calories back for cardio but not weight lifting as I'm not sure how to estimate. I average 2-4K steps per day. Trying to increase my movement so I can eat more.
I don't have a set goal weight yet. I was thinking 105 or so and would like to start eating at a surplus to gain muscle.
Bf% was estimated by looking at photos, my scale, and online measurement bf% calculators.0 -
brittneyalley wrote: »I'm 5 foot tall and pretty sedentary. I do eat exercise calories back for cardio but not weight lifting as I'm not sure how to estimate. I average 2-4K steps per day. Trying to increase my movement so I can eat more.
I don't have a set goal weight yet. I was thinking 105 or so and would like to start eating at a surplus to gain muscle.
Bf% was estimated by looking at photos, my scale, and online measurement bf% calculators.
Use the strength training entry in the cardio exercise database. From what I understand it's quite accurate for most, but you could start with eating 50% of that back then adjust if necessary after a few weeks.
I also go by the 0.8-1g per lb of body weight for protein, but it's ideal weight, not current weight, so you can probably reduce a bit.
What are your current protein sources? Then we can make suggestions for adding more. I'm a big fan of protein shakes, but with a low cal intake, that's taking away cals from food that you may find more satisfying (I happen to find milk + protein powder pretty satiating, but even at a deficit I had a higher calorie goal than you. I'm not sure I would have wanted to sacrifice those 200 cals if I was on 1200 a day).0 -
brittneyalley wrote: »I'm 5 foot tall and pretty sedentary. I do eat exercise calories back for cardio but not weight lifting as I'm not sure how to estimate. I average 2-4K steps per day. Trying to increase my movement so I can eat more.
I don't have a set goal weight yet. I was thinking 105 or so and would like to start eating at a surplus to gain muscle.
Bf% was estimated by looking at photos, my scale, and online measurement bf% calculators.
So based on the information given and your goals, I would aim for 0.8-1g per lb lean body mass/goal weight minimum, so anywhere from around 72 to 105g. Anymore than that is not necessary.
Good protein sources include lean meats (chicken breast, turkey, extra lean beef etc), fish, seafood, eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu. Also beans, grains, cheese can help too.
Whey protein powder can also be used to get more protein especially on those days where you are falling short.. putting it into yogurt, oats, in smoothies or with milk/water. Obviously not necessary but it is an option if you need it.5 -
0% fat Greek Yoghurt is 11% protein. You can eat a whole 500g tub for approx 300 cals and get 55g protein. Also very filling.
Depending on which country you are in there are various brands you can get1 -
I typed out a response and lost it. In the meantime you answered some of my questions haha. So a better starting point for protein is actually 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass (not total weight!) And at your height/bf%, your LBM is around 90lbs. A good protein range would be 72-90g per day. It helps to build meals specifically around protein (Eggs, cottage cheese, greak yougart for breakfast. Having a bag of grilled chicken to throw into meals is easy and convenient) and if its still hard to hit your protein goal, protein shakes are awesone supplements that can give you a good amount of protein for minimal calories. Just shop around and compare calorie/protein ratios to get the best value. Also, its your target set to lose 0.5 lbs a week or 1lb/week? 0.5lb would probably be best2
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I mainly eat chicken for protein. Sometimes cheese or tofu as well.
What protein powder do you like? Preferably one that doesn't s taste horrible.
Meal replacement shakes tend to fill me up (had to only drink my "food" for a week a few months ago after having surgery). 0 -
brittneyalley wrote: »I mainly eat chicken for protein. Sometimes cheese or tofu as well.
What protein powder do you like? Preferably one that does taste horrible. Meal replacement shakes tend to fill me up (had to only drink my "food" for a week a few months ago after having surgery).
I like mine plain.. unflavored and unsweetened.. pretty much just whey. Then I flavour it how I want it because I hate the taste of artificial sugars.1 -
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have the same problem, I'm 5'6", 246 #, down from 266. MFP tells me to eat 100 gm protein a day, 1990 cal. a day, (all this is before exercise cal.) I love Peanut Butter, and I could eat that all day, but it's high in cal. On a good protein day, I can get to 80 gm, but mostly I'm around 50/60. I'm not a big meat eater, I'll eat it, but I'd prefer a different way to up my protein. My goal is to lose weight and not lose muscle, I'll work on gaining muscle when I get closer to my goal. I eat seafood, dairy and the like. I've found sites for vegetation protein sources, but most don't sound very good. I've also thought about drinking a protein powder supplement, but most have a lot of "stuff" in them.1
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brittneyalley wrote: »I mainly eat chicken for protein. Sometimes cheese or tofu as well.
What protein powder do you like? Preferably one that doesn't s taste horrible. Meal replacement shakes tend to fill me up (had to only drink my "food" for a week a few months ago after having surgery).
My all time favorite is Dymatize iso100 in chocolate peanut butter flavor (I order it on bodybuilding.com) Its super delicious and has 25g protein per 120 calories. The birthday cake flavor is yummy too! If you want a slow digesting protein to drink before bed, the same brand makes a pretty good casein but the texture of casein in general is pretty hard to choke down. Maybe I just haven't found the right one though.1 -
Protein powder bleurrghhh life's too short
Venison, super lean, organic, delicious, nutritious
Rabbit the same
Egg whites
Greek yoghurt
Cottage cheese if you can stand it
You are already close to your protein requirement, eat something delicious to get the rest
Just my advice
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livenfree45 wrote: »I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have the same problem, I'm 5'6", 246 #, down from 266. MFP tells me to eat 100 gm protein a day, 1990 cal. a day, (all this is before exercise cal.) I love Peanut Butter, and I could eat that all day, but it's high in cal. On a good protein day, I can get to 80 gm, but mostly I'm around 50/60. I'm not a big meat eater, I'll eat it, but I'd prefer a different way to up my protein. My goal is to lose weight and not lose muscle, I'll work on gaining muscle when I get closer to my goal. I eat seafood, dairy and the like. I've found sites for vegetation protein sources, but most don't sound very good. I've also thought about drinking a protein powder supplement, but most have a lot of "stuff" in them.
Pb2 is an awesome substitute for peanut butter. I love peanut butter too but rarely find it worth the calories. You can get a good amount of protein from seafood, dairy, and veggies if you consciously build meals around protein. You can also find more natural shake without artificial sweeteners if you search for them0 -
brittneyalley wrote: »I mainly eat chicken for protein. Sometimes cheese or tofu as well.
What protein powder do you like? Preferably one that doesn't s taste horrible. Meal replacement shakes tend to fill me up (had to only drink my "food" for a week a few months ago after having surgery).
Seafood, edamame, reduced fat dairy, protein enriched cereal, choose veg which is higher in protein etc.
Prelogging might help you hit your goal.
Is 1200 cals a 1lb deficit?0 -
40g of protein/day is definitely NOT enough for basic nutrition for someone who weighs 129#.
The commonly accepted recommendation for the MINIMUM daily nutritional allowance for protein for a SEDENTARY person is 0.8g of protein per kg of BW.
At 129#, this would equal 129/2.2 x 0.8 which equals 46.9g of protein. So, at only 40g, the OP's diet is nutrituionally deficient in protein.
Anything between 70-90g of protein should be sufficient for a person of her size engaged in normal daily activity.
However, if she is on a deficit diet and/or engaged in an active fitness and/or strength development program, her body probably can make use 1g/#BW or about an average of 129g of protein/day for both energy and/or strength development and muscle growth or maintenance.
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40g of protein/day is definitely NOT enough for basic nutrition for someone who weighs 129#.
The commonly accepted recommendation for the MINIMUM daily nutritional allowance for protein for a SEDENTARY person is 0.8g of protein per kg of BW.
At 129#, this would equal 129/2.2 x 0.8 which equals 46.9g of protein. So, at only 40g, the OP's diet is nutrituionally deficient in protein.
Anything between 70-90g of protein should be sufficient for a person of her size engaged in normal daily activity.
However, if she is on a deficit diet and/or engaged in an active fitness and/or strength development program, her body probably can make use 1g/#BW or about an average of 129g of protein/day for both energy and/or strength development and muscle growth or maintenance.
Since no one else in this thread has mentioned 40 g of protein a day, you've basically put up a straw man to argue against.6 -
Pastrami1
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40g of protein/day is definitely NOT enough for basic nutrition for someone who weighs 129#.
The commonly accepted recommendation for the MINIMUM daily nutritional allowance for protein for a SEDENTARY person is 0.8g of protein per kg of BW.
At 129#, this would equal 129/2.2 x 0.8 which equals 46.9g of protein. So, at only 40g, the OP's diet is nutrituionally deficient in protein.
Anything between 70-90g of protein should be sufficient for a person of her size engaged in normal daily activity.
However, if she is on a deficit diet and/or engaged in an active fitness and/or strength development program, her body probably can make use 1g/#BW or about an average of 129g of protein/day for both energy and/or strength development and muscle growth or maintenance.
No one but you said 40g lol2 -
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lynn_glenmont wrote: »Since no one else in this thread has mentioned 40 g of protein a day, you've basically put up a straw man to argue against.
Sorry. Mea culpa. This stat was mentioned in another thread and I got them confused.
If I could delete the comment I would. Time to take a break from posting on MFP.
:shrug:2
This discussion has been closed.
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