Not enough protein + weight lifting during weight loss

Calildur

I started my weight loss journey while doing weight lifting, because I want to build up muscle while losing weight. So far I keep losing weight but I only concern myself with the calories and not the macros. However one macronutrient I worry about is protein. I try to keep eating as much as possible, but I definietly don't eat enough protein. I usually eat around 100-140 g per day and according to MFP i need 180-200. It's not about that I don't try but that just not enough when I try to match my calorie goal. I'm thinking about whey protein as a supplement, but I fear that it's too much calorie.

kommodevaran

You can't really expect to build muscle when losing weight. Sufficient protein and lifting is to retain the muscle mass you already have.
If you want to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. 180 grams of protein is 30% of your energy on a 2431 calorie diet. MFP recommends 20% protein. So what is your calorie goal?
A protein heavy diet is easy to compose - just get in lots of egg whites, chicken breast and protein shakes. It's just hard to stick to, because it's going to be boring and quite possibly crowd out other nutrients you need.

Nony_Mouse

If you're already hitting your calories, then you're going to have to cut out some carbs or fats in order to increase protein. Supplementing with whey protein is fine if that's easiest for you, but there are plenty of protein-rich foods you could incorporate too.

Calildur

You can't really expect to build muscle when losing weight. Sufficient protein and lifting is to retain the muscle mass you already have.
If you want to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. 180 grams of protein is 30% of your energy on a 2431 calorie diet. MFP recommends 20% protein. So what is your calorie goal?
A protein heavy diet is easy to compose - just get in lots of egg whites, chicken breast and protein shakes. It's just hard to stick to, because it's going to be boring and quite possibly crowd out other nutrients you need.

I know I won't build muscle as efficiently as if I would eat more calorie. But compared to zero muscle I had I got some progress, and I'm afraid of losing it during weight loss

Right now I don't really messed with macros. Only changed protein to 30% from 20% and reduced carbs. My calorie goal when I go to gym is 2500 and 1700 when I don't go to gym.

I know these foods but I just can't eat enough of it both physicaly and mentaly. I try to build a sustainable diet, because it's always failed when I restricted myself too much.

kommodevaran

It sounds to me that you know how things work, now you just have to do what you know you need to do: You have to restrict intake, but not too much. You have to get in enough protein, but more than you need is just going to be a pointless struggle. A balanced diet is easier both physically and mentally, but the thought that you "could do better" is still going to be a challenge. Remind yourself that you have to pace yourself to be able to stay the distance.

sijomial

Calildur wrote: »

You can't really expect to build muscle when losing weight. Sufficient protein and lifting is to retain the muscle mass you already have.
If you want to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. 180 grams of protein is 30% of your energy on a 2431 calorie diet. MFP recommends 20% protein. So what is your calorie goal?
A protein heavy diet is easy to compose - just get in lots of egg whites, chicken breast and protein shakes. It's just hard to stick to, because it's going to be boring and quite possibly crowd out other nutrients you need.

I know I won't build muscle as efficiently as if I would eat more calorie. But compared to zero muscle I had I got some progress, and I'm afraid of losing it during weight loss

Right now I don't really messed with macros. Only changed protein to 30% from 20% and reduced carbs. My calorie goal when I go to gym is 2500 and 1700 when I don't go to gym.

I know these foods but I just can't eat enough of it both physicaly and mentaly. I try to build a sustainable diet, because it's always failed when I restricted myself too much.

Is 1700 an appropriate goal? (Giving your stats would help to give perspective.)
For retention of muscle in a deficit then avoiding an excessive deficit is a huge factor. And you have also brought up the issue of restricting too much makes you fail. Maybe a slower rate of loss would be more sustainable?

A higher calorie allowance makes hitting a suitable protein goal far easier. It makes far more sense to set a minimum goal in grams rather than a percentage by the way.

Whey protein shakes are a very calorie efficient way of boosting your intake so surprised you think they are "too much calorie". Are you looking at a sweetened shake?

Scubdup

Everyone's got different goals, and are at different stages along their journey, but, for me, the biggest improvements for overall weightloss, and for bodyfat % improvement came when I stopped worrying about losing muscle and just got on with focusing on eating in a deficit and losing weight.

I kept up with weight training to hopefully minimise any loss, but I didn't let that get in the way or effect any of my decisions.

This was my "lightbulb" moment.

In the week, at work, I stopped eating breakfast (and have a coffee instead) and then have a protein shake at lunch. This allowed me to eat what I like in the evenings, and remain in deficit. I don't record at the weekends.

In my case, I have previously failed when I overthought things, or made a diet routine too complicated, or tried to "cheat" the system. Keeping the rules simple, and easy to stick to gave me the best results...

Hope that's of help.

Calildur

Is 1700 an appropriate goal? (Giving your stats would help to give perspective.)
For retention of muscle in a deficit then avoiding an excessive deficit is a huge factor. And you have also brought up the issue of restricting too much makes you fail. Maybe a slower rate of loss would be more sustainable?

A higher calorie allowance makes hitting a suitable protein goal far easier. It makes far more sense to set a minimum goal in grams rather than a percentage by the way.

Whey protein shakes are a very calorie efficient way of boosting your intake so surprised you think they are "too much calorie". Are you looking at a sweetened shake?

I started at 132 kg (around 260 lbs) and now I'm 119 kg ( 238 lbs) I'm 187 cm (around 6.1 ft) and 28 years old male. I do light desk job so on my offdays taking consideration many TDEE sites and the MFP 1700 seems appropriate if I want to lose 2lbs a week ( this is a middle ground, I don't want to loose weight too fast but not too slow either because im impatient) My exercise is roughly 800-1000 calorie so I use the 2500 because of that. So far I constantly hit the 2 lbs each week.

Yes I can't take raw whey protein, somekind of flavour is needed for me. And those are usually a bit higher in calorie. Or so I told.

sijomial

Calildur wrote: »

Is 1700 an appropriate goal? (Giving your stats would help to give perspective.)
For retention of muscle in a deficit then avoiding an excessive deficit is a huge factor. And you have also brought up the issue of restricting too much makes you fail. Maybe a slower rate of loss would be more sustainable?

A higher calorie allowance makes hitting a suitable protein goal far easier. It makes far more sense to set a minimum goal in grams rather than a percentage by the way.

Whey protein shakes are a very calorie efficient way of boosting your intake so surprised you think they are "too much calorie". Are you looking at a sweetened shake?

I started at 132 kg (around 260 lbs) and now I'm 119 kg ( 238 lbs) I'm 187 cm (around 6.1 ft) and 28 years old male. I do light desk job so on my offdays taking consideration many TDEE sites and the MFP 1700 seems appropriate if I want to lose 2lbs a week ( this is a middle ground, I don't want to loose weight too fast but not too slow either because im impatient) My exercise is roughly 800-1000 calorie so I use the 2500 because of that. So far I constantly hit the 2 lbs each week.

Yes I can't take raw whey protein, somekind of flavour is needed for me. And those are usually a bit higher in calorie. Or so I told.

I use a flavoured one but it is sugar free, 30g scoop plus 250ml of skimmed milk tastes just like a nice milkshake but is only 207cals and gives 32g of protein. There's a huge range of products so worth investigating.

2lbs/week is likely fine right now but sensible to review as you lose more weight or earlier if you start to struggle with adherence or energy levels.

Calildur

2lbs/week is likely fine right now but sensible to review as you lose more weight or earlier if you start to struggle with adherence or energy levels.

My goal is to reach 100k (200 lbs) then drop down to 1 lbs/week so I don't reduce my food significantly. Than my end goal is around 85-95kg (170-190 lbs) Than I have to start bulk, because I want to have the least amount of loose skin possible.

I use a flavoured one but it is sugar free, 30g scoop plus 250ml of skimmed milk tastes just like a nice milkshake but is only 207cals and gives 32g of protein. There's a huge range of products so worth investigating.

So far I know nothing about supplements, I used L-carnitin for a month now I dont use it, to see that if there's any difference. Other than that I'm cluless.

sijomial

examine.com is a good resource to research supplements - most are of dubious or limited benefit.

PAV8888

Artificially sweetened flavoured whey protein will usually give you a lot of protein for the calories. Boneless skinless chicken breast, pork tenderloin, lean fish fillets or shellfish, egg whites... are all very good protein sources.

In general a 25% deficit while obese would be the limit of "fast but not very fast". 20% when you're no longer obese.

If your TDEE is NOT in the very high 3000's, or higher, 2lbs a week is probably too fast for you.

I am shorter, older, and started on MFP at about your current weight.

With an implicit TDEE of about 3255, I managed to lose about 72.5lb during my first year on MFP while eating ~2560 on average and being quite active. This was truly as fast or faster than I would recommend

0.8g per lb of lean mass, usually approximated by aiming for 1g of protein per lb of weight within the normal range is usually enough.

This makes it likely that MFP's 20% recommendation may only have to be exceeded by a tiny bit (as opposed to 10%) in order to meet your needs

fb47

Calildur wrote: »

You can't really expect to build muscle when losing weight. Sufficient protein and lifting is to retain the muscle mass you already have.
If you want to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. 180 grams of protein is 30% of your energy on a 2431 calorie diet. MFP recommends 20% protein. So what is your calorie goal?
A protein heavy diet is easy to compose - just get in lots of egg whites, chicken breast and protein shakes. It's just hard to stick to, because it's going to be boring and quite possibly crowd out other nutrients you need.

I know I won't build muscle as efficiently as if I would eat more calorie. But compared to zero muscle I had I got some progress, and I'm afraid of losing it during weight loss

Right now I don't really messed with macros. Only changed protein to 30% from 20% and reduced carbs. My calorie goal when I go to gym is 2500 and 1700 when I don't go to gym.

I know these foods but I just can't eat enough of it both physicaly and mentaly. I try to build a sustainable diet, because it's always failed when I restricted myself too much.

A caloric deficit combined with low protein won't help build you anything. You seem to be worried about whey being high caloric, I suggest you get Whey Isolate, you get just proteins and almost little to no carbs and fats. You're going to have to make room for protein in your diet. Protein is the most important macro for a lifter, especially when they are in a caloric deficit. In my diet, my go ahead protein are chicken, Skyr Yogurt (Greek Yogurt should also be fine, but I prefer Skyr, since the protein is higher), Cottage cheese and whey. I prioritize those foods first, then veggies, fruits, grains (or seeds) for micronutrients + fiber...then I fill in the blanks after that with foods that I want

As a man, you should have enough room to fit these proteins, if you were a woman who eats at 1200 calories, then I would understand your struggles to fit all of it into your diet.

ExistingFish

I have to use a protein supplement to get my protein where I expect it to be, it's the cheapest and most calorie efficient way to add protein for me. I use whey isolate because the particular brand I buy mixes well with yogurt and other things. I didn't realize it was lower on carbs/fat. I tried a different one mixed in my yogurt and it was inedible. I don't find it excessively high in calories.

Silentpadna

Calildur wrote: »

2lbs/week is likely fine right now but sensible to review as you lose more weight or earlier if you start to struggle with adherence or energy levels.

My goal is to reach 100k (200 lbs) then drop down to 1 lbs/week so I don't reduce my food significantly. Than my end goal is around 85-95kg (170-190 lbs) Than I have to start bulk, because I want to have the least amount of loose skin possible.

I use a flavoured one but it is sugar free, 30g scoop plus 250ml of skimmed milk tastes just like a nice milkshake but is only 207cals and gives 32g of protein. There's a huge range of products so worth investigating.

So far I know nothing about supplements, I used L-carnitin for a month now I dont use it, to see that if there's any difference. Other than that I'm cluless.

As @PAV8888 says, and he knows what he is talking about, you may actually be a little bit too quick...but it will depend on a lot of things. You mentioned that you want to have the least amount of loose skin possible. That's hard to predict, but if that's a big concern for you, you should know that slower is better. Lift as heavy as you can while you're in a deficit in order to preserve as much muscle as you can. Ultimately it sounds like you're doing this for shape and not a scale number, which is good, but you might find better results if you slowed it down a bit.

You are not going dangerously quickly or anything like that - don't get me wrong. But you may find that if you're lifting on the way down, that 170 might not even be a good weight for you.

I'm 55, 5'11", started at 240, got down to 192-195 with a goal of 175 and realized that I would be better at 190 than at 175. I'm currently up to 203 after a little bit of a bulk and then losing again. 175 would not work for me and a I'm a couple of inches shorter than you. It may work for you, but again, it's an arbitrary number.

Just know that you don't have to be in a hurry to get great results.

Psychgrrl

sijomial wrote: »

Calildur wrote: »

Is 1700 an appropriate goal? (Giving your stats would help to give perspective.)
For retention of muscle in a deficit then avoiding an excessive deficit is a huge factor. And you have also brought up the issue of restricting too much makes you fail. Maybe a slower rate of loss would be more sustainable?

A higher calorie allowance makes hitting a suitable protein goal far easier. It makes far more sense to set a minimum goal in grams rather than a percentage by the way.

Whey protein shakes are a very calorie efficient way of boosting your intake so surprised you think they are "too much calorie". Are you looking at a sweetened shake?

I started at 132 kg (around 260 lbs) and now I'm 119 kg ( 238 lbs) I'm 187 cm (around 6.1 ft) and 28 years old male. I do light desk job so on my offdays taking consideration many TDEE sites and the MFP 1700 seems appropriate if I want to lose 2lbs a week ( this is a middle ground, I don't want to loose weight too fast but not too slow either because im impatient) My exercise is roughly 800-1000 calorie so I use the 2500 because of that. So far I constantly hit the 2 lbs each week.

Yes I can't take raw whey protein, somekind of flavour is needed for me. And those are usually a bit higher in calorie. Or so I told.

I use a flavoured one but it is sugar free, 30g scoop plus 250ml of skimmed milk tastes just like a nice milkshake but is only 207cals and gives 32g of protein. There's a huge range of products so worth investigating.

2lbs/week is likely fine right now but sensible to review as you lose more weight or earlier if you start to struggle with adherence or energy levels.

I add unsweetened soy milk for additional protein and creaminess instead of cow milk!