reaching protein goal (200g+)

Bucklaew72
Bucklaew72 Posts: 1 Member
in Recipes
I'm new to fitness and health, and according to this app, I need to increase my protein intake if I want to reach my goal of losing body weight and making more lean muscle

even with consuming Whey protein supplement powder 2 to 3 times a day. I'm still always coming short (by nearly 30%) of my protein goals, and my carbohydrates are usually higher than they should be

looking for suggestions on some high protein foods or snacks that I can eat so I can reach my macro goals

please keep in mind I am a person who has little to no cooking abilities

I appreciate any and all help. thank you in advance

Replies

  • RovP6
    RovP6 Posts: 108 Member
    If you're new to fitness and health, unless you're an extremely genetically gifted and naturally jacked 200lbs + bodyweight then 200g+ of Protein is way too high as a starting point. Generally speaking, you want to keep Protein high, at around 1g -1.2g per lb of bodyweight when dieting to help maintain as much lean body mass as you can while losing weight. However, if you have excess fat to lose then for the average person I wouldn't go much higher than 0.8g per lb of bodyweight or a maximum 150g of Protein. You could even set it based on your goal weight. For example if you're goal is to reach 170lbs then set your Protein to 170g. I think that's a bit more manageable, even for someone who regards themselves as having little to no cooking ability.

    Hope that helps.
  • AriesFL
    AriesFL Posts: 810 Member
    I like eating Greek yogurt to get some extra protein. 13 grams a serving is pretty good and a great snack. Also eating tuna and chicken breasts are easy ways to get protein. Chicken breast are around 23 grams give or take a gram for every four ounces.

    The user above gave great advice.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    Bucklaew72 wrote: »

    please keep in mind I am a person who has little to no cooking abilities

    I appreciate any and all help. thank you in advance

    It is not difficult to learn how to cook tasty and nutritious food and it's one of the BEST things you can do to assist in your fitness goals. Ask a friend or relative to give you some lessons in basics.

    good luck to you!
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,349 Member
    amy19355 wrote: »
    Bucklaew72 wrote: »

    please keep in mind I am a person who has little to no cooking abilities

    I appreciate any and all help. thank you in advance

    It is not difficult to learn how to cook tasty and nutritious food and it's one of the BEST things you can do to assist in your fitness goals. Ask a friend or relative to give you some lessons in basics.

    good luck to you!

    I disagree completely---cooking is in no way a requirement for health and fitness. Personally, I'd rather clean the portapotties at Coachella ANY DAY than grocery shop and cook! It's not even a question of ability--I was responsible for two meals a day for a family of 4 from the time I was 10 until I moved out. There are so many options available to eat healthfully and well these days, it's just not worth the misery if cooking isn't a passion for you.
  • ryanfoley74
    ryanfoley74 Posts: 2 Member
    If you can follow instructions, you can cook. It just takes practice. For a good clean protein, chicken is a godsend. I used to be afraid of cooking chicken for fear of undercooking it. Learn to embrace the crockpot. Chicken breasts cooked overnight with a little bit of salt, lemon pepper, and maybe a bouillon cube for flavor is incredibly easy. You then put it in Tupperware. The chicken I cook on Sunday night is still great on Friday for lunch.
  • gemiller87
    gemiller87 Posts: 135 Member
    edited December 2019
    RovP6 wrote: »
    If you're new to fitness and health, unless you're an extremely genetically gifted and naturally jacked 200lbs + bodyweight then 200g+ of Protein is way too high as a starting point. Generally speaking, you want to keep Protein high, at around 1g -1.2g per lb of bodyweight when dieting to help maintain as much lean body mass as you can while losing weight. However, if you have excess fat to lose then for the average person I wouldn't go much higher than 0.8g per lb of bodyweight or a maximum 150g of Protein. You could even set it based on your goal weight. For example if you're goal is to reach 170lbs then set your Protein to 170g. I think that's a bit more manageable, even for someone who regards themselves as having little to no cooking ability.

    Hope that helps.

    Just pointing out that you're whole narrative basically says .8-1.2g of protein per lb, I'm 6'6" with a goal weight thats still over 200 lbs, other than just using your rule of maxing at 150 .8 would still be more than than 150. At my bottom weight goal at .8 I would still be at 168 which regardless is very hard to hit most days. Personally I wouldn't find 170 any easier to hit than 200 (it's a bag of quest protein chips for me) In general I find it hard, though, to hit these numbers naturally without notable amounts of protein supplements like BuiltBars, Protein Chips, Protein Powder based cooking (like just_Tomek's cheesecakes in the recipe section) etc.

    Yesterday for example I ate a scrambled egg, protein bar, a slice of protein cheesecake, one bag of quest protein chips, fish tacos on carb balance style tortillas for dinner for the bulk of my protein (there was other stuff eaten but didn't contain notable amounts of protein) and yet I still only hit 121g of protein. I'm not sure why everyone makes it sound so easy to hit the larger protein macro's for larger mass people. It's no joke, I've been trying and refining my diet for months and still rarely hit my protein macro unless I end the day by basically scooping protein powder into a shake just to hit it.

  • AriesFL
    AriesFL Posts: 810 Member
    edited December 2019
    If anyone has trouble cooking chicken breasts. I found the best method for me. Get the oven at 400. Put three chicken breasts on a pan. The chicken breasts vary from 7-10 ozs each. Cook for 25-26 minutes. Take out of oven and let rest for 5 minutes to keep the juice in the chicken. It stays juicy and delicious. I season my chicken so it tastes even better.

    Chicken at wal-mart is great. One of the better deals. I get a family pack at $1.99 a pound.
  • AriesFL
    AriesFL Posts: 810 Member
    If you need ideas of how to get extra protein. I naturally start to eat more because of working out. I’m just going to label my main proteins

    Breakfast
    5 eggs( I don’t recommend going heavy on eggs, it’s easier on my stomach condition right now) - 30 grams
    3/4 cup of Greek yogurt- 13 grams
    That’s 43 grams of protein

    After workout whey protein 30 grams

    73 grams of protein

    Lunch
    6 slices of chicken breast lunch meat-14 grams
    2 Peanut butter sandwich. 4 table spoons 14 grams.
    28 grams

    101 grams so far

    Dinner
    Chicken breast. Depends on the size. Usually between 7-9 ozs. So around 45 oz of protein
    1 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes- 9 grams
    54 grams

    So that is 155 grams of protein from just the three main meals. I’ll add an additional 15 grams of protein from smaller stuff like the bread from sandwiches and cheese crackers I had from lunch. So that’s 170 grams from main meal. Now add snacks through out the day. I do another 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt (13 grams), another 2 peanut butter sandwiches (22 grams including bread) so that’s 205 grams of protein

    That’s just regular eating. I don’t force myself to eat or stuff myself. I eat when I’m hungry. If I need a little more protein I will have yogurt or couple scoops of peanut butter to get more than 200 grams. Each of my main meals is only around 800 calories.
  • dabearo
    dabearo Posts: 57 Member
    I can hit that much without premier protein drinks.
  • go52182
    go52182 Posts: 133 Member
    COGypsy wrote: »

    I disagree completely---cooking is in no way a requirement for health and fitness. Personally, I'd rather clean the portapotties at Coachella ANY DAY than grocery shop and cook! It's not even a question of ability--I was responsible for two meals a day for a family of 4 from the time I was 10 until I moved out. There are so many options available to eat healthfully and well these days, it's just not worth the misery if cooking isn't a passion for you.

    I don't mean this question in a snarky way, I'm genuinely curious. If you don't cook for yourself what do you eat? Do you track your food here on MFP?
  • McBurnsalot
    McBurnsalot Posts: 14 Member
    Your protein goal should be based on your ideal lean, low body fat mass.

    Depending on how mich you need to lose that can make a huge difference if you are basing protein on a higher weight.

    After reading several studies on the subject I am comfortable with planning .83 grams of protein per pound of lean mass.

    In other words if someone is 300 pounds and their goal lean weight is 190 and 10% body fat (171 pounds lean) then your protein goal should be closer to 171 x .83 = 141.93 grams a day.

    The 1 gram per pound idea is easier to calculate than .83 and is popular with body builders but BB are generally much leaner than most people.

    At the end of the day I would rather eat more than I need than less but it can be a burden if your goal is way too high.
  • g12586s
    g12586s Posts: 7 Member
    I’m in the same boat and same height here are a few things I add in it’s not easy to get as much protein when your goal weight is 225+ lbs

    Premier protein shakes as someone above said
    Cottage cheese I really like the good cottage cheese brand
    Jumbo Lump crab meat
    Shrimp coctail
    Salmon and chicken obviously
    Lentil soups
    Quest bars or Costco protein bars
    Organic Cheese Sticks from organic valley
    Yogurt
    Egg whites I buy from Costco anyone can cook them
    Chia seeds in cottage cheese or yogurt really fill you up
    Handful of raw almonds
    Tuna occasionally instead of Mayo do it with avocado
    Ezeikiel bread is awesome stuff sesame is my favorite and makes great avocado toast
    Nuts n more peanut butter
    Deli turkey breast meat
    And I eat a lot of roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli

    I know how hard it is hitting macros good luck hopefully some other people could chime in with some great ideas

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