The Protein struggle is real

topaztopaz17

I struggle, struggle, struggle to eat enough protein because it makes me feel so full I don't have room for other nutritional items I also need. I also find it kind of monotonous trying to get enough protein. I am 120 lbs moderately active but than I do intense exercise from time to time as I have time. I really hate protein drinks I do use a scoop of vital proteins in the morning with my plain Greek yogurt and little chocolate chips. Maybe some fruits.
Lunch is fruits and veg with a salad with hard boiled eggs or a meat and cheese or a simple lunch meat sandwich. (I know lunch meat is terrible and try to limit that option)
Dinner is a meat and a veggie with a carb. Send help why is protein so unappealing and filling and why is it so hard to reach my goal of at least 90 grams of protein a day? Also if I eat enough protein there's not really room for much else. What am I doing wrong? Also I have the same struggle with vegetarian sources as animals but I do like animals and dairy a lot more. I generally do not eat anything at all after dinner and try to limit my eating to an 8-10 hour window and even with such a large amount of eating hours available it's still a struggle to get enough protein as it fills me up quickly

erickirb

90 grams or protein only has 360 calories, so it shouldn't be too hard to get the rest of your cals in. Though, if you are eating maintenance, you should be fine with 75 grams or so, at your weight. If you are in a deficit, then the 90 grams would be more important to maintain muscle mass

rosebarnalice

Maybe reconsider your protein goal.

I set my protein goal to 60 grams about 4 years ago based on the my results from the USDA Dietary Reference Intake Calculator. https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator

I've had bloodwork drawn at least twice a year since then and have never shown a protein deficiency.

AnnPT77

rosebarnalice wrote: »

Maybe reconsider your protein goal.

I set my protein goal to 60 grams about 4 years ago based on the my results from the USDA Dietary Reference Intake Calculator. https://www.nal.usda.gov/human-nutrition-and-food-safety/dri-calculator

I've had bloodwork drawn at least twice a year since then and have never shown a protein deficiency.

I feel very differently: In my understanding, the USDA recommendation is a minimum to avoid under-nutrition.

That calculator gives me 48 grams whether I say I'm sedentary or very active. The research does not suggest that active people need as little protein as sedentary ones, and further suggests that optimal protein levels for many subgroups may be higher than the USDA basic recommendation.

Obviously, each person should make an individual decision based on their own best judgement, so I'm commenting simply as a counterbalance from a different view. Your choices are working for you, so I don't intend personal criticism.

I'd offer this as background for my perspective:

https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/
https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

The second link above has links to the supporting research.

OP, with a goal weight of 125 pounds, female, now in maintenance, I strive for a minimum of 100g protein daily, and routinely exceed it, even as a vegetarian. I don't use protein powder or protein bars, but I have sought out snacks, treats, etc., with relatively more protein, and eat those more often if I find I enjoy them. (Life is too short to eat unpleasant things, generally.)

It can help one's protein total to look for little bits of protein in many parts of one's eating, rather than relying simply on the "one big protein per meal" idea. There are veggies with more protein than others, same for grains, beverages, seasonings/flavorings (such as miso or nutritional yeast among others), and even fruits with some protein. Many of these sources are not complete in terms of essential amino acid (EAA) profile, but eating a wide variety helps compensate for that.

Spreading out the protein over the day can also help with the satiation issue. (I have to admit, my appetite essentially never limits my intake, even at my typically fairly high calorie goal (low 2000s); and that factor was part of how I got fat in the first place and stayed that way for years. I can avoid hunger or an appetite problem at reasonable calories, but I could always eat more and feel comfortable . . . until the fat accumulated to my detriment.)

You've probably already seen it, but this thread can be helpful in identifying protein sources in all categories:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

If you can find foods you enjoy on that thread's linked spreadsheet, and add some of those to your routine eating patterns over time instead of or in addition to your current food selections, you may be able to gradually bump up your protein intake. Doing it gradually might also mitigate the satiation problem.

topaztopaz17

Annpt77 I really appreciate all the new and very helpful information I never even considered nutritional yeast! So I need about 1,500 to 1,750 calls a day depending on what I do that day. The suggestions to go lower may work for some not would not work for me as 90 grams of protein is the minimum I can be okay on I actually need a good bit more on gym or walking days. I do 45% or less carbs a day and yet protein fills me way up. 3 eggs makes me stuffed 1 cups of Greek yogurt holds me for hours. A dinner with some steak or chicken and I feel like I'm going to explode. I do like protein waters but they also fill me up I've even considered lowering my calories but adjusting the protein higher to make room but than without carbs I sugar crash a lot which isn't great either. I've actually considered eating salmon for breakfast I have no idea how to have a reasonable lifestyle and still get enough protein that I really rely on I'm going to try the suggestions ASAP. I think since I eat meat and dairy daily the EAAs are covered I like the idea of gradually working in more protein. I really appreciate the links

topaztopaz17

Annpt77 Can you please name foods that are getting you that much protein as a vegetarian Id love examples even black beans are only like 13 grams a serving I'm just curious because that is fantastic and I do actually love having some vegetarian meals too

AnnPT77

topaztopaz17 wrote: »

Annpt77 Can you please name foods that are getting you that much protein as a vegetarian Id love examples even black beans are only like 13 grams a serving I'm just curious because that is fantastic and I do actually love having some vegetarian meals too

Let me be clear: Even as a non-big li'l ol' lady (5'5", 130 pounds this morning, age 67), I have a higher calorie allowance. 1850 plus exercise calories is my target, and that's a little bit below true maintenance calories. That for sure makes it easier to get relatively more protein. During active weight loss, though, my goal was 1400-1600 plus exercise most of the time, and I was getting into the 90s grams of protein a lot of the time, rarely lower than 80s. Exercise calories vary from zero (once a week or so) to 500+, though something in the upper 200s to upper 300s of calories is common recently. So, most of the time my gross calorie intake is 1850-2300ish range.

I don't eat meat or fish, but I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian. I don't eat many eggs (less than a dozen a month for sure, typically), but do eat quite a bit of dairy. (Having meat or fish in the mix realistically opens up a lot of other choices that have more protein for their calories, but I've been vegetarian for 48+ years, so it's come to be a bit of a habit. ).

Typical day, not listing every detail but including the main protein contributors:

Breakfast is oatmeal with peanut butter powder, walnuts, hemp hearts, milled flax seed, Greek yogurt; plus coffee with hot skim milk. That's 44g of protein if I have 2 cups of coffee. That's pretty standardized.

Sometimes I have a lighter breakfast (before morning workouts), and have the oatmeal for lunch. The lighter breakfast is peanut butter on an Ezekiel pita, with a glass of kefir, and some hot skimmed milk on the side. That's around 29g protein.

Other meals vary way more, so I'll be more vague.

Usually at least one of lunch or dinner has a soy food as the major protein, with my most frequent choices being tofu, smoked tofu, tofu noodles, or tempeh. Once in a while it's seitan. That's usually combined with massive amounts of veggies (with some choices that also have relatively more protein, such as broccoli or cauliflower among others). Sometimes I use soy/edamame pasta in a stir fry. Sometimes I use peanut butter powder or almond butter powder or miso in a sauce. (The peanut butter or almond butter power are basically defatted nut butter, not flavored protein powder.)

For the other meal (of breakfast or lunch), usually the meal with less or no soy, I'm likely to have something like red lentil pasta with marinara and some cheese; or a tostada on corn tortilla with veggies, black beans, and cheese and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt; bean soup/stew with veggies, maybe nutritional yeast, maybe cheese; or black bean tortilla chips with a dip of lowfat cottage cheese and salsa. Once in a while, I do have scrambled eggs or an omelet but usually only 2 eggs and masses of veggies in with them, plus probably cheese.

I've found some more calorie-efficient cheeses that I like, even though reduced fat cheeses as a whole aren't IMO very good. I use blobs of Greek yogurt pretty often where many people would use sour cream, or in homemade salad dressings and such where many people would use mayo.

Lunch and dinner protein levels vary, but rarely less than 25g, and between the two meals plus snacks I'm averaging around 110-120g protein most days.

For snacks, I like crispy broad beans, the light Babybel cheese rounds, Yasso Greek Yogurt bars, dry-roasted soybeans, and things like that - not all of those are ultra low calorie, but all have some protein.

Like I said, appetite/capacity doesn't limit my intake, even though I can stay satisfied on appropriate-for-me calories (felt OK appetite-wise even during weight loss). I eat a lot of food. My basic daily nutritional goals are 100g protein minimum, 50g fats minimum (with a fair fraction of MUFA/PUFA and O-3s in the mix), plus a goal of 800g+ of fruits and veggies. I usually get about 50% of calories from carbs, but don't have any specific goals for carbs - they just fall where they may to hit my calorie goal. I do drink some alcohol, occasionally, too.

I still log most days, though not every day (in year 7+ maintaining a healthy weight, I skip some days). If you want to see what I eat in more detail, send me a friend request. I'm sub-par as an MFP friend (more of a forum gal), but my diary is open to friends, and I will answer questions on my status page or by DM about what I ate, how or why. The caveat would be that while I eat large amounts of so-called "whole foods", I'm not religious about that, so do use some processed foods and eat some treats; and I often cook from scratch without recipes so lots of my meals are just a list of ingredients, pretty much.

I hope that helps somehow (though I have my doubts ).

Best wishes!

patlopez1432532

I am 280lbs and trying to lose at least 50lbs by the end of summer. I follow a pretty strict diet, rarely eating over 2k calories (17-1800 is close) anyways I focus on a high protein low carb diet, but this recommendation of 1.2g of protein for every pound is insane. Others say 1.2 of every lb of lean muscle (which I don't know how to calculate). But I eat a lot of chicken, fish, protein shakes, protein powder in oatmeal etc... And at the end of the day I get like 160g of protein max... On bad days I struggle to get 100gs.

How many grams do you think I should be consuming? Same question for other macros based on weight loss goal n my current weight of 280lbs.

Lietchi

patlopez1432532 wrote: »

I am 280lbs and trying to lose at least 50lbs by the end of summer. I follow a pretty strict diet, rarely eating over 2k calories (17-1800 is close) anyways I focus on a high protein low carb diet, but this recommendation of 1.2g of protein for every pound is insane. Others say 1.2 of every lb of lean muscle (which I don't know how to calculate). But I eat a lot of chicken, fish, protein shakes, protein powder in oatmeal etc... And at the end of the day I get like 160g of protein max... On bad days I struggle to get 100gs.

How many grams do you think I should be consuming? Same question for other macros based on weight loss goal n my current weight of 280lbs.

I like the calculator mentioned above:
https://examine.com/protein-intake-calculator/
Intuitively 160gr sounds like plenty to me.

Fat and carbs are pretty much flexible, depending on your preferences. (Although you do need a minimum of fat for health)

AnnPT77

patlopez1432532 wrote: »

I am 280lbs and trying to lose at least 50lbs by the end of summer. I follow a pretty strict diet, rarely eating over 2k calories (17-1800 is close) anyways I focus on a high protein low carb diet, but this recommendation of 1.2g of protein for every pound is insane. Others say 1.2 of every lb of lean muscle (which I don't know how to calculate). But I eat a lot of chicken, fish, protein shakes, protein powder in oatmeal etc... And at the end of the day I get like 160g of protein max... On bad days I struggle to get 100gs.

How many grams do you think I should be consuming? Same question for other macros based on weight loss goal n my current weight of 280lbs.

Where did the 1.2g/pound body weight come from? Are you certain the source said "per pound" vs. "per kilogram" of bodyweight? I know there are a few sources out there maybe recommending 1.2g/lb in certain situations, but 1.2g/kg is more common, and sometimes that creates confusion (including sites in the blogosphere who republish it as "per pound"!).

Most IMO sound sources suggest that when using "X per pound", it's not necessary to use a person's overweight/obese weight as the basis for that. We don't need lots of extra protein to keep our body fat healthy, even though it is metabolically active tissue. You can rationally use a healthy goal weight, or the middle of the normal BMI range for your height, or something like that.

The Examine estimator Lietchi linked may be good, but even they say in the supporting detail that it's not essential to get X grams per overweight/obese pound. I linked their protein guide, which goes into more detail about why the calculator estimate works the way it does:

https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

If you want a "per pound" rule of thumb estimate, then a common one around here is 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight. For many people, that will be an arithmetically close value to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, once one does the math, and using the healthy goal weight (with that smaller factor) avoids the need for a body fat percent estimate. If you're doing serious strength training, are extremely active athletically in other ways, or old-ish (say 60+), or vegan/vegetarian, you may want to go for the high side of that range.

That said, for a lot of people, this is one case where it might be OK to get a lean mass estimate arithmetically from one of those home scales with a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) feature, or some similar stand-on or handheld device at a gym. Those are notoriously inaccurate estimators of body fat, can be pretty far off. But once a person does the whole protein estimate, the actual protein gram number isn't likely to be dangerously far off. (If anyone thinks this is crazy, do the math: A fairly wide swing in body fat estimate tends to become a fairly small difference in protein grams, in practice.)

Not knowing your height or sex, I'm not going to even attempt to do any of the above math for you.

For sure, you don't need 1.2 x 280 grams of protein daily. While extra protein is not considered dangerous (within reason) for a healthy person, and many of us treat protein goal as a minimum, 336g may even go beyond what's in the studies that test extremely high protein intake for health risks.

vivmom2014

I am ecstatic to reach 70g protein a day. I'm vegetarian, and do not reside in the same zip code as yogurt or hard boiled eggs. I could definitely substitute more nutritious foods for sweets, but it seems they wouldn't be THAT high in protein. I use protein bars, occasionally peptides in my coffee, but I never ever hit over 100g protein. I feel fine, do dedicated exercise 4 to 5 days a week, and really don't need to lose anymore weight. <shrug>

nsk1951

https://youtu.be/08Wtj3ZW28Y

neanderthin

nsk1951 wrote: »

https://youtu.be/08Wtj3ZW28Y

Yeah, no. Very typical advice from a plant based advocate. When he said that consuming more protein than the RDA for the average person might be dangerous, well, that's right out of the vegan handbook. The talk about wanting to reevaluate the definition of protein quality, arguing that even though animal protein might be of higher quality, it's animals which is unhealthy and leads to death and disease, therefore animal protein isn't as good as plant protein. These are a panel of Doctors, oh my.

kshama2001

patlopez1432532 wrote: »

I am 280lbs and trying to lose at least 50lbs by the end of summer. I follow a pretty strict diet, rarely eating over 2k calories (17-1800 is close) anyways I focus on a high protein low carb diet, but this recommendation of 1.2g of protein for every pound is insane. Others say 1.2 of every lb of lean muscle (which I don't know how to calculate). But I eat a lot of chicken, fish, protein shakes, protein powder in oatmeal etc... And at the end of the day I get like 160g of protein max... On bad days I struggle to get 100gs.

How many grams do you think I should be consuming? Same question for other macros based on weight loss goal n my current weight of 280lbs.

Do read Ann's informative reply to you above, but I wanted to highlight: 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight.

marathon_44

I have a sweet tooth, so I've found the ninja creami to be a wonderful appliance addition. I've never been a fan of protein shakes, but when you freeze a protein shake and run it through the ninja creami, it is now really yummy protein icecream! If you like sweets, you might find this a helpful way of upping your protein. I'll also sometimes use casein protein powder to make a pudding in a pinch.