HOW DO YOU EAT SO MUCH PROTEIN?!

Kriistabell

I'm in my second week of IIFYM and got an email about the new IIFYM calculator. So I went on yesterday and re-calculated. My macros are drastically different and super hard to meet!

Here are my current macros compared to my past macros:
Protein went from 168g to 208g. Carbs went from 123g to 82g. Fat went from 67g to 66g.

I have no problem with the fat and I am able to avoid carbs even though I love them with all of my heart.
My issue is with protein! My diary is open so you guys can see what I've been doing. I have egg whites for breakfast and lunch, and wild salmon for dinner every day and I'm also taking 2 protein shakes a day (either as a coffee protein shake or a quick shake shot). On top of that I snack on pumpkin seeds and I'm still finding it hard to make 208g. I am usually fine with my fats, I'm usually under my carbs, and I struggle to hit my protein. The reason I'm under my carbs is because I don't have enough calories to use them on. I am supposed to hit 1757 calories a day and I usually barely hit my protein and fats and am always under my carbs. I thought that was impossible, but maybe I am doing something wrong. Can you guys help me out here? I'm stuck!

Mr_Knight

That is a lot of protein. I'm a 6'1" male and my target is only 165 grams/day.

Confuzzled4ever

I focus on my protein level and the rest falls into place.. well.. no i miss fats a lot, but carbs and protein are good.

I eat cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese, milk , usually 1 scoop of protein powder, spinach, broccoli, 10-16 oz meat. tuna on salads egg and egg whites together.

If you need to increase protein you just need to focus on that macro. I'm not an expert on the math, but if you are under in protein you have to be over in something else.. so look at where you are over and swap that for something high in protein.

My goal is 160, but i usually get more then that. and miss my fat macro.

Francl27

30% protein is plenty, IMO. My goal is 1600 and 120g of protein, and I don't even always hit it. It hasn't seemed to be a problem at all so far though...

Shadowknight137

I'm in my second week of IIFYM and got an email about the new IIFYM calculator. So I went on yesterday and re-calculated. My macros are drastically different and super hard to meet!

Here are my current macros compared to my past macros:
Protein went from 168g to 208g. Carbs went from 123g to 82g. Fat went from 67g to 66g.

I have no problem with the fat and I am able to avoid carbs even though I love them with all of my heart.
My issue is with protein! My diary is open so you guys can see what I've been doing. I have egg whites for breakfast and lunch, and wild salmon for dinner every day and I'm also taking 2 protein shakes a day (either as a coffee protein shake or a quick shake shot). On top of that I snack on pumpkin seeds and I'm still finding it hard to make 208g. I am usually fine with my fats, I'm usually under my carbs, and I struggle to hit my protein. The reason I'm under my carbs is because I don't have enough calories to use them on. I am supposed to hit 1757 calories a day and I usually barely hit my protein and fats and am always under my carbs. I thought that was impossible, but maybe I am doing something wrong. Can you guys help me out here? I'm stuck!

Sounds like something's gone weird with the protein count. IIFYM is "If It Fits Your Macros" - so you should be deciding your macros here. However you got 208g of protein is beyond me, but that just sounds excessive and expensive.

I'd advise lowering your protein to 1g per lb of bodyweight and your fat to 0.5g per lb of bodyweight (or lean body mass) as a minimum, then fitting carbs into whatever is left - or filling the calories with whatever macro you want. Like alcohol.
Note my protein and fat recommendations may even be high according to some more recent studies - I think it's .82g per lb of lean body mass, but I personally find the 1/0.5g easier to work with.

In terms of eating a lot of protein... protein shakes between meals. Lots of steak, eggs. Meat. Organ meat - sounds gross, but when hidden in other stuff, tastes just like steak or mince (ie, cow hearts), is often lean and very high in protein, and very cheap, too.

But yeah. I think you need to look at the calculation again and make a few adjustments.

Psychgrrl

Try a grain like quinoa to get carbs and protein. Also try protein-dense foods in your shakes. You an add peas, endamame, chia seeds to sneak in a little more.

Maybe mix in a little turkey bacon or morning star farms grillers with your egg whites?

I also like Vita-Whey by Vita-Source. It has no taste and the consistency is moist, like cake mix, instead of grainy. It mixes unnoticeably with pretty much anything. You can even sprinkle it on stuff to add a teeny bit of texture.

Kriistabell

That is a lot of protein. I'm a 6'1" male and my target is only 165 grams/day.

Thats how I feel! I feel like something might be wrong. I'm a 5'8 female at 165 pounds and I workout about 3 or 4 times a week with heavy weights and play basketball once a week. I can do 165g's but 208 is killing me!

HappyStack

Aim for 0.8g-1g per lb of body weight, and don't worry about being 30g under, or whatever. It's an insurance to "overeat" on protein, not a necessity.

208g for a female is a lot. I rarely go above 150 on my highest days.

smaclean8

Why do you think the protein HAS to be that high? Just go for 1g/lb. IIFYM calculator isn't the secret to weight loss, calorie deficit is.

The protein macros I use are similar, but I'm 163lbs, powerlift, and cut on about 500 cal/day more. I have no problem meeting my #'s and they could be lower, as in 163g, but I also ENJOY eating that much protein. If a diet doesn't "work" for you, it won't last. Drop the protein and add more carbs, if you see a difference other than some possible water retention intially, then bump protein back up.

_Terrapin_

Just customize your MACROS...165 instead of 208...next caller...

Kriistabell

If you need to increase protein you just need to focus on that macro. I'm not an expert on the math, but if you are under in protein you have to be over in something else.. so look at where you are over and swap that for something high in protein.

That is what I have been doing. I literally spend my day obsessing over how to get my protein up and I don't worry too much about the carbs and fat. Thanks for the advice

Kriistabell

30% protein is plenty, IMO. My goal is 1600 and 120g of protein, and I don't even always hit it. It hasn't seemed to be a problem at all so far though...

I'm not an expert, but from what I've understood its important to hit your protein so thats why I am stressing over it a little bit. My protein is at 48% which I thought sounded a bit off... 30-40 sounds more appropriate to me, but I don't know your goals so maybe that is why ours is different. My goal is to lose fat and increase muscle.

Kriistabell

I'm in my second week of IIFYM and got an email about the new IIFYM calculator. So I went on yesterday and re-calculated. My macros are drastically different and super hard to meet!

Here are my current macros compared to my past macros:
Protein went from 168g to 208g. Carbs went from 123g to 82g. Fat went from 67g to 66g.

I have no problem with the fat and I am able to avoid carbs even though I love them with all of my heart.
My issue is with protein! My diary is open so you guys can see what I've been doing. I have egg whites for breakfast and lunch, and wild salmon for dinner every day and I'm also taking 2 protein shakes a day (either as a coffee protein shake or a quick shake shot). On top of that I snack on pumpkin seeds and I'm still finding it hard to make 208g. I am usually fine with my fats, I'm usually under my carbs, and I struggle to hit my protein. The reason I'm under my carbs is because I don't have enough calories to use them on. I am supposed to hit 1757 calories a day and I usually barely hit my protein and fats and am always under my carbs. I thought that was impossible, but maybe I am doing something wrong. Can you guys help me out here? I'm stuck!

Sounds like something's gone weird with the protein count. IIFYM is "If It Fits Your Macros" - so you should be deciding your macros here. However you got 208g of protein is beyond me, but that just sounds excessive and expensive.

I'd advise lowering your protein to 1g per lb of bodyweight and your fat to 0.5g per lb of bodyweight (or lean body mass) as a minimum, then fitting carbs into whatever is left - or filling the calories with whatever macro you want. Like alcohol.
Note my protein and fat recommendations may even be high according to some more recent studies - I think it's .82g per lb of lean body mass, but I personally find the 1/0.5g easier to work with.

In terms of eating a lot of protein... protein shakes between meals. Lots of steak, eggs. Meat. Organ meat - sounds gross, but when hidden in other stuff, tastes just like steak or mince (ie, cow hearts), is often lean and very high in protein, and very cheap, too.

But yeah. I think you need to look at the calculation again and make a few adjustments.

I remember the IIFYM calculator I used recommended me to do 1.5g per lb of bodyweight. I'm going to recalculate using 1g per lb instead. Thanks for the help. I am feasting on the egg whites by the way! Lol just that and fish though because I'm a vegetarian...which is why it is hard to hit 208 especially in my case.

Myhaloslipped

Protein shakes/bars
Cottage cheese
Greek yogurt
Tuna- a nine ounce tuna steak has about 300 calories and 60 grams of protein
Swordfish

Kriistabell

Try a grain like quinoa to get carbs and protein. Also try protein-dense foods in your shakes. You an add peas, endamame, chia seeds to sneak in a little more.

Maybe mix in a little turkey bacon or morning star farms grillers with your egg whites?

I also like Vita-Whey by Vita-Source. It has no taste and the consistency is moist, like cake mix, instead of grainy. It mixes unnoticeably with pretty much anything. You can even sprinkle it on stuff to add a teeny bit of texture.

Thanks I'll check out Vita-Whey, I really wanted to try a new protein this month anyway. I don't eat meat so fish and egg whites are the best I can do but the additions to my shakes sound like great idea thanks! And I love quinoa! I just get nervous with it because one sitting of that I'm out of carbs for the day.

FatFreeFrolicking

Edamame.
Nuts.
Greek yogurt.
Chicken.
Steak.
Salmon.
Turkey.
Cheese.
Bacon.
Bacon.
And some more bacon.
Sausage links.
Chia seeds/flax seeds.

Kriistabell

Aim for 0.8g-1g per lb of body weight, and don't worry about being 30g under, or whatever. It's an insurance to "overeat" on protein, not a necessity.

208g for a female is a lot. I rarely go above 150 on my highest days.

Thanks, that sounds much more doable

HappyStack

Are you sure you haven't accidentally used male values on the calculator?

(if it doesn't have an option to choose male/female, it's going to be waaaaaaay overestimating for you, anyway)

archaichoney

Go look at my journal, srsly. Just go look.

Amber_98133

Try adding in some Almonds - but don't go over 20/day. That should help with Proteins for snacks, etc during the day without killing your carb count.

BrainyBurro

your protein goal is a mathematical function of your lean body mass. there's no reason for you to have a goal of 208g.

protein = 1.0g/lb of LBM

this is a minimum, but once you reach this amount, you're fine if you don't want to eat more.

e.g. if your BF% is 30% and your body weight is 155lbs, then...

(100% - 30%) x 155 = 108.5

1.0g x 108.5 = 108.5g = ~109g of protein.

more protein won't hurt and if you're a serious weight lifter, more protein will be beneficial, but the 1.0g/lb of LBM recommendation should be more than sufficient for most women. it has a built-in safety margin already.