How do you get that protein intake?

2tired2think

If you didn't eat protein bars or drink protein shakes, how would you reach your protein intake goal for the day? I've tried using the rule of 0.8 grams per pound, but find it impossible to get that much protein in each day. I eat protein with every meal and snack. It seems the only way to reach that high of a target would be to drink a protein shake or eat a protein bar, but is that realistic long term? Is this what healthy eating has come to? How did our ancestors survive -- lol?

serindipte

Meat, fish, eggs.

Tony_co

Mostly from meat, milk, fish, eggs.
From vegetables: sweet potatoes (not yams), plain white potatoes, spinach, broccoli, and beans/peas/lentils.
From nuts and seeds: sunflower seeds and walnuts (watch the serving size for fat content)
From Oatmeal. I like to use baby oatmeal as a shake thickener. I hate the taste of whey protein.

I hear quinoa is supposed to be pretty good but haven't had the chance to try it.

rachaelfisher1

All types of meat/poultry, eggs, quest bars (or any protein bars), chobani yoghurt.

I aim for 170g per day, if I'm low I usually just have a double protein shake or have extra chicken.

MelodyandBarbells

I don't hit those very high numbers but one thing I started to do was double the serving size of my protein sources I was already eating. This has the added effect of keeping me fully longer. I did this recently with beans and chicken.

schminnie

Dude. Protein bars creep me out.

First, I always assume that anything with less than 20g protein a serving really doesn't count as a protein food. So eating cheese or peanut butter with an apple as a snack doesn't count as having protein with every meal/snack.

Also, your weight loss goal is 18 pounds, so I am assuming you aren't very obese. But if you are, you can aim for less than .8g/lb of mass. You could reduce your intake as well, especially if you are not weight training, by multiplying your LEAN body mass by .8. That would be the very lower limit.

But to answeer your question, cooking lots of meat is a pain, so as a bachelorette I hit big numbers eating large portions of cottage cheese, ground turkey (like 6oz at a time), and chicken. Cans of pink salmon make a huge difference, too. Each can is 180 cals @ ~35g protein. I mix them with sriracha or some guac (which I shamlessly buy premade), since it's kind of dry. My secret love of canned smoked oysters and clams in olive oil helps, too. They're way higher in iron than other meat/seafoods, aside from liver and such, which is an added bonus. I call it the Pirate Diet. It might also be the BPA poisoning diet, but whatever.

On top of that, I will have 1-2cups of egg whites on a good day for 25-50g protein. I usually don't make the time to cook in the morning, so I eat them at night by mixing in some ground flax seed, defatted coconut, and truvia toffee drops. I put it in a bowl and pour a bit of milk over it. You can also add some smashed banana or other fruit, coconut flour, or some baking powder for a fluffier texture. It sounds weird, but it's a really yummy and comforting dessert. The truvia drops are key.

Otherwise, mixing my egg whites with guacamole after they're cooked but are still in the pan (I think cold guac is gross on eggs), makes them a lot tastier. And sriracha. Sriracha and guac on everything. I really don't mind having a protein shake once every day or two, though. Sometimes I mix protein powder with canned pumpkin and pie spice or add it to my cereal milk. It's also good mixed up with both cottage cheese and greek yogurt into a big pudding. You could easily get 60g that way.

raindawg

For me its primarily meat/poultry "and" protein drinks. I can't get there without the drinks. But I'm fairly new to trying to hit a protein number. Only a couple weeks into it so far.

geebusuk

Lean meat. Lots of it .
If I ate fish, I'd have that too, but don't like it.
I always hit 175g, even on 1400 calorie days without protein shakes etc.

SunofaBeach14

Eat lean meat, dairy, fish, eggs and egg whites. If you eat one of those with every meal and make sure you eat veggies with every meal, you should have no problem hitting your protein goal as well as getting plenty of micronutrients. I personally find fiber to be the hardest to hit.

wheird

Eat lean meat, dairy, fish, eggs and egg whites. If you eat one of those with every meal and make sure you eat veggies with every meal, you should have no problem hitting your protein goal as well as getting plenty of micronutrients. I personally find fiber to be the hardest to hit.

Agreed. The only way I hit my fiber is by eating beans.

ndj1979

chicken, fish, meat, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, pork, eggs, etc..

my diary is open ..fee free to browse it for ideas...

Jewlz280

My aim is only 100g per day, but I get most of mine from fish, Greek yogurt, and eggs and then other meats. I do a shake when I'm not having a stellar eating day or I'm craving something to drink instead of to eat. I'm a texture person, so I love the texture of smoothies.

krazyforyou

one bag of Jack Links tender bites 3oz = 30 grams of protein

GlitterrMagpie

Mostly from meat, fish, cheese and eggs

cerumens

meat, protein shakes, protein bars, foods made with protein powder/eggs (pancakes/waffles, homemade protein bars, breads), cottage cheese, greek yogurt with hemp seeds, eggs, nuts.

stakoc94

Whole eggs plus additional egg whites, LOTS of chicken, fish, turkey, lean beef, beans, nuts, and a protein shake if I need it for the day. However I'd rather eat my food than drink it so I try daily to make my protein just by food and then maybe use a shake as an afterworkout drink.

Chicken can get boring however I add seasoning like taco and make an omlet, or a salad, and I keep lots of flavored mustards and hot sauces that are all zero carb.

Mrs Dash on tilapia is my next to chicken favorite. If I feel myself getting bored with my meals I'll make pork loin chops for a family dinner and then have one of those.

LauraFouhse

Greek yogurt, hummus, chicken, nuts/seeds, quinoa, smoked tofu, eggs

SunofaBeach14

Eat lean meat, dairy, fish, eggs and egg whites. If you eat one of those with every meal and make sure you eat veggies with every meal, you should have no problem hitting your protein goal as well as getting plenty of micronutrients. I personally find fiber to be the hardest to hit.

Agreed. The only way I hit my fiber is by eating beans.

I do love a good chili

hesn92

meat, mostly. I get anywhere from 100-150 grams most days eating about 1600 calories and I do not consume protein shakes/bars/etc. You can look at my diary if you want.

kommodevaran

I use the rule of 0.8 grams per KILO of body weight. I feel really good at 70 grams a day and reach my goal with eggs, fish, meat, dairy, nuts. Don't think we need more unless championship weight training.

jim180155

If you didn't eat protein bars or drink protein shakes, how would you reach your protein intake goal for the day? I've tried using the rule of 0.8 grams per pound, but find it impossible to get that much protein in each day. I eat protein with every meal and snack. It seems the only way to reach that high of a target would be to drink a protein shake or eat a protein bar, but is that realistic long term? Is this what healthy eating has come to? How did our ancestors survive -- lol?

Maybe you don't need 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That level of protein is recommended for body builders who are trying to bulk up with extra muscle for show. ("Show" meaning it's for aesthetic reasons, not necessarily for functional strength.) Most people already eat more protein than they need and only require around 50 grams daily. If you're lifting and purposely trying to add bulk and/ or sculpt, then you need the added protein.

I made my own protein bars for the first time today. They came out pretty good.

geebusuk

1g per lb of LEAN body weight is generally recommended for people on a calorie deficit to aid in muscle maintenance.
Unless you're at 20% bodyfat, it's probably better to work it this way, but does make it harder to work out (I don't know what my BF% is.)

For building muscle you may actually need less as you'll be in a calorie surplus and the body will have plenty of calories floating about, so won't be so likely to go towards catabolism.

SunofaBeach14

If you didn't eat protein bars or drink protein shakes, how would you reach your protein intake goal for the day? I've tried using the rule of 0.8 grams per pound, but find it impossible to get that much protein in each day. I eat protein with every meal and snack. It seems the only way to reach that high of a target would be to drink a protein shake or eat a protein bar, but is that realistic long term? Is this what healthy eating has come to? How did our ancestors survive -- lol?

Maybe you don't need 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That level of protein is recommended for body builders who are trying to bulk up with extra muscle for show. ("Show" meaning it's for aesthetic reasons, not necessarily for functional strength.) Most people already eat more protein than they need and only require around 50 grams daily. If you're lifting and purposely trying to add bulk and/ or sculpt, then you need the added protein.

I made my own protein bars for the first time today. They came out pretty good.

It's for strength training and muscle retention and no, it's not just for pro bodybuilders. Protein intake is particularly important when eating at a calorie deficit to maintain existing muscle mass.

catsandtats

Only a small fraction of my protein comes from my shake. My #1 favorite protein-rich food is Greek yogurt because it can be both sweet (with berries) or savory (used as a topping where sour cream would be used, for example). My #2 favorite is egg-whites.

I know this is possibly controversial to some, but I find it much more difficult to get my protein intake where it needs to be without additional supplementation *if* I completely avoid animal products. I used to be a strict vegan, so my natural tendency is to want to eat plant based foods. However, I also personally prefer to eat as many nutritionally dense foods as possible that are minimally processed (I realize yogurt may not fall into this category depending on who you ask, but it is nonetheless my favorite!) and I consider protein supplements a very processed food. So, for a large number of reasons, I choose to use shakes and stuff as a *supplement* and nothing more. I try to round everything out as best I can with non-fat dairy, egg whites (and the occasional whole egg), fish, and the lean cut of meat here and there.

FoxyLifter

Pork
Beef Liver (yum!!)
Yogurt
Ricotta cheese
cottage cheese
Eggs
Chicken
Hemp seed protein powder (in my fruit smoothie)
Salmon

My diary is open. Feel free to take a peek. I have gotten off plan a couple days this week, but nobody's perfect. :drinker:

2tired2think

Well, I'm certainly not a body builder. I am trying to maintain what muscle I have as I lose weight. I'm also hoping that by focusing more on proteins and healthy fats, reducing my carb ratio, it will help my weight loss along. I've always suspected I had a carb-heavy diet, so I'm just trying something new to see if it works for me. I'm not ready to go to the extremes of an Atkin's type ratio, and I try not to over-complicate things for myself with a lot of calculations or rules. I do like to focus more on eating "real" foods, limiting processed foods and sticking to lean proteins, veggies and fruit, and whole grains. Of course, by limiting my carbs, I will need to greatly reduce the amount of fruit or whole grains for now.

I eat a lot of chicken and turkey. I am leery of eating too much cheese. I eat Greek yogurt. I'm incorporating more nuts and seeds, but they don't seem like much bang for the buck, protein-wise.

I appreciate the comments! It seems it can be done without protein bars/protein shakes, but it will be a drastic change to my eating patterns. I've never been a big meat-eater -- I'm not opposed to it, I've just never at such large portions of it before.

Dom_m

I wouldn't worry. The Australian Institute of Sport recommends less than half the amount of protein you're talking about. They don't even recommend that much for elite athletes competing in "power sports" (well, their recommendation is 0.75g/pound for those people, but less than 0.4 for most people)
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/basics/protein_-_how_much

It's close to impossible these days to have a sustained protein deficiency without starving yourself.

2tired2think

Also, your weight loss goal is 18 pounds, so I am assuming you aren't very obese. But if you are, you can aim for less than .8g/lb of mass. You could reduce your intake as well, especially if you are not weight training, by multiplying your LEAN body mass by .8. That would be the very lower limit.

I need to figure my LBM. This has been suggested by two of the responders here. Hmmmm ...

Oh yeah, and I need to update my goal. Lol ... that was my initial goal from WW. I'd be ok with that, but another 5 pounds or so would make me feel so much better!

zivasak

I found this link very helpful: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-much-protein-should-you-be-eating/#axzz2wBIRZZqq


I tend to eat around 70g of protein and I cut carbs too. I was told to hit 120g only if I train hard as I was surprised how a lot of people eat a very high protein diet.

neanderthin

I wouldn't worry. The Australian Institute of Sport recommends less than half the amount of protein you're talking about. They don't even recommend that much for elite athletes competing in "power sports" (well, their recommendation is 0.75g/pound for those people, but less than 0.4 for most people)
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/basics/protein_-_how_much

It's close to impossible these days to have a sustained protein deficiency without starving yourself.

Let me guess.............your vegan, right?

AlwaysInMotion

I eat mostly chicken/turkey, fish, eggs, & shrimp for my primary protein sources. I also love low-fat cheeses and Greek yogurt. I have difficulty hitting my daily protein goals, so I have a protein shake at breakfast (unsweetened almond milk and a cookies & cream flavored protein powder shaken in a blender bottle). It's actually really tasty and fast.