Low Calorie, High Protein Meal & Snack Ideas?

Whatsername0413

Hi Everyone!

Although I’m not "fat" (5’6 and 130lbs) I have quite a bit of fat around my belly, and almost no muscle anymore. I want to lose fat and gain muscle, so I am planning on decreasing my calorie intake, but increasing my protein, and of course I will be incorporating strength & cardio workouts a few times/week. But my biggest struggle is with my diet- I eat things that are somewhat healthy, but not filling enough, and then end up eating junk-food later because I’m still hungry. Can anyone recommend meal ideas between 300-400 calories & snacks from 100-200 calories, that are high in protein. Also, I’ve noticed that I don’t get nearly enough potassium & iron, so any ideas that incorporate those as well, would be especially awesome.

Thanks!

wilsoje74

Omelet with cheese and veggies
Salad with protein (meat)

Greek yogurt
Protein shake
Cottage cheese

lexidear

following

lemonsnowdrop

We eat tilapia fillets, if you like fish. Low calorie and high in protein. As for snacks, I eat Quest bars. 21g protein and tasty. Can't go wrong!

GoPhil04

If your comfortable at that weight, but recognize the fat in certain areas as being uncomfortable, you should try keeping calories the same, and just shifting to more protein. The TEF is higher in protein and even if your eating the same amount of cals if more is made up of protein that it was before, your net calorie totals will be lower.

I only suggest this because you say you also want to gain muscle. Its very difficult to gain muscle in a deficit..

Whatsername0413

Hey GoPhil,
Thanks for the recommendation. I guess I just figured to get rid of the fat, it would be best to cut calories.
In regards to gaining muscle, I’m not looking to bulk up too much, I just want to get toned, and gain strength (which typically comes with a bit of muscle gain.)

And Lemonsnowdrop,
I think I will have to try quest bars, several people have recommended them to me recently.

GoPhil04

Yea, thats the common thought process for most. I would try to let food shifts take effect before lowering calories... If you NEED to lower calories, I would only go in 100cal increments.

errorist

Some snacks from my recent past: vegetable "batons" (carrot, cucumber, pepper, celery, sugar snap peas, even fennel) with a dip of cottage cheese, greek yoghurt with lemon/lime and spices, houmous); rice cakes with cottage cheese and thai sweet chilli sauce; low fat protein shakes (I use phd diet whey); low fat greek yoghurt with nuts or fruit; fresh pineapple with cottage cheese...

GoPhil is right though. You can't gain muscle on a calorie deficit. You can strive to retain muscle mass, by eating good levels of protein, and lifting regularly, but you won't gain muscle. The only way to gain muscle mass is to eat at a surplus and to lift weights.

olenka_levina

Plain 0 fat Greek yogurt ( I prefer Fage), organic grass-fed beef sticks or beef jerky, skinless baked chicken breasts, oatmeal/oat bran, eggs or egg whites. Also, high fiber veggies tend to keep you feeling full longer: cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, spinach, kale.

Helen71017

I try to keep my protein intake around 25% and 1 gm/pound of my body weight (several people who lift weights regularly have recommended this to me).

For breakfast: Chobani plain yogurt 90 calories and 15g of protein.

For snacks: Quest bars 170 to 190 calories & 20 to 21g of protein. Kashi bars 120-140 calories & 5-7g of protein. I will also frequently have half of a serving of my suggested meals below for a snack. Strawberry doubles 100 calories & 7g of protein.

For meals: I eat a lot of meals with lean meat (chicken, lean beef, turkey), fish, shell fish and beans. I cook on the weekend, freeze a lot, and pack everything into single serving containers. Meatloaf 236 calories & 27 g of protein, turkey burgers 175 calories & 26g of protein, red beans and rice with turkey sausage 349 calories & 32g of protein, Jambalaya 375 calories & 31 g of protein, and chili 410 calories and 36g of protein. I add extra meat to just about every recipe that I make.
I avoid carb heavy sides like rice and potatoes and eat vegatables/fruit instead.

For dessert: Chobani key lime crumble flip 180 calories and 11g of protein or Strawberry doubles 100 calories & 7g of protein

Whatsername0413

Skylar, I definitely need to work on having more meat. Unfortunately I was raised on main dishes where carbs were as much a focus as protein, if not more. Pretty much all my go-to meals when cooking at home are pasta based (lasagna, spaghetti, tortellini, etc.). I really need to learn to use carbs a side instead… it’s just too easy to boil some pasta and throw in a little sauce/meat, so that’s what I typically end up doing.

GoPhil04

Low Fat/High Protein:
Low fat Cottage cheese/pineapple, Fage/Raisins,

Protein "slude" to use as a toppings on pancakes, frenchtoast, waffles. 1/2 cup of greek yogurt (fage) 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein, cinnamon, dash of vanilla extract.

Low Carb Snacks (My prefrence when dieting):
Protein pudding- 1/2 cup of coconut milk, 1 scoop of chocolate protein (stir together)

String cheese/peanuts
Turkey cheese wraps.

Supergirl9801

Hard boiled eggs are super cheap and easy to make ahead of time and packed with protein. Also, if you have a sweet tooth, angel food cake is super packed with protein (all those egg whites) and probably one of the healthier "sweets" you can have. I also like nuts and avocado...full of the good fats.

BillRicks1

All the above are great choices to increase your protein intake. Without access to your food log, it's hard to tell how much protein you are already eating. Given just your height and weight, you should need ~ 110 grams of lean protein a day with your Resting Metabolic Rate at 1500. Don't go too high on the protein too fast in one meal. Bump it up a little and if you tolerate that well, bump again. So 110 / 5 or 6 meals = 18 to 22 grams each. If you are felling a little gassy just back it down a little.

Whatsername0413

@BillRicks, I do have my calorie goal @ 1500, but just in the last week, my protein intake has ranged from 54-80g (even though I've been close to or over 1500 calories) so I guess I really need to work on finding foods with more protein that are still being somewhat lower in calories...

rachaelbmh

Look at some of the superfood options for high protein options - chia seeds, hemp seeds, etc. Sure, they have some fat, but are loaded with protein too.

Helen71017

I make pasta dishes too. They tend to have a higher calorie to protein ratio. As I mentioned, I freeze a lot of what I cook. I have a great recipe for a mushroom artichoke lasagna. When I make it, I freeze most of it and only have 1-2 servings per week. Most of my diet now is dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables. I find that this keeps me full with plenty of energy.

Helen71017

I also sometimes buy preseasoned frozen fish filets for easy high protein meals. They take about 20 minutes to cook in the oven. The vegetable steamer bags take 5 minutes in the microwave. Fast, easy, and super healthy. Most grocery stores have a variety of preseasoned meat entrees.

GoPhil04

Distance runners are starting to realize the benefits of more protein in your diet. 80g is incredibly low...

When glycogen get depleted to a certain point your body start to utilize a process known as gluconeogenesis. Its literally the creation of sugar from fats and protein...