Need food advice, please!

Uptopargolf

First off, I'll just start by saying that I am in my 3rd round of P90X. My main goal is fat loss, while maintaining muscle. In other words, I'm not worried about the number on the scale.

Anyhow, here is the problem I am running into. Right now, i'll eat 6 oz. of chicken for lunch with a banana. For dinner I figured I could eat 12 oz of chicken, with a steamfresh broccoli and cheese meal, and mix the chicken in. (It is really good). BUT i'm now starting to use my ounce scale so I can stick to a stricter diet. And I don't think i'll ever be able to eat 12 ounces of chicken for dinner. It seems like a lot. However if I go down to 6 ounces i'll only be at 1500 calories a day. And for me I don't think thats enough.

I'm 20, male, workout 7 days a week. I'll start to burn muscle not fat. Anyway, I'm curious does anyone else eat 18 oz. of meat in a day? Chicken, turkey, beef? etc etc. It seems like so much food, but maybe i'm just going crazy?

bluiz13

have you thought about moving some of the "meat" to breakfast??? can it be protein too?? eggs, nuts, cheese??? those could all be snacks as well to balance out the total oz you need throughout the day??

Uptopargolf

have you thought about moving some of the "meat" to breakfast??? can it be protein too?? eggs, nuts, cheese??? those could all be snacks as well to balance out the total oz you need throughout the day??

I haven't thought about it moving it to breakfast actually.. That is possible. I could always take away the meat and add in more of a snake somewhere, very possible. I know there are ways around that much meat.

But i'm more curious as if there is anyone else eating that much meat while trying to lose body fat? That is my main question.

DrBorkBork

Chobani greek yogurt is a good source of protein. Maybe make that part of your breakfast with a cup of kashi golean & 1/2 cup of unsweetened silk almond milk. Throw in some delmonte diced peaches (25 cal) and you're golden! High protein, low sugar, low fat, respectable carb balance
Just a thought.

svackar

Agree with bluiz13 - you should probably balance out your protein intake throughout the day. maybe eat 5 smaller meals/snacks during the day, will a variety of protein sources. Also, how about adding a protein shake to your day... I don't think eating 12 oz of chicken or lean meat in one meal is going to help you...I believe our bodies can only process so much protein (40 oz) during a meal. Good luck with your continued success!

DrBorkBork

Agree with svackar. I will often enjoy a protein shake to help me meet my daily protein requirements. They are useful when supplementing. I recently started doing the atkins drinks. Good protein, no sugar, a little fiber. You can even add some sugar free Torani syrup (found near the coffees & cocoa at your supermarket), for a real treat! Today's post workout concoction was the atkins dark chocolate with torani sugar free raspberry syrup. It was like eating truffles! Yum

Jourdan_Rystrom

Chobani greek yogurt is a good source of protein. Maybe make that part of your breakfast with a cup of kashi golean & 1/2 cup of unsweetened silk almond milk. Throw in some delmonte diced peaches (25 cal) and you're golden! High protein, low sugar, low fat, respectable carb balance
Just a thought.

I used to eat Chobani, but now switched to Fage greek yogurt because it is more natural, only 90 calories a cup, AND more protein (15g!) I mix it with a bit of natural honey and it is a WONDERFUL protein to add to the day.

In fact, I am going to grab one right now

DrBorkBork

I occasionally eat Fage too. The cherry one is my fave. However, I prefer chobani's taste (and it's fat free). It is less sour than a lot of the other greek yogurts. I also like dannon's greek yogurt. The fage with honey made my lips tingle. It was tasty, but disconcerting.

dmcohee

Are you figuring you need to eat that much chicken to get the right amount of calories and protein? If that's the route you're taking it will definitely be a lot of food since they're not high calories foods. Maybe trying to add in some other sources. Fish is really high in protein and low calories. Beans and peanuts are higher calories but provide protein and fiber. Maybe also add in some whole grain bagels/cereals.

Craig772

I read somewhere we can only absorb 25 to 30 grams of protein every few hours. Elsewhere in this thread 40 grams was mentioned. I knew some big lads in the gym eating 200+ grams a day. Two of them got very ill.

svackar

have you thought about moving some of the "meat" to breakfast??? can it be protein too?? eggs, nuts, cheese??? those could all be snacks as well to balance out the total oz you need throughout the day??

I haven't thought about it moving it to breakfast actually.. That is possible. I could always take away the meat and add in more of a snake somewhere, very possible. I know there are ways around that much meat.

But i'm more curious as if there is anyone else eating that much meat while trying to lose body fat? That is my main question.

Yes, I'm eating 170 - 180 g of protein a day...I try to eat 1 g of protein for each pound of lean muscle. I don't do it will all meat, because I do need to get my carbs in each day too. I'm 5 meals a day and try to vary them up each day with the following; shakes, eggs & egg beaters, chobani yogurt, detour bars, string cheese, cottage cheese, breads, fresh fruit, meats (fish, chicken, turkey, tuna,etc..). I've lost 20 lbs in 10 weeks (30 lbs of fat, plus gain 10 lbs of muscle)...you can do it!

crewellademel

I'm a real carnivore, and even to me that sounds like a lot of meat! : ) Why don't you try some protein powder or shakes. It's a great way to get extra protein without the "bulk" of all that food. You could do a protein smothie (shake with a banana in it) along with your chicken for dinner. Watch out though some of those protein powders can be really chalky. I get mine from the natural food store folks rather than the GMC folks to try and get organic protein and higher quality ingredients. Also, remember all those great legumes that are high in protein. Black beans, navy, pinto etc...you don't have to stick with meat to get the protein. Good Luck!

goingwithgrace

Be sure to check the cholesterol numbers on protein shakes. Some are VERY high but there are many good ones out there.

jameswanless

Craig772 is right - anything anywhere near 200g of protein is way too much. svackar, while you are seeing short-term results, based on what I've read and used as an avid athlete for many years, a gram of protein per pound of lean muscle per day is too much protein to consume. If you feed your body too much protein over a longer period of time, your body has to use calcium (and other nutrients) to excrete what's not being used to repair and build muscle. In particular, excess protein will eventually begin to cause calcium to be leeched from your bones and osteoperosis 'can' be a result. Less of an issue for men, but problems can occur, nonetheless.

As opposed to basing it on current weight, protein, fat and carbs should be calculated as a % of overall caloric intake you are targeting and that will be based on target weight loss or gain. Let's say for a moment you are targeting a typical (not athletic/bodybuilding) 2000 calorie/day diet. Despite what you may have seen in media and fad diet information, a healthy balance for most people is to obtain roughly 70% of their calories from carbs, 10-20% each from protein and fat, depending on specific goals. Protein and carbs each have 4 calories per gram, while fat has about 9 calories per gram.

On my very rudimentary example, you'd want about 1400 calories from carbs and 300 each from protein and fat, though for those trying to gain muscle you'd probably balance the protein higher and for those who were endurance or cardio athletes you'd probably balance the fat higher, since it's a better source of energy.

To convert this into grams, using the formulas I've used above, you'd come up with 33 grams of fat, 75 grams of protein and 350 grams of carbs. Most of us are probably needing in excess of 2000 calories, but I'm using that as a baseline. Even if you don't subscribe to vegetarian nutrition per se, there are many good books available, including one of the largest nutritional studies ever undertaken, The China Study. Nancy Clarke's Vegetarian Sports Nutrition and Brendan Brazier's Thrive Fitness are other good sources. They all promote vegetarian nutrition in large part because of the detrimental effects of meat and dairy production and the problems these food cause your health. Many non-vegetarian nutritional resources will also recommend carb/fat/protein targets similar to these, so don't dismiss my opinions as a veggie flake.

I am only using myfitnesspal to analyse the nutrients in what I'm taking in now and track potassium and magnesium primarily. The amounts that this site uses as targets are aimed at more sedentary folks, but IMHO the fat targets are a little high, while the carbs are a little low.

ronitabur

I like bluiz's advice. But I'd like to add to it, but first a question... what made you determine how much protein you should be getting? I only get 6-8 oz. of meat per day and usually a little from other sources like yogurt, cheese and nuts. My nutritionist gave me the following calorie percentages and I still go over on my protein almost every day:

55% Cabohydrates (complex like whole wheat and whole grains. Not refined like sugars and white flour.)
20% Protein - from lean meat, low fat cheese, tofu, egg, nuts, etc
25% Fat

Additionally, I get:
less than 20 g sugar per day
25-30 grams of fiber per day

I weight train & do cardio 3 days per week and do 45 minutes of cardio 3 days per week on my off-weight-training days. I have been successful in my weight loss, recducing my body-fat percentage by about 8% in the past 3 months, have improved my strength and speed significantly, and my blood lipids are consistently improving. These are the things we all are trying to improve, right?

If you don't agree with the percentages, spend $50 on a visit with a nutritionist. You can usually find one at a hospital, who will take appointments. Set your MFP setting appropriately and spread the protein throughout the day like bluiz recommended. In fact, the first thing you should do in the morning is put on your slippers and the second thing you should do is eat some protein. An ounce of nuts or ounce of string cheese is good and will help boost your metabolism. And then you won't have to choke down a pound of chicken at dinner. ugh!

Uptopargolf

I should of went into more detail. My apologies for that;

I eat nearly 220 grams of protein a day. If I eat that chicken at night. If not, more around 200ish. I've never got sick, or anything to the sort. I workout hard everyday and make sure I drink TONS of water. A gallon a day or more.

I already consume a protein shake directly after workout, and a protein bar between lunch and dinner. I was mainly curious as to if 18 ounces of meat in a day sounded like a lot? Or if that was normal?

I've been doing P90X and have had success with it. The ratios for P90X are 45% protein, 30% carbs and 25% fat. Since this if my third round of P90X i'm now doing 50/25/25. For the first month, than 45/30/25 and 55/20/30 for the last month. I don't keep track of sugar or anything else. However I eat very clean the only thing off my diet is a cup of coffee with 1% milk and some sugar.

I know most people will disagree with my ratios, but I'm on a diet. I understand I can't LIVE this way. I'm only doing it for the next 4 months or so to get ready for beach season.

Also I do start off my day with protein, 3 eggs to be exact. (21 grams of protein.) P90X had me calculated at 2100 calories a day my first round, but I could NEVER eat that much. So this round i've gone with 1700.

I will probably just go with 12oz of chicken a day, and add in something more as a snack or at breakfast to get more calories and protein.

kjensen15

Chobani greek yogurt is a good source of protein. Maybe make that part of your breakfast with a cup of kashi golean & 1/2 cup of unsweetened silk almond milk. Throw in some delmonte diced peaches (25 cal) and you're golden! High protein, low sugar, low fat, respectable carb balance
Just a thought.

I used to eat Chobani, but now switched to Fage greek yogurt because it is more natural, only 90 calories a cup, AND more protein (15g!) I mix it with a bit of natural honey and it is a WONDERFUL protein to add to the day.

In fact, I am going to grab one right now

I agree Fage is by far the best greek yogurt I've had. I've tried their full fat, which is AWESOME, but a few too many calories for me to eat every day. So I have started eating there fat free kind, with a tbls of honey and a tbls of flax seed. This makes a pretty tasty snack!!!

jameswanless

But, I think anyone disagreeing with your ratios shouldn't care if you're on a diet. I understand your wanting to lose weight if it's been an issue, but eating this way to get ready for beach season isn't a fix. Then what? We can certainly be motivated by what our bodies look like, but 'being' healthy inside should be the first consideration.

Your ratios are not healthy, diet or not, and diets do not work because you inevitably end up changing things again. The goal should be a lifestyle approach that works and that you can stick with permanently. Eating upwards of 200 g of protein while on a <2000 calorie diet is really unsustainable. If you're doing 1700 calories as you said then 200g of protein is nearly half your diet as that's 800 calories.

If it's a short diet then you probably won't see bone or liver damage, but again, then what? Instead of using temporary solutions like P90X, consider going to a nutritionist and getting an approach to eating that is sustainable. This kind of diet isn't.

BoresEasily

Need more information than 20/Male. Need height, weight, intensity of those 7 days spent exercising. 220g is excessive. I'm 6'3, 195lbs and I don't eat 220g of protein in a day. All I've read on the subject is 1g per KG of weight. It's great that you're taking in enough water but I think that's way too much protein. Reminds me of Brock Lesnar and it didn't work out so well for him.