Protein Sources-Do I have to vary them?

Fat_Bottomed_Girl

Wondering about protein sources... I reach my goal, but mostly through dairy products. (Yogurt, cottage cheese, etc.) At the end of the day, I COULD eat a chicken breast, but I NEVER crave it and usually have to force myself to eat it. I hate fish, with the exception of sushi and I could probably eat more nuts/beans/legumes (which I will focus on) but do I need to stress about it if I am meeting the requirements?

supershiny

I am the exact same way... protein is protein though. I try to eat meat a few times a week though as there are nutrients in meat you just can't get anywhere else (no matter what vegans will tell you! haha) I might suggest eggs as a good addition to the less meat lifestyle I remember reading on a journal somewhere about how women crave less meat than men in general... maybe it is true for us! haha

Fat_Bottomed_Girl

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good steak, but I am still suffering from my past life as a healthy person and just had one too many grilled chicken breasts back in the day. Now I have to mix it in in small doses by cutting it up and putting it on a salad which is a pain in the a** when you are on the go. I'd much rather just down some cottage cheese.

jipper44

I also LOVE dairy (and pasta, and potatoes, and....okay, I'll stop) and would gladly eat cheese, yogurt, and milk all day but there are much more protein-rich sources than these. I do have eggs as a previous poster suggested (let's not start an egg war, please) but I get very bored with chicken if I have it too often.

I'm of the mindset that keeping your diet is interesting is a much more emotionally acceptable way to stay on track as opposed to getting so bored with the same old "diet" food. Change it up every once in a while! Try a new recipe or add a different seasoning than you normally might

supershiny

I love a good steak too but I don't want to eat one very day, unlike my bf who could eat meat 3x a day that is all I meant. I think if you are eating meat a few times a week it is fine. I don't think you need to purposely vary your protein intakes, as long as you are getting all of your amino acids!

kmal2t

There's beans (like pinto beans which have protein) as you mentioned. Not to mention besides chicken breast theres lean turkey and lean beef you can get as well. There's also salmon or jumbo shrimp that you can get thats a good source or tuna. Besides that whole grain products like wheat bread and wheat pasta have a decent amount of protein in them.

You can also get "Textured Vegetable Protein" which is a good source of protein and actually has very little taste, especially if you mix it in with rice.

Or the easiest and most common way to SUPPLEMENT (not replace) protein in take is protein shakes. You can drink a chocolate shake every day and be getting 30+g of protein in.