How do you get enough protein in your low carb?

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xASHYxSMASHYx
xASHYxSMASHYx Posts: 175 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I am on a moderately low carb diet as recommended by my doctor. When calculating my macros, I keep getting that I need 142 grams of protein per day. That is on a 1400 calorie diet. I seriously can't figure out how it's possible to get that much protein crammed into that amount of calories. Yea sure if I drank five protein shakes per day with 27 grams of protein each then I would be okay but that would blow 1000 calories right there, and I wouldn't be able to enjoy my food. I like eating healthy sources of protein like Chicken, Nuts, Peanut Butter etc... but the protein amounts never come close at the end of the day and in order to get close I would have to go way over my calories, so it defeats the purpose. I am really frustrated by this, I need some advice on how other people deal with this please I would really appreciate it :)
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Replies

  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    tuna
    eggs
    chicken
    beef
    pork

    there are probably more that I am forgetting. What numbers are you trying to get to as far as fats and carbs?
  • Emagali74
    Emagali74 Posts: 132 Member
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    chicken, fat free greek yogurt, eggs, turkey, salmon, low fat cottage cheese,

    If you add me as a friend take a look at my diary, Im not sure how much protein I get in a day but normally im in the red on the protein and have carbs and fats well under......
    And recently I am maintaining so calories are around 1600 but if you go back to before christmas I hovered around 1300/1400 daily.... its easy to get lots of protein in...

    Emma x
  • priscilla82c
    priscilla82c Posts: 3 Member
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    Chlorella is the richest source of protein on the planet. It averages around 1 calorie per 3 grams of protein. You can purchase it at GNC or any vitamin shop. Good Luck!
  • Lukazetta
    Lukazetta Posts: 427 Member
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    Egg whites and lean meats (not pork). Make sure you also get enough fiber.

    Good luck!
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
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    I eat 125g of protein a day, with 100g of carbs, 60 fats. You can check out my diary :)
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    As everyone has already said, it's easy..... also, add some whey protein isolate to your diet if you are lacking.
  • Makaio14
    Makaio14 Posts: 7 Member
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    Bump :glasses:
  • ablykins
    ablykins Posts: 200 Member
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    Egg whites, whitefish, chicken, lowfat turkey, low calore protein powders (I use IsoPure and PureTrim to ensure I get both whey and plant based protein). Quest protein bars are also a great option- they are delicious (really feels like a dessert) and you can get plenty of fiber (usually about 18 g) and protein (20g per bar) for under 200 calories and under 3 sugars. Tofu can also be a great source- just watch out for processed stuff that may be loaded with sodium.
  • lady_in_weighting
    lady_in_weighting Posts: 196 Member
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    phD diet whey bars are a good source of protein 24g per bar, 17g carbs and only 181 kcals :]
    i bought some last week, they dont taste great but they are a good protein boost!
  • Tiff587
    Tiff587 Posts: 264 Member
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    I'm doing the same thing, although I'm currently on 1200 cals. I do tend to have 1 or maybe 2 protein shakes a day, especially if I have trained. Feel free to add me if you want to look at someone else's diary with similar goals.

    I tend to eat a lot of;
    Chicken
    Tuna
    Turkey

    Also my choc protein power really curbs my sweet tooth and makes it easy to get protein in first thing.

    :flowerforyou:
  • CaseRat
    CaseRat Posts: 377 Member
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    Chlorella is the richest source of protein on the planet. It averages around 1 calorie per 3 grams of protein. You can purchase it at GNC or any vitamin shop. Good Luck!

    1 gram of protein contains around 4 calories... 3 grams of chlorella cannot physically be 1 calorie.

    However, agreed with everyone else: Chicken, tuna, egg whites, turkey, fat-free (and low sugar) yoghurt are good ways to start.
  • millikenhomeschool
    millikenhomeschool Posts: 62
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    That is a lot of protein. I had been told that with exercise, I should strive for 75 to 100 grams of protein. 100+ would be for larger men who exercise.
  • xASHYxSMASHYx
    xASHYxSMASHYx Posts: 175 Member
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    That is a lot of protein. I had been told that with exercise, I should strive for 75 to 100 grams of protein. 100+ would be for larger men who exercise.

    Thank you, I thought it seemed really high. Nobody else has really said how much protein they are eating per day. I know what sources to get protein from, but thought those numbers seemed too high for my calorie range. I might bring it down between 75 and 100. Thanks for the helpful answer :)
  • xASHYxSMASHYx
    xASHYxSMASHYx Posts: 175 Member
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    Thanks Tiff I will send you one. I would love to see what someone else is doing to get those numbers :)
  • xASHYxSMASHYx
    xASHYxSMASHYx Posts: 175 Member
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    tuna
    eggs
    chicken
    beef
    pork

    there are probably more that I am forgetting. What numbers are you trying to get to as far as fats and carbs?

    my carbs are set to 89, and my fat at 55. That's per the calculator I used for my macros.
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    That is a lot of protein. I had been told that with exercise, I should strive for 75 to 100 grams of protein. 100+ would be for larger men who exercise.

    Thank you, I thought it seemed really high. Nobody else has really said how much protein they are eating per day. I know what sources to get protein from, but thought those numbers seemed too high for my calorie range. I might bring it down between 75 and 100. Thanks for the helpful answer :)

    A lot of people suggest 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass as a good place to start when trying to figure out 'how much', which means for someone like me with 113 lbs of lean body weight (calculated by subtracting my estimated body fat percentage in lbs from my total weight)... I should be eating 113 grams of protein, give or take.
  • jeepwidow01
    jeepwidow01 Posts: 173
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    Ok, so I am on a moderately low carb diet as recommended by my doctor. When calculating my macros, I keep getting that I need 142 grams of protein per day. That is on a 1400 calorie diet. I seriously can't figure out how it's possible to get that much protein crammed into that amount of calories. Yea sure if I drank five protein shakes per day with 27 grams of protein each then I would be okay but that would blow 1000 calories right there, and I wouldn't be able to enjoy my food. I like eating healthy sources of protein like Chicken, Nuts, Peanut Butter etc... but the protein amounts never come close at the end of the day and in order to get close I would have to go way over my calories, so it defeats the purpose. I am really frustrated by this, I need some advice on how other people deal with this please I would really appreciate it :)


    Check out this link. Hope it helps :smile:

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/nutrition/a/protein.htm
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
    Options
    tuna
    eggs
    chicken
    beef
    pork

    there are probably more that I am forgetting. What numbers are you trying to get to as far as fats and carbs?

    my carbs are set to 89, and my fat at 55. That's per the calculator I used for my macros.


    doing the math on your macros, if you hit them all spot on its around 1419 calories. If you workout then you will have some wiggle room.
  • raitch
    raitch Posts: 62 Member
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    I try to shoot for 100g of protein a day and under 100g of carbs (ideally 50g of carbs but that's rough!). I do sometimes have a protein shake for breakfast or if I'm hungry between meals but most of my protein comes from greek yogurt, chicken, and deli turkey. I don't eat eggs or seafood other than tuna, which makes it a little rougher ;) If I eat 3 solid meals a day though, I find that the 100g sort of happens on its own.

    I'd try upping the portion of whatever protein you're eating at each meal to start- just an ounce or two makes a big difference!
  • cbroadberry
    cbroadberry Posts: 130 Member
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    Hiya, feel free to add me. I try to eat 119 grams of protein per day. Ignore my last weeks diary though as I did not log. (my first week off since I started on MFP) Please also ignore todays protein in take as I did not shop at the weekend so I have nothing in lol!

    I usually eat a lot of tuna, chicken, low fat cottage cheese, eggs, but do not use any protein shakes/bars etc so if you were looking mostly for those I will prob not be of much use.

    :)

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