Should I cut down protein %?

himel13

I totally suck at meeting my macros. I'm always over on carbs and waaaaaaaaay under with proteins.
Eating 30% protein seems practically impossible for me. Should I decrease to 20%? I don't lift so maybe I don't need as much? Not sure..any ideas would be great!

Zylayna

I wouldn't adjust your protein down. Try choosing one macro at a time to work on if you are having trouble. If you know protein is a weak spot, focus on that. It takes time and practice to adjust the diet to increase the protein. Increase your protein serving sizes and reduce your carb serving sizes. I eat 6 oz of chicken at a sitting some days.

And don't freak out if you don't quite reach your protein goal each and every day....remember you are a work in progress....it takes time to develop new habits and lifestyles and sometimes, life just interferes with our good intentions. :happy:

holleysings

For me personally, I feel ill when I hit the 30% protein goal eating 2500 calories a day. I decided to eat 0.8-1g of protein per kg of body weight instead, which is the recommended amount for adults. So for me this is 72-91g of protein a day, or 18% of my calories. (I do get a bit more than this some days, but usually not over 120g.) You will get a lot of responses telling you to eat more than this, but you should do what works for you. I am still building muscle eating as "little" protein as I'm eating, so for me, this amount is fine.

That being said, eating 30% protein is not impossible. It's about priorities. I eat mostly vegan and can hit 30% every day if I want to. I just have to focus on getting my protein in my diary first and THEN I can add carbs and fat if I have any left. Decreasing your goal just because you can't hit the goal is not a good reason to change it. Let me know if you need good protein ideas! I have lots that don't involve meat or dairy. :flowerforyou:

himel13

Thanks! You're both right..rather than decreasing my goals, I should probably just work on getting more protein into my diet. I never knew about the whole macro thing til I started EM2WL. Will have to practice a bit to get it right!


@ Holleysings..Some ideas would be really great, thanks!