Protein help! 1 gram/lb seems impossible!

commotionstrange

Hi All,

So everywhere I look, it says that people should be aiming to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of their body weight. That means I should be eating approx. 150 grams of protein a day!!! This seems to come up more and more for people looking to lose the last 10-15 lbs (which I am).

I'm a vegetarian (I eat fish occasionally), and I'm careful to eat protein with almost every meal (beans, tofu, greek yogurt, eggs, fish, quinoa etc.), but I'm lucky if I can hit 80 grams in a day, and that's only on days when I have a high protein vegan shake for breakfast (approx. 30 grams of protein). Without the high protein shake (days where I generally have greek yogurt and high fiber cereal), I usually hover somewhere between 40-60 grams a day.

How in the world does someone eat 150 grams of protein in one day!!! Does that guideline even make sense for someone who doens't eat meat? What should I do?

Can anyone make any suggestions? Help from vegetarians AND non-vegetarians would be appreciated.

Thanks

chuckles9189

bump. I eat meat and I'm struggling with low protein. I'm anxious to know.

Angie__1MR

it's called whey.

melsinct

I lost 30 pounds, have maintained the loss, and have never had to eat that much protein to do so. I understand people eat that much protein for their fitness requirements, but by no means do you *have* to eat that much protein in order to lose the last 10-15 pounds.

FitBeto

Well vegetarian; cows ate grass, so inadvertently I am one too?

calisunrise

bump

i have exact the same problem. i hardly ever go over 70g of protein even though i eat it with almost every meal

kubas_pl

People, just start eating fish ! Lots of protein and little calories. I measn ofcourse boiled/coocked/grilled fishes without frying it

Erienneb

I think the distinction is 1gram per pound of Lean Body Mass....I have 144g of protein a day even though I weigh 268 because that's my lbm. I do drink a protein shake on days I lift, otherwise I wouldn't get enough.

TrishDLish81

I always thought that it was 0.8 -1 gram per pound of *lean body mass,* not total body weight? Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

FredDoyle

Hi All,

So everywhere I look, it says that people should be aiming to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of their body weight. That means I should be eating approx. 150 grams of protein a day!!! This seems to come up more and more for people looking to lose the last 10-15 lbs (which I am).

I'm a vegetarian (I eat fish occasionally), and I'm careful to eat protein with almost every meal (beans, tofu, greek yogurt, eggs, fish, quinoa etc.), but I'm lucky if I can hit 80 grams in a day, and that's only on days when I have a high protein vegan shake for breakfast (approx. 30 grams of protein). Without the high protein shake (days where I generally have greek yogurt and high fiber cereal), I usually hover somewhere between 40-60 grams a day.

How in the world does someone eat 150 grams of protein in one day!!! Does that guideline even make sense for someone who doens't eat meat? What should I do?

Can anyone make any suggestions? Help from vegetarians AND non-vegetarians would be appreciated.

Thanks

You simply don't need to, to be healthy.
Here are the suggested amounts for macronutrients from Health Canada:

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/reference/table/ref_macronutr_tbl-eng.php

Your range is about .8 grams/kg/day (kilogram)

Some people want more because they are trying to build lots of muscle. Hence the suggestion I hear on here is .8-1 gram per pound of lean body mass, not total weight.

bcattoes

So everywhere I look, it says that people should be aiming to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of their body weight. That means I should be eating approx. 150 grams of protein a day!!! This seems to come up more and more for people looking to lose the last 10-15 lbs (which I am).

It's usually 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body mass, not total weight. So if you are 150 lbs you would need to get a good guesstimate of your body fat % and subtract those lbs, then eat that many grams of protein.

n0ob

beans (raw soybeans excluded) and nuts are pathetic sources of protein...

Here's how I eat 225-250g of protein every day without supplements.

PBJ (or 2) for breakfast, 4-6 oz of meat around 10 AM, 6-8 oz of meat for lunch, 4-6 oz. mid afternoon, 6-12 oz for dinner, and some dairy after dinner (yogurt/milk/ice cream).

I eat fish, chicken, pork, and beef mainly for my meats.

penrbrown

I have such a hard time with protein too. I eat meat but not much and I can't have nuts at all, nor can I have dairy products (allergic to dairy NOT intolerant to lactose). Makes for an interesting challenge!!!

bee_elle

Man these are some of the least helpful answers ever!! I do think the answers regarding lean body mass are correct. I'm also a vegetarian who eats fish and seafood occasionally. I am approx 126 lbs and try to eat between 80 and 100 grams of protein daily. The things that seem to help me are:

1. Eating either eggs or protein powder with breakfast (I use a rice protein that I like)
2. Eating cheese, cottage cheese, and greek yogurt for snacks.

If I have eggs for breakfast sometimes I'll have a protein shake as a snack. I eat regular lunches/dinners and don't worry about having a ****load of protein in those.

AnvilHead

As others posted above, a more common recommendation is 1 gram per pound of LEAN body mass (which requires you to have a pretty good idea of your body fat percentage). For me, that's about 180g of protein a day. I can't offer any help from a vegetarian point of view since the majority of mine comes from meat, but you can supplement with protein powder (whey if you allow dairy products in your diet - otherwise, there are several varieties of vegetarian/vegan protein powders).

angelique_redhead

That seems a little high to me but yesterday I had 52, the day before was 96 and the day before that was in the 90's too. I think the grams for a person is supposedly 47 per day but I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

Imanido

Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, and quark are amazing sources of protein and very few calories. I have lots but I don't bother too much if I don't reach my daily limit, I just do as much as I can. A good balance of fat, carbs and protein is good enough for me.

sdreed25

I always thought that it was 0.8 -1 gram per pound of *lean body mass,* not total body weight? Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah I'm with you on this, I'm 180lb and 17% BF so I need 150g of protein (83% of 180lb, then 1g per lb). Even so I was in the same place as you and struggling to get enough, I've added low fat greek yogurt, skimmed milk (glass of), tinned sardines, tuna which I assume you can do as a veggie? I've also added a few more egg whites (can you?) and both protein shakes and bars when I don't have time for real food. I started this in Monday and have managed my 150g roughly everyday since.

corazo23

its .8 per kg .. or .37 per lb apparently someone saw metric units and decided it was the same thing. You should be getting 10 to 35 % of your calories from lean protein

Zangpakto

it's called whey.

No whey! haha sorry just had to say that :P

But umm... chicken + veg, biltong (which is basically dried out beef steak cut into slices sorta like jerky, but none of that processed junk... just pure beef...)

Honestly 1g/lb isn't bad.. I am about 135lbs and today I've had about 189g of protein without issue maybe one shake... but that is all.. I just like the shakes taste, and I haven't even had dinner yet, so chances are my protein will be 200g+ by end today..

crrc78

Beans, greek yogurt, egg whites, protein powders, and my new favorite treat (or breakfast) is the Nature Valley Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bar - it's a granola bar with whole peanuts in it and it has 10g of protein and tastes oh so good!