Eaten like a horse to get enough protein..

nc805397

Can anyone look at my food diary and suggest what I am doing wrong? I NEVER get enough protein that MFP suggests and today I ALMOST made it! But I am over my calories (and...well everything else, too). Any advice on what I could swap in/out of my diet? I understand the value of protein in our diets but I am apparently missing the part about eating the right things for protein.? I love meat but it's expensive so I don't eat it too often.

wellbert

Cottage cheese. Fat free cheese. Protein shakes.

If you can get around 90, you're probably doing just fine.

mommawarwick

chicken!!!

hnsaunde

Eggs, egg whites, and greek yogurt

trogalicious

I love meat but it's expensive so I don't eat it too often.

I found chicken breasts on sale at walmart for under $2/lb. Just gotta look for it.

nc805397

thanks guys! I'll have to buy some chicken I guess and I love eggs! I think I'll have eggs tomorrow for breakfast!

dough21

You need to add some lean chicken and or fish to your diet. Just 1 strip of lean chicken or fish is around 100 cal and 22 g of protein. Possibly look into Protein Shakes. I went to the local health store by my house and bought a really good one. It is only 153 calories 2 carbs 1 g of fat and 34 g of protein.

ttkg

Nuts, whole eggs, tuna salad (mix it with avocado, yum!), turkey, chicken, white fish, salmon, lentils, more lentils, greek yogurt (mix it with berries or with protein powder and some ice and water for a protein shake) or cottage cheese.

theologynerd

I had the same problem when I first started worrying about more than simply my calorie intake. For me, I've ended up including chicken breasts, cottage cheese, eggs, protein shakes, fish, and my special treat, Fage yogurt. I mix honey in with it, one cup gives me 23 g of protein.

Mischievous_Rascal

Hi there. I'm not sure how long you've been on here, but this is an awesome post to get you started:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/848374-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners-2013-edition

fluffy925

Fish, white, tuna ,prawns etc. & salmon

GoTeamMeaghan

the first thing that stood out to me in your diet was honey nut cheerios. even though they are freakin' awesome, for 240 calories, they provide almost no nutrition. feel free to check out my diary-im vegetarian but manage to get usually from 110-130 g of protein.

Texafornia23

Beef jerky is my equilizer. If I'm a little low a couple servings of beef jerky (10-15 grams of protien per serving) usually makes up for it. Plus its cheaper, is lower in calories (typically), and is more natural than protien shakes.

_AllieCat_

If you like, check out my diary for today. I went over my protein and stayed under cals. Today I didn't eat much grain at all and most of my carbs came from fruit. I had eggs, protein powder, Greek yogurt, and pork for my main protein heavy hitters.

I try and eat enough protein because I weight train and am trying to gain muscle.

NikoM5

Being a lazy-*kitten*, protein powder accounts for most of my protein intake.

concordancia

Beef jerky is my equilizer. If I'm a little low a couple servings of beef jerky (10-15 grams of protien per serving) usually makes up for it. Plus its cheaper, is lower in calories (typically), and is more natural than protien shakes.

Are you making your own? If not, you might be surprised by how many of the seasonings are also ingredients in protein shakes (ie, whey)

juliec33

quinoa. it's one of the only non-meat sources that is a complete protein.

sweetnlow30

Beans are also a pretty good, inexpensive protein source. I like to substitute beans in place of meat sometimes when I make tacos or soups

Midnight_Sunshine

Try eating less like a horse and more like a jaguar.


That should help.

quill16

Looks like the cereal, baked beans and pasta are thowing you over. Try some fat free cheeses, greek yogurt and keeping carbs to smaller portions. You can check my diary.

BackTatJIM

does not take much chicken to get your daily protein needs

cwolfman13

As other's have suggested, try adding some chicken and fish to your diet...at least one meal with chicken or fish. I definitely lean more towards poultry as fish can be rather pricey...but you can usually find good sales on poultry.

Also, add an egg in the morning and maybe drop down to 1 cup of the cherrios to balance out. Instead of the protein bar (that is most likely loaded with sugar, thus the calories) opt for a lower calorie protein shake and/or greek yogurt. The whey protein I uses clocks in at 26g protein and 150 calories. My greek yogurt (non-fat Voskos) clocks in at 140 calories and 24g protein per serving.

Firefox7275

If your goal is 1600 then your sugary/ junky/ refined/ processed stuff should only be 10% of that or 160 cals - today you had cereal, homemade baked beans, Sticky Squirrel (whatever that is?) and sweetened yoghurt. You don't say that you are a vegetarian but you are eating much like one - in which case maybe consider researching a balanced veggie diet. You eat little meat or fish and these are richer in protein than most vegetarian protein foods, not anywhere near enough non starchy vegetables. I would also note you eat an awful lot of sweet and high glycaemic index foods and not so many savoury ones. IMO add oily fish (canned is often cheaper than fresh) and omega-enriched eggs.

Evachiquita

Why do you think you need 100 grams of protein a day? I believe that we have been told that we need much more protein than we actually do. I know I am on the low end for protein but I feel fine, most of the time. I can only tell I am lacking on protein after a really hard workout because it takes my body a little longer to recover (tons of fresh fruits and veggies help a lot too). According to the Vegan Society's website the UK recommended amount of protein for women is only about 45 grams a day; based on 0.75g/kg of body weight. For a 200 pound person the total protein comes out to about 68 grams a day. If you feel fine I wouldn't worry about reaching 100 grams of protein a day. It's just a number (that's been established by the USDA who is backed by the farming, livestock, beef, and dairy industries).

joannathechef

quinoa. it's one of the only non-meat sources that is a complete protein.

No it is not - you should check the label

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Egg Beaters
Fage or Chobani yogurt - have higher protein levels
Protein powders 25-30 grams in 2 scoops, 200-300 calories
Chicken, lean beef, lean pork
and fish, fish and more fish. Canned salmon is a staple when I need extra.

If you would generally include them in your diet, don't discount lean beef and lean pork. Look for "Extra Lean" on the packaging.

Katiedid717

MFP has me eating 45 grams of protein a day (which seems absurdly low) and I almost always go over limit. I eat a lot of chicken (I can get a 2 1/2 lb bag of boneless skinless breast meat tenderloins for less than $10) and my recent thing has been salmon (two pre-cooked 4-oz filets for about $4), etc. If you look at my food logs, you'll see that a lot of my other food choices contain protein too - milk, cheese, bread, even grapefruit!

Looking for something cheaper? Last night I prepared 1/4cup of lentils and 1/4 cup of quinoa in 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth...22 grams of protein right there. You can get lentils, kidney beans, black beans, etc pretty cheap either pre-cooked/canned or dry in bags. Worth a shot.

Firefox7275

Why do you think you need 100 grams of protein a day? I believe that we have been told that we need much more protein than we actually do. I know I am on the low end for protein but I feel fine, most of the time. I can only tell I am lacking on protein after a really hard workout because it takes my body a little longer to recover (tons of fresh fruits and veggies help a lot too). According to the Vegan Society's website the UK recommended amount of protein for women is only about 45 grams a day; based on 0.75g/kg of body weight. For a 200 pound person the total protein comes out to about 68 grams a day. If you feel fine I wouldn't worry about reaching 100 grams of protein a day. It's just a number (that's been established by the USDA who is backed by the farming, livestock, beef, and dairy industries).

You are comparing apples to oranges: the UK recommended amounts are our absolute minimums not optimal or ideal. Our recommended amounts for many nutrients are lower than yours, for an adult female
Calcium 700mg (UK) 1000mg (US)
Magnesium 270mg (UK) 320mg (US)
Iron 15mg (UK) 18mg (US)
Zinc 7mg (UK) 12mg (US)

nc805397

If your goal is 1600 then your sugary/ junky/ refined/ processed stuff should only be 10% of that or 160 cals - today you had cereal, homemade baked beans, Sticky Squirrel (whatever that is?) and sweetened yoghurt. You don't say that you are a vegetarian but you are eating much like one - in which case maybe consider researching a balanced veggie diet. You eat little meat or fish and these are richer in protein than most vegetarian protein foods, not anywhere near enough non starchy vegetables. I would also note you eat an awful lot of sweet and high glycaemic index foods and not so many savoury ones. IMO add oily fish (canned is often cheaper than fresh) and omega-enriched eggs.

Sticky Squirrel is a peanut butter granola bar that is made local near by a company near my house (SO GOOD). But I agree it's probs got a lot of sugar I am definitely not a vegetarian (I LOVE MEAT) but I just don't eat enough of it I guess. Thank you for your advice! - I will do cut out the cheerios from now on.

NZhellkat

I took a quick look at your diary and I see that the choice you used for milk and yogurt show absolutely no protein. I did a check on that using the database and see that both do have protein. My suggestion to you is to check the database and make sure that your food options hare showing the required protein then look at what the difference is and work it up from there.

NikoM5

quinoa. it's one of the only non-meat sources that is a complete protein.

No it is not - you should check the label

It's also woefully low in protein. You'd need to eat a LOT to make any significant contribution to your daily protein goals.