Upping protein - sodium issues and no weight loss?

chooselove

You've gotten some great suggestions and your replies to those are generally pretty b*tchy. Maybe you should be thankful anyone even took the time to reply.

Gosh, this was so helpful. I appropriately responded to the people who actually gave helpful advice for the question I asked.

you're not being rude, OP. it frustrates me as well when people don't take the time to read the original post in full, and just spout off useless information.

kazzsjourney

I eat 135 grams of protein per day as a minimum and watch my sodium too. I eat a lot of what you already eat. I find to hit that mark I really need to eat some chicken (i dont like red meat), greek yoghurt and protein shakes. I then also eat things like peanut butter, tahini, cottage cheese (this is kinda high in sodium), cheese....i do most days manage to keep my sodium under 2000mg.

holothuroidea

The thing that bothers me about this is that it implies that vegan diets are low in protein, and it's not true. Vegan diets are as varied as omnivorous ones. Some are high in protein and some are low.

I generally get 20% of my calories from protein no problem. I could get more if I thought I had to.

I don't know how much protein is really necessary for strength training or muscle building, but I do know that vegan diets being low in protein is a myth I'd rather not have to hear anymore.

metacognition

Try cottage cheese and greek yogurt, and protein powders (not as good) as sources of protein; they have less sodium.

albertabeefy

pretend it doesn't say "vegan" and just read where it says "protein is over rated"

OK, then maybe get a new picture that isn't embellishing the truth

FYI I maintain my mass quite well during my diet phases on 20-25% max caloric intake of protein. Most people do. I find I need about 30% of my calories from protein when mass-building, however. More really doesn't seem to help me, or most people.

Iknewyouweretrouble

The processed meat and sodium comments are correct, you are going to have to work extra hard at eating lower sodium in all areas. The DASH diet guidelines have some great lower sodium options. You will sacrifice taste sometimes especially with things like spinach. Stay away from cans in general and try to buy fresh things that have limited shelf life and fridge life. My favorite sources of protein : eggs or egg whites, plain almonds, unsweetened soy milk, raw unsalted shelled sunflower seeds. Good luck to you and continue to watch calories.

albertabeefy

In this study both groups consumed 2010 calories in addition to their normal daily intake. Group 1 also consumed an additional 106g of protein and group 2 consumed only an extra 24g of protein. The results are group 1 gained 6lbs of lBM and group 2 gained 7.5lbs while consuming roughly 120g of protein total. Yes the LOWER protein group gained more LBM than the higher protein group.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11591884

First, the study you link to on Pubmed has absolutely nothing to do with the quote you've provided. The study on pubmed is about supplementation with Whey, Whey + Creatine or Placebo and did not conclude in any way that those consuming less protein gained more mass - the opposite conclusion was reached.

Did you read the study?

albertabeefy

In this study both groups consumed 2010 calories in addition to their normal daily intake. Group 1 also consumed an additional 106g of protein and group 2 consumed only an extra 24g of protein. The results are group 1 gained 6lbs of lBM and group 2 gained 7.5lbs while consuming roughly 120g of protein total. Yes the LOWER protein group gained more LBM than the higher protein group.

OK, I believe I've found the study you were trying to summarize - but you (Edit: or whomever you quoted from) incorrectly interpreted it.

The study is "Effects of high-calorie supplements on body composition and muscular strength following resistance training." and studied 73 college football players in a randomized, double-blind trial.

Again there were three groups, not two. In addition to their normal diets group 1 consumed a 2010 kcal high calorie, high protein supplement containing 356 g carbohydrate and 106 g protein. Group 2 consumed a carbohydrate supplement that was isocaloric with CHO/PRO. Group 3 received no supplement and served as a control. All subjects were placed on a 4-day x week(-1) RT program for 8 weeks.

Where the error is (and it's considerable) was in their total protein consumption. First, the study shows these were trained college football players who already were ALL having their minimum protein requirements met, even BEFORE the supplement drink.

The results were "... that high-calorie supplements are effective in increasing BM and FFM when combined with RT. However, once individual protein requirements are met, energy content of the diet has the largest effect on body composition."

As stated previously, they already had their individual protein requirements met. BTW they were NOT each having 120g total and nowhere in the study does it make this claim because they were all consuming considerably more protein daily than this. I'm not sure where that idea came from - but it's not in the study whatsoever.

albertabeefy

That's weird... don't know what happened. I actually copied and pasted from an old topic i had. I guess you're right, it does demonstrate the opposite of what i quoted.

Here is the entire topic wit many other references (that actually are what i said they are). Most of this research came from Brad Pilon...

OK, found Brad's e-book (a freely available pdf) where he talks about the study - he only uses it to show that once your protein requirements are already met, adding additional protein has no added benefit - which we already know and I believe we both agree on

The caveat of course is that added protein above and beyond the 'normal' requirement WOULD be beneficial to someone taking a course of anabolic steroids or human growth hormone. Hopefully nobody here is doing that without a very valid medical reason...

lucyricky2

I have upped my protein with tuna, salmon, cod,eggs, Try to drink more water up to 15 glasses a day if you can . That will flush the sodium out of your body. Greek yogurt is also high in protein. It has worked for me and got me off my plateau. I have also gone hi and then low on calories and exercise.

eliseofthejungle

Have you tried quinoa? I haven't seen that mentioned yet.

I tried it once and didn't like the recipe. Do you have any to recommend? I still have some in my pantry waiting for me to use.

I've actually never tried it. :embarassed: I've just always heard good things so I thought I'd throw it out there.

chrisdavey

ok so if you have low blood pressure then don't worry about sodium. Water weight fluctuates, it doesn't hinder fat loss. So eat whatever protein you want to hit your targets. Pretty simple And also, if you are still worried about your sodium, what is your potassium intake like?

Sohmern

Also, you can try to substitute farro for rice. farro has a decent amount of protein as compared to other grains.