Protein?

CatShelton

Ladies who do Stronglifts...How much protein do you eat each day. I am stuggling to get over 100g, and I should really be probably around 124 ish if I eat one gram per lb of lean muscle mass, which is what I have heard I should do. Do I really need to resort to protein shakes?

Feel free to check out the last week or so of my diary if you'd like to see what I am already eating.

Cat

auddii

I try to aim for 130-140. I personally chose to add a protein shake, but I was consistently getting over about 110-120 with just food. You can check out my diary for ideas.

Looking through your diary, it seems like maybe your "problem" is what you consider servings of protein. For example, my lunch and dinner usually have 100g of cooked chicken (about 3oz). Because I cook my own in basically water and spices, there aren't many added extra calories. So for each of those, I get about 30g of protein with about 160 calories (getting my data from the USDA).

I'll also snack on peanut butter and cottage cheese. The peanut butter has far more fat than protein, so that's a turn off for some people (I see nothing wrong with fat). But, cottage cheese seems to do a lot better at packing protein than some other cheese.

xidia

I use a protein shake in the morning on my cereal.

I have meat in my lunch, and usually wholemeal bread which also has some protein.

Dinner always includes meat, ideally 30g+ protein, and if I'm running short garden peas are a great way to add it.

I snack on nuts and I have milk in my tea, all of which add up in 1s and 2s. A small can of tuna is 35g protein for 147cals if I'm really struggling on a given day, or it forms part of my evening meal.

I think that while 1g/lb is a nice easy number, the science actually says 0.7-0.8g/lb is fine for muscle building. I also like protein because it fills me up.

CatShelton

Thanks Ladies,

I am going to get some cottage cheese today, I love peanut butter, so that makes its way into my diet quite often. I am hoping to not have to buy protein shakes, but I will if I need to. Ill give it a few more weeks and see what happens. I wish I wasn't allergic to seafood, I didn't realize tuna had so much protein!

Thank you again.
Cat

sherrirb

Great info ladies, thank you for sharing and thanks to Cat for posting the question.

I struggle with protein as well sometimes, even though I'm not trying to reach 100g+ a day yet.

3foldchord

I aim for 130-140. My LBM is 109, but I find I do better with the higher amount.
i eat llots of chicken, turkey burgers, egg, have a protei shake and I like Ques Protein bars.
greek yogurt is a good source, too

lwoodroff

I aim for 100 and if I go over, great. I don't think it's of unlimited benefit when you start getting super high as long as you get 'enough'. The argument of course is over what constitutes 'enough'!

3foldchord

I aim for 100 and if I go over, great. I don't think it's of unlimited benefit when you start getting super high as long as you get 'enough'. The argument of course is over what constitutes 'enough'!

. My dad, who was 'into, body building in the 80s, says the body Alan only use 45 grams of protein at once. He saw my 'lunch' was 72..... But I eat lunch in two sessions, so he was happy with that...LOL

tameko2

I aim for 100 and if I go over, great. I don't think it's of unlimited benefit when you start getting super high as long as you get 'enough'. The argument of course is over what constitutes 'enough'!

. My dad, who was 'into, body building in the 80s, says the body Alan only use 45 grams of protein at once. He saw my 'lunch' was 72..... But I eat lunch in two sessions, so he was happy with that...LOL

Yeah that's an old bodybuilding myth. Of course, what the magazines and fitness industry never told you back then was that they were all using steroids. You can digest more, it just takes a while.

Of course they do that now TOO but you can just read up on what natural bodybuilders like Layne Norton say and avoid the ones you don't know about.

OP - I wrote it up...somewhere ...but basically, no need to eat 1g/lb. Get at least 1.5g/kg and let the rest fall where it may.

And if you are NOT cutting cals then you don't actually need to worry about protein as much - do get SOME, as your body needs a mixture of protein and carbs for muscle repair, and you should eat that mixture within a few hours of your workout (Before) or maybe an hourish after, but its not super duper strict. As long as you're eating enough food and a good mixture of protein fat and carbs (like eating normally - someone who is a vegetarian or vegan might need to pay closer attention) then you should be doing fine.

jstout365

I get between 120-140 a day, but I try to not go too far over that for digestive reasons. Once I'm on the plus side of 100g I'm set, though. I pack protein into each meal and snack and I try to vary the sources. My diary is open. I cook most of my meals, but don't always put them in as recipes so some REALLY long lists of small amounts usually means something was made from everything.

ETA: I have protein powder for a shake when necessary, but it really has to be like just before bed and I don't feel like eating. I actually bought it to use it in baking. I have made cheese cake and cookies with it as a treat with a protein kick.

PikaKnight

I also have had issues meeting protein goals but have done a lot better. I aim for a minimum of 100+ grams at least 4 days of the week and the rest 80+. Slowly working to all 7 days being100+ grams . What's really helped is 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition in the morning and sometimes another 1-2 scoops in the afternoon.