Need to increase Protein

Liz77bandsman
Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all

I am a returning MFP member (falling ill over christmas and losing weight gave me the kick start i needed - it's staying off at the moment). the issue i seem to have is i am always way under protein every day.
I know many of you will recommend fish or meat however i dislike meat and react badly to fish. I have opened up my food diary but would really like some impartial advise.
I'm all for meat replacements so if you have any quick recipes that would be amazing.

As a background:
breakfast mon-fri is always a slimfast shake. I get up early for work and find this is ideal for the morning rush
Lunch mon-fri is usually vegetable soup or a sandwich or sometimes a jacket potato with cheese/beans from the canteen
tea - this is where it goes a little wobbly. the kids have tea in childcare so we eat & prepare ours after they have gone to bed (around 8ish is when we eat, sometimes later).

I have another 33lb to lose before i get to where i should be and would like to be quite close come June ready for our 10th wedding anniversary and of course the gorgeous weather (ha ha ha) and pretty clothes.

thanks in advance
Liz :smile:
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Replies

  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    My two pence.

    Hard-boil and peel 5 eggs every Sunday night. You can eat one with your SlimFast shake every morning. In addition broil, grill, or bake a couple of skinless chicken breasts while the eggs are boiling. Cut them in half and eat a piece daily. (I call these "protein bombs".)

    Eggs and chicken breasts are very high quality protein.
  • meganooxx
    meganooxx Posts: 1
    cottage cheese is such a good choice of protein, almost everyday for breakfast i have a container of pc vanilla cottage cheese, with mixed berried and 2 graham crackers i think its like 12g of protein per serving
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    Thanks :) Love the eggs idea (especially cold hard boiled) but i'm off chicken (sorry to be a pain).
  • 13Jools
    13Jools Posts: 10
    Try some nuts! Easy on-the-go snack. Happy Day! Jools
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    cottage cheese is such a good choice of protein, almost everyday for breakfast i have a container of pc vanilla cottage cheese, with mixed berried and 22 graham crackers i think its like 12g of protein per serving
    I love cottage cheese and completely forgotten about this. I can see my fridge improving by the second.
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    Try some nuts! Easy on-the-go snack. Happy Day! Jools

    I was worried about the high fat content in nuts BUT if i keep other fats down maybe the nuts & seed mixes would be ok if i portion them off when doing the packed lunches (I would eat the lot otherwise - self control lacks here)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Why not just use protein powder? I eat meat, fish, beans and nuts (not a big fan of eggs) but I was always still short on protein. I was drinking almond and soy milk for the calcium (don't like milk either) so now I just add chocolate protein powder to it. Problem solved without really changing my diet or adding al lot of calories.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    Fage 0% greek yoghurt.

    I sometimes add some almonds or cashew nuts. Sometimes I also add a Muller Light flavoured fat free yoghurt on top as well.
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    I can't wait to get our shopping order. Thanks guys - always open for as many suggestions as available

    :love:
  • stormtruck2
    stormtruck2 Posts: 118 Member
    I suggest that you use Intek Evolution Protein powder. I use the creamsicle flavor but there are others. Iu e it as a meal replacement. 34 g of protein 160 calories and 1 g of fat. Very lean. Also packed with vitamins and enzymes. I try to get 254 g of protein a day. Hard to do without the powder. I don't .like the fat and cholesteral in the egg, though I do eat one every now and then. I also eat sunflower seed meats, almonds and walnuts. The fat in them are the good essential fats, not the bad fat. You mileage may vary. (YMMV) You can look at my food diary if you wish.
  • Liz77bandsman
    Liz77bandsman Posts: 11
    Hi all

    after all your suggestions i am currently working my way through, and having a ball! As i'm no longer eating meat (it is too much of a struggle - dislike it) I tried a great high protein recipe that is super simple, filling and high protein, i thought you might like to try it too:
    Ingredients:
    1 x bag of asda meat free chicken pieces (can be replaced with chicken/other meat if preferred)
    1 x jar of Aldis sweet & sour sauce
    1 x bag of steam fresh veg (open this up and add to the pot below)
    240g boiled pasta
    Method
    Pop all the ingredients into a pot and leave to simmer gently for around 15 mins
    once cooked share the pasta into 3 pots, add a serving of the sweet & sour mix above
    3 x servings, really filling and pretty low fat too (which shocked me)
    This week i lost another 1.25lb which is realistic as we had a crazy second christmas on the weekend.

    I have a tub of low fat cottage cheese ready for jacket potatoes at dinner.

    Thanks again everyone who took the time to give me a boost. I hope to repay the favour and wish you all well with your weight losses / maintaining

    Liz
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
    Try some nuts! Easy on-the-go snack. Happy Day! Jools

    Nuts are over 50% fat. I wouldnt scoff them if you intend to lose weight.
  • edessad
    edessad Posts: 91 Member
    Try some nuts! Easy on-the-go snack. Happy Day! Jools

    I was worried about the high fat content in nuts BUT if i keep other fats down maybe the nuts & seed mixes would be ok if i portion them off when doing the packed lunches (I would eat the lot otherwise - self control lacks here)

    I used to worry about that as well until the nutritionist at work told Me that the when the fat breaks down it creates fat burning enzymes. She has a degree in this stuff so I assume it's true. I do limit my intake though due to the high calorie count.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I'm vegan so I don't eat any meat, fish, or animal products but I still manage to get ~30% of my calories from protein. My main sources of protein are protein powder added to oatmeal and this bread http://www.josephsbakery.com/p-10222-Flax-Oat-Bran-and-Omega-3-Square-Lavash which is 40% calories from protein.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    Replace your slim fast shake (which has crazy high carbs & sugar anyways) with a whey isolate protein powder - if you mix it with milk it gives you almost 37 grams of protein, with around 15 carbs and 2-5 fat (depending on the brand and the milk you use...A much better ration and it will keep you full for longer...
    Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and string cheese/babybel light works well too....
  • leodru
    leodru Posts: 321 Member
    Plain nonfat Greek Yogurt with sugar free jello in it for taste - works well! 100 grams about 10 grams protein
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Most women I know love liquid protein shots.











    http://www.amazon.com/MuscleTech-Smart-Protein-Energy--Count/dp/B005830DQK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358367829&sr=8-2&keywords=liquid+protein+shots
  • UnoDrea3732
    UnoDrea3732 Posts: 342 Member
    Protein shakes..thats my two cents.
  • FitBeto
    FitBeto Posts: 2,121 Member
    my diary brah
  • 4_Lisa
    4_Lisa Posts: 362 Member
    Hi all

    As a background:
    breakfast mon-fri is always a slimfast shake. I get up early for work and find this is ideal for the morning rush

    Replace the slimfast shake (really no nutrition in it) and do a proetein shake. I do a shake every morning. Shake includes powder that is at least 20g protein and 120 cal, I then add in different things depending on taste. Lately it is choc powder, cocoa powder, instant coffee granules, ice and water total of 140 calories.... gets me going and gives me protein. You could make it with milk to add more protein, would add calories too though.
  • FlowmO
    FlowmO Posts: 6
    Hi!

    My coach told me to put a teaspoon of gelatin (powder) in my smoothies or even in my tea to add more protein to my diet.
    It may sound weird, but it does actually help...

    Just drink the drinks soon after preparing them otherwise you'll end up with tea jello ;)
  • braveheartfitz
    braveheartfitz Posts: 2
    Thank you for the great idea!
  • braveheartfitz
    braveheartfitz Posts: 2
    How has the gelatin worked for you so far? Thank you!
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
    You could try getting beans and lentils into your diet - they're quite good for protein and easy to add to a stew, curry or chilli. Tinned ones are fine, just make sure you get them in water without added salt or sugar - you're in the UK I think, so there's loads of choice at all the supermarkets.

    Google vegetables for the protein content - some are surprisingly high - and work those into your diet.

    As a bonus, you'll boost fibre intake at the same time.
  • jjrichard83
    jjrichard83 Posts: 483 Member
    protein from eggs in liquid form can not be absorbed by humans- must be solid.

    I would recommend genuine health vegan shake - 26.1 grams of protein from a number of different sources (so you don't need to worry about cycling powders).

    Also, I am 260ish lbs, and I only take 100-130g of protein daily and was able to increase lean mass with that. I believe that the amount of protein needed daily has always been grossly over estimated.
  • cnelady
    cnelady Posts: 4 Member
    Have you ever tried quinoa?
  • SuffolkSally
    SuffolkSally Posts: 964 Member
    Hi!

    My coach told me to put a teaspoon of gelatin (powder) in my smoothies or even in my tea to add more protein to my diet.
    It may sound weird, but it does actually help...

    Just drink the drinks soon after preparing them otherwise you'll end up with tea jello ;)

    Really? *Rushes to google* I love gelatin in savoury recipes. I'd never thought of it having protein in, and the packs I have don't have any nutritional info on them... great tip!
  • SuperCork
    SuperCork Posts: 192 Member
    My two pence.

    Hard-boil and peel 5 eggs every Sunday night. You can eat one with your SlimFast shake every morning. In addition broil, grill, or bake a couple of skinless chicken breasts while the eggs are boiling. Cut them in half and eat a piece daily. (I call these "protein bombs".)

    Eggs and chicken breasts are very high quality protein.

    I think this is great advice: preplanning and prep help me to stay on track with nutrition, regardless of which specific we're talking about. Nuts, string cheese, and plain greek yogurt are also excellent sources of protein IMO.
  • stormtruck2
    stormtruck2 Posts: 118 Member
    I put a packet of suger free jello in each of my vanilla protein shakes. Helps flavor and adds only 40 calories. Also supposed to help with hair and nails.
  • SamVerb
    SamVerb Posts: 2
    If you like Indian food, I've started making Butter Chicken with a can of chickpeas instead of chicken. To make it really easy, there are a few fat-reduced brands of jarred sauce on the market.

    If you're more of an Italian food girl, you can try making chicken parmesan with sliced firm tofu (suggest breading it using eggs/egg whites and breadcrumbs with oregano, basil, and thyme and baking it first) in place of the chicken.

    You seem to be mostly vegetarian at this point, so anything with dairy, legumes, or nuts would help you out. And remember whole grain products (especially quinoa) have somewhat more protein than their white counterparts...

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