Need Help With Protein and Macros

luluinca · November 2013

I'm thrilled with my weight loss so far but don't believe I'm getting enough protein for the workouts I'm doing. My doctor gave me 6 months from September to bring my cholesterol levels down so I'm trying to be fairly low fat.. I'm old......................63 LOL, 5'7", SW 231, CW 213, GW 165. I swim five days a week, 3 days after a 40 minute circuit workout, and the other two in the mornings (45 minutes, working toward an hour mile) before an hour circuit class with my trainer that same evening. I don't enter all the exercise minutes because I tend to think the calorie burns on MFP are high. My base intake is at 1220 because I also tend to think that even though I'm trying to measure, weigh and record everything I'm still probably underestimating by about 100 to 150 calories a day.

I set my macros at Carb/50%, Protein/25% and Fat/25%. On the five days that I work out with both swimming and circuit, I'm having trouble getting to even 100g of protein which is below my 25% for the day generally. I try to eat at around 1500, when I went higher I stalled. On my two non-gym days I stick to about 1300 and walk the dog and do calisthenics and stretches at home.

I was pretty inactive the past six years due to a serious back injury but have finally realized that it's never going to get better with rest........................LOL, so here I am, heavier and worse off. I'm enjoying getting back into the exercise groove and have a trainer helping me with the circuit stuff so I'm building core and strength so as not to re-injure my back.

I need to know if there's anything I can do to get more low fat protein that won't shoot my calories through the roof and into the upper stratosphere. BTW, I will tolerate a protein bar but not as a meal replacement and protein shakes just don't do it for me. I like to EAT my food. Nuts have too many calories so I feel like I'm stuck with animal protein for the most part. Tofu makes me gag.

Any suggestions otherwise would be welcome. Or if any of you wise people see something I could do differently I'd really appreciate any suggestions. My diary is open. Last weekend wasn't real great but most days I'm pretty predictable.

That kids granola/cereal bar that looks like a mid-morning snack is actually my pre-workout snack. I'm trying to replace those with 1/2 protein bars instead.

Sorry for the length. I tried to give y'all as much information as I could so you wouldn't have to guess.

BobbieInCA · November 2013

Hey, Kid! If you're "old" I must be ancient!
I tend to eat lean chicken, turkey, and fish/seafood. Don't agree that nuts are fattening, unless you scoop up handfuls. I count out almonds, which are so good for you. An omelet or scramble still tastes good with 4 whites and only one yolk. I'm milk intolerant, so Lactose free nonfat milk, lowfat cottage cheese, and low fat hard cheeses are also good protein sources. Hope this helps... "Doddering Bobbie."

luluinca · November 2013

You're not doddering. All good suggestions but I feel like I tend to go over on sodium and fat still. I'm fine with the food choices I just can't seem to meet the protein requirements with what I'm doing. I like to stay away from too much dairy. I've been eating shrimp as a mid-morning snack which seems a little weird and they're salty. Just slightly frustrated I guess. Ground turkey sort of sticks in my throat.................LOL. Thanks for the ideas.

gamerkiwi · November 2013

Eat nuts. They're fine, healthy, as long as you don't have so many that you go over on your calories. I wouldn't mind going over on fats, just reduce your carb intake to hit your calorie goal. Fats are totally good for you.

Eat egg whites, and have just 1-2 yolk per day (actually, ask your doctor)

Have some cottage cheese as well, that stuff's loaded with good protein.

If you don't want protein shakes, try some recipes that incorporate protein powder. Try putting it in oatmeal as well.

srogers89 · November 2013

Fish is excellent, low fat and very high in protein. I have to meet 125g of protein a day and I know how difficult it can be! I would also recommend taking a look at a protein powder to take after workouts, an easy source of 15g-30g of protein a day right there!

Phoenix_Warrior · November 2013

I like the fish idea! I love Greek yogurt plain with protein granola (nature valley has a 10g per serving one or bear naked 6g) and Quest protein bars are delicious and about 20-21g of protein (tad expensive though).

luluinca · November 2013

Thanks, I guess it's time to try the protein powder. I'm already eating egg whites and fish. I love walnuts but at only 4g protein for 180 calories I don't think I can really eat them until I lose the weight. I'll try the cottage cheese again, it's not my favorite but I can tolerate it. A couple of weeks ago I put in in cream of tomato soup and it was pretty good. I could probably do protein powder in my oatmeal, which I eat almost every day.

Thanks for the ideas.

jonnythan · November 2013

I need to know if there's anything I can do to get more low fat protein that won't shoot my calories through the roof and into the upper stratosphere. BTW, I will tolerate a protein bar but not as a meal replacement and protein shakes just don't do it for me. I like to EAT my food. Nuts have too many calories so I feel like I'm stuck with animal protein for the most part. Tofu makes me gag.

Any suggestions otherwise would be welcome. Or if any of you wise people see something I could do differently I'd really appreciate any suggestions. My diary is open. Last weekend wasn't real great but most days I'm pretty predictable.

That kids granola/cereal bar that looks like a mid-morning snack is actually my pre-workout snack. I'm trying to replace those with 1/2 protein bars instead.

Sorry for the length. I tried to give y'all as much information as I could so you wouldn't have to guess.

Lean meat and protein powder. Chicken, turkey, fish, whey.

Done.

jonnythan · November 2013

Thanks, I guess it's time to try the protein powder. I'm already eating egg whites and fish. I love walnuts but at only 4g protein for 180 calories I don't think I can really eat them until I lose the weight. I'll try the cottage cheese again, it's not my favorite but I can tolerate it. A couple of weeks ago I put in in cream of tomato soup and it was pretty good. I could probably do protein powder in my oatmeal, which I eat almost every day.

Thanks for the ideas.

Eat *more* fish. Instead of 3 oz of pork, eat 6 oz. Instead of 4 oz of cod, eat 9 oz. Instead of 1 egg white, eat 3.

luluinca · November 2013

Hah, I've never heard of protein granola but that sounds really good in Greek yogurt which I like. I haven't broken down and bought the Quest bars yet but I think I will buy a few. We just spent $95 at the fish market so I may have to wait a week................LOL

luluinca · November 2013

Jonny, I knew the pork was a mistake. My husband was excited about a new recipe and wanted to try it...................I generally eat fish and chicken, but your point that I need to eat more of it is a good one. That and protein powder will probably do the trick. Thanks everyone!

bbsweetpea · November 2013

Do you like beans? I make a pot of black beans once a week and we eat them with pretty much any meal. It adds a lot of protein into the diet without too many calories.

kr1s1c · November 2013

If I may recommend protein powder, I love love love Jay Robb's Whey Protein in Vanilla. One scoop has 25g's of protein. Calories 110, Carbs 1, Fat 0. I suggest Vanilla because it's so versatile - you can add berries or chia or flax or spices - anything to dress it up when you get board. I make my morning breakfast shakes with water and chia. And sometimes in the evening, it's nice to have a little dessert (and kick up the protein counts when I'm short) so I make a berry shake with milk and freeze.

Good luck! (Oh, I'm in no way affiliated with Jay Robb's or his companies - I'm just another peer trying to lower my weight, exercise more and reduce stress.) KC

jonnythan · November 2013

Jonny, I knew the pork was a mistake. My husband was excited about a new recipe and wanted to try it...................I generally eat fish and chicken, but your point that I need to eat more of it is a good one. That and protein powder will probably do the trick. Thanks everyone!

Pork is not a mistake! Pork is awesome. I said eat MORE of it! Eat 6 ounces instead of 3 ounces.

In other words, look at the places you're getting most of the protein in your diet, and eat larger portions of those. Eat bigger pieces of fish, bigger pieces of chicken, bigger pieces of pork, more eggs, etc. Supplement with protein powder as necessary

luluinca · November 2013

Jonny, I like pork too, it's just difficult to eat enough because of the fat, which is of course why it tastes so good. I'm listening to your other suggestions though. I still have a lot of weight to lose and need to get my body fat down.

luluinca · November 2013

"If I may recommend protein powder, I love love love Jay Robb's Whey Protein in Vanilla"

Great, I was going to ask for a suggestion.

luluinca · November 2013

Do you like beans? I make a pot of black beans once a week and we eat them with pretty much any meal. It adds a lot of protein into the diet without too many calories.

That's a great idea. I forget about beans and I do like them. I put them in soup every chance I get but no reason not to have them with lunch or dinner instead of brown rice or sweet potato.

jonnythan · November 2013

Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey is probably the most popular protein powder out there, for good reason. It's high quality whey, fairly inexpensive, mixes easily, and most of the flavors are pretty good. You can get 2 lbs of it on Amazon for about $27.

Try to stick with normal-sounding flavors. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry. The more interesting the flavor sounds, the worse it usually tastes.

Syntrax Matrix is also very good. It's a protein blend, so it's quite a bit thicker and is nicer if you're just mixing with water.

luluinca · November 2013

Whey has been ordered, I'll add ounces of fish and chicken, eat black beans, and I added non-fat cottage cheese to my grocery list. Thanks everyone for participating in my first forum post. I appreciate the help.

jonnythan · November 2013

:drinker:

brookenatashafit · November 2013

Hi lulu!

Looks like you're really on the right track, great work at keeping your portion sizes in check and making healthy choices!

To lower your cholesterol levels, there are two things that I think would really help.

1. Up your Omega 3's
I know you mentioned that you're trying to keep your diet low fat, and that you can't have walnuts until you've dropped your weight, but I completely completely disagree! Our bodies NEED fat for so many reasons, and having HEALTHY fats will actually help REDUCE your cholesterol. Salmon, Tuna, Walnuts and Flaxseed are all really great sources of Omega 3's.

You're doing great with your oats in the morning, but I think you'd do great with adding 1 tbsp flax meal and 3-4 chopped walnuts to your oatmeal every day. (Flax seeds do not get fully digested if they are not crushed before you eat them - you can make flax meal by chopping flax seeds in Magic Bullet or coffee grinder, or just buy flax meal from somewhere like Trader Joe's

)

2. Up your Fibre
Women over 50 should aim for 20g of Fibre/day, and it looks like you're usually around 16g, so I think you'd really benefit from an extra 4-5 g a day.

It looks like you REALLY love cheese. While cheese does have a little bit of protein in it, it also has fat. Remember how I told you fat is actually good for weight loss and lowering cholesterol? Well, it is - but there are different types of fats that do different things for the body. The "good" fats which help in lowering cholesterol and weight are in whole food sources such as fatty fish, nuts, nut butters, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil, and avocado. Fats found in foods like cheese do provide satiety (belly satisfaction/fullness) but do not have the same benefits.

So, a few switches I would recommend here:
- cooking with coconut oil instead of extra virgin olive oil
- having salmon instead of chicken/beef/pork 2x a week

A few other pieces of feedback for you -

You do really well with eating a lot of whole foods but I would love to see you eliminate a few junky foods that are packed with chemicals, additives and a bunch of crap that is actually making you hungrier:
- Coffeemate coffee whitener
- Cool whip
- Sugar free jello/pudding

These are not real foods and I promise you, are doing a million times more harm than good in the long run!

My suggestion for a great substitute for the coffee whitener would be to swap it out for Almondfresh Almond Milk (unsweetened). Remember how I recommended you up your Fibre? Look what happens when we make this simple swap:
Coffeemate: 40 calories, 1 g carbs, 0 protein, 0 fibre
Almondfresh: 35 calories, 0 g carbs, 1 g protein, 1 g fibre

;-)

I am not sure where you're at, but I am actually a Personal Trainer and Diet Coach and am accepting online clients. I would love to chat more, if you've got any questions email me at dreambig.whynot@gmail.com :-)

Cheers and All the Best! Keep up the good work girl!

Need Help With Protein and Macros

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