TDEE minus 25%, help + protein help

annacataldo
annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Well, working a physical job now it was suggested to me to follow my tdee calories minus weight loss goals because I feel like **** all the time (sore, no motivation, constantly needing rest, needing coffee all the sudden to do activities).. But eating my tdee is 2700 calories a day (after the weight loss calculation is taken out) , which is 1100 more a day than mfp suggests. Also my protein is 110-155 daily (which I completely changed my diet to watch protein now which I never had before when I lost 103 lbs but was sedentary), but it's apparently suppose to be over 200. If I already eat meat, eggs, cheese & nuts everyday (and protein shakes on my days off when I go to gym), how am I suppose to get it over 200 without breaking bank? I'm on a very strict budget, and can't afford double servings of meat, or double protein shakes everyday... Also, how am I suppose to eat 2700 calories a day? Wow that's a lot! I could easily increase it a couple hundred; but 1000? Sheesh.
Does anyone else follow their tdee calories? Or have tried it but gained?
Is anyone else struggling with money? What's cheapest way to increase protein? I don't like egg yolks much so when I have hard boiled eggs I have to remove yolk. I have nuts, cheese for snacks everyday at work already, and even peanut butter too on most days, with meat before and at lunch, plus a cheese based meal when I get home like quick quesadillas. My diary is public but I've had Sunday through Tuesday off work so eating a lil different than work days. I found out earlier that peanuts have more protein than almonds so I'm going to give them a try more, and I'm not much for beans and have no idea what to do with legumes and the such, but imagine beans and such might be the answer? What do I do with them? I try to work in black beans as much as I can but at a loss for how to use them other than dropping a lil bit here and there not affecting protein much

Replies

  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    Should also mention my bf needs to increase his protein the same as well; so there's 2 of us that will really affect the budget.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    I just spent a lot of time adding in today (not cool), and adding a protein shake on a work day (a big no no for the budget), trying to add in every gram of protein I could and didn't even make 190 protein; plus adding in more milk just increases my sugar. I'm way up on fat too. :-( beans didn't have as much protein as I thought. I did increase cal by 500 though; but not 1100. Not sure I'm ok with this new tdee method so that's ok by me; but would like to hear from others who've had success or failed with that method.
    Please help!
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    That's why using percentages to work out your macros isn't that useful.
    Eat the 2700 calories per day, and if after a few weeks you are putting on weight then drop it down 100-200 calories or something. Most people can lose weight on much higher calories than MFP suggests.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
    and how do i get to that amount of calories without stuffing myself silly? and how do I increase my protein? im still under 200 even when i try my hardest; but then my fat level skyrockets by getting protein up that high, so how do i lower fat as well?
  • togmo
    togmo Posts: 257
    Listen to your body. If you are hungry eat, eat knowing you can eat roughly 2700cals a day. If you aren't hungry and have energy then don't worry too much about stuffing your face just to meet your target. My missus eats about 2700cals a day and isn't putting on weight, some days she eats even more. She is about 6 foot tall and around 80kg and sadly has bigger muscles than me but I am stronger and am working on it!

    As for protein they bandy around all sorts of numbers but the general rule is the more athletic you are the more protein you need and while it doesn't supposedly hurt to eat more protein than you need I would think 200g of protein a day is excessive. I am a 6'2, 95kg man trying to build muscle and I aim for about 150g protein per day. Supposedly endurance athletes try to eat between 1.2-1.7g/kg 0.5-0.8g/lb) of protein. This means if you are very very active and you weigh say 70kg (155lb) you should be eating about 84 - 120g of protein a day.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Try cheap protien like canned fish (tuna, salmon, crab) if you like it. Egg whites have great protien, skim milk if you are worried about the fat, greek yogurt...and surprisingly enough cheese slices...

    As for the TDEE it works (I used my own personal data though not an estimate from a web site) Mine is 1995 -15-20% is 1600-1700 and I lose.

    As for working out your macros I use a calculation based on my body fat %. I have appx 26% BF at 165lbs

    That leaves me with 121lbs of LBM

    protien 121*4(calories in 1g of protien)/TDEE = 30% or 480 calories = 120g min
    fats 12*9*.35/1600=23.82 (round up to 25%) or 400 calories = 44g min
    Rest are carbs

    The protien is there to help repair from workouts esp lifting weights but others as well and it helps lessen muscle loss while losing weight...try to hit your minimum but if you can't get in as much as possible without breaking your bank.

    PS I don't find peanut butter that great unless you need the calories...

    http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-highest-in-protein.php check this link out for the top 10 protien sources.
  • togmo
    togmo Posts: 257
    and how do i get to that amount of calories without stuffing myself silly? and how do I increase my protein? im still under 200 even when i try my hardest; but then my fat level skyrockets by getting protein up that high, so how do i lower fat as well?

    Unfortunately to up protein at the expense of fat is generally a little expensive - you need chicken breasts, not thighs or wings, you need a premium, more expensive mince etc etc. You can still get good protein in a shake mixed with low fat milk if you are worried about fat. You should be able to get the required amount of protein though easily enough if you eat relatively healthy foods. Take away foods generally have very little proteins and lots of fats though.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    As for protein they bandy around all sorts of numbers but the general rule is the more athletic you are the more protein you need and while it doesn't supposedly hurt to eat more protein than you need I would think 200g of protein a day is excessive. I am a 6'2, 95kg man trying to build muscle and I aim for about 150g protein per day. Supposedly endurance athletes try to eat between 1.2-1.7g/kg 0.5-0.8g/lb) of protein. This means if you are very very active and you weigh say 70kg (155lb) you should be eating about 84 - 120g of protein a day.

    I am not a performance athlete and I eat a min of 120g min a day at 165lbs due to the fact I have 121lbs of LBM. I lift heavy as well...but that's about it.

    The OP weighs about 248 so she that 120g you mention is not appropriate for her.
  • togmo
    togmo Posts: 257
    As for protein they bandy around all sorts of numbers but the general rule is the more athletic you are the more protein you need and while it doesn't supposedly hurt to eat more protein than you need I would think 200g of protein a day is excessive. I am a 6'2, 95kg man trying to build muscle and I aim for about 150g protein per day. Supposedly endurance athletes try to eat between 1.2-1.7g/kg 0.5-0.8g/lb) of protein. This means if you are very very active and you weigh say 70kg (155lb) you should be eating about 84 - 120g of protein a day.

    I am not a performance athlete and I eat a min of 120g min a day at 165lbs due to the fact I have 121lbs of LBM. I lift heavy as well...but that's about it.

    The OP weighs about 248 so she that 120g you mention is not appropriate for her.

    I didn't see any mention of her weight so I just threw those numbers out as a guide so she would understand that a person of 155lb would need about 84-120g of protein a day (0.5-0.8g/lb). In her case then she would need roughly 124 - 200g protein per day - i.e the minimum she should be trying to hit is 124g of protein not 200g.

    There are lots of resources out there, which vary slightly on how much protein is required per lb/kg of body weight but the numbers I have used are taken from a credible source http://www.dietitians.ca/downloadable-content/public/noap-position-paper.aspx

    As I stated most studies suggest that unless you have problems with your kidneys there is no real negative health effects from eating more than your required amount of protein but she doesn't have to force herself to somehow eat 200g of protein a day when she doesn't need to.
  • togmo
    togmo Posts: 257
    I should also make clear that the ratio of protein per lb or kg of body weight that I suggested as recommended by the American Dietetic Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, and the Dietitians of Canada is the amount of protein recommended for ''endurance and strength trained athletes' and that these people will require more protein than the average person so the minimum suggested rate should suffice for most average, active people such as ourselves. Therefore 124g of protein should suffice for the original poster and she doesn't need to be driven crazy trying to eat more food to obtain 200g of protein a day. However if she does manage to eat that much protein without going to extremes to obtain it then by all means enjoy.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    As for protein they bandy around all sorts of numbers but the general rule is the more athletic you are the more protein you need and while it doesn't supposedly hurt to eat more protein than you need I would think 200g of protein a day is excessive. I am a 6'2, 95kg man trying to build muscle and I aim for about 150g protein per day. Supposedly endurance athletes try to eat between 1.2-1.7g/kg 0.5-0.8g/lb) of protein. This means if you are very very active and you weigh say 70kg (155lb) you should be eating about 84 - 120g of protein a day.

    I am not a performance athlete and I eat a min of 120g min a day at 165lbs due to the fact I have 121lbs of LBM. I lift heavy as well...but that's about it.

    The OP weighs about 248 so she that 120g you mention is not appropriate for her.

    I didn't see any mention of her weight so I just threw those numbers out as a guide so she would understand that a person of 155lb would need about 84-120g of protein a day (0.5-0.8g/lb). In her case then she would need roughly 124 - 200g protein per day - i.e the minimum she should be trying to hit is 124g of protein not 200g.

    There are lots of resources out there, which vary slightly on how much protein is required per lb/kg of body weight but the numbers I have used are taken from a credible source http://www.dietitians.ca/downloadable-content/public/noap-position-paper.aspx

    As I stated most studies suggest that unless you have problems with your kidneys there is no real negative health effects from eating more than your required amount of protein but she doesn't have to force herself to somehow eat 200g of protein a day when she doesn't need to.

    it's on her ticker...

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