Protein

Protein is an issue for me because I don't eat a lot of meat. You can get protein from beans and legumes as well. My PT likes for me to have extra protein on days we workout so I drink a protein shake and add peanut butter. It tastes good and I get extra protein for my growing muscles!

I bought six star whey protein elite series. vanilla cream flavor. its a big black and red container from walmart for like $18. It doesnt taste all that great, i'd recommend chocolate instead although Ive never tried it myself. It says to add 1 to 2 scoops to any liquid and there are tons of shakes you can mix it with that I found on pinterest. search protein shakes or whey shakes on pinterest. I mix mine with skim milk, oatmeal, or shakes. I only use half a scoop though cuz I dont really care for how it tastes. Its not terrible, but its not good either! lol. I do half a scoop on days I don't work out and on days I do work out I do half a scoop with liquid before the gym and half a scoop with oatmeal after a workout. Oatmeal already had a good amount of protein in it so I figured I might as well get it all in one shot! There are different kinds of whey also. Whey concentrate and whey isolate. I prefer whey isolate just because i have read that it has less fat and its better for strength training. The six star that i bought has both in it.

I have questions on this subject as well, I bust the protein column everyday.

Going over in protien is not a problem. I consider it a min only. Too much protien only becomes a problem when you hit 4-500+ grams a day.

As for protien powders: Find a 5 lbs tube that tastes good and is cheap. Whey protien is just that, don't worry about added stuff like BCAAs, carbs, vitimens, etc... This is a marketing ploy to get your money. I use ON gold standard 100% whey.

start actively watching the protein amounts on your snacks and from what I find the rest tends to fall into place, as long as you avoid things like Protein bars, which typically are just as high if not higher in carbs than protein.

Greek yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese are my go-to snacks.

Also I will hard boil a dozen eggs at the start of the week and use 2-3 for snack throughout the week.

Protein wise, go look for Optimum Nutrition brand Whey. Its pretty economical and the double chocolate and chocolate malt taste really good with skim milk or water.

I intake a good amount of lean chicken on top of this, but I pull off 200+ grams a day normally.

I like tofu. I get a couple of different flavors of pre-cooked and flavored tofu from Trader Joe's and eat one as a snack every day. 16 g of protein in the flavor I brought today. I cook tofu with onions and place it all on a bed of lettuce sometimes for supper and it is usually over 30 g protein. I also like lentil bean soup. I'm vegan, so it is very important to me to make sure I get enough protein each day. Hope this helps! (I have lots of other sources of protein, these are just my faves.)

I have been vegetarian for about 6 months now and I have found it fairly easy to consume the right amount of protein (for me its about 150 g). Foods highest in protein are cheese, beans, eggs, yogurt (greek yogurt is the best kind because it has a high protein content), and any nuts. You can also look into soy meats such as tofu (which is also low carb), seitan (low carb and high protein), and soy chicken/beef. You can get those decently cheap from Trader Joe's. Quinoa and barley are also good grain options to invest in that have high protein content.

I have recently discovered oatmeal smoothies and have one recipe that has 22 grams of protein in it. I don't use protein powders--not because I'm against them, but because I'm unwilling to spend hard to come by dollars on something I may hate the taste of. I do, however, adore PB2 for smoothies and overnight oatmeal (will probably like it in other things as soon as I have time to search for recipes). I also have Greek yogurt most weekdays and a high protein cereal on the weekends. I am not vegetarian, but eat very little meat and I usually break the bank on protein every day.

0.73g per pound of body weight is sufficient to maintain lean muscle mass.

I tend to consume a lot of protein in my diet normally. Here are some suggestions if you're not getting enough protein.
- CytoSport Muscle Milk Light - Milk Chocolate or Vanilla (I drink this plain, or add a scoop to smoothies. It tastes good and mixes well. It's great in smoothies with a banana, apples, pineapple, frozen raspberries and spinach) - 24g protein per 2 scoops
- Peanut or almond butter on celery sticks - I personally like celery so this is a great snack between meals.
- Tuna or chicken salad - usually I eat this with celery sticks too... but it's good with pita chips, or as a sandwich
- Eggs or add powdered egg whites to a smoothie

Hope this helps!

I forgot to add that Power Bars are also a good source for me. I prefer them over Quest bars . Quest bars are good for the nutritional value buy they remind me of paste. So it's like eating flavored paste. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: