I can't seem to get enough protein!

csbuttner
csbuttner Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

Calories - 1860
Carbs - 233
Fat - 62
Protein - 93
Sodium - 2,300
Sugar - 700

I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?
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Replies

  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Is eating damn near 250 grams of carbohydrate a day really necessary? Are you a long distance runner?

    Cutting down on some of those carbs and replacing them with high protein foods would easily remedy your situation.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    Protein powder 30 grams per scoop and Fage 23grms a cup or Trader joe's greek yogurt 22 grams of cup ...both plain, saves me and adds 52-53 grams of protein in one setting. I mix them make a pudding/mousse or use my ninja and make a smoothie daily after workout.

    I'm at 1900, was at 1800 cals a few weeks ago and my protein was 135, but now 143.

    Also, chicken breast 23 grams of protein, lentils 10 grams, and other stuff but the above is what gets me close to my protein macro each day. Without it I do not think I could come close. lol
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    I totally get it, I had the same issue at first. My biggest problem was all the soda I used to drink and then all the juice I switched over to. I added in protein shakes for a while but honestly they really weren't needed once I started eating more real food.

    I'm a big fan of turkey burgers and chicken breasts personally. When I first started they had to be made into other stuff, sandwiches, served with pasta, whatever. Now I'm pretty happy just wolfing down the meat with a big side of veggies.

    I still do the juice but I easily hit the protein most days now with just two turkey burgers or some chicken.

    Anyway if you sort of drop the idea of meat being a side dish and just go to town on the stuff (with some veggies!) it's really not too hard at all. Meat itself has very few calories for how full it leaves you, it's just with all the other stuff we traditionally eat with it the calories skyrocket so you can only do a small serving or two a day.

    Otherwise, protein shakes might be a way to go but it seems a waste to get some processed protein that likely won't fill you up when real food is often cheaper and better tasting.
  • klhessling
    klhessling Posts: 48 Member
    Eat Seafood. Most is very lean.... high protein and low fat.
  • hilts1969
    hilts1969 Posts: 465 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?

    farge greek yoghurt, tuna,chicken and boiled eggs do it for me, farge greek yoghurt is the business you can make all sorts out of it, a 500g tub is over 50g of protein
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Is eating damn near 250 grams of carbohydrate a day really necessary? Are you a long distance runner?

    Cutting down on some of those carbs and replacing them with high protein foods would easily remedy your situation.

    carbs are way more accessible than protein for some people. Think about most of packaged food and snack choice...I am not saying right or wrong...it's just the reality.
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    Even without eating a bunch of packaged stuff, it's way easier to hit my carbs than my protein macros. I'm still trying to figure that one out. :/
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    I think protein goals can seem hard for people -- especially at first. Your protein goal is probably lower than the average around here. After some time, you get used to planning your menu around meeting your nutritional goals like protein.

    One thing though: you MIGHT want to consider weighing your food (especially raw meat) at least a few times to get a solid sense of how big the portions are. I think a lot of people who are new to tracking just assume that one chicken breast is "about 4 oz" which would have roughly 25 g of protein. But the chicken breasts I buy are typically MORE THAN twice that, weighing in between 8 and 10 oz. So if you haven't been weighing your portions of meat you might be underestimating how much protein you're already getting.

    That being said, my daily protein goal is about 140 grams on my 1900 calorie budget. Some days it's harder than others to hit that goal, but I never have trouble breaking 110 or so anymore. On a typical day I get about 60%-70% of my protein from meat (about 12 oz a day spread out over two meals usually), 15% from dairy, about 10% from beans or soy, and the rest from whole grains and vegetables. Dairy helps quite a lot if you're not lactose intolerant or allergic to casein or vegan: particularly greek yogurt and straight up milk. Cheese helps too. I would eat cheese freakin' ALL THE TIME but I'm trying to keep my sodium lowish so it's more of a treat for me than an integral part of my nutrition plan.
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
    When I started to pay attention to my macros, I had to make conscious food choices to increase my protein intake. I consumed 1300 calories today and had 120 grams of protein. Major sources of protein were egg whites, a 4 oz piece of fish, a lean cuisine a drumstick and chicken wing, and a protein smoothie that gets protein from protein powder, pb2 and greek yogurt.
  • annetteh145
    annetteh145 Posts: 38 Member
    I'm at 1200 - 1400 calories and plan everything around my proteins -targeting 110 grams. It's not always easy. But it shouldn't be so hard to get more than 90 for you given the fact you are taking in over 1800 calories. You will need to cut the carbs you really don't need that many carbs.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    I know some people knock protein powder but if I don't have one scoop a day I fall short of my goal (104 grams per day). I microwave my oatmeal with water and then dump in the protein powder stir it up and usually add like 10 chocolate chips. I try to eat 2 hard boiled eggs per day. I like Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurts because they are only 80 calories and have 12 grams of protein and only 7-11 grams of sugar. I usually have tuna or turkey or fish for lunch over salad greens.

    You do have to work a bit at hitting your protein level but I'm telling you it is one of the key things to cutting down body fat and building muscle. So make it a priority and try to get the biggest 'bang for your buck' like the highest protein per calories consumed.
  • clsparkles
    clsparkles Posts: 1 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?
    For clarification (your diary is closed). Is your sugar 70?
  • cyncm
    cyncm Posts: 36 Member
    Fact is that protein is the most expensive macro ingredient, so eating out or convenience foods are going to be much heavier on carbs and fat.

    My goal is 113g protein, 150g carbs, 50g fat and 21g fibre on a 1500 cal/day regime - I think of every meal as a goal of 40% P, 40%C, 30%F. I agree your carbs seem high for losing weight.

    My convient carbs are the challenge - the snacks I can keep in my desk. Protein bars are good for once in a while if they have the right proportion of macros. I've got 3oz cans of flavoured tuna, I bring a couple of 1oz cubes of low fat cheese, and breakfast is usually cottage cheese, yoghurt and fruit (all 0 fat 0 sugar except fruit sugar and the frozen raspberries are very low glycemic!). I'm going to start bringing boiled eggs, and keeping Yves veggie dogs in the fridge. Fake crab/surimi is great too. Even low fat cheese is dangerously high in fat though... what I get at a reasonable price here is 18% fat.

    For cooking at home chicken breasts, pork loin centre or side cut (no shoulder or leg, too high fat), lean beef, salmon, white fish are my staples.

    IMHO beans are not really protein sources, they are carb sources with some bonus protein. Look at the proportion.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?

    Your first problem is thinking that black beans and peanut butter are a good source of protein. They are not. Eat things that are actually high in protein instead. Or supplement with a protein powder if it's really that big of a deal. You can get 50g of protein in just ~250 calories with a small shake by itself (more with milk)
  • marialynn2014
    marialynn2014 Posts: 89 Member
    I wish I had this problem, I always go over! Whole Wheat items usually have quite a bit of protein, Iike WW pasta, brown rice, WW bread. I eat the individual tubs of chiobani greek yogurt, tilapia, chicken, oatmeal, granola, eggs(eggbeaters). I cut back on cheese/dairy d/t sodium issues I have (I tend to gain water weight like no one's business if I don't monitor closely!). I also use a protein powder on strength/sculpt days if I feel super tired at the end. So, ya, I tend to always go over. I like to exercise just so I get a higher protein goal ;)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?

    Your first problem is thinking that black beans and peanut butter are a good source of protein. They are not. Eat things that are actually high in protein instead. Or supplement with a protein powder if it's really that big of a deal. You can get 50g of protein in just ~250 calories with a small shake by itself (more with milk)
    Black beans and peanut butter are good sources of lots of things, and not a bad protein.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I have a hard time with protein-- not a huge fan of meat and I hate eggs. I eat a lot of dairy. 2% cottage cheese has 23 grams of protein per 180 calories. Greek yogurt usually has 12-13 g per serving. I also use protein powder most days. It's not my favorite either but it's quick and easy.
  • nicolemontagna22
    nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
    There's something called p3. It's a protein pack with 3 sources of protein. Ham cubes or turkey, cheese cubes and almonds. 170 calories and 13 or 14 grams protein. I do egg whites with weight watcher cheese for breakfast. Then green yogurt for lunch everyday. Fiber one protein bars. Usually a scoop of peanut butter every night to help me sleep lol
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
    I have this same problem, and a lot of it is my very limited meat intake. I've never been a big meat fan and so I just cannot make myself eat enough to get the protein I need. I do like eggs so I tend to eat a lot of those and I get some through Greek yogurt. I also hate milk. I'm a disaster, I know. I don't care for seafood or meat replacements. I think I'm going to have to go with protein powder as I'm not sure how else to get as much protein in as I need.
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?

    Your first problem is thinking that black beans and peanut butter are a good source of protein. They are not. Eat things that are actually high in protein instead. Or supplement with a protein powder if it's really that big of a deal. You can get 50g of protein in just ~250 calories with a small shake by itself (more with milk)

    They might not be *ideal* sources or protein, but they do get the job done and peanut butter can be a nice treat every so often.
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member
    Eggs for breakfast. Meat for lunch. Fish for dinner. Peanut butter for a snack = More than enough protein.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    There's something called p3. It's a protein pack with 3 sources of protein. Ham cubes or turkey, cheese cubes and almonds. 170 calories and 13 or 14 grams protein. I do egg whites with weight watcher cheese for breakfast. Then green yogurt for lunch everyday. Fiber one protein bars. Usually a scoop of peanut butter every night to help me sleep lol
    imho: OVER PRICED and underwhelming. Lord you could make 10 of them for the price of 1.
  • nicolemontagna22
    nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
    There's something called p3. It's a protein pack with 3 sources of protein. Ham cubes or turkey, cheese cubes and almonds. 170 calories and 13 or 14 grams protein. I do egg whites with weight watcher cheese for breakfast. Then green yogurt for lunch everyday. Fiber one protein bars. Usually a scoop of peanut butter every night to help me sleep lol
    imho: OVER PRICED and underwhelming. Lord you could make 10 of them for the price of 1.

    You think so? At the Walmart here they are only
    $1.50 each.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    There's something called p3. It's a protein pack with 3 sources of protein. Ham cubes or turkey, cheese cubes and almonds. 170 calories and 13 or 14 grams protein. I do egg whites with weight watcher cheese for breakfast. Then green yogurt for lunch everyday. Fiber one protein bars. Usually a scoop of peanut butter every night to help me sleep lol
    imho: OVER PRICED and underwhelming. Lord you could make 10 of them for the price of 1.

    You think so? At the Walmart here they are only
    $1.50 each.
    okay. 5 of them. with 1/8th the packaging. And probably a higher quality of meat.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    And I thought I struggled with protein. I eat a lot of grilled chicken breast and a lot of tuna. That helps. I have also recently forced myself to like Greek yogurt to get a low cal high protein snack in there. I donate plasma twice weekly and my protein is measured there and some times it is still low. I am currently 122 lbs and my goal is 117g protein daily before exercise.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    I weighed in at 181 pounds last Thursday and I'm trying to work my way down to 170 pounds by losing one pound a week. My goals are:

    Calories - 1860
    Carbs - 233
    Fat - 62
    Protein - 93
    Sodium - 2,300
    Sugar - 700

    I hit all of my goals pretty well (I need to get higher calories more consistently and cut down on sodium more consistently) but I haven't come close to hitting my protein goal once. The closest I've come is 20 too few. Now, I could start eating nothing but tuna, peanut butter, and black beans but I'd rather not. I get the general idea that I need the extra protein to make sure I'm not burning a lot of muscle with that fat but how big of a concern is it really?

    Your first problem is thinking that black beans and peanut butter are a good source of protein. They are not. Eat things that are actually high in protein instead. Or supplement with a protein powder if it's really that big of a deal. You can get 50g of protein in just ~250 calories with a small shake by itself (more with milk)
    Black beans and peanut butter are good sources of lots of things, and not a bad protein.

    I agree, but that's not what I said. If you're looking to drastically increase your protein intake then they are not good choices. Good choices of fat, carbs, fiber, etc but not from a high protein standpoint - especially on a limited calorie intake.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I usually have a Quest Nutrition protein bar as my afternoon snack. Typically 20 g protein but also 17-19g fiber. Otherwise eggs and cheese are my go-to to get extra protein in. If you are concerned about the fat, I often will use 1 egg with an egg's equivalent in eggbeaters to get more volume and protein without a big calorie or fat hit.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    There's something called p3. It's a protein pack with 3 sources of protein. Ham cubes or turkey, cheese cubes and almonds. 170 calories and 13 or 14 grams protein. I do egg whites with weight watcher cheese for breakfast. Then green yogurt for lunch everyday. Fiber one protein bars. Usually a scoop of peanut butter every night to help me sleep lol
    imho: OVER PRICED and underwhelming. Lord you could make 10 of them for the price of 1.

    You think so? At the Walmart here they are only
    $1.50 each.

    --Can of black beans: <$1/can for 25 grams of protein: that's $0.04 per gram of protein (cheaper still if you use dry beans, but less convenient).
    --Chicken breast: $3/lb (if you're not picky; that's what I pay every week anyway) and about 50 grams of protein; that's about $0.06 per gram of protein.
    --Swiss cheese: about $3 per half pound generic for 61 grams of protein: that's <$0.05 per gram of protein.
    --Gallon of milk (again, assuming you're not picky): $4, for about 48 grams of protein or working out to <$0.085 per gram of protein.
    --Almonds: $9/lb (way more expensive if you get it in fancy packs) for 96 grams of protein, essentially the most expensive common source at over $0.09 per gram of protein.

    The p3s (I think that's an Oscar Meyer product) at the nutritional value and walmart price you quoted work out to be about $0.11 per gram of protein. So -- certainly not a cheap source of protein. A convenience item, no doubt. But I agree with the above poster that they're certainly UNDERWHELMING. Rubbery high-sodium deli meat and cheese + a tiny handful of nuts.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    Lean meats - turkey and chicken take my protein level over the top almost every day. I also add a protein shake on days when I need extra cals and protein.

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