How the *kitten* do I get all the protein I need for the day?

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  • EASGK
    EASGK Posts: 1
    •Whey protein (27+g based on my supplement)
    •Chicken breast 3.5 oz (30g)
    •Hard boiled eggs (6g per egg w/ yolk)
    •Cottage cheese 1/2 cup (12-15g)
    •Tuna 6oz (40g)
    •3.5oz of whatever fish pretty much (20+g)


    Obviously, this isn't a day to day diet plan as you won't be getting virtually any of your micros. Those are some options that also help keep carbs and fat low, and some that help you get the healthy fats and some carbs. They're pretty low cal as well. As many others said, though, you need more calories even on a cut.
    I like to mix the protein powder with cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. Makes it taste better and you get more protein.
    Mix some original fiber one or apples for some fiber in there as well.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
    I agree that that is not too much protein. Perhaps those saying that it is too much protein can explain what they mean by that.
    I don't comment on peoples' macros but they probably think it's too much based on the default MFP goal of 35% (or was that just my default?) or the general recommendations from most sources to get around 50g/day.
    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein
    ~1g per pound of lean body mass or ~1g per pound body weight (conservative and easy math) is the general recommendation for conserving or building muscle. That webmd reference is old and has been dis-proven.

    But yeah OP, eat more. Keep your protein, get at least 50g fat, and the rest carbs.
  • JoeCampbell85
    JoeCampbell85 Posts: 140
    That's not too much protein. Its fine, in my opinion. I eat more than that -(about 200+ g) a day. I get way more carbs (200-300g) a day and usually around 70g fat. I'm cutting too and having pretty good success at 9 lbs in 5 weeks. I think your calories are too low. There is no reason it eat that low. Muscle loss is a very real, though often exaggerated, consequence of low calorie diets.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC333231/
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I agree that that is not too much protein. Perhaps those saying that it is too much protein can explain what they mean by that.
    I don't comment on peoples' macros but they probably think it's too much based on the default MFP goal of 35% (or was that just my default?) or the general recommendations from most sources to get around 50g/day.
    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein
    ~1g per pound of lean body mass or ~1g per pound body weight (conservative and easy math) is the general recommendation for conserving or building muscle. That webmd reference is old and has been dis-proven.

    But yeah OP, eat more. Keep your protein, get at least 50g fat, and the rest carbs.
    I think it's still pretty common to recommend around that amount, for general purposes. I'm neutral on it, though. Just pasting links to show where some are probably coming from.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein-questions/#howmuch

    "The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day—that’s about 58 grams for a 160 pound adult. "
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    I agree that that is not to much protein. Perhaps those saying that it is to much protein can explain what they mean by that.
    I don't comment on peoples' macros but they probably think it's too much based on the default MFP goal of 35% (or was that just my default?) or the general recommendations from most sources to get around 50g/day.
    http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein

    You should be careful confusing the minimum recommended amount of a nutrient people need with the optimal amount of the same nutrient. Those links are suggesting an absolute minimum on how much protein you should get per day - they certainly aren't saying there are no benefits to getting more than the absolute minimum amount. Quite to the contrary, they give a range on how much protein you should generally consume and there's plenty of science out there that supports the proposition that there are indeed benefits to consuming more protein than the absolute minimum (up to a point, of course). In short, they aren't saying get 50g/day, they're saying that 50g/day is the lowest you should ever go - and that's a big difference.
  • Bageridoft
    Bageridoft Posts: 5
    Ok, it seems that I am eating way too few calories... I am still very new to all this dieting and training stuff, and I just assumed that I should eat according to what MFP gives me based on my goals. I am going to read through the answers and re-adjust my settings.

    Thanks for all the great feedback, and feel free to keep giving me good advice since I know next to nothing about fitness =)
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    parkscs- Good point. The HSPH one seems to suggest you shouldn't go over 25%? Hard to tell.

    "For people in good health, consuming 20 to 25 percent of calories from protein won’t harm the kidneys."

    But, yeah, I'm neutral. Mine is set to 35% and I don't sweat it or care who shoots for what here, or comment on anyone's levels. It just seems like I see 50g/day thrown around a lot (elsewhere) and figured others might be running with that.
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    Ok, it seems that I am eating way too few calories... I am still very new to all this dieting and training stuff, and I just assumed that I should eat according to what MFP gives me based on my goals. I am going to read through the answers and re-adjust my settings.

    Thanks for all the great feedback, and feel free to keep giving me good advice since I know next to nothing about fitness =)
    Would you mind posting the rest of your stats? Height, weight, activity level, desired weight loss rate?

    Two things that come to mind are:
    1) Everyone puts sedentary, because they don't want to overestimate how active they are. Are you in school? Walk to class? Do you have a job in which you spend at least 50% of your time on your feet? I'd bet you put in "sedentary", but that you are more than likely at least "lightly active"
    2) Everyone puts in 2lbs/week weight loss, when 1lb/week is more reasonable for most people. If you have 75+lbs to lose, you could lose 2lbs/week safely and without undue trouble, but I suspect you don't have that much to lose.

    Change those two things in your goals and then see what it gives you.
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