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

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  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Hello!

    I have counted calories for a few weeks, and have lost about 11 lbs, but now recently I have started watching my macros(I don't track them, I just watch them change based on what I eat during the day). I don't follow a certain diet, I basically eat whatever fits my calorie goal(However I do not eat fast food and crap like that...).

    I'm cutting atm, so my daily calorie goal is 1350 calories. My "macro-percentages" are set to (50% Protein/30 Fat/20 Carbs). It seems I would have to eat only pure protein to even come close... What am I doing wrong?

    (Sorry for the messy layout, Im kinda in a hurry...)

    Agreed with other posters that you need to eat more than 1350 a day but I'm still going to use that number for the math.

    1350 a day and 50% of protein would be 675 calories from protein. 4 calories per gram of protein so that is 169g of protein. My protein isn't set to 50% but my caloric intake is a lot higher than yours and I regularly get 190g of protein in a day. Not sure why you find it difficult honestly, just eat protein rich foods...lean meats, nuts, legumes etc.

    A can of tuna (55g for a 12oz) and some chicken breasts (52g for an 8oz) will take care of that 169g pretty quick. Make a curry with chicken on lentils (which are 1:1 carb protein) and you are pretty much done.

    If you really have trouble you can use protein shakes to supplement.
  • nlithopoulos
    nlithopoulos Posts: 1
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    I eat 230+ grams of protein per day with relative ease, but not in conjunction with severe calorie restriction, obviously.

    I roast chickens all the time. Sometimes I'll eat half a chicken and some veggies for one meal. I also stock up on steaks when they're on sale. Pork loin is another lean protein source that can usually be found on the cheap, although it's a bit bland without some creative preparation. Eggs, low fat cottage cheese, and non-fat Greek yogurt can also help you get you to where you need to be. Don't drink protein shakes -- CHEWING your food is much more beneficial to staying on track with your weight loss goals.

    Some of the responses are correct; you are eating way too little. Maybe you'll see results in the near-term, but you'll burn out and be back to binge eating in no time. Instead of looking for a quick beach body fix, up your calories to something more reasonable and take it slow.

    Some of the responses are incorrect; that is not too much protein. Some advantages of high protein diets:

    1. Protein has the highest effect on satiety out of all the macronutrients (with fat being second), so high protein diets are usually easier to adhere to.
    2. Protein has a higher TEF (thermic effect of food) out of all the macronutrients, accounting for about 20-25% of calories ingested vs. 5-10% for carbs/fats. This means if you eat 1000 calories from protein, nearly 250 calories are used just through their respective metabolic processes.
    3. High protein diets are necessary for lean mass retention during periods of weight loss, which is what most people are really after. Think about it: what does it matter if you lose 10 lbs if you still look the same? 10 lbs of weight loss is not the same as 10 lbs of FAT loss, and I promise you they don't look the same either.

    Now, I eat much more protein than Average Joe, but not at the expense of fats and carbs. On my rest days I get all my carbs from fruits and veggies, while eating nearly 100g in fat. On my training days I eat low fat (~45g) while eating lots of starchy carbs (300-350g). I'm a 26-year old male, 187 lbs, with single digit bodyfat. My nutrient requirements do not reflect the norm, so adjust yours accordingly. I saw someone mention the calorie calculator over at 1percentedge.com, which is a killer resource. Go with that.

    Hope that helps, and good luck!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    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.
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
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    420g Chicken Breast
    1lb Spinach
    1 pint Low Fat Milk
    230g Sardines

    Calories 1239, protein 163g. Fill out the rest of your cals with nearly anything should bump it up a bit more.

    Whey protein is helpful if you're struggling with intake, well absorbed and can be cheaper than whole food sources, You may not need that much protein but it shouldn't be problematic. It'll also be great for satiety.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    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
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    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

    The MFP recommendation used to be 15%, at least for women when I started here.
    It is 20% now for me.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
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    420g Chicken Breast
    1lb Spinach
    1 pint Low Fat Milk
    230g Sardines

    Calories 1239, protein 163g. Fill out the rest of your cals with nearly anything should bump it up a bit more.

    Whey protein is helpful if you're struggling with intake, well absorbed and can be cheaper than whole food sources, You may not need that much protein but it shouldn't be problematic. It'll also be great for satiety.

    You'd need to fill out the rest of the calories in fiber. My stomach hurts just thinking about that little fiber.
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
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    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

    1g/lb of lbm (or even more) should be fine
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
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    420g Chicken Breast
    1lb Spinach
    1 pint Low Fat Milk
    230g Sardines

    Calories 1239, protein 163g. Fill out the rest of your cals with nearly anything should bump it up a bit more.

    Whey protein is helpful if you're struggling with intake, well absorbed and can be cheaper than whole food sources, You may not need that much protein but it shouldn't be problematic. It'll also be great for satiety.

    You'd need to fill out the rest of the calories in fiber. My stomach hurts just thinking about that little fiber.

    You're right
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    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.

    160g is probably not "too much" protien. But if he were eating 2000 calories like he probably should be, 160g is not 50%. 50% would be 250g which is a lot of protein. I wouldn't say that 50% is "too much" but definitely not required. 1g per pound of lean body mass is fine (which would probably still be less than 160lbs unless he's really big). Additionally, I treat a protein goal as a minimum, not a maximum.
  • EASGK
    EASGK Posts: 1
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    •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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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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