How to get more protein

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lizardrn95
lizardrn95 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm fairly new to this, so excuse my ignorance. MFP has my protein requirement set at 60/day, but when I add in my exercise, it goes up to 90. I'm having a really hard time with this. For example, today I had two eggs for breakfast, half a corned beef sandwich for lunch, and a pork chop for dinner, as well as 42 grams of nuts and 8 oz.of coconut milk. This is way more protein than I would normally eat on my own, but I still fell far short of the 90g. I'm hesitant to do protein shakes or powder, because they seem kind of gross, and I'm skeptical of whatever chemicals may be in them. Do I really need that much protein? Am I hurting my weight loss goals by not getting enough protein? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, especially if you're lifting and trying to save muscle mass, is a good start. I don't know your goals or your stats, but if you look at my profile, I can get as much as 140 grams of protein in my first 1200 calories before dessert. I do use quest bars though.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Chicken breasts and pork tenderloin are my go-to protein choices. Low in calories and can be prepared in many different ways. I also drink 1% milk, eat string cheese, boiled eggs.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    For weight loss, all that matters is CICO. But to help ensure that it's more fat loss than muscle, protein is essential to retain that muscle. Dairy products are good to add a bit more (if you can consume them).
  • lizardrn95
    lizardrn95 Posts: 14 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, especially if you're lifting and trying to save muscle mass, is a good start. I don't know your goals or your stats, but if you look at my profile, I can get as much as 140 grams of protein in my first 1200 calories before dessert. I do use quest bars though.
    Wow! .8g per pound would put me even higher, at 124g. That just seems like so much to me, especially when I really ate barely any protein before I started this. I'll go with your suggestions, though, and add some dairy and more meat. Thanks, ladies!

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    lizardrn95 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, especially if you're lifting and trying to save muscle mass, is a good start. I don't know your goals or your stats, but if you look at my profile, I can get as much as 140 grams of protein in my first 1200 calories before dessert. I do use quest bars though.
    Wow! .8g per pound would put me even higher, at 124g. That just seems like so much to me, especially when I really ate barely any protein before I started this. I'll go with your suggestions, though, and add some dairy and more meat. Thanks, ladies!

    You can try .5 grams, I think that is recommended as well.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Greek yogurt is a good way to get some protein :) Some nut butters, too, but that can be a bit of a calorie punch.

    ~Lyssa
  • runnrchic
    runnrchic Posts: 130 Member
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    I've been building muscle by mainly eating fruits, veggies, legumes, and nuts. I higher protein sources like eggs and meats sometimes. Rarely cheese. But what I eat is what I have figured out will give me the most energy to build muscle and feel good! (Before when i was losing weight several years ago i burned through all my muscle because I run and got too skinny by eating lower quality calories.) Oh yeah, I tried a quest bar for the first time today to see what the hype was and gross! I can't believe I wasted calories on that!
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    I prefer Pure Protein brand bars to Quest, and their shakes are really good, too. Pricy, but good. I think they're 23g of protein and 120 calories. My other go to's are shrimp and Greek yogurt.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
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    Im using a natural whey product. Organic and non gmo etc. Doesn't matter to me its just what I picked up at the time but a product like that might interest you if youre concerned about chemicals
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    Hi there :) I'm just shy of 5' and 54.... My doctor had me focus on keeping my protein between 85 and 100 with lower carbs and pretty much regular fats like olive and coconut oil, but I use light salad dressing for instance. If I go over my macros it's always on protein first. Initially it was a little difficult, but I'm consistently over 100 protein a day. Chicken, fish of any kind, pork loin, kale, quinoa are all lean good sources .... Not a big red meat person. A can of tuna with a little mayo in romaine or butter lettuce leaves as a snack always gets me over the mark :D.

    I've never tried any of the protein powders or things like Quest bars but I know a lot of people who do. Best wishes!
  • jenniferinfl
    jenniferinfl Posts: 456 Member
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    Four ounces of shrimp have over 20 grams of protein. It is very easy to eat 12 ounces of shrimp in a day.. lol
    Well, at least for me, but I love seafood.
    Three ounces of beef have over 20 grams of protein, and that's a pretty small piece of meat really.
  • haysavam
    haysavam Posts: 74 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Greek yogurt greek yogurt greek yogurt.

    My brother was doing protein powders until I showed him plain greek yogurt.

    Also, tuna (Sub yellow mustard for May and you get a 0 calorie condiment) and Turkey meat. I like Cajun deli turkey meat. Very flavorful and low cal.
  • krissyreminisce
    krissyreminisce Posts: 284 Member
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    I've recently discovered how deliciousness that is edamame. I have the lightly salted kind for lunch and put some fresh in my salad in the evening. Today is one of the first days that I actually MADE my protein goal!
  • ynkesfan2003
    ynkesfan2003 Posts: 5 Member
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    haysavam wrote: »
    Greek yogurt greek yogurt greek yogurt.

    My brother was doing protein powders until I showed him plain greek yogurt.

    Also, tuna (Sub yellow mustard for May and you get a 0 calorie condiment) and Turkey meat. I like Cajun deli turkey meat. Very flavorful and low cal.

    So much of this, 1 cup of Greek Yogurt is around 20g of protein
  • lizardrn95
    lizardrn95 Posts: 14 Member
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    I do like greek yogurt. And shrimp! I was avoiding dairy for awhile while I was doing the Whole 30 thing, but I do kind of miss my yogurt and cheese. Thanks everyone, for the ideas :)
  • haysavam
    haysavam Posts: 74 Member
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    lizardrn95 wrote: »
    I do like greek yogurt. And shrimp! I was avoiding dairy for awhile while I was doing the Whole 30 thing, but I do kind of miss my yogurt and cheese. Thanks everyone, for the ideas :)

    There are all kinds of greek yogurts out there. Probably the best is chobani. But Dannon light and fit is only 80 cal and has 12 grams of protein.

    Plain greek yogurt usually is about 120 cal and 20g of protein for an entire cup!!!! I will as a banana to that and BOOM a breakfast under 250 cal.

    It's very rare if I don't meet my protein goal. And my goal is very high. But I eat greek yogurt everyday.

    If you're not lactose intolerant
    or don't have any other sort of medical reason to not eat dairy, you are really missing out lol. Cheese though is high in calorie. Unfortunately, it's sooooo good.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    lizardrn95 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight, especially if you're lifting and trying to save muscle mass, is a good start. I don't know your goals or your stats, but if you look at my profile, I can get as much as 140 grams of protein in my first 1200 calories before dessert. I do use quest bars though.
    Wow! .8g per pound would put me even higher, at 124g. That just seems like so much to me, especially when I really ate barely any protein before I started this. I'll go with your suggestions, though, and add some dairy and more meat. Thanks, ladies!

    You can try .5 grams, I think that is recommended as well.

    I thought it was more 1g per lean body weight.

    As in 150kg 30% body fat= 105g protein.


  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Protein's RDA is 0.8g/kg of body weight. Which converts to about 0.36g/lb of body weight. That should be your minimum.

    0.8g/pound of body weight is a decent maximum, since beyond that point there's little benefit to eating more protein (as opposed to fat or carbs).

    A decent gauge is 0.8g/pound of lean body weight, like what Merkavar said. That number probably falls somewhere in the middle of the two.

    Example: I'm 125lbs (57kg), 30% BF. My protein range should be between 46g lower and 100g upper limit, or 70g as a target using LBM.

    Don't stress about hitting your exact number; as long as you're in a healthy range, you're probably fine.
  • cunnaner
    cunnaner Posts: 12 Member
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    There are some really good protein powders out there that aren't full of junk and fillers. I know for me it's an easy way to get 25-50~ grams of protein in a day. I use mine even more as a post workout drink or morning meal replacement when I'm running behind and don't have time to make breakfast.

    On the food side, cook extra meats with dinners and save them for quick snacks. I find that an extra piece of chicken, pork, flank steak, or roast beef tastes great cold and is a great protein boost and way better for me than my former carb binges of goldfish, chips, pretzels, or crackers.
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    I like Quest bars, I ALWAYS need my eggs, cheese, meat. I also like the Oh Yeah! brand nutritional drinks and the Muscle Milk 100 cal. protein shakes. I also have whey protein at home.

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