Dancer, not getting enough protein?
OpalineRhapsody
Posts: 8 Member
I've been dancing 4 days a week for at least 45 minutes, on some days as many as 5 hours, and I'm finding that even with snacks like vegetables and fruit and cheese between classes, I end up feeling hungry and drained and give into cravings for things like pizza and caffeine. I'm thinking more protein in my diet would help keep the cravings at bay, but I'm having a hard time coming up with protein-rich foods that aren't loaded with fat and are easy to prepare and take with me. Can anyone suggest some easy things I can add to my diet?
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Boneless, skinless chicken from Costco has been my go to snack for protein... I fill up on 3 oz. Tons of protein with little fat and no carbs.0
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Most portable protein have at least some fat to help with preservation. For instance, my proteins include nuts, edamame, and cheese. They all have more fat. To cut down on calorie, just watch the portions. I'm not a fan of hard boiled egg, but that's a great choice too. You might also try a yogurt cup or drink.0
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2% yogurt, boiled eggs, chicken breast, tuna, cheese sticks.0
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i do a cheese stick with turkey or ham wrapped around it for a easy snack with protein0
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I can imagine a dancer in training can be on the go for five hours. I mean I see weight lifters in training as dedicated.
Here's another idea:
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5 hours of dancing?
I'm training to lose weight and go on pointe. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I have an hour and 20 minutes of Ballet, then a 10 minute break, then an hour and 20 minutes of Pre Pointe, then another 10 minute break, and then I work on choreography for 2 hours and 20 minutes with my school's dance company.
1 hour and 20 minutes + 1 hour and 20 minutes + 2 hours and 20 minutes = 5 hours.
That's not including the time I spend before my classes start stretching and working with Therabands.
My Tuesdays and Thursdays are a lot lighter, I only have Tap for an hour and 20 minutes in the morning, an hour and 20 minutes of Floor Barre at noon, and then Tuesday evenings I teach dance for 45 minutes.
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Are you going with MFP's recommendations for calories & protein? If so, the levels they're giving you are low for that level of activity. I'd recommend plugging your stats into a BMR calculator (google it) and then setting your protein goal to 30% of your daily cals.
Personally, I find that I'm way less snacky if I eat a good protein-rich breakfast. I hard boil a bunch of eggs and take two with me every day -- if I don't have enough cals for the whole egg I just eat the whites. Salads topped with tons of meat are good. Canned sardines and oysters, cheese sticks, tuna, greek yogurt or skyr, even milk can all be good snacks. I keep beef jerky in my desk drawer just in case.
Protein powders exist but do some research on them first. They're not very well regulated by the FDA and so you can't always be totally sure you're getting what you're paying for.0 -
Are you going with MFP's recommendations for calories & protein? If so, the levels they're giving you are low for that level of activity. I'd recommend plugging your stats into a BMR calculator (google it) and then setting your protein goal to 30% of your daily cals.
Personally, I find that I'm way less snacky if I eat a good protein-rich breakfast. I hard boil a bunch of eggs and take two with me every day -- if I don't have enough cals for the whole egg I just eat the whites. Salads topped with tons of meat are good. Canned sardines and oysters, cheese sticks, tuna, greek yogurt or skyr, even milk can all be good snacks. I keep beef jerky in my desk drawer just in case.
Protein powders exist but do some research on them first. They're not very well regulated by the FDA and so you can't always be totally sure you're getting what you're paying for.
Thank you for the suggestions! I've never actually tried canned sardines. Might be something I could add to my salads. If not that, tuna's an excellent idea. I am going by MFP's recommendations. Looks like I may need to tweak things a bit.0 -
OpalineRhapsody wrote: »Are you going with MFP's recommendations for calories & protein? If so, the levels they're giving you are low for that level of activity. I'd recommend plugging your stats into a BMR calculator (google it) and then setting your protein goal to 30% of your daily cals.
Personally, I find that I'm way less snacky if I eat a good protein-rich breakfast. I hard boil a bunch of eggs and take two with me every day -- if I don't have enough cals for the whole egg I just eat the whites. Salads topped with tons of meat are good. Canned sardines and oysters, cheese sticks, tuna, greek yogurt or skyr, even milk can all be good snacks. I keep beef jerky in my desk drawer just in case.
Protein powders exist but do some research on them first. They're not very well regulated by the FDA and so you can't always be totally sure you're getting what you're paying for.
Thank you for the suggestions! I've never actually tried canned sardines. Might be something I could add to my salads. If not that, tuna's an excellent idea. I am going by MFP's recommendations. Looks like I may need to tweak things a bit.
Oh oh and asparagus is a surprisingly good protein source! I used to have eggs + sardines + roasted asparagus after my runs last time I trained for a full. Sometimes with a donut on the side
I actually like oysters best on my salads because they're packed in oil so they bring a lot of flavor. Sardines come in oil or water packs so watch out for that. (I've had them in mustard before too and they were good).0 -
OpalineRhapsody wrote: »Are you going with MFP's recommendations for calories & protein? If so, the levels they're giving you are low for that level of activity. I'd recommend plugging your stats into a BMR calculator (google it) and then setting your protein goal to 30% of your daily cals.
Personally, I find that I'm way less snacky if I eat a good protein-rich breakfast. I hard boil a bunch of eggs and take two with me every day -- if I don't have enough cals for the whole egg I just eat the whites. Salads topped with tons of meat are good. Canned sardines and oysters, cheese sticks, tuna, greek yogurt or skyr, even milk can all be good snacks. I keep beef jerky in my desk drawer just in case.
Protein powders exist but do some research on them first. They're not very well regulated by the FDA and so you can't always be totally sure you're getting what you're paying for.
Thank you for the suggestions! I've never actually tried canned sardines. Might be something I could add to my salads. If not that, tuna's an excellent idea. I am going by MFP's recommendations. Looks like I may need to tweak things a bit.
Oh oh and asparagus is a surprisingly good protein source! I used to have eggs + sardines + roasted asparagus after my runs last time I trained for a full. Sometimes with a donut on the side
I actually like oysters best on my salads because they're packed in oil so they bring a lot of flavor. Sardines come in oil or water packs so watch out for that. (I've had them in mustard before too and they were good).
I'll definitely have to try them then
And I love asparagus, so that's an easy thing to add in. Thanks! 0
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