Protein?

Jozzmenia
Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Any tips on how to get in ALOT of protein with not so much fat or sodium? I met with a nutritionist to figure out what was bad about my diet. At my weight she recommended 200 grams of protein per day. I thought I was doing well to get 100. So I've been trying and haven't reached it yet. I find it hard to eat that much food, let alone high protein low fat. I've found that a lot of protein shakes (like pre-bottled in the gas station type shakes, muscle milk, etc.) have a lot of sodium for some reason. So anyway, I decided to look at it as 30-40 grams of protein per meal/snack, every 2-3 hours, but am having trouble finding things, other than 2 pieces of meat, that get me to that point. Anyone else on a higher protein diet or have tips?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Was this a "nutritionist" or a certified dietician who told you that? http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    that's a lot for a male...seems like overkill for a female for sure.
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    edited April 2015
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    Was this a "nutritionist" or a certified dietician who told you that? http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein

    Her signature says RDN, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, as well as NASM Certified Personal Trainer. Are those legit titles? lol. I used points at my gym to schedule a one hour appointment because I was looking for a different perspective and maybe a fresh set of eyes to see what I had been doing wrong. She adjusted my calorie in mfp to HIGHER and told me to drop it 200 calories every 2 weeks until I meet with her again, which is next week. So it went from 2400 to 2200 to 2000 calories. I'm down 8 pounds in a month. I would attribute it part to logging mfp all but 3 days, and also at least SHOOTING for the 200 g of protein.

    I weigh 255 lbs and am 6 foot tall by the way. I think I'm finally doing it the right way, getting away from fads, but having trouble with sooo much protein.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    If it's not possible to meet nutritional needs without resorting to supplements and powders and such, well. . . it's probably not a workable plan.
  • hncary
    hncary Posts: 176 Member
    Some options other than meat to get protein in are eggs (hardboil them for on the go), greek yogurt, peanut butter, and quest bars. I don't pay attention to sodium though so I can't help there.
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    SherryTeach wrote: »
    If it's not possible to meet nutritional needs without resorting to supplements and powders and such, well. . . it's probably not a workable plan.

    Generally, I actually do much better with things that are quick, like shakes, jerky, yogurt, etc. because I work a lot of hours and commute about 1.5 hours each way. I really only have time to cook on the weekends. Luckily my husband likes to grill so in warm weather I can usually come home to grilled veggies and meats. But we eat out a lot too. So I'm always looking for things that are grab and go but not horrible in nutritional value. I know you can't completely replace regular foods but sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt.
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    hncary wrote: »
    Some options other than meat to get protein in are eggs (hardboil them for on the go), greek yogurt, peanut butter, and quest bars. I don't pay attention to sodium though so I can't help there.

    I used to not watch sodium either but since my husband has borderline high blood pressure I've been a lot more conscious of it. Some stuff is LOADED.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    *Skeptic hat* Does this gym where she works, by any chance, sell protein powders, bars and supplements?

    *Removes skeptic hat* If you want to aim for that high a protein number, this chart might help. It has protein per calorie ratio of a bunch of common foods. Top foods (excluding powders and isolates) are your usual suspects: Fish and seafood, chicken breast, egg whites, seitan, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and soy proteins like tofu or tempeh.
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    Don't all gyms sell those? Lol they sell all sorts of things, have a detox program, etc. but she didn't try to push any of their products even when I pressed her for tips on getting more protein, and I don't buy their products unless it's one meal, like if I want them to make me a protein smoothie after a workout.

    Thanks for the link!
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    Nearly anything prepackaged and convenient is going to be high in sodium, so although it's not convenient, I'd recommend backing off of the convenience items if you're really worried about sodium. Greek yogurt is a great source of low fat, low sodium, and high protein. Just be careful, lots of them are loaded with added sugar. I prefer Dannon Light n Fit Greek...12g protein, 55 mg sodium, 6g sugar (where many have close to 20g sugar).
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    I'm noticing that about Chobani, seems high in sugar. My trainer recommended it but I think it's a good balance if you have a sweet tooth and want the protein. I like the Dannon and that's what I put in my smoothies but prefer the flavor of chobani (mango is my fav), if I'm going to just eat the yogurt by itself.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    edited April 2015
    I get most of my 140 g of daily protein from yogurt (have 6pack cooler & ice pack, will travel), and sometimes when I am at home, I mix it with a banana and chocolate whey & unsweetened cocoa powder for what I call "protein fluff." Nuts are portable, jerky, too as you mentioned.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Jozzmenia wrote: »
    Any tips on how to get in ALOT of protein with not so much fat or sodium? I met with a nutritionist to figure out what was bad about my diet. At my weight she recommended 200 grams of protein per day.

    That's a heck of a lot of protein. If your dietician calculated this based on your total weight, I would be at least a bit dubious about the rest of their advice.

  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Jozzmenia wrote: »
    Any tips on how to get in ALOT of protein with not so much fat or sodium? I met with a nutritionist to figure out what was bad about my diet. At my weight she recommended 200 grams of protein per day.

    That's a heck of a lot of protein. If your dietician calculated this based on your total weight, I would be at least a bit dubious about the rest of their advice.

    I don't know if it is a lot for a person who is 6 feet tall and weights 255 & even if on a deficit might be weight training in order to retain muscle mass~maybe a third of daily calories?

  • Rockmaker
    Rockmaker Posts: 37 Member
    I shoot for 122g of protein and I'm usually a little bit over. I'm 5' 11" and 200 pounds.
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    edited April 2015
    I had the same conflict Maxit and MrKnight just had lol. I thought it was a heck of a lot, but looked it up and seems legit for my weight. How on earth could a 400 pound person ever get enough protein??

    And yea want to retain muscle... hope to come as close to just fat that I lose as possible. Hoping not to lose muscle mass. My body fat is down and muscle mass up a little since I weighed in a month ago. I'm built more like a linebacker lol in my mind though I'm female. I worry about being too muscular once I lose too. This is all tough!
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    As for being busy, working long hours and cooking, I only cook on the weekends. My freezer is packed with single serve portions of all my favorite meals. During the week, I only steam veggies and cut up fruit.
  • Justygirl77
    Justygirl77 Posts: 385 Member
    Jozzmenia wrote: »
    Any tips on how to get in ALOT of protein with not so much fat or sodium? I met with a nutritionist to figure out what was bad about my diet. At my weight she recommended 200 grams of protein per day. I thought I was doing well to get 100. So I've been trying and haven't reached it yet. I find it hard to eat that much food, let alone high protein low fat. I've found that a lot of protein shakes (like pre-bottled in the gas station type shakes, muscle milk, etc.) have a lot of sodium for some reason. So anyway, I decided to look at it as 30-40 grams of protein per meal/snack, every 2-3 hours, but am having trouble finding things, other than 2 pieces of meat, that get me to that point. Anyone else on a higher protein diet or have tips?

    Thanks!
    That sounds excessive to me. At 5'7" 160lbs, I am comfortable with a max of about 120g per day, and that is plenty for me. Maybe if I were training hard with weights I would need more? I don't know.

  • mr_caffeine
    mr_caffeine Posts: 5 Member
    Egg whites? Eat the whole egg! You are throwing away so many nutrients by skipping on the yolk. Eating foods high in cholesterol does not raise your cholesterol. Have you heard of Caspian Sea Yogurt? Also known as Matzoon, or Matsoni. It is super easy to make and keep from milk. It requires no heating and is a great way to "keep" milk. It has about 7 g of protein per cup and you can put whatever you want in it. I often put kinako (soybean powder) or whey powder, jams, raisins, whatever in it. Make a bunch, keep it in the fridge, put it in a tupperware and pack a spoon to take it with you. Chicken breasts. Buy them on sale and make "chicken ham" at home, then freeze. Fish. Single serving cans of mackerel etc, are cheap and full of protein. Of course, the ham and the canned fish will have lots of sodium.
  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
    That's an insane amount of protein. Are you body building?
  • hncary
    hncary Posts: 176 Member
    Jozzmenia wrote: »
    I had the same conflict Maxit and MrKnight just had lol. I thought it was a heck of a lot, but looked it up and seems legit for my weight. How on earth could a 400 pound person ever get enough protein??

    And yea want to retain muscle... hope to come as close to just fat that I lose as possible. Hoping not to lose muscle mass. My body fat is down and muscle mass up a little since I weighed in a month ago. I'm built more like a linebacker lol in my mind though I'm female. I worry about being too muscular once I lose too. This is all tough!

    You only need to eat about a gram per pound of LEAN mass. Not your entire body weight. So a 400lb person wouldn't eat 400g of protein. And you can retain muscle by eating the gram per pound of lean mass and lifting.
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  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
    You could get up there without supplements if you ate a shitload of chicken/fish every single day B)
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Also, read this:
    bayesianbodybuilding.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/
  • hncary
    hncary Posts: 176 Member
    edited April 2015
    Are you doing a lifting routine currently?
  • nancyjay__
    nancyjay__ Posts: 310 Member
    The numbers don't sound ridiculous to me. I aimed for about 150g (at 5"3 125lbs) of protein but I was body buylilding at the time :| lol. But I couldn't reach my macros without a protein shake or two a day.

    Other than that 6 meals a day each with about 30grams of protein in each meal. In foods that are really low in cals like tilapia chicken breast tuna egg whites (because egg yolks have too many cals and will throw off your cal intake). But jerky and yogurt will not do it. You will have to meal prep or there are meal prep companies too. Plainly made meals with little to no seasoning.

    Hope this helps
  • Jozzmenia
    Jozzmenia Posts: 252 Member
    I really have to work on eggs. Can't do eggs or shrimp got food poisoning from both and it turns my stomach to look at them. :s

    I'm not bodybuilding. Trying to do more but right now trainer once a week, trx type stuff, and one other day on my own, plus 4 cardio days. Usually at the gym if I'm short on time i choose cardio since I'm clearly overweight. :(

  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
    Jozzmenia wrote: »
    I really have to work on eggs. Can't do eggs or shrimp got food poisoning from both and it turns my stomach to look at them. :s

    I'm not bodybuilding. Trying to do more but right now trainer once a week, trx type stuff, and one other day on my own, plus 4 cardio days. Usually at the gym if I'm short on time i choose cardio since I'm clearly overweight. :(

    Nothing wrong with cardio :) you can certainly get a good calorie burn that way. I'm not bashing lifting at all though. I just don't currently have a facility to do it in. When I move in August, I plan to start some :)
  • lnt3083
    lnt3083 Posts: 2 Member
    Way too much protein. You're not bodybuilding are you? You're trying to lose weight and retain the muscle you already have right? I'm 5'10 and was 205. I'm 172 now and I get 80-105 grams of protein. You must strength train also to help retain muscle. Its said a gram of protein per pound of body weight. Again..I believe that's for bulking and bodybuilding.
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