increasing protein?

clafairy1984 · July 2015

I'm struggling to hit my protein goals. Even on a day like today, where I think I've eaten higher in protein , I'm still only reaching half my goal. I've tried to plan higher protein for tomorrow, but again only about half to target. Would appreciate some tips on how to up protein without sabotaging calories etc. Feel free to look at my diary.

strong_curves · July 2015

Chicken & fish does it for me.

mbaker566 · July 2015

yogurt, cheese, chickpea, beans, meats

michellesz · July 2015

chicken, turkey, tuna, fish, dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, lean meats, protein bars or protein powder to supplement.

T1DCarnivoreRunner · July 2015

Your problem is not just getting enough protein. You need to get more protein, but you also need fewer carbs and little additional fat in order to hit calorie goals.

So try low-fat and low carb protein foods:
Greek yogurt (some carbs, but not bad)
Chicken (if it isn't fried, it doesn't have a terribly high level of fat)
Protein bars (not to be confused with energy bars) - try Quest
Protein powder - low in carbs and fat

As of now, you are eating too many carbs to have room in your calories for protein.

sullus · July 2015

I saw an interesting list with the protein:calories for various foods. The top 10 highest protein per calorie were:

Shrimp 4.13 calories per gram of protein
Tuna 4.46 calories per gram of protein
Tilapia 4.96 calories per gram of protein
Turkey Breast 6.52 calories per gram of protein
Chicken Breast 6.56 calories per gram of protein
Nonfat cottage cheese 7.2 calories per gram of protein
Tofu 9 calories per gram of protein
Sirloin 9.03 calories per gram of protein
Tempeh 10.16 calories per gram of protein
Eggs 11.9 calories per gram of protein

Iron_Feline · July 2015

Here's how I would have changed today to get more protein in on your diary

Breakfast - ditch at least one of the crumpets and butter and have some scrambled eggs with ham
snack - ditch the crisps and have ham or a cheesestring or greek yogurt
lunch - less bread - way more beef, try Warburton thins for 100 cals.
snack - no sausage roll, chicken strips instead
dinner - sounds really nice, your cheese input is wrong as it has no macros.
after gym - have a protein shake instead of a graze box. Optimum nutrition is nice and can be got from amazon.

You can get better yogurts with more protein in, add chicken and ham as snacks instead of crisps etc.

_Terrapin_ · July 2015

Once in a while I throw this together: 1 cup Kale, 8 TBSP yogurt, 2 TBSP honey, 1 scoop of whey, and a cup of soy milk. 341 calories, 34 grams of Protein. Good luck, happy eating.

michellesz · July 2015

Also, noted in your diary that you use quick added calories. Try not to use quick added calories as they don't allow proper macros to be entered into your set macros. You need to take the time to enter the items individually and store them as a recipe if you are making a meal or recipe or find a comparable source.

pmm3437 · July 2015

I went back a week in your food logging. I don't see someone struggling to meet a goal, I see someone not even attempting to get there, based on your food choices. That is the impression your food diary gives.

There are also way too many quick log entries, which obfuscate what your true intake is. And I have the impression some of the entries you do have are just bad entries ( how does a beef slice not have any protein ? )

Almost universally, your food choices have < 1g/50 cal. You need to find a few that are more protein dense ( 1g/10 cals or better ratio ), and start eating them daily. That means meat, cheese, eggs, fish, legumes, etc.

lemurcat12 · July 2015

I think you are undercounting protein somewhat. If any of your quick added entries involved meat, you had protein that wasn't counted. Your entries for beef slices which you have often have no protein, which makes no sense.

That said, you would still be under even if that weren't the case. What works for me is to try and balance meals to include a decent amount of protein--to think about what my protein source is as an important part of the meal. Some of your options that should include a good amount of protein don't--like the greek yogurt--you could probably find higher protein versions of that. Also, a good many of your sources of protein (like bacon) really aren't particularly high since they are more fat. Think about including more lean protein or if you have room for more fat larger servings.

hartmamp · July 2015

Personally, I had to change my breakfast. I used to eat carb heavy breakfasts daily. I'm still not on an eggs and bacon person that early in the day, so I have started eating greek yogurt and half a serving of granola almost every single day. It fits nicely into my macros and packs more protein than my previous choice of oatmeal.

auddii · July 2015

In addition to the quick adds as already mentioned, your entries aren't all correct; you've logged cheese that has no macros, just a calorie count.

In addition you had some kind of drink (or something) that is called a "protein top up", but it only has 4g of protein in 140 calories. If you are looking for a protein supplement, there are tons better than that. Mine has 24g of protein in 120 calories. Not saying that you have to supplement, but many products labeled as high in protein actually aren't that high considering the protein count.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/926789/protein-sources

rmboehm67 · July 2015

Simply put, meat will do wonders for hitting your protein goals. Speaking in a very broad generality I've found that 4oz of any animal flesh gets me 20-25g of protein with varying levels of fat.

I love how you are eating 5 meals through the day so you won't have to make drastic changes just small additions to each meal.

Lose the 1 piece of bacon (1 piece is just depressing) and replace with 3oz ham - 105kcal, 3c/3f/15p

Replace the beef slices with 4oz of chicken breast to your lunch sandwich will add - 130kcal, 0c/3f/26p
Add one more slice of cheese to your sandwich to push the protein new total to 10 grams - 75kcal, 0c/6f,5p

Adding 3oz of tuna to your potato wedges and tuna at dinner will add - 110kcal,0c/3f/21p

These four modifications alone add 420 calories and 67g protein, admittedly this will raise you fat but this allows you to keep some meals you planned intact.

clafairy1984 · July 2015

Thanks, this is really helpful information. I have tried to hit my protein for today and tomorrow, and stopping quick add. Although I am now way over on my fat.

increasing protein?

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