How do I get more protein in my diet?

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epcswim2009
epcswim2009 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I always have below 10% or my diet being protein. Since I'm going to be working out much more often I need it more. Help!
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  • mitchelsimps
    mitchelsimps Posts: 151 Member
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    Best way = protein shakes (personal opinion)

    Or lots of lean meats
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Meat, greek yogurt, nuts, lentils, soy beans, more meat, protein shakes and protein bars
  • rwhyte12
    rwhyte12 Posts: 203 Member
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    Whey protein. If you go this route, check the nutrition label because they are all different.
  • Steve_ApexNC
    Steve_ApexNC Posts: 210 Member
    edited July 2015
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    epcswim2009 wrote: »
    I always have below 10% or my diet being protein. Since I'm going to be working out much more often I need it more. Help!

    Eat more protein rich foods would be the first thing. I'd bet you would be shocked by the shift in your protein numbers by adding one or two servings of lean meat each day (and by lean meat I mean chicken, turkey, fish, etc). And a servings is a lot less than many understand - a mere 4oz of boneless/skineless chicken breast has something like 26 grams of protein. I don't know where you get your chicken, but the breasts I get at the store range anywhere from 8oz to a full pound!

    But let me ask a couple things:

    1. How are you calculating 10%? The reason I am asking is because MFP reports data to you in grams. However, a gram of protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram while a gram of fat contains 9 calories. If you are using percentage as a function of weight (grams) then you may not be giving yourself an accurate picture.
    2. If your protein in take is only 10%, then what constitutes the other 90? You are consuming too much fat or too many carbs. Look through your food diary and see what foods are driving that macro's percentage so high and try to replace some of them with a food with more protein.

    Good Luck.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    I eat a lot of chicken and lean meat, but I often end up eating Greek yogurt with whey protein powder to top off my daily intake.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Premier protein shakes are 30 grams of protein for only 160 caliries. It's the best ratio I've found.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Through your mouth

    :bigsmile:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Through your mouth

    :bigsmile:

    LOL! Love it.

    OP, what kinds of foods do you eat to where you only have 10% protein? Are you vegetarian? Are you calculating correctly? I ask because it seems to me that eating 10% protein would be very difficult to do.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    Look at list
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000078000000000000000.html
    Eat from list
    Boom, protein
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Grilled chicken and fish will blast that protein right up. I make sure I have a Quest bar or something along those lines around for a quick jolt of protein. Hard boiled eggs. Beef jerky.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/82464310
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    OP, what kinds of foods do you eat to where you only have 10% protein? Are you vegetarian? Are you calculating correctly? I ask because it seems to me that eating 10% protein would be very difficult to do.

    When I was vegetarian, I accidentally only ate about 10% protein. It was pretty easy, really. But I DONT RECOMMEND IT, I lost so much muscle it's not even funny and I kick myself every day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    eat poultry/fish/meat/greek yogurt/whey supplements, etc
  • maayan98
    maayan98 Posts: 15 Member
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    I read somewhere a research where they found that milk is better than whey protein. A glass of milk after work out does that for me, and not too many calories either.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    Greek Yogurt, string cheese, protein powder, eggs, actual meat.
  • noel2fit
    noel2fit Posts: 235 Member
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    I love grabbing boiled eggs for breakfast for a cheap, fast protein fix first thing in the morning. Personally I think protein shakes are too nasty texture and flavor wise to choke down so I try for the lean meats. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is awesome, chicken thigh is cheaper and packs a similar punch. Salmon and rock fish are delicious seafood options (fast and easy to cook too). Plus surprising things have a little protein like rolled oats, throw some nuts on there and dollop of greek yogurt and you've got some good protein going. Toss beans into your salads and soups for extra protein, and just focus on making sure every meal and snack you eat includes SOMETHING with protein. Banana? Add almond butter. Spaghetti? Add meatballs. Salad? Add chicken breast, beans, and nuts!
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I'm always really confused when people, especially people that consume animal products (i.e. not vegetarian or vegan), have trouble getting in their protein. Especially when their goal is pretty low, like under 100g. My protein goal is 125g/day (a little over 1g/lb body weight) and even without protein powder, I have trouble not going way over my protein every day.

    Meat
    • Chicken [breasts and ground turkey are the leanest]
    • Turkey [again, breasts or ground]
    • Beef [lean ground beef, lean cuts of steak, etc.]
    • Pork [tenderloin, center-cut pork chops, etc.]
    • Seafood/Fish [salmon, tilapia, cod, tuna, whatever...]
    • Jerky [beef, turkey, etc.]

    Other "Real Food" Protein Sources
    • Eggs or egg whites
    • Cheese
    • Nut butters
    • Greek yogurt
    • Cottage cheese
    • Milk
    • Beans
    • Nuts
    • A million other things that have added protein like protein brownies, pancake mix, nut butters, and even bread products

    Supplements
    • Protein powder [whey, casein, egg, soy, etc.]
    • Protein bars [Quest all the way, baby]

    And, of course, there are the foods that may not be protein-packed, but those grams add up over the course of the day.
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    senecarr wrote: »
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    Grilled chicken and fish will blast that protein right up. I make sure I have a Quest bar or something along those lines around for a quick jolt of protein. Hard boiled eggs. Beef jerky.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/82464310

    Haha. Yeah, that would do it too. However, the Quest bar is under 200 calories. That sucker is almost 500. But a good 31g of protein, I suppose. Heck, why don't we just do 40 chicken nuggets:

    ex4ias5cp8of.jpg
    But it is a JOLT of protein.

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