Protein/carb/fat

Wendy7128
Wendy7128 Posts: 2 Member
edited November 22 in Food and Nutrition
Hi. I'm struggling to get enough protein intake so any ideas would be good please. I'm aiming for 100g protein, 80g carbs & 30g fat but at the moment my intake is pretty much equal for all!!! I'm trying to build muscle and lose weight and work out six days a week for an hour each day. Thanks :)

Replies

  • brooketb617
    brooketb617 Posts: 5 Member
    it's extremely hard for me to get in my protein although mine is only at 81g. I started out eating a lot of peanut butter, cottage cheese, egg whites, tuna, chicken. but I got really sick of all that after a month so now I rely a lot of my protein intake on protein shakes like the Atkins ones, they're low carb. there's also a drink I just tried today called Isopure that has zero carbs and 40g of protein for one bottle. doesn't taste bad either, just like a Gatorade.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Build muscle AND lose weight is a tall order. You may gain minimal muscle while eating at a deficit.

    Greek yogurt, other dairy, meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, egg whites, tofu, protein powder supplements
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    That comes out to 990 Calories. You're not going to build any muscle like that. Well, not unless you're like three feet tall. Even then, I'm not sure.

    Why so low?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited July 2015
    Wendy7128 wrote: »
    Hi. I'm struggling to get enough protein intake so any ideas would be good please. I'm aiming for 100g protein, 80g carbs & 30g fat but at the moment my intake is pretty much equal for all!!! I'm trying to build muscle and lose weight and work out six days a week for an hour each day. Thanks :)

    This is 990 calories, unless my math is off. That's too low even for someone sedentary, let alone given how much you are working out. That's a bigger issue.

    Lots of protein sources come along with fat or carbs, so raising your other targets (or at least the fat) will make it easier. Good sources of protein are meat, dairy, eggs, tofu/soybeans, other legumes (lentils and beans), and to a lesser degree grains, nuts, and seeds, peas and chickpeas, falafel.
  • KatsuNinja
    KatsuNinja Posts: 34 Member
    iBCAA is a good supplement to take during workout (at least it's recommended by a few famous physique athletes) and that's pure protein and 0 carbs... That's 20g of protein for you in your gym water bottle, refreshing too...
  • williamwj2014
    williamwj2014 Posts: 750 Member
    edited July 2015
    Protein- Tuna. Chicken breast. Whey Protein powder. Ground beef/turkey, Eggs.

    Easy peasy, no excuses..

    Carbs- Bread, rice, pasta, oats

    Fats- Eggs (yolk), mayo, avocado, etc.

    Not complicated at all to meet macros but like others have said, you aren't really going to build muscle eating at a deficit (you might get some noobie gains)
  • Spyer116
    Spyer116 Posts: 168 Member
    Eat meat? how is that hard? 1 chicken breast fillet, (around 150grams) is like 160-170 calories and 40g protein.
    If you ate 2 of those chicken breast fillets with any dinner, thats like 80% of your protein right there.

    Beef. Or any meat at all really. Leaner beef is more protein with less calories and fat, per gram of meat.

    Same for fish. Plaice, haddock, and others are about 30g protein for 120-130 calories.

    Also. Working out 6 days / week, if you mean strength training. Then you're going to burn out and fail eventually. 2 full body workouts / week (strength training wise anyway) is enough when on a calorie deficit. Can pull off 3, but 2 is plenty.
    Its difficult to build muscle and lose weight/fat at the same time. It requires a really small calorie deficit, a surplus and regular protein intake each day, and the right amount of training. + Takes longer to notice changes (as fat loss and muscle building are happening simultaneously).
    Also you don't build muscle in the gym. You build muscle when you're sleeping and on your rest days. Of which you wont be giving yourself any rest days. and wont repair the damaged muscle just by sleeping alone, let alone repair it and build new muscle, if you're working out 6 days / week. In the gym, you damage and stimulate muscle growth.

    And those Macros are not even 1k calories / day. When its suggested for women the minimum should be 1200. So unless you're really small in height, are really light, and are basically sedentary / comatose in life. You're just asking to burn out and stall / undo any progress.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    In addition to the caloric total being low, the fats look low to me, too. I think the nominal guideline is 0.35g fat per lb bodyweight as a MINIMUM to keep hormones balanced. And woe if they're not! FWIW, I generally aim for equal calories from all macros.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    Have fun with that few of calories. Get ready for body aches, fatigue, and tons more. You need to eat enough for your body to recover. I'm only 153lbs and your daily calories is barely over half of my maintainance. I know gender makes a difference but still. Try chicken, greek yogurt 2%. Cottage cheese, whey protein, fish, beef, eggs, anything really that once walked, swam, or flew, and most things that came from it. Try aiming for .5lbs lost a week, then you might still be able to gain alittle muscle as long as you allow yourself rest days. Newbies these days
  • Wendy7128
    Wendy7128 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for all the replies, I'm really new to this and the calories are what I've been told to have but I guess I need to change them! I have a completely sedentary job so have to get my exercise in the evening. I strength train for 2 days and cardio for the rest and sleep loads, I'll cut down to having Friday and Sunday off. I've just bought whey protein so will give that a go as well as eating more animals! Everything you've all mentioned I eat except for cottage cheese which is beyond disgusting.
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