not getting enough protien. ..
antennachick
Posts: 464 Member
I struggle with getting enough protein, it seams if I do reach my goal which is 125 grams (sometimes more depending on my exercises that day) then I go over on my calories! I do protien powder twice a day, beans, chicken, eggs ect. Any suggestions? Maybe double my protien powder although I already have 2 serves per day...it seams to be the lowest calorie option.
Thanks!
Thanks!
0
Replies
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I drink Atkins Protein Shakes, lots of protein, low carb.0
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I wouldn't worry about protein. If your goal is to just lose weight and look ultimately like a model or something then it's completely useless to count it. Unless you are one some weird diet like 80% fat, 20% carbs from juices and fiber, in which case yea. Other than that no, if you are eating generic diet with some vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.
If your goal however is to build some muscle mass then 40 to 60g is all you need. For a man that's for example 190 pounds with 10% body fat , he will easy maintain all of that muscle with that amount. If he wants to build some then he will probably need to ate 5g more (45 - 65g). For a female it's even less since you will build muscle slower and won't be able to build as much as a men to begin with.
Really how much protein you need for muscle building is so ridiculously exaggerated. A marketing propaganda to sell people powders and stuff, which works. The more important thing to worry about would be how much vitamins and nutrients you are getting since majority of people in the world are deficient in some of them and does not even know it.0 -
antennachick wrote: »I struggle with getting enough protein, it seams if I do reach my goal which is 125 grams (sometimes more depending on my exercises that day) then I go over on my calories! I do protien powder twice a day, beans, chicken, eggs ect. Any suggestions? Maybe double my protien powder although I already have 2 serves per day...it seams to be the lowest calorie option.
Thanks!
Why do you need that much protein?0 -
Anywhere between 75-100 grams makes me feel like Wonder Woman!
I layer it up: breads with protein, beans, eggs, etc in addition to a classic protein like meat or fish.
I use protein powder, too, but I wouldn't eat more than one serving a day. Just seems immoderate, and might have unintended consequences.
(I got jumped on the first time I commented here when I said I thought multiple servings of diet soda per day was weird too! LOL... Sorrynotsorry, I'm team moderation.)0 -
None of the studies I've read on protein requirements indicate such low values for people who are strength training and looking to maximize nitrogen balance / muscle protein synthesis. In the example you gave of a 190 pound man, 40-60g doesn't even reach the U.S. RDA of 0.8g/kg of bodyweight (and the RDA is set for average, sedentary, non-training people - not strength trainers looking to gain mass). The values I see recommended most often are between 0.8 - 1.0g/lb of body weight, and recent studies have shown that nitrogen balance and MPS are significantly higher in diets with over 3.0g/lb protein.ainarsraciks wrote: »I wouldn't worry about protein. If your goal is to just lose weight and look ultimately like a model or something then it's completely useless to count it. Unless you are one some weird diet like 80% fat, 20% carbs from juices and fiber, in which case yea. Other than that no, if you are eating generic diet with some vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.
If your goal however is to build some muscle mass then 40 to 60g is all you need. For a man that's for example 190 pounds with 10% body fat , he will easy maintain all of that muscle with that amount. If he wants to build some then he will probably need to ate 5g more (45 - 65g). For a female it's even less since you will build muscle slower and won't be able to build as much as a men to begin with.
Really how much protein you need for muscle building is so ridiculously exaggerated. A marketing propaganda to sell people powders and stuff, which works. The more important thing to worry about would be how much vitamins and nutrients you are getting since majority of people in the world are deficient in some of them and does not even know it.
Do you actually lift, and have you had success in building muscle mass on 40g - 60g/day of protein, or are these just recommendations you "heard somewhere"? I'd be interested to see any peer-reviewed studies supporting your recommendations, and also to hear your personal training experience/success with such protein levels.
To the OP - tuna (or any other fish), greek yogurt, lean cuts of beef/pork, etc. are all great protein sources. I use protein powder to supplement when I haven't hit my protein goal with whole foods, but I'd prefer not to rely upon it as my main protein source.0 -
Like I said, propaganda to make you buy protein powders, more food, etc. Many of so called studies that say you need so big amounts of protein, if you look closer, have conflict of interest. You could find quite a few studies if you would start searching, at least I think you could, never done to be honest. All I have is my personal experience from lifting as well as testimonies of few of my friends who are bodybuilders and one of them personal trainer who is getting people great results that way and of course whole bunch of people on internet who are saying the same what I have experienced.
None of the studies I've read on protein requirements indicate such low values for people who are strength training and looking to maximize nitrogen balance / muscle protein synthesis. In the example you gave of a 190 pound man, 40-60g doesn't even reach the U.S. RDA of 0.8g/kg of bodyweight (and the RDA is set for average, sedentary, non-training people - not strength trainers looking to gain mass). The values I see recommended most often are between 0.8 - 1.0g/lb of body weight, and recent studies have shown that nitrogen balance and MPS are significantly higher in diets with over 3.0g/lb protein.ainarsraciks wrote: »I wouldn't worry about protein. If your goal is to just lose weight and look ultimately like a model or something then it's completely useless to count it. Unless you are one some weird diet like 80% fat, 20% carbs from juices and fiber, in which case yea. Other than that no, if you are eating generic diet with some vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.
If your goal however is to build some muscle mass then 40 to 60g is all you need. For a man that's for example 190 pounds with 10% body fat , he will easy maintain all of that muscle with that amount. If he wants to build some then he will probably need to ate 5g more (45 - 65g). For a female it's even less since you will build muscle slower and won't be able to build as much as a men to begin with.
Really how much protein you need for muscle building is so ridiculously exaggerated. A marketing propaganda to sell people powders and stuff, which works. The more important thing to worry about would be how much vitamins and nutrients you are getting since majority of people in the world are deficient in some of them and does not even know it.
Do you actually lift, and have you had success in building muscle mass on 40g - 60g/day of protein, or are these just recommendations you "heard somewhere"? I'd be interested to see any peer-reviewed studies supporting your recommendations, and also to hear your personal training experience/success with such protein levels.
To the OP - tuna (or any other fish), greek yogurt, lean cuts of beef/pork, etc. are all great protein sources. I use protein powder to supplement when I haven't hit my protein goal with whole foods, but I'd prefer not to rely upon it as my main protein source.
Anyhow, it's good that you take what I say with grain of salt. I'm not asking you to believe me. Just giving advice to OP and letting her know that so much protein is pointless, if she chooses to take it, and maybe getting others motivated to do their own research and/or experimentation.
As far believing mainstream guidelines by FDA, or whatever food organisations you Americans have there, I take that with a grain of salt too. They do recommend many silly stuff there. °
It's super easy to find out, just try it and you will see that your muscle building gains and/or maintaining won't suffer.0 -
You're already eating too much protein! Back it down. .8 grams, per pound LEAN BODY MASS. Make it so.0
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Number one that is the number fitness pal recommended me? Number two yes im trying to build muscle. Number 3 240-60 grams? Really, where did you come up with that number? Trainers I have spoke with always say 100 grams at least.0
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Exactly what I was told...I cant imagine only getting 40 grams of protien a day. I forgot about tuna, will have to look into that
None of the studies I've read on protein requirements indicate such low values for people who are strength training and looking to maximize nitrogen balance / muscle protein synthesis. In the example you gave of a 190 pound man, 40-60g doesn't even reach the U.S. RDA of 0.8g/kg of bodyweight (and the RDA is set for average, sedentary, non-training people - not strength trainers looking to gain mass). The values I see recommended most often are between 0.8 - 1.0g/lb of body weight, and recent studies have shown that nitrogen balance and MPS are significantly higher in diets with over 3.0g/lb protein.ainarsraciks wrote: »I wouldn't worry about protein. If your goal is to just lose weight and look ultimately like a model or something then it's completely useless to count it. Unless you are one some weird diet like 80% fat, 20% carbs from juices and fiber, in which case yea. Other than that no, if you are eating generic diet with some vegetables, grains, dairy, etc.
If your goal however is to build some muscle mass then 40 to 60g is all you need. For a man that's for example 190 pounds with 10% body fat , he will easy maintain all of that muscle with that amount. If he wants to build some then he will probably need to ate 5g more (45 - 65g). For a female it's even less since you will build muscle slower and won't be able to build as much as a men to begin with.
Really how much protein you need for muscle building is so ridiculously exaggerated. A marketing propaganda to sell people powders and stuff, which works. The more important thing to worry about would be how much vitamins and nutrients you are getting since majority of people in the world are deficient in some of them and does not even know it.
Do you actually lift, and have you had success in building muscle mass on 40g - 60g/day of protein, or are these just recommendations you "heard somewhere"? I'd be interested to see any peer-reviewed studies supporting your recommendations, and also to hear your personal training experience/success with such protein levels.
To the OP - tuna (or any other fish), greek yogurt, lean cuts of beef/pork, etc. are all great protein sources. I use protein powder to supplement when I haven't hit my protein goal with whole foods, but I'd prefer not to rely upon it as my main protein source.
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Building muscle along with other reason. Also that was recommended amount from myfitnesspalantennachick wrote: »I struggle with getting enough protein, it seams if I do reach my goal which is 125 grams (sometimes more depending on my exercises that day) then I go over on my calories! I do protien powder twice a day, beans, chicken, eggs ect. Any suggestions? Maybe double my protien powder although I already have 2 serves per day...it seams to be the lowest calorie option.
Thanks!
Why do you need that much protein?
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I eat that much protein and come up short in calories a lot. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken and eggs does it for me. Sometimes I have protein powder, sometimes not. I eat a lot of chicken though.0
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I love eggs. When I'm lifting, I'll toss in a couple extra egg whites into my normal breakfast of scrawled eggs. Taste remains good while upping the protein without too many extra calories. Good luck!0
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yeah, protein targets can be tough to hit, particularly in a calorie deficit. You need to have lean meat in two meals a day really. I'm not a big meat eater so rely very much on whey protein shakes - which are actually a fairly economic way of getting to your protein target if you do your research.0
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I have a similar protein goal - and can hit it and my 1611 cal goal. my typical proteins are: protein powder post workout (30g), eggs for breakfast (12g), cottage cheese (12g)/Siggi yogurt (14g)/beef jerky (1/2 bag = 120 cal & 20g protein) for snacks throughout the day, tuna/tilapia/shrimp/leftovers (try to hit 30g or more for lunch), and then whatever I want for supper - steak/fish/chicken/ground beef/pork (if whatever else I ate can handle the extra fat that comes with pork). Tilapia is really my favorite 'go-to meal' if I need to get extra protein as, in my opinion, it has a lot of protein & naturally low fat. My usual meal protein (except breakfast) is 30-40g, which is usually about a 5-8oz portion of meat, depending what meat you're eating. -and if you weigh food, I think, that size portion of meat is pretty much what most people think is a 'normal' portion.0
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ainarsraciks wrote: »Really how much protein you need for muscle building is so ridiculously exaggerated. A marketing propaganda to sell people powders and stuff, which works.
I've thought this for the longest time. I don't understand how people manage to even take in the amounts of protein that they do; it all seems terribly inefficient.
The numbers that are a recommended are arbitrary too. Yeah there's research but research is there to prove a point, hence why it's being researched in the first place!
I just think you really can have too much of a good thing. But that's just me.0 -
If protein is causing you to go over on cals, then you are eating more carbs or fat than recommended. Look at those numbers and see what you can reduce.0
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antennachick wrote: »Number one that is the number fitness pal recommended me? Number two yes im trying to build muscle. Number 3 40-60 grams? Really, where did you come up with that number? Trainers I have spoke with always say 100 grams at least.
Probably from the US RDA which recommends for women 46 grams daily; men 56 grams of protein daily.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein0 -
im not here to argue with how much protien I need , im here for food suggestions for higher protien. those RDA I am sure are for people that dont lift and are not very active such as myself. My doctor is actually the one that recommender to up my protien. Also, every personal trainer have spoke with says up the protien. In addition why would my fitness pal recommend a number of protien based on my wieght and goals if it didn't matter?WalkingAlong wrote: »antennachick wrote: »Number one that is the number fitness pal recommended me? Number two yes im trying to build muscle. Number 3 40-60 grams? Really, where did you come up with that number? Trainers I have spoke with always say 100 grams at least.
Probably from the US RDA which recommends for women 46 grams daily; men 56 grams of protein daily.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/protein
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I'm not arguing how much you need, either. You asked where she got that number. I was just letting you know that's a very common recommendation, outside of gyms.
I don't know if you changed your default MFP protein % but mine is 60g. I thought it defaulted around that level.
I would offer food suggestions but all the ones I like have been said. 0 -
antennachick wrote:im not here to argue with how much protien I need , im here for food suggestions for higher protien...
If you want to read more than you'd ever want to know about different sources of protein, Lyle McDonald has a great series of articles on the topic which start here (click the links at the bottom of each article to go to the next one).0 -
I have a similar protein goal - and can hit it and my 1611 cal goal. my typical proteins are: protein powder post workout (30g), eggs for breakfast (12g), cottage cheese (12g)/Siggi yogurt (14g)/beef jerky (1/2 bag = 120 cal & 20g protein) for snacks throughout the day, tuna/tilapia/shrimp/leftovers (try to hit 30g or more for lunch), and then whatever I want for supper - steak/fish/chicken/ground beef/pork (if whatever else I ate can handle the extra fat that comes with pork). Tilapia is really my favorite 'go-to meal' if I need to get extra protein as, in my opinion, it has a lot of protein & naturally low fat. My usual meal protein (except breakfast) is 30-40g, which is usually about a 5-8oz portion of meat, depending what meat you're eating. -and if you weigh food, I think, that size portion of meat is pretty much what most people think is a 'normal' portion.
Great mention that is often overlooked, that being the Talapia. Very lean, protein about equal to chicken, and easy to cook quick. Pork loins are great too, since they are easy to cook in large portions and are tasty in a lot of forms.0 -
robertw486 wrote: »Great mention that is often overlooked, that being the Talapia. Very lean, protein about equal to chicken, and easy to cook quick. Pork loins are great too, since they are easy to cook in large portions and are tasty in a lot of forms.
Tilapia is indeed all that (and also very low in mercury since most of it is farm raised and fed vegetarian diets), but it's probably my least favorite fish. I find it almost flavorless and don't like the texture, it's kind of mushy. If I'm going to eat fish, I'd prefer a nice filet of salmon (my favorite), tuna, or yellowtail. Even better yet - sashimi (although that can become a very expensive habit in a big hurry!).
Yes to pork loin also - very lean and lots of good ways to cook them.0 -
Try tilapia high in protein low in fat, or tuna, protein shakes, quest bars all worked for me0
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I love fish so i will totally add tilapia to a meal!0
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I saw the idea somewhere on here about mixing protein powder into my yogurt. I've been using Quest Vanilla Milkshake, Fage 0% and then adding berries. It's almost like a pudding, delicious!0
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if you're going over your calories when you hit your protein targets, that means you're going over on one or more of your other macros...adjust your diet accordingly.
i eat a lot of cod, salmon, chicken, lean cuts of beef and pork, eggs, etc. i have some kind of protein at every meal.
beans are great and they are a mainstay of my diet, but i would consider them to be more of a carbohydrate source than a really great source of protein. I eat a lot of beans, lentils, quinoa, etc...but they are my primary sources of carbohydrates with the added benefit of additional protein.0 -
antennachick wrote: »I struggle with getting enough protein, it seams if I do reach my goal which is 125 grams (sometimes more depending on my exercises that day) then I go over on my calories! I do protien powder twice a day, beans, chicken, eggs ect. Any suggestions? Maybe double my protien powder although I already have 2 serves per day...it seams to be the lowest calorie option.
Thanks!
I keep protein pack snacks in the fridge; cottage cheese, turkey cold cuts, Greek yogurt, these are all low in carb, fat, calories and are high in protein0 -
This may be a minor contribution, but it's a contribution: Once you have your "big" protein sources locked in, consider the things that you eat that are moderately high in calories, but have no protein. Are there alternatives to those that are equally tasty & satisfying, but have more protein?
For example, quinoa instead of rice, vegetables with a bit of protein (green peas, broccoli, spinach, etc.) rather than veggies with none, etc.
As a vegetarian, I think about my diet overall this way, and it's surprising how much protein accumulates over the day a gram or two or five at a time. These proteins tend to be lower-quality (less complete in essential amino acids), but when you have a variety of them those balance out a bit, and they do make a contribution.0 -
Thanks for the tip! I was actually a vegetarian for 2 years so I am not big on meat.This may be a minor contribution, but it's a contribution: Once you have your "big" protein sources locked in, consider the things that you eat that are moderately high in calories, but have no protein. Are there alternatives to those that are equally tasty & satisfying, but have more protein?
For example, quinoa instead of rice, vegetables with a bit of protein (green peas, broccoli, spinach, etc.) rather than veggies with none, etc.
As a vegetarian, I think about my diet overall this way, and it's surprising how much protein accumulates over the day a gram or two or five at a time. These proteins tend to be lower-quality (less complete in essential amino acids), but when you have a variety of them those balance out a bit, and they do make a contribution.0
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