Protein Question

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kate2004rock
kate2004rock Posts: 223 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How do I get more protein?

I noticed on days where I get lots of exercise calories (usually running days!), my protein macro goal goes off the charts and I can't come close! I'm a regular egg eater, lots of yogurt, cottage, cheese, etc.

How do I fit in more protein? What are the best sources and your best suggestions? ( I also follow WW so I would prefer to keep them low-fat, low sugar to keep the SmartPoints value down).

Replies

  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    Don't worry about hitting those higher protein numbers on high calorie days.

    MFP uses percentage goals rather than gram goals and that can be problematic on higher calorie days. If I were you, I'd just aim for the same protein you aim for on normal days or perhaps a little higher.
  • theashwoman
    theashwoman Posts: 1 Member
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    I switched my breakfast to whey powder blended with fruit and milk and that puts me at 30g before lunch. That seems to help quite a bit.
  • NaturalNancy
    NaturalNancy Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Low fat string cheese, 100 calorie almond packs, beans at dinner, fish and tofu have protein.
  • Chenry18
    Chenry18 Posts: 211 Member
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    Have you ever tried a meal replacement shake? the one I drink has 24 g of protein.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Whey Isolate - hands down! :)
  • Carlos_421
    Carlos_421 Posts: 5,132 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Chenry18 wrote: »
    Have you ever tried a meal replacement shake? the one I drink has 24 g of protein.

    Replacing a meal with liquid is not the answer.
    4 oz of chicken has just as much protein (ok, one gram less).

    ETA and probably fewer calories in the chicken.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    As @seska422 said, don't follow the percentage that fluctuates as you add exercise calories. Big flaw of using percentages.

    When cutting weight, you need 1 gram of protien per pound of LBM at a minimum. If you have more, it's not a problem but it's not really neccessary.
  • wykkedtruth
    wykkedtruth Posts: 47 Member
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    Following this. I struggled with protein too but I have three meats a day almost and three shakes a day plus 3 snack meals to make my protein goal of 140grams a day.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited February 2016
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    wykkedtruth wrote: »
    Following this. I struggled with protein too but I have three meats a day almost and three shakes a day plus 3 snack meals to make my protein goal of 140grams a day.

    Why so high on protein? That's just two grams short of double the protein RDI for a pregnant or lactating woman.

    Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients
  • mmarie_3
    mmarie_3 Posts: 57 Member
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    Eat some meat! All of your protein sources you listed are also high in fat. To get a high protein intake I suggest chicken, lean ground turkey or beef, top sirloin or any other lean steak, shrimp, fish. The possibilities are endless.
  • wykkedtruth
    wykkedtruth Posts: 47 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    wykkedtruth wrote: »
    Following this. I struggled with protein too but I have three meats a day almost and three shakes a day plus 3 snack meals to make my protein goal of 140grams a day.

    Why so high on protein? That's just two grams short of double the protein RDI for a pregnant or lactating woman.

    Dietary Reference Intakes: Macronutrients

    Ive spoken to my doctor about this. I weight train 5 days a week and am trying to put on muscle mass. I have tried lower protein amounts and never could put on much muscle. This has helped me to shed the last 10 pounds i wanted to and to add some muscle on that i couldn't before.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
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    theashwoman wrote: »
    I switched my breakfast to whey powder blended with fruit and milk and that puts me at 30g before lunch. That seems to help quite a bit.

    This. I put it in my overnight oats and in coffee.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited February 2016
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    kate2004rock wrote: »
    I noticed on days where I get lots of exercise calories (usually running days!), my protein macro goal goes off the charts and I can't come close! I'm a regular egg eater, lots of yogurt, cottage, cheese, etc.

    Like others have said, it's probably not something to worry about unless you find you are having trouble staying full.

    A good protein goal is based on grams -- generally calculated from lean body mass or an estimate based on total weight or goal weight. From the reading I've done there's some possible benefit from increasing protein up to about .65-.85 g per healthy weight (or goal weight), so I set my goal for about .8 of my goal weight (120) and then rounded up a bit to make it an even 100. If I was eating 1600 calories that would be 25%, but there would be no reason to add more protein if I added exercise calories and ate 2000 calories.

    I do usually get a little more protein on larger calorie days anyway, since I tend to include protein in most snacks and all meals, but if I feel like filling in the extra calories with more fat or carb heavy foods like nuts or a banana (or ice cream), that's fine.

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