How to get more protein in my diet?

jillc1807
jillc1807 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 1 in Food and Nutrition
I eat pretty healthy for the most part (minus a cheat meal or snack here or there); but I always come up short on my protein amount every day.

What can I eat that will be high in protein, but not blast my calories?
I don't want to do any shakes or powder, I want real foods.

I usually have some form of all this stuff most days: eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, meats (chicken breast, tuna, steaks, pork chops).

Replies

  • Yivs_87
    Yivs_87 Posts: 246 Member
    I have more or less the same problem. Protein has always been my ultimate never achievable macro.

    Try eating more meat? Turkey is also a great source of protein.

    And have you considered protein powder or bars?
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    jillc1807 wrote: »
    I eat pretty healthy for the most part (minus a cheat meal or snack here or there); but I always come up short on my protein amount every day.

    What can I eat that will be high in protein, but not blast my calories?
    I don't want to do any shakes or powder, I want real foods.

    I usually have some form of all this stuff most days: eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, meats (chicken breast, tuna, steaks, pork chops).

    What is your protein goal? If it's realistic, it's hard to believe that you are not getting enough protein if you are eating legitimate sized portions of all of these foods daily. Have you verified that the entries you are choosing from the database are accurate? If so, the only other suggestion I have is to eat larger portions or more of the things you are already eating. I aim to eat around 100g of protein daily. Most of my protein comes from the same source as what you listed, except that I do add a protein bar or whey powder for breakfast most days, which accounts for 15-20g of protein. I almost never have problems exceeding my protein goal.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    If you eat these foods "in some form most days" you should be hitting your goal no problem. I looked at your diary and I'm just curious what your goal is since your calories are set very high. Are you trying to gain?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    In looking at your diary, your target is 155 grams of protein...IMO, that is excessive. The general rule of thumb for the high end is 1 gram per Lb of LBM. For me that comes out to around 0.8 grams per Lb of body weight. I try to just stick to a range of 120 - 145 grams per day. It's likely you're going to have issues hitting that target without supplementation unless you just have a lot of chicken breasts laying around and easily accessible.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    Based on a quick scan of your diary, you see to be getting a perfectly adequate amount of protein - recommended ~1g per lb LBM at maintenance, slightly more if you're in a deficit. Unless you're very tall or very muscular, you're probably around 100-110 lbs LBM. There's not much benefit to extra protein unless it's for satiety. Just eat more of what you're already eating, especially the lean meats. Certain veggies like sprouts, watercress, and kale have a good protein-to-calorie ratio, but it will take high volume to get a significant amount from those sources. Beans can add some protein variety to your diet as well.
  • Matt5115
    Matt5115 Posts: 4 Member
    Eat more protein rich foods. I'm vegetarian (and I eat pretty healthy and only drink water) and I can reach over 220-250+ grams of protein on a diet lower than 2000 calories a day (that's with 2 scoops of protein powder). Without protein powder, then I can get to about 170-200 grams. Although, it's pretty useless eating a lot of protein/more than your body actually needs. If your goals are building muscle then eat 0.5g-1g per lb of body weight.
  • ubermofish
    ubermofish Posts: 102 Member
    If you're avoiding protein powder, boneless skinless chicken breast is pretty much the lowest calorie-per-gram-of-protein you can get. USDA nutrition DB shows that chicken is 120cal, 22.5g protein, 2.62g fat per 100g. Fat-trimmed pork loin is good too, at 132cal, 22.39g protein, 4.06g fat per 100g.
  • closetlibrarian
    closetlibrarian Posts: 2,207 Member
    Also plain egg white. Low cal, high protein.
  • jillc1807
    jillc1807 Posts: 4 Member
    cathipa wrote: »
    If you eat these foods "in some form most days" you should be hitting your goal no problem. I looked at your diary and I'm just curious what your goal is since your calories are set very high. Are you trying to gain?

    My calories are set higher because I'm currently nursing my baby. To sustain a healthy production level, it's recommended to eat around 600 calories more than your normal calorie intake. Once I'm no longer nursing, I will cut back on calories for sure. :) I don't really have a weight goal, as I'm already at a healthy weight. I just want to have as healthy of a diet as possible for my means. I'm already a muscular build, but would like to be much more toned and lean. My main goal is to tone up. I am a very active gym goer, I teach classes at my local YMCA and am usually at the gym for 90-120 minutes 5 days a week. I am however going to start training for another marathon starting next month, so my caloric intake will change to accommodate the training.
    Right now it recommends 155g of protein for me per day. Is this number high?
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    What's your weight and estimated body fat %? Find how many pounds of lean body mass you have, then eat between 1 and 1.4 times that in protein. For example, if you're 130 lbs and 25% body fat, you have ~97 lbs lean body mass and would want to eat about 100-135g of protein. More than that wouldn't help in supporting your muscle and would just be used as energy. (Disclaimer: I don't know if/how breastfeeding changes your protein needs.)
  • koreangurl
    koreangurl Posts: 59 Member
    edited April 2016
    Eating meat or taking protein supplements is usually the only way to go. Meat is expensive so your only option is taking an supplement.
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
    Beef seems to be a good calorie/protein ratio. A couple days ago I measured out a little 93/7 (extra lean) burger patty.. the little guy was only 2oz. In that 2oz I had 114 calories and 19 grams of protein for a total cost of 37.5cents (the meat was $3/#). At $2/dozen for large eggs 2 eggs cost me 33.4cents with 140 calories and 12 grams of protein. If you get your eggs cheaper than $2/dozen then that would be a cheaper source of protein. My protein goal is 70 per day. I would have to eat a dozen eggs ($2) or that beef would cost me $1.38 to reach my protein goal. The calories consumed in the dozen eggs would be 840, and the calories for beef would be 420. So beef is the quicker, cheaper, way to get to your protein goal. I think that % of ground beef is normally $5/#.. so if you paid that much it would cost $2.32/day for 7.4 ounces.
  • Lynn_babcock
    Lynn_babcock Posts: 220 Member
    mskessler89 wrote: »
    (Disclaimer: I don't know if/how breastfeeding changes your protein needs.)
    You're pumping out liquid protein.. so yes, protein intake has to go up.
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