Protein: I can't get enough!
Kerryatoon
Posts: 374 Member
Hey everyone, I'm at the very early stages of what I hope will evolve into heavy weight lifting although I've been doing body weight exercises for several months and Shred for a few weeks. I am 5'5" at 148 lbs and want to start recomp while continuing to lose a bit more BF. I recently recalculated my TDEE (slightly higher than 1200 MFP had me at). I'm still transitioning to 1390 at a 25% deficit, estimated at 1lb loss/week. I used good formulas and my personal consistent tracking over 10 weeks to get my TDEE and my Protein, Fat & Carb macros so I feel fairly confident in my numbers.
THE PROBLEM: I am consistently falling short of my protein goals. On average I'm about 30g+ short daily and when I get closer to my goal I usually end up going over on my calories. I'm not opposed to using protein shakes but I would rather learn to get it from nutritious whole foods. I feel like I'm eating a lot of lean meats, cheese, yogurt, eggs, nuts etc.. but its not enough.
Do you have any suggestions on ways to increase my protein through diet? If you think I need and you suggest protein shakes, can you explain why its necessary? Also any experience with brands and types is appreciated.. I need an economical option. Thanks!
THE PROBLEM: I am consistently falling short of my protein goals. On average I'm about 30g+ short daily and when I get closer to my goal I usually end up going over on my calories. I'm not opposed to using protein shakes but I would rather learn to get it from nutritious whole foods. I feel like I'm eating a lot of lean meats, cheese, yogurt, eggs, nuts etc.. but its not enough.
Do you have any suggestions on ways to increase my protein through diet? If you think I need and you suggest protein shakes, can you explain why its necessary? Also any experience with brands and types is appreciated.. I need an economical option. Thanks!
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Replies
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You'll probably have to cut our the cheese and nuts in order to stay under your calorie goal and eat enough protein. I don't know how much you are going for, but I usually get about 100-130g on 1200 calories. My diary is open if you would like to take a look. I love nuts and cheese, but unfortunately can rarely eat them and only in small quantities.0
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@mom23mangos thank you for the suggestions!
I noticed that you are sticking with low-fat milk, yogurt etc. I think the problem I've been having is that I got used to full fat on LCHF diet and I need to adjust that now. I also haven't been drinking milk at all, so that may be a good start. Another thing that stood out are your choices of lean protein, egg whites, tilapia, lamb, shrimp (Someone from another group suggested all these things as well) So I'll be adding those too.
Also, I noticed that you're getting a boost from quest chips and chobani truffles a few days a week.. those might be good options for days when I fall short. I'm trying to keep the processed foods fairly low but I'll look into those for sure.
THANKS SO MUCH!!!!0 -
The Chobani is yogurt, but the Quest protein chips are my goto when I need a little extra protein boost or just want to snack on something salty. I will also sneak in a Pure Protein bar on occasion if I have extra calories. I like the chocolate peanut caramel heated up in the microwave for about 15 seconds with a big glass of milk. It's like a candy bar.
I am not a big fan of meat, especially chicken breast, so it's kind of been a struggle for me. I make myself eat lean meats, but mostly stick to seafood and brisket, turkey lunch meat, etc. This past weekend was Greek Orthodox Easter, so I've been eating lamb leftovers all week.
Another trick I learned was to add unflavored protein powder to my soup. I love soup. I just made some pudding pops that I added protein powder to as well.0 -
Oh ok. YUM The protein bar sounds delicious!! I'm ok with meat but I don't like it to be the biggest thing on my plate. I prefer veggies with a dash of meat so I've been having to adjust as well. I'm not a huge egg fan.. I can eat them but they're definitely not a staple for me. I'll try the egg whites, maybe I'll like them more. Your egg white scramble with spinach looks good.
My goal is to be able to eat what I enjoy (a lot of veggies, some meat, dairy, berries) while still within my macros. I do like seafood though so that is definitely doable. Lamb leftovers aren't a bad thing.. I'll come help!
Is the protein powder in your gumbo? I noticed it was high protein for a soup.. What kind of protein powder do you use? Suggestions welcome!! I have never used any type of protein supplement and would like to have the option if I need it.
PS THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!!!0 -
FYI for anyone else struggling with this: Someone in another group gave me a link to this discussion thread with a great protein list, listed by calories. Awesome list!
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/926789/protein-sources/p10 -
No protein powder in the gumbo. The protein just comes from the shrimp. It's just a box of Tony Chachere's gumbo mix with a 14oz bag of frozen shrimp tossed in. I usually make smoked turkey leg and sausage, but that puts me over on the calories and fat.
Oh, I use Reserveage whey protein.
http://reserveage.com/product/grass-fed-whey-protein/1 -
My meals all focus around protein first. Watch the high fat stuff since fat is 9 calories per gram while carbs and protein are only 4. I like the Dannon light and fit greek yogurt because the carbs are low and no fat. Cheese and nuts are high fat and not a lot of protein so eat those sparingly. Liquid eggs whites are great because they can be added to other foods, to my regular eggs or drinks and it is pasteurized so it doesn't need to be cooked. I often add them to my oats and will sometimes add 1/2 scoop of cinnamon protein powder. I replaced cream in my coffee with protein powder. I used to waste a lot of carbs and fat just in my coffee. Protein bars are good on occasion but get the high protein higher fiber ones (I like quest, combat crunch and oh yeah one bars) to get more bang for your buck. If you are not a big meat eater then maybe beans would be a good add and some whole grains.1
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My meals all focus around protein first. Watch the high fat stuff since fat is 9 calories per gram while carbs and protein are only 4. I like the Dannon light and fit greek yogurt because the carbs are low and no fat. Cheese and nuts are high fat and not a lot of protein so eat those sparingly. Liquid eggs whites are great because they can be added to other foods, to my regular eggs or drinks and it is pasteurized so it doesn't need to be cooked. I often add them to my oats and will sometimes add 1/2 scoop of cinnamon protein powder. I replaced cream in my coffee with protein powder. I used to waste a lot of carbs and fat just in my coffee. Protein bars are good on occasion but get the high protein higher fiber ones (I like quest, combat crunch and oh yeah one bars) to get more bang for your buck. If you are not a big meat eater then maybe beans would be a good add and some whole grains.
Great suggestions! Thank you!0
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