Protein Help

arogers0541 · July 2016

Hello all. I have been back on this healthier journey for a couple months. I have been focused just on calories to begin with. I am down about 16 pounds. I am doing all cardio as of now and no weights. Today, I noticed I have not been getting anywhere close to enough protein each day.

My question is, should I start monitoring my protein? If so, what are some snacks or meals that you enjoy that is high protein? I feel like most people just do a shake.

Or, should I for now continue to focus on Calories In/Calories Out

Thanks in Advance

capaul42 · July 2016

I make sure I have meat at every meal. I toss a few grams of shredded chicken in my eggs every morning. Have either leftovers or shredded chicken wrap at lunchtime. And always have a large serving of meat at dinner. I do have a protein shake after my workouts (I lift 4-5x a week) so that helps a lot too.
That said: meat, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, are all good ideas for protein. Try adding in some snacks throughout the day.

lemurcat12 · July 2016

I have protein at every meal. It's usually plenty by the end of the day.

How much (in grams) are you currently eating, what's your protein goal, and what's your goal weight?

StealthHealth · July 2016

For weight loss - Calories in v calories out is your number 1 priority.
For health a good balance of Protein, Fat, Carbs, ensuring you eat a variety of foods and get enough fiber is important.
To minimize muscle wastage** whilst on a calorific deficit you should aim for somewhere around 1g per lb of your lean mass per day*.

* this is an area that creates a lot of debate on MFP and I'm sure at some point someone will chime saying this is too much but there is masses of data to indicate that this amount of protein is muscle sparing when losing weight.

** Another tactic to minimize muscle wastage is to avoid long cardio sessions and add in strength training to your weekly exercise plans. This is something that you may want to consider.

How to get more protein: Eggs, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yoghurt, Nuts, Meats, fish and yes, if you want to or if it's more convenient protein powders or bars.

jmidd97 · July 2016

Personally, my athletic performance skyrocketed when I significantly increased my protein intake. So I do think that if you want to do all you can to improve performance, yes try and hit your particular protein amount. I believe the recommended amount is between 0.8 - 1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight.
To hit my numbers (protein makes up 30-45% of my macros) I eat a lot of eggs (boiled, fried in low cal spray, microwaved), minced beef, tuna, chicken (rotisserie chicken is great), and yes some protein powder shakes.
I personally find it hard to get high-protein quick snacks, besides protein bars and shakes. Deli turkey and chicken work, but are high in sodium. So, I try get as much protein as I can in my meals, not my snacks.
My meals in particular go something like tuna+egg on toast, fried beef mince with sauce and veges, chicken soup and lately: muffins! You can make awesome savoury muffins by shoving meat (sausage, chicken, bacon etc) beaten egg, and cheese into a muffin pan and baking it. Done right they can be pretty low cal, between 200-250 calories each. I also made sweet ones: beaten egg, protein powder, blueberries and sugar-free chocolate powder. Could also sweeten with stevia etc.
So yeah, experiment and play around with high protein foods. Doesn't need to be boring.

But yes, don't forget CICO; it is, of course, key.

Good luck!

kommodevaran · July 2016

If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. Don't fix it if it isn't broken. If your primary goal is to lose weight and improve health through weightloss, calories is king.

Do you feel hungry a lot? Or tired? You don't mention anything like that. Maybe you are getting enough protein? We don't have enough context to know. What is your height, weight and calorie goal? Have you set your macros (fat, protein, carbs) yourself, if so, to what, and why?

We can tell you what foods are high in protein, but you could look that up yourself. What others like may not appeal to you at all. You may get the impression most people use shakes, but that can be because people talk a lot about shakes, and less about what foods they eat.

I make sure I have some protein at every meal, and I eat a variety of foods. No shakes, no powders, no pills.

illyich · July 2016

My suggestion is, as always, most people don't get enough protein and don't lift weights. Do those things. If you are losing a significant amount of weight, you absolutely want to be lifting weights during the process to hang on to muscle mass that you have (and if you're a beginner, probably build some at the same time).

arogers0541 · July 2016

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I have protein at every meal. It's usually plenty by the end of the day.

How much (in grams) are you currently eating, what's your protein goal, and what's your goal weight?

I currently eat about 50g of protein a day. It says my goal protein should be around 100g per day.

Current weight: 248
Goal Weight: Healthy 200 lbs.

arogers0541 · July 2016

illyich wrote: »

My suggestion is, as always, most people don't get enough protein and don't lift weights. Do those things. If you are losing a significant amount of weight, you absolutely want to be lifting weights during the process to hang on to muscle mass that you have (and if you're a beginner, probably build some at the same time).

Thanks for the input! Also, love the Bray icon. I'm a fan also.

arogers0541 · July 2016

kommodevaran wrote: »

If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. Don't fix it if it isn't broken. If your primary goal is to lose weight and improve health through weightloss, calories is king.

Do you feel hungry a lot? Or tired? You don't mention anything like that. Maybe you are getting enough protein? We don't have enough context to know. What is your height, weight and calorie goal? Have you set your macros (fat, protein, carbs) yourself, if so, to what, and why?

We can tell you what foods are high in protein, but you could look that up yourself. What others like may not appeal to you at all. You may get the impression most people use shakes, but that can be because people talk a lot about shakes, and less about what foods they eat.

I make sure I have some protein at every meal, and I eat a variety of foods. No shakes, no powders, no pills.

Thanks for your input. To answer your question I do not feel hungry or tired often, and will likely to continue on my current path. I just did not want the protein (or lack of) to hinder my progress.

kommodevaran · July 2016

arogers0541 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

If what you are doing is working, keep doing it. Don't fix it if it isn't broken. If your primary goal is to lose weight and improve health through weightloss, calories is king.

Do you feel hungry a lot? Or tired? You don't mention anything like that. Maybe you are getting enough protein? We don't have enough context to know. What is your height, weight and calorie goal? Have you set your macros (fat, protein, carbs) yourself, if so, to what, and why?

We can tell you what foods are high in protein, but you could look that up yourself. What others like may not appeal to you at all. You may get the impression most people use shakes, but that can be because people talk a lot about shakes, and less about what foods they eat.

I make sure I have some protein at every meal, and I eat a variety of foods. No shakes, no powders, no pills.

Thanks for your input. To answer your question I do not feel hungry or tired often, and will likely to continue on my current path. I just did not want the protein (or lack of) to hinder my progress.

It's smart to be vigilant. Good to hear that you are feeling alright. But 50 grams doesn't sound like a lot for a guy. Could it be that you are getting more than you think? Do you weigh and log everything? Is your weight loss progress according to schedule?

Protein Help

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