Natural/low processed ways to increased protein intake

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LRWSSuccess
LRWSSuccess Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I'm having trouble reaching my daily protein goals. I feel like I'm eating in a well balanced way but looking at my macros I'm lucky if I reach 65% of my daily protein goal. I typically only eat meat at one meal (although I love meat and could eat it more often) and also eat eggs and dairy.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to incorporate more protein into my diet? I'd rather do it in the most natural form possible and avoid shakes or bars, but with such a large deficit that might be the right way to go.

If you do recommend shakes or bars, which brands do you like the best?

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Replies

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    More meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Beans, lentils, peas.
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Having protein be it meat or not should be with every meal which will boost your intake. Have meat with your breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can even get the beef jerky and lower fat cheese for snacks. they have so many different kinds of jerky now. Every one usually mentions PB however I see PB as more cals & fat than I do protein so I rarely use it but then again I am losing weight so pay close attention and use my cals wisely. I do not like yogurt but greek yogurts I think have the most protein. You can mix in fresh fruit or nuts for added protein. Or freeze it for a refreshing treat. Tuna and sardines can be used for a meal or snack. Cottage cheese - I mix in a little fresh fruit sometimes.
  • RandiNoelle
    RandiNoelle Posts: 374 Member
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    I like to eat a whole can of chicken (averages 210 grams of weight and 33 grams of protein) for lunch. It's very versatile. I can put in salads and wraps. Eat it on it's own with cut up grapes and nuts or mix with a whole avocado. I eat eggs most mornings for breakfast. 150 grams of egg whites have 17 grams of protein. Peanut butter has some protein and I eat PB nearly every day.

    As for bars, I like Robert Irvine Fit Crunch bars and Clif bars. Luna bars are good, too, but have less protein than the former.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, seafood and beans are all good low/not processed foods. Quest is a good product for bars and powders.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Maybe you are eating a well balanced diet and more protein will make it unbalanced. Have you adjusted the settings, or are you going with MFP's default? And how many grams? And your height, weight?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    can you open up your diary - so we can see your diary goal and how your food is breaking out - will help with suggestions
  • LRWSSuccess
    LRWSSuccess Posts: 18 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Maybe you are eating a well balanced diet and more protein will make it unbalanced. Have you adjusted the settings, or are you going with MFP's default? And how many grams? And your height, weight?

    It's currently at 110g per day. I adjusted the MFP default to C 40% / P 30% / F 30%.
  • GaveYouPower
    GaveYouPower Posts: 29 Member
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    Turkey mince, gizzards, chicken thighs, sardines, tuna, tilapia, beans. The list is endless. Turkey mince is a game changer though, especially if you're good with spices.
  • LRWSSuccess
    LRWSSuccess Posts: 18 Member
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    deannalfisher wrote: »
    can you open up your diary - so we can see your diary goal and how your food is breaking out - will help with suggestions

    I've changed my diary to public, but I only started logging on March 1 so there's not a lot of history.
  • fasterpssycat
    fasterpssycat Posts: 30 Member
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    I'm having the exact same issue. I have my macros set at 40%C/25%F/35%P and cannot get enough protein, usually without going over my fat, even though I'm focused on lean protein (fat-free greek yogurt is a daily staple). The grams seem so high! I'm trying to do the Piyo program for 60 days and have tried to follow the Get Lean plan included. Had to cut my calories down to 2lb-a-week-loss territory because I simply cannot eat enough on the higher calorie plans since I'm trying to do all whole foods, but I am using up a few packaged things, like High Fiber Quaker instant oatmeal packets, in the pantry to use them up.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    Nuts and chia seeds are a good way and RX bars are a very natural bar. They have some very dessert-like flavors so you can have a protein dessert. I highly recommend the chocolate mint flavor. The ingredients are dates, egg whites, almonds, cashews, cacao, and peppermint.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    fish, poultry, meat, eggs, egg whites, etc...
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,912 Member
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    LRWSSuccess wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    can you open up your diary - so we can see your diary goal and how your food is breaking out - will help with suggestions

    I've changed my diary to public, but I only started logging on March 1 so there's not a lot of history.

    Thanks!

    Looks like the issue is with your breakfast when it is focused on Activia yogurt and your meals of vegetable soups.
    - Greek yogurt has more protein. It also has more calories, but seems like you've been undereating and have wiggle room there.
    - Try adding chicken breast to your soup. It has a good calorie to protein ratio - better than the other meats I see in your diary.

    Another good food to add protein is cottage cheese.

    Also, how tall are you and how many pounds do you want to lose total?
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    cathipa wrote: »
    Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, seafood and beans are all good low/not processed foods. Quest is a good product for bars and powders.

    This.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    TheCupcakeCounter wrote: »
    Nuts and chia seeds are a good way and RX bars are a very natural bar. They have some very dessert-like flavors so you can have a protein dessert. I highly recommend the chocolate mint flavor. The ingredients are dates, egg whites, almonds, cashews, cacao, and peppermint.

    Nuts and seeds have a terrible protein/calorie ratio! They are fats that bring protein along for the ride.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited March 2017
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    LRWSSuccess wrote: »
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    can you open up your diary - so we can see your diary goal and how your food is breaking out - will help with suggestions

    I've changed my diary to public, but I only started logging on March 1 so there's not a lot of history.

    Thanks!

    Looks like the issue is with your breakfast when it is focused on Activia yogurt and your meals of vegetable soups.
    - Greek yogurt has more protein. It also has more calories, but seems like you've been undereating and have wiggle room there.
    - Try adding chicken breast to your soup. It has a good calorie to protein ratio - better than the other meats I see in your diary.

    Another good food to add protein is cottage cheese.

    Also, how tall are you and how many pounds do you want to lose total?

    And this. Or you could have a side of cottage cheese with your soup.

    Plain Greek yogurt is lovely for breakfast with fresh berries, or pumpkin stirred in and has a lot of protein. I recommend Fage.

    Also, where you're augmenting your meals with eggs, if you want to keep your calories low and up your protein, you could do what I do (I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian). I eat one whole egg plus extra white (I use carton egg whites for this. I usually eat them scrambled with sriracha sauce on top. You can eat a lot of egg whites for very few calories.
  • LRWSSuccess
    LRWSSuccess Posts: 18 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Also, how tall are you and how many pounds do you want to lose total?

    I'm 5'8" with around 100lb to lose.

    I'll look into adding in chicken at lunch, thanks for the suggestion. I'm also trying to keep my salt intake down as my BP is borderline high. I've no idea how that grilled vegetable soup is so high in sodium.
  • LRWSSuccess
    LRWSSuccess Posts: 18 Member
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    fasterpssycat wrote: »
    I'm having the exact same issue. I have my macros set at 40%C/25%F/35%P and cannot get enough protein, usually without going over my fat, even though I'm focused on lean protein (fat-free greek yogurt is a daily staple). The grams seem so high! I'm trying to do the Piyo program for 60 days and have tried to follow the Get Lean plan included. Had to cut my calories down to 2lb-a-week-loss territory because I simply cannot eat enough on the higher calorie plans since I'm trying to do all whole foods, but I am using up a few packaged things, like High Fiber Quaker instant oatmeal packets, in the pantry to use them up.

    Finding the balance is hard - especially trying to increase protein without blowing your fat or sodium. It's definitely a learning curve for me.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    feel free to take a look at my diary - I do 130g of protein a day
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,912 Member
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    LRWSSuccess wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Also, how tall are you and how many pounds do you want to lose total?

    I'm 5'8" with around 100lb to lose.

    I'll look into adding in chicken at lunch, thanks for the suggestion. I'm also trying to keep my salt intake down as my BP is borderline high. I've no idea how that grilled vegetable soup is so high in sodium.

    With your stats, you could definitely eat more than what your diary reflects. You're around 1200 or under many days. Doesn't look like you're eating back any of your exercise calories.

    MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

    My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

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