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How to get more protein
caralynnbrothers
Posts: 1 Member
I am just starting macro counting and it seems impossible to get enough protein, any suggestions?
2
Replies
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Pre log your food to to hit your goal14
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Look for dairy products like cottage cheeses, lean meats like chicken & turkey, and many beans and lentils. One of the ones that surprised me most is just good old fashioned frozen green peas. Edamame are great too.9
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that is very vague...what is your current protein goal? what are you currently eating daily?2
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lentils, quinoa, protein powder, peas, veggie burgers, tofu/edamame, cottage cheese or greek yogurt if you do dairy (this is beside meats of course, if you do meat/poultry/fish ). You can also add PB2 powder to oatmeal or smoothies for a bit of a boost. It all adds up.6
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If you can't reach it, maybe your protein macro goal is too high.5
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Trimino protein infused water2
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How much protein are you aiming for?
If you are eating meat, you are getting enough protein.2 -
chicken is good1
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I get enough protein without really trying, so it's possible. It would depend on what amount of protein you're trying to get and what you think is a lot...0
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Pork loin is great and zero carbs to boot!1
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Premier protien shakes 30 g if protein. Great for on the go.2
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Look for dairy products like cottage cheeses, lean meats like chicken & turkey, and many beans and lentils. One of the ones that surprised me most is just good old fashioned frozen green peas. Edamame are great too.
Same, I was really suprised at the protein content in peas as well. Another one which suprised me was courgette which had a (just trying to remember off thr top of my head) macro split of about 2/5 protein, 2/5 carb and 1/5 fat.
My main sources of protein are yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, milk, nuts, chickpeas, lentils, beans, tuna, fish fingers and Quorn products.3 -
One thing I do that I drink of a a premier a protein drink it has 30 grams of protein in it you can buy it at Walmart Sam's Costco1
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Lean ground anything - chicken & turkey for less fat, but beef & lamb too. Low-fat cottage cheese provides a ton. Greek yogurt. I rarely get lower than 85 grams a day, often over 100, without trying. It's probably too much.0
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Meat with skin and fat gives you fats and proteins..1
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How much protein are you aiming for?
If you are eating meat, you are getting enough protein.
Seriously!?!?! This is terrible advice. Track your macros. I eat meat, I ate meat. I still wasn't getting enough macros. Eating meat once a day, tracking my food, got me to max 60 g of protein. A 'typical' meat meal (normal portion) will have between 20-30 g of protein. I certainly don't eat meat every meal, so there is no way that 'eating meat' means you'll hit your goals. *smdh*
Pre-logging is a great idea, it helps me see where I need to fill gaps (and plan my meals ahead of time so I know what I am cooking). FYI - cottage cheese is high sodium, and for the life of me, I can find low fat but not low sodium. Greek yogourt has a bit more protein than cottage cheese, with little/no sodium. Tuna, canned fish, lean poultry - there are loads of great suggestions. I start each day with a protein shake or a bowl of greek yog and fruit. At this point, my protein needs (based on weight) are high and hard to meet, so shake is a must at this point in time.
Out of calories but need more protein? I've been known to dump a tin or two of tuna on greens and just get through it. Non-fat greek yogourt is another good go-to.7 -
caralynnbrothers wrote: »I am just starting macro counting and it seems impossible to get enough protein, any suggestions?
Eat more meat.1 -
Tuna, greek, yogurt, cottage cheese, fish...I get way over my protein according to mfp.1
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Same problem, I eat a lot of fruits and fresh vegetables. Looking at adding Whey Protein Powder to shakes and supllement snacking.2
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So i had this issue and brought it up last weekend and got great advice. Hard boiled eggs, tuna, ground turkey, lean chicken, greek yogurt were where I started and it helped boost my protein count and I have felt *so much better* this week. I hated adding the whey into my smoothies, it made them texturally unappealing.
Good luck! Once I started hitting and exceeding the MFP count (which is the minimum you should be going for btw) my energy evened out and my mood improved considerably.2 -
egg whites2
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1. Eggs
2. Bacon
Repeat.3 -
I love coffee so i will get a starbucks drink and sip it about halfway and then refill the cup with a container of premier protein pre-mixed drink0
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Cottage cheese, homemade protein bars, yogurt, egg whites, boneless skinless chicken thighs.0
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I have a handful of protein-heavy snacks I turn to when I am trying to get to my protein macro goal...
- Dannon Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurts (coffee flavor is my favorite, some don't taste that great)... 120 calories, 15g protein, and only 14g of carbs.
- Tuna salad snack (made with fat free Greek yogurt, garlic salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon) eaten with celery stalks (I skip the bread).
- Questbars are great, around 20g protein and between 170 and 210 cal. in the various bars (+ lot's of fiber). I also recently discovered their Quest Chips, 130 cal. and 21g protein.
- Protein shakes (lot's of good options out there, skip trying to make it into a smoothie which adds too many calories and carbs). I use Optimum Nutrition's Platinum Hydrowhey, 140 cal. and 30g protein per scoop (designed for fast absorption after lifting weights).
- Also, on occassion, I enjoy Optimum Nutrition's cake bites. The red velvet flavor is 230 cal. with 20g protein.
For main courses, I primarily focus on fish options. I like recipes with shrimp, it's easy to add and remove the number of shrimp based on how much protein you need (but be careful if you have high cholesterol).
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As others have said, it totally depends on what your protein goal is!
Mine's 135-155g a day (different for training and rest days), and I struggle to meet it without shakes, bars etc because of the sheer volume of e.g. chicken breast I'd have to eat, and how that would make me feel.
I know I should get more natural protein rather than relying on processed supplements, but eh. This way works for me.2 -
hollyshealthylife wrote: »FYI - cottage cheese is high sodium, and for the life of me, I can find low fat but not low sodium. Greek yogourt has a bit more protein than cottage cheese, with little/no sodium.
Cheese, in general, is very high salt (and makes a huge difference in flavor). I accidentally bought No-Salt-Added cottage cheese once - most disgusting tasting thing ever. On the flip of that, my boyfriend adds a huge amount of extra salt above and beyond what is in the typical cottage cheese (apparently, with the added salt, it's close to a cheese he commonly ate with patacones back home).
It was Friendship brand, but since dairy is usually from regional suppliers (and this dairy is indeed a New York State dairy), you probably don't have it by you.
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I started tracking macros last week too. Here are my favorite go-to's for protein:
Fage 2% mixed with Quest protein powder (it's delicious!)
Chicken breast, lean beef, shrimp
Eggs (i eat a couple of hardboiled eggs a day)
Beef jerky
String cheese
Protein powder mixed with coffee or cashew milk (Quest is my fave right now)
Peas, broccoli and edamame
edit to add: Peanut powder (I found one at Costco that has more protein than PB2)1 -
Boars head Canadian bacon from deli counter. Greatness!1
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