How much protein, really?

jrose1982 · July 2018

I keep finding guidance to eat 0.36g protein per lb of weight. I weigh 250 lbs, so I need 90g protein.

The problem is that I can never eat that much protein. I’m always around 50-60g per day.

Consider today for example:
2 eggs and 2 slices of bacon with breakfast; a chicken leg (thigh and drumstick) with lunch. Add the small bits of protein from a salad, veggies, and hummus and that comes to 53g.
Eggs, bacon, chicken... that is plenty of meat for one day.

I’ve eaten about 1200 calories and I’m not hungry. The math says I need about 30-40 g more, and I can’t imagine how I could possibly eat that much.

My target weight is around 150. So that would be 54g, exactly what I’m eating. Am I interpreting the guidance wrong? Should I be using my target weight instead of my current weight?

musicfan68 · July 2018

Are you actually weighing your food to make sure you are actually eating 1200 calories? You might be eating more than you think if you are not weighing your food on a food scale. At your weight, you should be eating more than 1200 calories, unless you are 4'6" tiny female that doesn't do anything all day.

What are your stats? Height, age?

AnnPT77 · July 2018

Calculate protein requirements based on a healthy goal weight, not an overweight/obese weight. Protein is needed to maintain lean tissue; we don't need extra to maintain our fat mass.

But here's the bad news: There's decent evidence we need extra protein while losing weight or active (among other cases) compared to someone sedentary at stable weight.

Personally, I targeted 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight (roughly equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass) while losing, so I was back aiming for around that 90g daily.

Just keep working on gradually tweaking your eating to move protein upward. I was able to figure it out, even as a vegetarian. Log your food (I recommend weighing it), notice foods that you're eating that have relatively many calories and little protein, eat less of those and more of something else you like that better meets your nutritional goals. You'll get there!

TavistockToad · July 2018

protein shakes would be the easiest option.

opening your diary would enable people to give better ideas.

livingleanlivingclean · July 2018

You definitely need more protein, especially in a deficit. You want to give your body the best opportunity to hold on to muscle as you diet (adding resistance training will help too)

You could add extra egg whites to your eggs (they arent meat, and a great source of good quality protein.) Add some mushrooms to your breakfast. A piece of higher protein bread (whole grains, seedy)

You didn't mention dinner - what about fish or seafood?

Dairy is good too - yoghurt or cottage cheese would give you a decent protein boost. I buy natural yoghurt and add a flavoured protein for flavour and sweetness.

FL_Hiker · July 2018

I struggle with this too especially since I'm not that crazy about any source of protein (don't like yogurt, beans, nuts, or meat that much)... I've found plugging my nose and chugging a protein shake every day helps a lot. Lately I haven't been able to do it so I've been eating a can of tuna. I find the shakes are the best way to get it in without too many calories though. Premier protein shakes are 160 cal and 30 grams of protein. You'll feel a lot better too once you start getting in the right amount...

jrose1982 · July 2018

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Calculate protein requirements based on a healthy goal weight, not an overweight/obese weight....

Thank you. I think your response answers all my questions nicely.

psuLemon · July 2018

Generally accepted is 1.5-2.2g/kg. Or another method is .8-1.2g per goal weight. Your requirements tend to increase with increases in activity and leanness.

emmamcgarity · August 2018

I agree that dairy is a good option to boost the protein. Yogurt, skim milk, and lowfat cheese help me a bit.

kimny72 · August 2018

I would add that with so much weight to lose, you should not be starting with the bare minimum amount of calories. 1200 is simply not a lot of food. If you are just starting out, it might take a week or so for your body to get used to a new way of eating, but I would suggest double checking your logging. It is hard to get enough protein in 1200 calories - it's hard to get enough of anything in 1200 calories.

0.36g per lb of goal weight sounds very low to me, I would be thinking more like 0.6-0.8g per lb of goal weight. You don't have to get protein from meat - it also comes in dairy (especially greek yogurt) beans and legumes, soy, and in smaller amounts in many grains. There is also protein shakes and bars.

Ultimately, just do your best. Start trying to increase a little and if you can make that happen, maybe then shoot for a little more.

How much protein, really?

Replies

Categories