Protein alternatives

kellyrosiemfp
kellyrosiemfp Posts: 14 Member
edited December 23 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All, I’ve been given an exercise and diet plan to do, the diet plan is protein and oat heavy. I’m am pescatarian so most of my diet is vegetarian/pescatarian. For lunch everyday I need to eat 200g of cod, prawns or a big tin of tuna with veg etc. But does anyone know any alternatives with similar nutritional values/calories I could have if I get sick of these? Same as dinner, I’ve been given salmon and half a pack of microwaveable rice with vegetables etc but having this everyday too will get extremely boring, could I swap rice with potato now and then etc?

Replies

  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    What is the goal of this plan? If it is anything other than weight loss, you should ask the person that wrote the plan.

    If it is weight loss, you should just stick to your calorie goal with whatever foods you enjoy. Use a food scale and choose food entries that match the packaging or if the foods don't have packaging, the values provided by the USDA. Adjust your calorie goal after a month of tracking, if results are not as expected. Also, be reasonable in your expectations. If you have less than 30 lbs to lose, you might not be able to lose as fast as 2 lbs per week. 1 lb per week is more reasonable, and it it perfectly ok to lose only 1/2 lb per week. Women also have to be mindful of hormonal fluctuations, which may mask fat loss.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    For your question, this thread should be very useful:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

    It links to a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods by protein efficiency: Most protein for fewest calories. You should find other pescatarian-friendly fish/seafood options there, plus some strict vegetarian sources that you may not have considered.

    Assuming your diet plan is not related to some medical condition with special eating rules, I'd say you could swap rice for potato, but one way you could look at questions like that would be to look at the MFP database entries for both possibilities, and compare their relative amounts of fat, protein, fiber and carbs per sensible serving. To be a good substitute, they wouldn't necessarily have to match exactly, just be in a similar ballpark.

    It's a good thing to vary the foods one eats, from a nutritional standpoint, IMO. Even similar foods will tend to differ in micronutrients, for one example, so variety helps keep things well-rounded.
  • kellyrosiemfp
    kellyrosiemfp Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks so much, no just a lifestyle change to get unwanted weight off so more whole food oats protein
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Why would you eat only fish and oats??? That doesn’t sound healthy at all because it’s so unbalanced. :s
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Where did you get the plan, and why are you following this particular plan? If you are just looking to lose weight, just eat what you enjoy and would normally eat but within your calories per MFP. So much easier and more sustainable than eating to a specific "diet plan" that you hate.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,312 Member
    Meal plans that are not treating a specific condition are probably best regarded as examples to get you started exploring slightly different methods of eating than you've been following in the past.

    Or are you going to follow the exact same plan from now to eternity?

    To serve as a guide you will have to think and deconstruct what the example menus are trying to accomplish and show you.

    MFP helps with that in that you can compare the calories and macro values of what you eat and evaluate how you felt after following one option as compared to alternatives.

    Calories (in and out) will determine whether your weight trend over time will head down, up, or stay steady.

    Macros, when you feel ready to explore them, will ensure you meet nutritional minimum goals and can be tweaked to meet performance goals while maximizing satiety.

    Beyond the minimums, various choices will leave you more or less satisfied and satiated over time.

    The game is maximizing "good stuff" subject to achieving our goals.

    At times I define "good stuff" as just meeting my calories which is one of the most basic goals.

    Other times I define "good stuff" as meeting all my macro minimums and maximizing satiety.

    And then there are times where I maximize convenience (or, often, hedonism) subject to not getting too far off track in terms of calories and macros.

    The point is that there is a filter and some conscious thought/supervision because my past unfiltered overeating habits didn't work out that well for me!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited October 2019
    kellyrosiemfp wrote: »
    Hi All, I’ve been given an exercise and diet plan to do, the diet plan is protein and oat heavy. I’m am pescatarian so most of my diet is vegetarian/pescatarian. For lunch everyday I need to eat 200g of cod, prawns or a big tin of tuna with veg etc. But does anyone know any alternatives with similar nutritional values/calories I could have if I get sick of these? Same as dinner, I’ve been given salmon and half a pack of microwaveable rice with vegetables etc but having this everyday too will get extremely boring, could I swap rice with potato now and then etc?

    I rotate my starchy carbs - mostly rice, potato, and pasta. It was easy for me to overeat rice and pasta before I got a food scale and decided to stick to certain amounts. For me, this is 75 - 100 g of rice and 4 - 5 oz pasta. Since I'm satisfied with less rice, I eat it more often than pasta.

    I could eat chicken day in and day out and never get tired of it because I have a ridiculous amount of spices and love different ethnic cuisines. (My OH would complain about the lack of red meat though.)

    Thai salmon cakes are a nice change of pace. If you are new to Thai cooking, this recipe looks good: https://www.carolinescooking.com/mildly-thai-salmon-cakes-two-ways/
    1. It's not obvious from the list of ingredients, but is obvious later on that this calls for raw salmon. I've tried making Thai fish cakes with canned salmon, and they are not as good IMO.
    2. To reduce oil calories, you can use a non-stick pan with spray oil, or bake them.
    3. You might get 4 or so servings of rice out of the rice part of the recipe.

    Another way I make salmon is to make a paste with soy sauce and ground ginger and spatula it over the top. I bake at 325 degrees for around 15 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees - I like this kind of salmon medium rare and do not enjoy it if it is more cooked, but YMMV.

    Here are two salmon recipes I saved recently but have not yet tried:
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