Protein powder, or not?

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tohyidrive
tohyidrive Posts: 14 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,
I am thinking of starting on protein powder (never had before) as I find it hard to hit my protein target. I eat a hard boiled egg everyday as a snack and tries to include protein at every meal, like chicken or tuna. Trying to hit 40P but many times still at 25P.
Any advice? If I should start on a protein powder, any recommendations? Is there such a thing as low calorie protein powder?
MFP sets my calories target at 1300/day (0.75kg loss per week), but I do allow myself to go to 1500 some days. I'm not overly strict on that as I don't want to restrict myself too much.
I'm 83kg, 171cm. 40% BF.
Thank you to you all out there, I've learnt so much from this forum over the past 3 months!
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Replies

  • MsOpus
    MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
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    No reason not to try it. I use it to make pancakes, overnight oats, assorted baking, smoothies. There is a lot you can do with it, your not restricted to just a protein shake. I find it helps me meet my goals or even just fill me up.
  • tohyidrive
    tohyidrive Posts: 14 Member
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    @AnnPT77 - thank you so much for the advice. I was too fearful of losing my muscle mass while losing weight. So after reading some online sources where several suggested 40P 30C 30F, I've decided to take it on. I'm doing weights training 2-3 times a week too.

    Yes my 40% BF is from my weighing scale.

    Thanks for the stats. I might aim for 110g for a few weeks and monitor it. Gonna check out the link you sent now.

    Thanks heaps.
  • tohyidrive
    tohyidrive Posts: 14 Member
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    @AnnPT77 Ahh I see. I've always started with adjusting percentages. Got to go in to change that. Thanks for your help!
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    tohyidrive wrote: »
    Hi all,
    I am thinking of starting on protein powder (never had before) as I find it hard to hit my protein target. I eat a hard boiled egg everyday as a snack and tries to include protein at every meal, like chicken or tuna. Trying to hit 40P but many times still at 25P.
    Any advice? If I should start on a protein powder, any recommendations? Is there such a thing as low calorie protein powder?
    MFP sets my calories target at 1300/day (0.75kg loss per week), but I do allow myself to go to 1500 some days. I'm not overly strict on that as I don't want to restrict myself too much.
    I'm 83kg, 171cm. 40% BF.
    Thank you to you all out there, I've learnt so much from this forum over the past 3 months!

    Based on your stats, your desire to minimize muscle loss, and overall sustainability, I am thinking you might want to look at 1500 as a better goal. If 1300 gets you 0.75 kg, 1500 will get you a bit over 0.5 kg per week, which is still a pretty quick rate of loss. That will make hitting protein a bit easier, so you don't feel the need to do such high macro percentages.

    As far as protein powder, most of it out there is pretty low calorie outside of the protein in it. Most will have a bit of fat and sugar, but usually not much. So the bulk of your calories will come from the protein. Just make sure to get one that's not targeted towards mass gains, as those will be loaded with other things usually.
  • mindovermiles
    mindovermiles Posts: 2 Member
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    As far as how much protein, the rule I follow is 1g per 1lb of body weight.
    I use Vega protein powder
  • JoDavo66
    JoDavo66 Posts: 526 Member
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    I've been recommended to move towards 40- 50% protein 30% carbs 20-30% fat due to not loosing weight- I'm now perimenopausal and gaining instead of loosing despite trying!!
    As I'm essentially vegetarian I've found it hard to hit 20-30% protein let alone higher. I've just got protein powder this week. Been having 1-2 shakes a day instead of other snacks.

    I'm curious how you use it in overnight oats. I'd really like to try that. Can you advise @MsOpus please?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
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    mindovermiles wrote: »
    As far as how much protein, the rule I follow is 1g per 1lb of body weight.
    I use Vega protein powder

    That will be serious overkill for anyone who's still overweight or obese. 1g per pound of lean body mass is more than adequate for most people, with only a few subgroups possibly benefitting marginally from more. 0.8g/pound LBM is reasonable for lots. Since most people have no accurate body fat percent estimate, 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight (middle of normal BMI range for one's height, if uncertain about goal) is equivalent for most people.

    https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-do-you-need/
  • MsOpus
    MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
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    joannadavison wrote: »
    I've been recommended to move towards 40- 50% protein 30% carbs 20-30% fat due to not loosing weight- I'm now perimenopausal and gaining instead of loosing despite trying!!
    As I'm essentially vegetarian I've found it hard to hit 20-30% protein let alone higher. I've just got protein powder this week. Been having 1-2 shakes a day instead of other snacks.

    I'm curious how you use it in overnight oats. I'd really like to try that. Can you advise @MsOpus please?

    I just mix it with cashew milk first, then equal parts of that mix to oatmeal plus whatever you like in your oatmeal. If I add fruit I add it right before serving.
  • gemiller87
    gemiller87 Posts: 137 Member
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    I started using it to assist in exactly your described problem. I've dropped over 120lbs so far since January (aiming for 125 by end of year) and around halfway into the drop I noticed muscle loss becoming a problem so I upped my protein intake. I found it hard to hit goal numbers as well and although try to eat as much of it as possible (even in the form of BuiltBar protein bars, Quest Protein Chips, etc) I still sometimes use protein powder. For what it's worth I do believe the increased protein macro helped maintain muscle mass above and beyond just exercising.
  • tohyidrive
    tohyidrive Posts: 14 Member
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    gemiller87 wrote: »
    I started using it to assist in exactly your described problem. I've dropped over 120lbs so far since January (aiming for 125 by end of year) and around halfway into the drop I noticed muscle loss becoming a problem so I upped my protein intake. I found it hard to hit goal numbers as well and although try to eat as much of it as possible (even in the form of BuiltBar protein bars, Quest Protein Chips, etc) I still sometimes use protein powder. For what it's worth I do believe the increased protein macro helped maintain muscle mass above and beyond just exercising.

    Thank you for sharing. Yes I try taking The Bar Counter protein bars too...
    I've upped my calories goal, will monitor for 5-6 weeks.
    @gemiller87 What protein powder would you recommend?
  • tohyidrive
    tohyidrive Posts: 14 Member
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    MikePTY wrote: »
    tohyidrive wrote: »
    Hi all,
    I am thinking of starting on protein powder (never had before) as I find it hard to hit my protein target. I eat a hard boiled egg everyday as a snack and tries to include protein at every meal, like chicken or tuna. Trying to hit 40P but many times still at 25P.
    Any advice? If I should start on a protein powder, any recommendations? Is there such a thing as low calorie protein powder?
    MFP sets my calories target at 1300/day (0.75kg loss per week), but I do allow myself to go to 1500 some days. I'm not overly strict on that as I don't want to restrict myself too much.
    I'm 83kg, 171cm. 40% BF.
    Thank you to you all out there, I've learnt so much from this forum over the past 3 months!

    Based on your stats, your desire to minimize muscle loss, and overall sustainability, I am thinking you might want to look at 1500 as a better goal. If 1300 gets you 0.75 kg, 1500 will get you a bit over 0.5 kg per week, which is still a pretty quick rate of loss. That will make hitting protein a bit easier, so you don't feel the need to do such high macro percentages.

    As far as protein powder, most of it out there is pretty low calorie outside of the protein in it. Most will have a bit of fat and sugar, but usually not much. So the bulk of your calories will come from the protein. Just make sure to get one that's not targeted towards mass gains, as those will be loaded with other things usually.

    Thank you very much for the advice. I've upped my calories goal to 1550. Will slow things down but hopefully minimize losing precious muscle!
  • healingnurtrer
    healingnurtrer Posts: 217 Member
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    I agree with the good advice above, just want to add that I love using protein powder to help reach my goal. I use a vegan chocolate flavor one with pea protein and stevia. It doesn't taste like chocolate milk or anything but it does kinda feel like a "treat." My protein goal is high (feels high to me ~100 grams) and I can only handle eating so much meat, eggs and legumes.
  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
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    I like to have protein/meal replacement powders on hand in case I get sick and for the recovery period after an illness. I've had situations when I'm sure I would have done a lot better if I could have drunk my meals for a while.

    Otherwise, I'm more likely to add some of the powder to nondairy yoghurt and puddings, which tend to be very low protein unless based on soy. This just brings them up to the equivalent dairy products. I might add a little to beverages sometimes, but rarely use anything close to a full serving unless I'm making popsicles or nondairy ice cream out of it.

    One protein powder in my stash has chia seeds in it, and makes a pretty good pudding all by itself.... just use less water and let the chia seed thicken it in the refrigerator. Maybe add some cocoa powder. Chia seed can be added to other types of protein powder, of course.

  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
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    swierzbik1 wrote: »
    How do you people eat 1300kcal while recommended daily intake for a 4 year old is 1400kcal is beyond my comprehension.

    I'm definitely not a 4 year old but two different trackers (MFP and LoseIt) think my daily calorie needs for maintenance at 110 lbs (not skinny, that's always been my normal) is well under 1500 calories -as low as 1430 calories.

    That's why smaller (and especially older) women who are not very active can have trouble maintaining a proper weight - there is very little dietary leeway compared to someone whose maintenance is 2500 calories. Exercise of the sort I can actually do doesn't change things that much either, although it has other benefits.

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