Tips on hitting Protien Macro?

tony2545
tony2545 Posts: 15 Member
edited December 24 in Food and Nutrition
Having a hard time hitting my protein macro. Does anyone have any good tips on getting more protein in my diet. Just a little info on me & 6'4" 313 pounds working on losing body fat while building muscle. I doing resistant training 4 days a week with some cardio along with it.

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Can you share your diary, or more about your daily diet?

    Would a protein shake help?
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    Protein shakes, chicken, steak, beef, and fish.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    What are you trying to eat a day?

    Recommended is .6-.8/lb of goal body weight - so if your goal is say 200lbs then 120-160g is the recommended range
  • darreneatschicken
    darreneatschicken Posts: 669 Member
    OP is trying to eat 224 grams of protein a day. That's probably too much.
  • twiggy1100
    twiggy1100 Posts: 5 Member
    i need food ideas i am not a big eater and that is what slows down my weight loss i also cook for one and i am getting tired of eggs
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    The answer is going to be in your diary. Look back at your days and decide how you can shift your calories to increase your protein consistently. Look for ways to increase your low calorie protein or replace some of your carb calories with additional protein.

    It looks like you are trying to hit about 1 gram of protein per pound of goal weight. There is nothing wrong with that but try to work up to it so you are not greatly interfering with the way you like to eat. Remember that all of this is a process that is best done in small changes over time. If you find that too difficult you can certainly do well with the normal recommendation of .6 to .8 grams per pound.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    twiggy1100 wrote: »
    i need food ideas i am not a big eater and that is what slows down my weight loss i also cook for one and i am getting tired of eggs

    You can make protein pancakes and biscuits. You can eat larger amount of leaner proteins like the shrimp you had yesterday, other seafood, and chicken. When you do eat eggs you can mix in egg white. I like to add things like beans, lentils, and peas to my food to increase protein from plant based sources.
  • YvonneAbdi
    YvonneAbdi Posts: 8 Member
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  • YvonneAbdi
    YvonneAbdi Posts: 8 Member
    I love these protein snacks- I also make lemon bars with protein.I can send you the recipe. They have over 30 grams of protein and no sugar. I also make 2 smoothies at once on days that I don't want to prep too much. I love this protein powder because it's not chalky and mixes so nicely in coffee for my creamer. :-)
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    My breakfast is always plain greek yogurt mixed with protein powder and frozen berries. That usually gets me around 50 grams of protein for breakfast. If I don't have a protein heavy breakfast, I never hit my protein goals for the day.

    I switch up the flavor of protein powder and type of berry to keep it interesting. Chocolate/strawberry, lemon meringue pie/raspberry, vanilla/cherry berry blend, etc.
  • jakovc1
    jakovc1 Posts: 3 Member
    My protein goal is 165g, about 1g per lb of body weight and I have a bit of trouble hitting the goal without 40-50g of it being from protein powder.
    Part of it is because I'm doing intermittent fasting and I can't eat that much in 8 hour window. Any suggestions for protein source apart from the obvious ones? Also I'm not sure If I'm overdoing it with protein powder...
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,616 Member
    For people who want to get more protein from food (in contrast to supplements**), this thread is an excellent one:

    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 in order by calorie efficiency - most protein for fewest calories. It includes not only meats/fish, but also grains, vegetables, even fruits. Some of the non-meat sources are incomplete (not all), but it's reasonable to be getting a segment of one's protein from incomplete sources, especially if one's goal is high; varying the choices over time helps get a better rounded essential amino acid profile. Find foods you like on the list, eat more of those, less of something else that isn't as helpful to your goals.

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

    ** I don't see anything wrong with using protein powders, bars, etc., though I personally don't find them particularly tasty or satisfying, so I don't normally use them. I'm offering this because it sound like you might prefer to get more of your protein from food, and not as much from protein powder. I'm not criticizing protein powder, and I think it's fine to use it, as long as there's attention in one's overall diet to other useful nutrients (including not only healthy fats, but also micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, other beneficial phytochemicals, etc.).
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    jakovc1 wrote: »
    My protein goal is 165g, about 1g per lb of body weight and I have a bit of trouble hitting the goal without 40-50g of it being from protein powder.
    Part of it is because I'm doing intermittent fasting and I can't eat that much in 8 hour window. Any suggestions for protein source apart from the obvious ones? Also I'm not sure If I'm overdoing it with protein powder...

    I would say generally that if your eating pattern (IF, OMAD, whatever) makes it difficult for you to meet your nutritional needs, then you should consider altering that eating pattern.

    That said, 1 gram per pound of body weight is a bit high compared to some other recommendations that I've heard. How did you arrive at that goal?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    jakovc1 wrote: »
    My protein goal is 165g, about 1g per lb of body weight and I have a bit of trouble hitting the goal without 40-50g of it being from protein powder.
    Part of it is because I'm doing intermittent fasting and I can't eat that much in 8 hour window. Any suggestions for protein source apart from the obvious ones? Also I'm not sure If I'm overdoing it with protein powder...

    The obvious choices are to either extend your eating window until you adapt to eating more food or decide if your protein goal really needs to be that high.

    I am a high volume eater and because it is natural for me I have eaten most of my food in a 6 or less hour window most of my life. I am routinely 125 percent on my protein goal and sometimes really close to 200 percent. I do all of this through food typically. I have no issue with using protein powder. I keep some on hand for off days but I rarely need it.
  • linnyG33
    linnyG33 Posts: 30 Member
    Can you send me the lemon bar recipe?? I love lemon bars
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,678 Member
    I find beef jerky really helpful. I make my own to cut out processing and wierd ingredients, and to eliminate the sometimes chemically aftertaste of commercial beef jerky. It’s satisfying to eat and can take a long time to eat it if you do it mindfully.

    I jigger the recipe each time I make it but it usually ends up about 100 calories and 15g protein per ounce.

    I’ve been using a big old dehydrator with plastic racks, but just got a Ninja Foodi which dehydrates too. It only held half as much jerky but to my astonishment finished it in about a third of the time. It was moister (oxymoron for beef jerky?!) and richer and took five minutes to clean up versus 45 and the inevitable complete soaking by sink sprayer that unwieldy plastic behemoth caused.
  • tony2545
    tony2545 Posts: 15 Member
    YvonneAbdi wrote: »
    I love these protein snacks- I also make lemon bars with protein.I can send you the recipe. They have over 30 grams of protein and no sugar. I also make 2 smoothies at once on days that I don't want to prep too much. I love this protein powder because it's not chalky and mixes so nicely in coffee for my creamer. :-)

    I'd love to have the lemon bar recipe as that's one of my favorite treats.
  • tony2545
    tony2545 Posts: 15 Member
    My breakfast is always plain greek yogurt mixed with protein powder and frozen berries. That usually gets me around 50 grams of protein for breakfast. If I don't have a protein heavy breakfast, I never hit my protein goals for the day.

    I switch up the flavor of protein powder and type of berry to keep it interesting. Chocolate/strawberry, lemon meringue pie/raspberry, vanilla/cherry berry blend, etc.

    I never thought of mixing protein powder in my yogurt. Thanks
  • tony2545
    tony2545 Posts: 15 Member
    A lot of good information. Thanks.
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