30% (145 grams) of protein

Trying to wrap my mind around how this is possible just eating regular food—no bars or protein powder shakes. If you are eating this much protein on the regular, I’d love to hear from you and see what your meals look like. Similar conundrum around getting in 21 grams of fiber while keeping carbs moderately low 30%. Thanks for anything you can share.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    edited July 2020
    I can do it without too much trouble - I could do 140g protein on 1700 calories or more every day.

    Here's the Chart of Protein and Fiber thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also/p1

    ..and yeah, you'll probably have to eat mostly vegetables and protein for low carb with fiber. You can supplement fiber - like Metamucil. I easily get 30-40g fiber every day but I'm eating grains and beans.
  • IrisRoseGingersnap
    IrisRoseGingersnap Posts: 127 Member
    @cmriverside Thanks for the response and the link. Going to have to sit down and ponder this. Would love to see your diary.
  • Talan79
    Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
    edited July 2020
    Greet yogurt, liquid egg whites, PB Fit (order on Amazon), edamame, quinoa, some breads like Ezekiel bread are high in protein and fiber. Trader Joe’s also has low carb, high protein tortillas they have 4 grams of fiber per serving.
  • IrisRoseGingersnap
    IrisRoseGingersnap Posts: 127 Member
    @Talan79 Thanks tor these suggestions.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Just increase the protein servings in your regular meals. Like if you normally have 100g of chicken in a stir fry, bump it up to 150g and reduce the rice, or whatever. That's how I generally do it .
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,309 Member
    Can't help you on the carb front, with apologies: As a vegetarian, my protein comes with carbs attached, often. (And I only shoot for 100g, about 1g per pound of estimated lean body mass, at 5'5").

    Maybe the vegetarian thought process can help, though:

    1. Review your diary. Which foods are "costing" quite a few calories, but not helping you with your protein/fiber goals? Those foods are your candidates to reduce or eliminate to free up calories. Next, think about how to "spend" those calories on other foods you enjoy, that make a better contribution to your goals. Rinse and repeat, until your protein/fiber are dialed in.
    2. Look at the small stuff. A thing that helped me early on, at reduced calories, was to try to get a little protein from almost everything I ate. Choose veggies with more protein, snacks with more protein, sauces/dressings with more protein, there are even fruits with a little protein . . . rather than none. Those "gram or few" things add up.

    The thread cmriverside linked is an excellent aid to that kind of process.

    Best wishes!
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited July 2020
    I was eating 150-200g protein/day for a while when I was trying to purposefully build muscle while lifting heavy and it's not easy to do just eating "real" food.

    Yes, it is possible to do it eating real food but you'll find yourself eating the same high protein foods (a lot of the same ones) everyday to keep your protein intake up and that is very limiting dietarily and gets very boring quick.

    So, I just used protein powder mixed w/soymilk in the AM wc provided about 50g protein right off the bat, ate a regular diet of whatever fit my fancy the rest of the day w/in my cal limit and threw in a 20g protein bar or 2 in the afternoon and/or PM w/some soymilk, if needed.

    This made it much easier to reach my daily protein goal while still eating a variety of more interesting and satisfying real food that would not otherwise allow me to reach my daily protein goal.

    You can try doing it only w/real food and more power to you if you can manage it but I don't think you need to avoid using protein supplements if you can't.

    Good luck!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    edited July 2020
    @cmriverside Thanks for the response and the link. Going to have to sit down and ponder this. Would love to see your diary.

    I don't do that much protein now on a regular basis, because I don't need that much protein. I have my Goals set to the default settings of 50%C 30%F and 20%P. That gives me a goal of 85g protein and 1700 calories. For context, I'm female, 66, 5'7" 140-143

    Maybe you could explain why you feel you need that much?
    • What's your current goal in general? i.e. weight loss, weight lifting, etc.
    • Calories?
    • Current weight?

    145g is a lot for a woman unless you're fairly active or have a weight-lifting practice. When I was getting that much I was supplementing with plant-based and whey based protein powder. I still use them today when I have a very active day as anything over 120g starts to require quite a lot of pre-planning and I'm not always good at that.




  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I was struggling to get 25 g of fiber plus 100 g of protein and my dietitian said I didn't need 100 g - 80 g was fine.

    It's been much easier hitting my fiber goal since I started eating bean salad, but that does come with carbs.

    Do you have a medical reason for 30% carbs and 30% protein? If not, your life will be easier if you give some of your protein (and fat) to your carbs.
  • cupcakesandproteinshakes
    cupcakesandproteinshakes Posts: 1,142 Member
    I use whey to supplement but

    300g cottage cheese
    200 g chicken breast
    200g filet steak
    300g Skyr

    Should just about get you there if not more. . Slight guess on my part but I regularly hit 150 g when I do bother to log. Insidious eat a lot of fish and seafood.

    My non protein food is salad fruit veggies rice bread. Easy enough for me but I don’t much eating the same stuff all the time.
  • IrisRoseGingersnap
    IrisRoseGingersnap Posts: 127 Member
    @cupcakesandproteinshakes I think most of us eat basically the same things all the time anyway. Like fast food is burgers and fries, fried chicken, tacos and such. I think I can take a theme and variation approach with variety coming from fruits, veggies, spices, etc. and the theme being chicken, eggs, beans, whatever.
  • KevinWH87
    KevinWH87 Posts: 74 Member
    I don't think anyone's yet mentioned noodles made from edamame or black bean flour. Such an easy and healthy substitute that will boost your protein intake.
  • IrisRoseGingersnap
    IrisRoseGingersnap Posts: 127 Member
    @KevinWH87 Cool, thanks for the tip!
  • IrisRoseGingersnap
    IrisRoseGingersnap Posts: 127 Member
    So I am learning the importance of lean protein as I watch the fat percentage increase and the protein percentage decrease. Also now following a high-protein eating plan on MFP premium. She’d four pounds last week and fill full throughout the day and not over full at night—no TUMS needed or feeling gross at bedtime, so I think I’m on the right track.