Protein - Ideas and advice please!
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cazzcampbell
Posts: 22 Member
Hi all - I'm not new to MFP but this is a fairly new account after rejoining a couple of months ago as I wanted a fresh start. I've got a complicated history with diet (in the broad and restrictive sense) but I seem to have found a good balance and now the lbs are coming down, albeit slowly but I'm okay with that.
I'm now at a point where I'm feeling okay about my calories and where they're at but something that I really need to work on is my protein intake. Since going vegetarian-ish (as in, I cook 99% veggie at home but will eat meat if we order or eat out) my protein is lower than I'd like because it's not something I've looked at so much. I looked at the James Smith Academy calculator, which suggested that for good fat loss I should aim for 196g a day which is never going to happen but I would like to aim for 100g plus a day I think.
I'm going to look into seitan, which is meant to be a great source of protein, and work on increasing things like greek yoghurt and cottage cheese but a lot of other things like nuts, seeds, avocado etc are high in protein but really high in calories too so they're only good to have in moderate amounts. So any suggestions, advice or tips welcome, particularly for good breakfast ideas!
Thanks in advance.
I'm now at a point where I'm feeling okay about my calories and where they're at but something that I really need to work on is my protein intake. Since going vegetarian-ish (as in, I cook 99% veggie at home but will eat meat if we order or eat out) my protein is lower than I'd like because it's not something I've looked at so much. I looked at the James Smith Academy calculator, which suggested that for good fat loss I should aim for 196g a day which is never going to happen but I would like to aim for 100g plus a day I think.
I'm going to look into seitan, which is meant to be a great source of protein, and work on increasing things like greek yoghurt and cottage cheese but a lot of other things like nuts, seeds, avocado etc are high in protein but really high in calories too so they're only good to have in moderate amounts. So any suggestions, advice or tips welcome, particularly for good breakfast ideas!
Thanks in advance.
1
Replies
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do you eat fish or eggs? fish, eggs and dairy are where i get most of my protein from, and every now and then a protein bar.1
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Legumes and pulses are a good vegetarian source of protein.
I suggest looking at this file and seeing if there are foods you hadn't thought of yet/didn't know were sources of protein:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also2 -
cazzcampbell wrote: »Hi all - I'm not new to MFP but this is a fairly new account after rejoining a couple of months ago as I wanted a fresh start. I've got a complicated history with diet (in the broad and restrictive sense) but I seem to have found a good balance and now the lbs are coming down, albeit slowly but I'm okay with that.
I'm now at a point where I'm feeling okay about my calories and where they're at but something that I really need to work on is my protein intake. Since going vegetarian-ish (as in, I cook 99% veggie at home but will eat meat if we order or eat out) my protein is lower than I'd like because it's not something I've looked at so much. I looked at the James Smith Academy calculator, which suggested that for good fat loss I should aim for 196g a day which is never going to happen but I would like to aim for 100g plus a day I think.
I'm going to look into seitan, which is meant to be a great source of protein, and work on increasing things like greek yoghurt and cottage cheese but a lot of other things like nuts, seeds, avocado etc are high in protein but really high in calories too so they're only good to have in moderate amounts. So any suggestions, advice or tips welcome, particularly for good breakfast ideas!
Thanks in advance.
I'm not familiar with the James Smith Academy calculator but 196 g seems really excessive and 100 g far more reasonable.
What do you get here?
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
I shoot for @ 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I do, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein recommendation from examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.
It's better to consider nuts, seeds, avocado, etc. sources of fat rather than protein
For breakfast, do you eat eggs? People also bump up their protein at breakfast by adding protein powder or Greek yogurt to foods.2 -
Re seitan, if you like to cook, here are a few recipes:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241963/seitan-pepperoni/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238521/basic-seitan-wheat-meat-vegan-meat-substitute/0 -
I would add a hard-boiled egg to your diet (if possible...I know you said you are somewhat vegetarian).
Otherwise adding PB2 to foods is a good idea as well.1 -
I often eat a salad for lunch which has quinoa as the base with some roast veg, and a couple of falafel.
Both quinoa and falafel are good sources of protein and easy to add in.0 -
Not vegetarian, but using Greek yogurt and cottage cheese in my smoothies and desserts helps bump my protein up quite a bit. I was making kefir and using it in smoothies, and to bake with. It made amazing fluffy, light baked goods, but I couldn’t keep up with production.
I’ve been adding Bob’s Red Mill unflavored whey powder and extra eggs to my pancakes.0 -
I'm vegetarian (ovo lacto), 5'5", 125-ish pounds (in weight maintenance now). I have a protein minimum of 100g, which I hit the overwhelming majority of days, and exceed very often. I'm a believer in the "0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal bodyweight" rule of thumb for protein minimum, which is roughly equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for quite a range of people (but most of us don't have a good body fat/lean mass estimate, so it's easier to math out based on healthy goal bodyweight).
The link @Lietchi gave you is super-helpful: You'll just want to scroll down past the meat/fish heavy top of the list, to find more plant-based options. They're there.
For protein amounts, here's some more food for thought, from a source generally considered neutral, evidence based (they don't sell supplements; they sell research, but offer some for free):
https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
My guidance to newer vegetarians (from my perspective of having been veg for 47+ years now) is to continue getting that "one big protein per meal" thing that omnivores do. That'd be your tofu, tempeh, seitan, legumes, bean/pea/soy pasta, some faux meats (watch out: not all are protein/calorie efficient!), etc. . . . or calorie-efficient dairy (nonfat Greek yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, a few other cheeses, nonfat milk, etc.) , or eggs.
In addition to that, think about getting at least a little bit of protein in almost any other thing you eat. There are veggies with more protein, even fruits with a little protein, nuts/seeds to add crunch instead of croutons, snack foods with protein (dry-roasted soybeans, crispy chickpeas or broad beans, bean chips, frozen Greek yogurt bars, etc.), and so forth.
Look at your food diary, note foods that have quite a few calories, but not much protein. Are they foods you could reduce or eliminate and still get other good nutrition, feel full and happy? If so, cut some calories there, add in something you enjoy eating that has a little more protein. Across the day, those small amounts add up. Keep reviewing, keep tweaking your eating, before you know it, you'll have your protein levels where you want them, eating vegetarian foods primarily, if that's what you prefer.2 -
I'm a self-proclaimed "Goddess of Seitan"--my bbq "fibs" have made confirmed omnivores moan in delight. But it's not necessarily a low cal option, so be careful :-)
@AnnPT77 has a great tip about "one big protein" and finding ways to add "little proteins" other ways.
One of my faves is making salad dressing or "creamy" simmer sauces with hummus or silken tofu as a base (I don't dairy so yogurt is out for me).
I'm also big on nutritional yeast, which adds a cheesiness to oatmeal and veggie casseroles, and can produce a passable queso with plenty of tomatoes, serrano peppers and cilantro.
And like @ehju0901, I keep PB2 peanut butter powder on hand-- which I add to veggie stirfries and salads with soy sauce and maybe some ginger garlic paste for a southeast Asian satay vibe.3 -
jennypapage wrote: »do you eat fish or eggs? fish, eggs and dairy are where i get most of my protein from, and every now and then a protein bar.
I don't eat fish much but a little, eggs I do. I need to get some more to boil up and keep in the fridge, that worked well. I tried making my own protein bars from a recipe but they weren't that high protein really! I have some pre-bought ones though which help a little.
0 -
Legumes and pulses are a good vegetarian source of protein.
I suggest looking at this file and seeing if there are foods you hadn't thought of yet/didn't know were sources of protein:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also
Oh that's a really helpful link, thank you. It's finding those foods that are a good balance of calories and protein and that's really helpful for that so thank you again.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »I'm not familiar with the James Smith Academy calculator but 196 g seems really excessive and 100 g far more reasonable.
What do you get here?
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
I shoot for @ 500 calories of exercise per day, and when I do, using the MFP default of 20% protein aligns with the protein recommendation from examine. If I were completely sedentary, I'd need to bump it up to 30%.
It's better to consider nuts, seeds, avocado, etc. sources of fat rather than protein
For breakfast, do you eat eggs? People also bump up their protein at breakfast by adding protein powder or Greek yogurt to foods.
It does seem excessive doesn't it? That link says 156g, which is more reasonable but still a bit too much realistically for me I think. Although 30% without exercise calories is 143g so maybe I should be aiming for about that but considering I'm averaging about 50g at the moment, it's going to take a bit of work!
I do see those as sources of good fat but they're also listed as sources of protein, I just don't really think that they can be used as that. I add a little for the overall nutrition of them and there's a small protein benefit but the calories are too high to really add much protein so that's not really the focus of them.
I do eat eggs, yes. I could probably do with trying to eat them more. I've just bought a vanilla protein powder so may add that to things a bit more, before that I only had a chocolate and caramel flavour one which is delicious but couldn't have that in everything.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Re seitan, if you like to cook, here are a few recipes:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241963/seitan-pepperoni/
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238521/basic-seitan-wheat-meat-vegan-meat-substitute/
Oh that's really helpful, thank you. I'd got as far as deciding to give it a go but not what to actually do with it!0 -
I would add a hard-boiled egg to your diet (if possible...I know you said you are somewhat vegetarian).
Otherwise adding PB2 to foods is a good idea as well.
I do eat eggs (veggie rather than vegan so I'm good with eggs) and have had some boiled up in the fridge before so might do that again today, thanks.1 -
littlegreenparrot1 wrote: »I often eat a salad for lunch which has quinoa as the base with some roast veg, and a couple of falafel.
Both quinoa and falafel are good sources of protein and easy to add in.
I didn't realise that quinoa was a good source of protein so that's a good shout. Thank you.0 -
springlering62 wrote: »Not vegetarian, but using Greek yogurt and cottage cheese in my smoothies and desserts helps bump my protein up quite a bit. I was making kefir and using it in smoothies, and to bake with. It made amazing fluffy, light baked goods, but I couldn’t keep up with production.
I’ve been adding Bob’s Red Mill unflavored whey powder and extra eggs to my pancakes.
I was wondering about getting some unflavoured whey, I bought vanilla yesterday as they only had that, strawberry and chocolate but I may look online for some unflavoured I think and then use it in things as realistically, I think I'll need it as an extra bump to reach my protein for the day.
Was kefir easy to make? I use greek yoghurt for things too, need to look at having cottage cheese more though as I really do enjoy it.
thanks for replying.0 -
I'm vegetarian (ovo lacto), 5'5", 125-ish pounds (in weight maintenance now). I have a protein minimum of 100g, which I hit the overwhelming majority of days, and exceed very often. I'm a believer in the "0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal bodyweight" rule of thumb for protein minimum, which is roughly equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, for quite a range of people (but most of us don't have a good body fat/lean mass estimate, so it's easier to math out based on healthy goal bodyweight).
The link @Lietchi gave you is super-helpful: You'll just want to scroll down past the meat/fish heavy top of the list, to find more plant-based options. They're there.
For protein amounts, here's some more food for thought, from a source generally considered neutral, evidence based (they don't sell supplements; they sell research, but offer some for free):
https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/
https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
My guidance to newer vegetarians (from my perspective of having been veg for 47+ years now) is to continue getting that "one big protein per meal" thing that omnivores do. That'd be your tofu, tempeh, seitan, legumes, bean/pea/soy pasta, some faux meats (watch out: not all are protein/calorie efficient!), etc. . . . or calorie-efficient dairy (nonfat Greek yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, a few other cheeses, nonfat milk, etc.) , or eggs.
In addition to that, think about getting at least a little bit of protein in almost any other thing you eat. There are veggies with more protein, even fruits with a little protein, nuts/seeds to add crunch instead of croutons, snack foods with protein (dry-roasted soybeans, crispy chickpeas or broad beans, bean chips, frozen Greek yogurt bars, etc.), and so forth.
Look at your food diary, note foods that have quite a few calories, but not much protein. Are they foods you could reduce or eliminate and still get other good nutrition, feel full and happy? If so, cut some calories there, add in something you enjoy eating that has a little more protein. Across the day, those small amounts add up. Keep reviewing, keep tweaking your eating, before you know it, you'll have your protein levels where you want them, eating vegetarian foods primarily, if that's what you prefer.
Based on your method, I should aim for 170g of protein a day. It feels like quite a lot but it's something that I could try and work up to, although I'm not sure I'd get quite that high as that's around 35-40% of my calorie intake. I've set it at 30% for now, which is 143g which is still going to take a bit of planning and working up to.
I think my issue is a bit like you've said, I don't know that I always have a big protein thing per meal. Some meals, at least my main evening meal, but not always and I could do with working on those and additional sources of protein a bit more.
Your tips are really helpful, thank you.0 -
5 minute easy seitan:
45 gram, Vital Wheat Gluten
6 grams (2 Tbsp), Pb2.
0.50 teaspoon, Liquid Smoke
5 g, Savoury Yeast Flakes
1/3 - 1/2 cup water
Seasoning of your choice eg. garlic powder, chilli flakes, Italian seasoning, black pepper
Mix with a fork until just combined. Cook on a sandwich press or in a waffle iron until desired doneness.
Particularly good served with marinara, cashew cheese sauce or salsa for dipping.
I've split the mix in two and made a high protein burger 'bun' and used it as a high protein pizza base.
Great when you are short on time and low on protein.
Macros: 214 calories / 39g protein / 10g carbs / 2g fat1 -
In the dairy family, skyr yogurt is a great option too. I put protein powder into my skyr with some fruit which gives me 35 grams of protein for 200 to 300 calories.1
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I'd echo most of the non-vegetarian advice for fish, eggs, lean unprocessed meats, and dairy though I eat a lot of tofu. Whey protein is the big top-up for me, mainly mixed in morning oatmeal, shakes and non-fat yogurt with nuts, berries, fruit. I buy on sale and in bulk on the basis of grams per dollar.
(The protein powder industry is a heavily marketed chaos of ingredients and percentages, scoop and jar sizes, and PEDrugged fitness influencers - purified "isolates" and heavily marketed brands are radically overpriced. Here in Canada some good whey brands are relabeled as drug store generics and sold at half the price. Amines, etc. added to the basic whey in "concentrates" or blends are inexpensive filler, redundant to what's in ordinary good nutrition. Apart from grams/ dollar price, the mixability and flavor are important considerations if it's stirred or shaken by hand, but matter much less if blendered with other tasty things.)0
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