Food Diary / hitting protein goal - without protein shake

Pipsqueak1965 wrote: »

I've just watched a little video which basically says that you can't actually process more than around 20-30 grams of protein per meal, any more is a waste. Aim for around 0.8-1.2 g protein per kilo of body weight. That's plenty.

ritzvin wrote: »

TinaLeigh67 wrote: »

@penguinmama87
I totally agree. I can't eat just any cottage cheese. I have had to try multiple brands and fat levels to find just the right one. I've had the same issues with certain vegetables. Have found that some that I hated in the past are great if just prepared differently. Experimenting is the way to go. You just may surprise yourself.

Yes. Such a huge difference for cottage cheese at different fat levels and curd size. I also accidentally grabbed a non-salt-added tub once... Omg.. Most disgusting thing ever.

LastMinuteMama wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

LastMinuteMama wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

LastMinuteMama wrote: »

nossmf wrote: »

Just for comparison purposes, I lift weights as my primary exercise, weigh a reasonably-trim 192 at present, eat plenty of protein for muscle...and most days I'm tapping out at 150g protein or less. So your goal of 165 may be accurate for you, but it sure caught my eye.

Gosh...I used a TDEE calculator and that's what it gave me - 40P, 40F, 20C, ...the protein goal has since been lowered.

Still looking for ideas on how to sneak in protein based off of yesterday's entry.

There's nothing magical about the macros any of these TDEE calculators give you and at the moment, protein is all the rage, so they pump it up and up and up and up. It is important, but the amounts of protein recommended by a lot of these calculators and websites these days is obscene and ultimately you just end up making expensive glucose.

Even a lot of my bodybuilder friends say it's gotten friggin' ridiculous. Most of the guys I know do 1g per Lb of lean mass...and they're competitive bodybuilders who practically live in the gym, not just me or you trying to get fit and in shape. In general, .6-.8 grams per Lb of a healthy weight is more than fine and well over the RDA. Unless you're just shredding it in the gym and tearing your muscles to pieces every day with training, you don't really need copious amounts of protein.

The guys I know that are into bodybuilding and eat a ton of protein eat a lot of meat...and then some more meat...and then some more chicken...and then some more fish...and then some more meat. There diets are basically meat, poultry, or fish and veg and rice or potatoes and they don't deviate much from that. Unfortunately, many of these lofty protein recommendations are born out of the bodybuilding industry...but I myself am hardly a bodybuilder and I do just fine with the amount of protein I get.

Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to formulate that response. But I get it, my protein goal was too high. I fixed it. I want to move on from there and still get suggestions on how to get more protein into my diet because even when I lower it to a reasonable amount I’m still having difficulty reaching it.

How about a process answer? It looks like you've visited the thread with the protein spreadsheet, and that has pretty much aaallllll the "what food" answers, IMO. So, process: It's what I personally did, as a vegetarian, to get my protein intake where I needed it on reduced calories (it should be easier for an omnivore, I think).

Every day or two, look at your food diary. Notice things that have relatively many calories, but not much protein. Consider whether you could reduce or eliminate some of those things, and still be happy with your eating (sated, tastiness needs met, no major nutritional sacrifices, etc.). When you find some, use the protein spreadsheet to find some other food you enjoy, that would help you meet your protein goals for similar calories. Keep doing that, tweaking what you eat, and inching your protein upward.

As that stops yielding results, look at pretty much anything that has zero protein, even if moderate calories. Is there some alternate food you could eat, that you like as much, that has a little more protein? (Here again, the spreadsheet is a resource. There are veggies with more protein, snacks with more protein, grains/starches with more protein than others, even some fruits with protein, etc.).

Also, look at the calorie efficiency of your protein sources. Is there something you're eating now that has meaningful protein, but kind of many calories? Consider whether there's some alternate food you enjoy eating, that's more calorie efficient for the protein. Again, the spreadsheet is a reference.

(I even developed a couple of rules of thumb for myself for assessing. The specific numbers won't work for you as an omnivore, but for me as a vegetarian, I figured out that individual foods (vs. multi-ingredient dishes) with around 10 calories (from any macro) per gram of protein were good individual protein sources. There will be more for omnis that are better than that, I suspect, but you can use that idea to evaluate. If your, I dunno, slice of pork has X calories per gram of protein, can you identify things on the spreadsheet you enjoy eating, that have fewer than X calories per gram of protein, that would make you equally happy?)

As a final thought process, look at prepared foods you're using, like bread, pasta, snacks, whatever. Read labels on the shelf at the store. Is there something that looks good, has more protein, at reasonable calories?

If you ask yourself questions like this as you have time to deal with it, keep making tweaks, adding little bits (or big bits) of protein through your days by substituting foods you like for what you're eating that isn't hitting your goals as well, you'll get there.

It's not like you're going to develop kwashiorkor or even lose significant muscle mass instantly by coming in under your protein goal for a bit. You can tune it up gradually, and you'll probably find some quick wins pretty fast that make a reasonably significant difference.

Protein is probably the main thing I used this kind of thinking for, but it's not the only one. If you're trying to improve multiple aspects of nutrition, it gets a bit multidimensional, but it's pretty amazing what can be achieved over time by reviewing one's diary, chipping away at goals via happy substitutions.

Just a thought.

Yes, yes, yes to all of this!! Thank you so much for your response. That is exactly what I want to do and am starting to do.

Yesterday, I wrote down all of the suggestions from this thread and I will be using your food spreadsheet as well. And although your spreadsheet includes EVERYTHING I could need and I also could have googled high protein foods, I love hearing from other people (like you). Another set of eyes sees that I could add protein powder to my yogurt instead of making a shake or add tuna to breakfast...little things that I just didn't think of.

As an aside, I wish I had formulated my question better. Many people put a lot of focus on the high amount of protein for a goal (which I have lowered), but my real problem is the balance of macros. When I look at the pie chart at the end of the day the slice of pie for protein is always much smaller in proportion to the Carbs and Fat. I want it to be more balanced and I thought the best way to do that would be to increase my protein intake. I also need to lower my carb and fat intake. It will take time, but the suggestions I received here will definitely help me get there.

Thank you again for your help and insight!