Need more protein ideas

Hi, Amy -

Congratulations on the great weight loss progress!

Yes, protein is important, especially during weight loss . . . and I think we women are more likely to lowball it. There's a history of diet mythology that emphasizes eating mostly salad and veggies, avoiding all fats, and putting protein in the back seat. I think even those of us who don't directly believe that sort of thing have been influenced by it.

For me, a couple of things helped me bump up my protein intake to where I wanted it, even on reduced calories.

One was the thread below. It links a spreadsheet that lists many, many foods in order by most protein for fewest calories. Finding things high on that list that a person enjoys eating, and getting more of them into our daily routine, is one useful step.

I'm a vegetarian, and that can make getting enough protein just a bit more challenging. One thing that helped me - but that can also help non-vegetarians - is to think about getting at least a little protein from a lot of different food sources.

Yes, getting "one big protein" per meal is important. But there are also veggies with more protien than others, grains with more protein, pasta or bread with some protein, beverages and snacks with protein, even fruits and flavoring ingredients that have a little protein.

Those types of protein sources tend to be a little less balanced in essential amino acids (EAAs), and some are less bioavailable than animal protein. But varying the sources across a day or few tends to balance out the EAAs, and the small amounts do add to our protein total.

The process I used was to log my food, then review my diary every couple of days at first. I looked for foods that were adding relatively many calories, but didn't contribute much protein, and that weren't important to me in their then-current portions/frequencies for feeling full, getting other nutrition, or even just for general happiness. Those were foods I could reduce (portion or frequency) and bring in other foods I like that contributed at least some protein, or for which I could find higher-protein substitutes I still liked eating. (The spreadsheet mentioned above helped me find those foods, BTW.)

By gradually working at that, and focusing on changing the routine eating patterns I used on repeat, I gradually increased my protein intake. Since I'd focused on changing routine habits/patterns instead of micromanaging each individual day, things after that were closer to autopilot mode.

I don't know whether any of that will work for you or not, but I hope you may get something useful out of it.

Best wishes!