Struggling to get my protein up

ciorsdahmac
ciorsdahmac Posts: 14
edited October 5 in Food and Nutrition
I'm being hyper diligent with my diet and exercise, but one problem I'm having is that I'm not getting enough protein in my diet.

I do a number of activities after work and so find myself making quick dinners (salads or cous cous mainly) and I'm allergic to eggs so I really am lacking in protein.

Any suggestions? Xx

Replies

  • ineed2bskinny
    ineed2bskinny Posts: 62
    I was just about to make a topic the same as this!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Tuna or grilled chicken on the salads?

    Greek Yogurt?

    Milk?
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    I've started taking a protein drink. Seriously it helps me at the end of the day with my protein because they are like 25-35 grams per serving and can taste just fine if you play around with them. I focus every single meal on protein, it helps keep some other stuff in the healthy ranges anyway!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    chicken and protein powder. just eat tons of chicken until you're about to sprout feathers.
  • m1nky
    m1nky Posts: 104 Member
    I run into the problem of staying ~under~ my calorie count and still hitting my protein goal.
    I'm keeping track of these responses :)
  • ultimategar
    ultimategar Posts: 96 Member
    It is really difficult to get enough without using protein powder.
    I eat a lot of cottage cheese which is low fat (3%), low cal (about 70kcal per 100g) and 10% protein, so one 300g pot is 30g of protein and only 210 kcal.
    I add it to salads mostly, mixed with a little hummus, some chilli flakes,tomato, beetroot, brocolli, whatever happens to be in my fridge.
  • Keran24
    Keran24 Posts: 90 Member
    I eat cottage cheese, yogurt (especially greek), chicken or salmon on my salads, venison, nuts, beans.
  • LooseWheel
    LooseWheel Posts: 211 Member
    If you doing exercise, I find the protein shakes after are a great way of adding without heaps of calouries. I love the Musashi brand P30 poppers which have 30 grams of protein in each serve. Quick and can have on the move. You can get the powder form and add to water or milk. Depends where you live. i am in Australia so that's the brand I have found all ok. There are so many out there and they all taste different. If you can try a sample first before buying a whole tub that works well as I have thrown out whole packets of vanilla flavoured crap as it's terrible tasting. i love the new 'iced coffee' from Musashi, but that flavour is only in the single serve poppers at the moment. Their chocolate is nice also. My partner likes it with cold water and I like it with milk. Give it a go. The best you can benefit from protein for muscle growth is having it within 30 minutes of finishing exercise. Not as beneficial after the 30 mins but dont remember why! ha. Well hope that helps. If you want to go the food intake method, Turkey, chicken and beef are good. Best to do your research for the best info food wise. Also, FYI, you can bake with protein, so you can make cookies and cakes with the protein powders. Just got a recipe book for it all. Savoury and sweet recipies. Very cool way of mixing things up. Cheers.
  • lfallon
    lfallon Posts: 1
    I use lots of canned pulses - just throw them in with pretty much any dinner. Find them pretty good - tasty, cheap and very good for you.
  • ciorsdahmac
    ciorsdahmac Posts: 14
    Thanks for all the advice. I drink 2 glasses of skimmed milk per day, should I change that to the full fat milk?

    The protein powder sounds like a good plan, I will keep some in the cupboard for days when I am under and will try some tuna steaks (not a huge fish fan but I'll give it a try)

    Thanks a million :-) xx
  • stayxtrue
    stayxtrue Posts: 1,186 Member
    Maybe try the flavoured cans of tuna? I eat them for lunch with veges.

    But in all honesty protein powder is what you want, I use vital strength Hydroxy burn. I highly recommend this one!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    I run into the problem of staying ~under~ my calorie count and still hitting my protein goal.
    I'm keeping track of these responses :)

    Protein and Carbs have the same caloric density, and less than half that of fat. If you replace, gram for gram, carbs with protein you'll be able to hit the same calories as before. Obviously using whole foods you can't just replace carbs with protein, but if you cut back on your carbs and/or fats and replace with foods that are high protein and low the other two, you'll be alright.

    Low fat fish like tuna or flounder, lobster and crab, skinless chicken, extra lean meats, skim milk, non fat cheese, cottage cheese, eggs/egg whites - All good options
    Of course you can use protein powders to supplement as well if you need (I do). I would suggest trying to also get protein from whole food sources though, and not make the majority of your protein come from powder.
  • charlotte66
    charlotte66 Posts: 248 Member
    bump gong to read this later!
  • rajivdubey
    rajivdubey Posts: 382 Member
    To up my protein I take a scoop of Whey in the morning. That helps a big way!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I drink 2 glasses of skimmed milk per day, should I change that to the full fat milk?

    The protein powder sounds like a good plan, I will keep some in the cupboard for days when I am under and will try some tuna steaks (not a huge fish fan but I'll give it a try)

    Thanks a million :-) xx

    Full fat milk will increase your fat intake, not your protein intake. If you're close to your calorie limit this is not a good idea. However if you're far from your calorie limit and/or you need more fat in your diet, it is a good option.
  • raige123
    raige123 Posts: 352
    Dymatize Elite has a protein powder Cafe Mocha flavored that when mixed with fat free skim milk gives you 34 gr protein, and tastes like chocolate milk with a slight coffee aftertaste! I make mine with So Delicious coconut milk, but it's awesome!
  • cmgehrke
    cmgehrke Posts: 20 Member
    lunch meat, protein bars, greek yogurt, travel size cottage cheese....
  • mrdee555
    mrdee555 Posts: 178
    20 eggs, half kg of extra lean mince, 2 chicken breasts and 5 protein shakes should do the trick lol
  • Orrgarde86
    Orrgarde86 Posts: 120 Member
    I'm on protein shakes. Helps me a lot because I do a lot of running.
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
    I use Optimum Nutrition Protien powders have 24 grams of protein and i mix it in my oatmeals,shakes and yogurts. Greek yogurt has lots of protein. So does cottage cheese, fish, chicken, lean meats (top round, bottom round, tenderloin), eggs.

    since i do workout a lot, it try to maintain an average of 130-150 grams of protien a day
  • duffydog1
    duffydog1 Posts: 76 Member
    I am staggered everyone is reccommending all these protein shakes to you - there is no getting away from 'shakes' of any kind are processed - and we are here to be more healthy - and a big part of that is cutting down on all the processed food we eat which does nothing for our immune system and is a major indicator in food intolerances and allergies.

    What is wrong with good old food? Add pulses to your diet - low in fat - high in protein. Eat a couple of ounces of almonds each day as one of your snack foods and you will probably have covered a good portion of your protein requirments. Peanuts are even higher - but a bit on the fatty side too!

    Here are some protein ideas you can cook prepare yourself! Hope it helps
    Beef
    •Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
    •Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce
    Chicken
    •Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein
    •Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
    •Drumstick – 11 grams
    •Wing – 6 grams
    •Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams
    Fish
    •Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
    •Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein
    Pork
    •Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
    •Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
    •Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
    •Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked –
    Eggs and Dairy
    •Egg, large - 6 grams protein
    •Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
    •Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
    •Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
    •Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
    •Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
    •Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz
    Beans (including soy)
    •Tofu, ½ cup 20 grams protein
    •Tofu, 1 oz, 2.3 grams
    •Soy milk, 1 cup - 6 -10 grams
    •Most beans (black, pinto, lentils, etc) about 7-10 grams protein per half cup of cooked beans
    •Soy beans, ½ cup cooked – 14 grams protein
    •Split peas, ½ cup cooked – 8 grams
    Nuts and Seeds
    •Peanut butter, 2 Tablespoons - 8 grams protein
    •Almonds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
    •Peanuts, ¼ cup – 9 grams
    •Cashews, ¼ cup – 5 grams
    •Pecans, ¼ cup – 2.5 grams
    •Sunflower seeds, ¼ cup – 6 grams
    •Pumpkin seeds, ¼ cup – 8 grams
    •Flax seeds – ¼ cup – 8 grams
  • ciorsdahmac
    ciorsdahmac Posts: 14
    Thanks duffydog1 that's a really useful post :-). I went to the supermarket and stocked up on pulses and added some to my soup at lunch. As I can't eat eggs and cottage cheese gives me the creeps I've made little lunch boxes of chicken to snack on during the day, I've bought some almond butter too so will have that with a banana or apple chunks.

    Really excited to give myself a good grounding for a healthy diet!!
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Add chic peas to your salads with tuna, salmon, chicken, cheese, or nuts. You can cook the fish and chicken and freeze it.
  • ultimategar
    ultimategar Posts: 96 Member
    20 eggs, half kg of extra lean mince, 2 chicken breasts and 5 protein shakes should do the trick lol

    do you even lift? ;)
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