Protein Amounts

SparkPoints: (4,863)
Fitness Minutes: (6,830)
Posts: 37
2/14/13 11:57 P

I was just about to start a thread with the same question when I came across this one. I'm a happy omnivore, but I try not to eat meat at more than one meal a day. It makes me feel bloated.

During the day I've been trying to add more protein and cut down on the fat, but my numbers always seem to come up the same at the end of the day. Way too much fat, too many carbs, and way too little protein. Can anyone offer some suggestions?

current weight: 128.0

137 134 131 128

125

Posts: 451
2/10/13 2:17 P

As a vegetarian, I had struggled with this issue as well. And when I started heavy lifting, I ran into some problems, such as hair loss. I modified to start eating fish and seafood a few times a week and I eat eggs daily as well as nuts, seeds and nut butters, The hair at my temples grew back, and I've made great gains in adding lean body mass.

I was consuming too much dairy as a protein source, especially cheese, and couldn't seem to loose the last of my belly fat. So, I cut that out and it's working (although I've had just a bit of cheese now and then.) My belly is so close to being gone and my cholesterol dropped another 15 points.

So, I guess I'm now an ovo-pesco vegetariann (and yes, I know some purists would say there is no such thing as a pescatarian), finding my balance without consuming beef, poultry or pork. But, my diet is based more on health choices than moral grounds, so I know this wouldn't work for anyone who is a strict vegetarian or vegan.

Just as there are so many different people and body types, I think it would be unrealistic to think that there is an ideal diet that is suitable for everyone. I think you just need to keep working with it and adjusting so your nutrition meets your goals and values. And if ever in doubt, consult a doctor or nutritionist for expert advice. Just because it works for someone else does not mean it is right for you.

Posts: 51,793
2/10/13 1:11 P

Here's an article you might find helpful:

www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_art
icles.asp?id=158

Coach Jen

SparkPoints: (1,438)
Fitness Minutes: (525)
Posts: 281
2/10/13 11:12 A

oh ya, we have Hostess in Canada...

current weight: 183.8

192 181.5 171 160.5

150

Posts: 10,847
2/10/13 11:06 A

i have a little general rule for protein. take the number of calories in a food and divide by the number of grams of protein in it. this gets you how many calories you need to eat to get a gram of protein. in order to get enough in, you need to be eating at least one thing below 30 per meal. and if you find things that have a 100+ cals to protein ratio, you need to eat less of those foods or at least eat them more infrequently.

now as far as your tracker goes:
-the next time you head to the grocery store, look into buying a different brand of yogurt. i doubt you'll find one for fewer calories, but you may be able to find something with more protein.
-i'm not sure what is in coach nicole's lentil loaf, but 1/4 cup of plain lentils is about 70 cals and 9 g protein. so for less than half the calories you can get 2 more grams of protein. toss in some spices for flavor and you can free up almost 200 cals for something else
-check around for a new bagel as well. i buy the target store brand and for a half bagel it's 105 cals and 5 g protein.
-add some nut butter or an egg to your oatmeal.
-shop around on your bread as well. ezekial runs 85 cals a slice with 5 g protein.
-use lentils in place of the ground beef and you'll only lose 2g protein but you'll free up 100 cals and you won't have to eat meat
-instead of having straight spaghetti squash, add an ounce of dried pasta [cooked obviously before you eat it it]. it'll be around 100 cals and around 4 g protein.
-make some granola and add at least a Tablespoon to your yogurt, you can go heavier on the oats if you prefer to keep it a little lighter, but that will add some more substance to your breakfast
-don't eat fruit or veggies without some sort of protein. hummus, nut butter, cheese, roasted chickpeas, whole grain crackers or bread
-for not eating meat you don't eat a lot of vegetables. which is an issue because most veggies have a little bit of protein in them, which adds up when you have a few servings. but you don't get that if you aren't eating any servings. a cup of raw kale has 33 cals and 2 g protein. a cup of chopped zucchini has 20 cals and 2 g protein. 100 g of raw potato has 77 cals and 2 g protein. eat them and you get the protein too
-i'm not sure what praevantia is, but it seems to be a lot of calories for not really any food. limit yourself to a half serving or around 70 cals and use the cals you save for vegetables.
-also, make sure you are getting at least 1200 cals. you pretty much need to work with a dietitian to get everything you need on less.

Posts: 132
2/10/13 10:41 A

I do track very very accurately. I had to laugh at the "Hostess" family. No, I don't eat junk food and sugar ( actually, is "Hostess" chips or candy? I'm in Canada so I don't think we get that company where I am). My only "crutch " is Preventia fibre hearts.

When I track, I check the actual information on the product. I have found that identical products here in Canada generally have a different composition, often less sodium and a few fewer calories. I therefore put the product into the data base as, for example, Bagel, whole wheat, Canadian, weight watchers.

I made my tracker available. As you can see, I have been eschewing the beans I want and forcing myself to eat fish and meat. The problem with this is that I'm not enjoying it, which will therefore lead to me eventually going back to my old habits.

Oh, and a bit of history, even though I was vegetarian/almost vegan for a few years,Over two years of being almost vegan, I gained about 30-40 lbs.That's why I was desperate enough to try the Dukan diet, just before joining SP. On Dukan, I felt like a mass murderer at every meal; an unhealthy, constipated mass murderer.

Posts: 10,847
2/10/13 10:03 A

to some degree vegetarians will always have higher carb numbers because almost all of the veg protein contain carbs as well. and i say that as long as you are getting carbs from the greens and beans families rather than the hostess family, it's not worth sweating over. granted i am also someone who tries to keep her carbs over 50% of her calories, so i have that skewed sort of view point.
if you were to share your trackers or a few typical days you could get some better targeted suggestions for what you can do to both slightly reduce carbs and slightly increase protein. i will also say that if you're not tracking super-accurately that this is the time to start. when i first started tracking i was about half of where i should be on protein. it seemed overwhelming to double the amount of protein i was getting. but then i took a look at my tracker. i was entering austin's pb crackers instead of the target crackers i was actually buying and eating. something like 100 less sodium and a gram more protein. and i had about ten to twenty of those things that i had thought were close enough, but when i actually entered the info for what i was using instead of the "close enough" that was just a few grams off here and there i found i was like 5g protein off, which if fine imo because spark inflates the lower protein ranges above what you need to what is better for loss. it was a lot of little things that added up. so i would say to make sure you aren't doing that [or if you are fix it] because it can have such a huge impact on what you're actually getting versus what you are tracking.

Posts: 132
2/10/13 9:40 A

I know that a lot of people think that getting more protein is good for you, keeps you feeling full and is better for your body. As a former vegetarian, I am NOT a fan of meat, preferring to get protein through beans and legumes. I am having problems balancing my diet. If I eat enough protein, I'm way over in Carbs. If I eat the right number of Carbs, I'm way short on fat an Protein. I find that I am forcing myself to eat meat and fish and not having the beans and legumes that I want because of the carb content.
Has any one else found this issue? Any ideas on how to balance things out?

Edited by: GOODWITCH333 at: 2/10/2013 (10:20)