How do YOU personally achieve your protein goals?

[didishae]

We each have a protein goal to meet every day. I'm just getting to the point where if I have a protein shake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that just about gets me my daily protein goals. I usually start out with a protein shake that gives me 27 grams of protein. Then for lunch I may have one that gives me 17 grams. Then for supper I mix a powder that has 24 grams with a glass of skim milk that usually gives me an extra 10, so by then end of the day I've drank 78 grams of protein. My daily goal is 80 grams so if I have a little greek yogurt or some beans, chicken, cheese, whatever then I get in all my protein.

But the thing is that I'm slowly adding in food. I've been replacing one of my meals with food. I might have some moist chicken, or refried beans or something. I know my doctor wants me to eventually get my protein from food rather than shakes because it's supposed to be a lot better for you, or it works better or something. Anyway, the point is that, 2 ounces of chicken is 7 grams of protein. Well, there is no way I can each two ounces of chicken right now.... Maybe 3 or 4 small bites is more like it. I'm probably lucky if I get 2 or 3 grams of protein from what I eat at a single sitting. I know my capacity will get bigger but still, how do you get 80 grams of protein from food? I'd have to eat 11 ounces of chicken a day to get close and maybe that's possible way in the future but not any time soon, I'm sure.

So I'm just wondering, do you still rely on protein shakes and powders to meet you protein goals? When did you begin to meet your goals through food alone? And what does your average day look like, food wise to meet those goals?

[AJsgotthis]

I don't have an answer but I was thinking the EXACT same thing earlier today....seriously, I was! I am looking forward to other people responding to this and thank them all in advance!!

[Dpollyann]

I was told to get 60-75 grams per day. I still supplement with powder and shakes too.

[mokaza]

As you get further along you can eat more. At over a year out I can eat a small salad with 4 oz of chicken breast. If I just had the chicken I could eat 5 oz. I still drink a protein shake in the morning but that's more because I was never a breakfast person and it's convenient. I still mix a bit of protein powder in my yogurt when I have it as a snack. I follow the protein first rule with every meal. After I get my protein in I try for the vegetables. Carb have always been my enemy so I try to get my carbs from fruit not pasta, rice, or potatoes.

[Cleopatra]

I'm 3 months out (Yay!) and have been serious about meeting my protein intake goal for about 6 weeks. I bought a food scale and prepare my luches to take to work everyday. I use the internet to calculate the amount of protein in every portion. (Maybe one day this will be a Jeopardy category!) That way, I know what my meal plan is for the (next) day. I aim to get in 100 grams of protein daily. 60 grams is the minimum but I've remained stall-free when I get the 100 grams. I eat beef chili from Whole Foods for breakfast (30 grams!). Roasted edamame make a great snack (20 grams) as do the Pro Bar brand Base bars (20 grams). And, I eat either a bean or seafood soup which I can "boost" with canned shrimp or lump crab meat (20 grams). Pork loin is awesome (22 grams) or beef (15 grams). I try to get in 50 grams of protein in by lunch time. If at the end of the day I come up short, I eat a bit of yoghurt before bedtime (10 grams).

I won't lie: It's a lot of work! But, I'm lovin' the results

[Ann2]

For several months pre-op and ever since surgery I have tracked my food (and planned my daily menus) using www.myfitnesspal.com. That tool helps me understand which foods have protein.

I've been eating at least 60 grams of protein daily since Day Five post-op. Now that I'm eating more (1,200 calories a day) I'm typically taking in 90-100 grams of protein daily.

It's not hard at all. There's so much protein out there that I love: chicken, fish (especially salmon), Greek yogurt (love it!), chili with beans (I make it with beef sometimes and other times with ground chicken and always with black beans), skim milk, strong-tasting cheeses, the occasional steak, protein-rich breads in moderation, etc.

Early on, I started with eggs, fat-free refried beans, cheeses, canned chicken made into chicken salad, etc. Again, they were luscious tasting to me.

I still have a protein drink (25 grams of protein, 170 calories) most mornings. When I'm traveling on biz I have poached eggs and crisp bacon for breakfast (with melon or berries).

Again, because I know from logging/tracking my food which foods are high-protein, which are healthy carbs, and which are crap carbs, it's all pretty instinctual.

[Ann2]

We each have a protein goal to meet every day. I'm just getting to the point where if I have a protein shake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that just about gets me my daily protein goals. I usually start out with a protein shake that gives me 27 grams of protein. Then for lunch I may have one that gives me 17 grams. Then for supper I mix a powder that has 24 grams with a glass of skim milk that usually gives me an extra 10, so by then end of the day I've drank 78 grams of protein. My daily goal is 80 grams so if I have a little greek yogurt or some beans, chicken, cheese, whatever then I get in all my protein.

But the thing is that I'm slowly adding in food. I've been replacing one of my meals with food. I might have some moist chicken, or refried beans or something. I know my doctor wants me to eventually get my protein from food rather than shakes because it's supposed to be a lot better for you, or it works better or something. Anyway, the point is that, 2 ounces of chicken is 7 grams of protein. Well, there is no way I can each two ounces of chicken right now.... Maybe 3 or 4 small bites is more like it. I'm probably lucky if I get 2 or 3 grams of protein from what I eat at a single sitting. I know my capacity will get bigger but still, how do you get 80 grams of protein from food? I'd have to eat 11 ounces of chicken a day to get close and maybe that's possible way in the future but not any time soon, I'm sure.

So I'm just wondering, do you still rely on protein shakes and powders to meet you protein goals? When did you begin to meet your goals through food alone? And what does your average day look like, food wise to meet those goals?

Your info about the the amount of protein in chicken is wrong. Sorry, but 2 ounces of cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast contains as much as 18 grams of protein. Two ounces of turkey deli meat contain 12 grams of protein. Two ounces of grilled salmon contain 12 grams of protein.

I urge you to track your food using a reliable food tracker. You will learn so much and be able to make better choices.

[didishae]

Your info about the the amount of protein in chicken is wrong. Sorry, but 2 ounces of cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast contains as much as 18 grams of protein. Two ounces of turkey deli meat contains 12 grams of protein. Two ounces of grilled salmon contains 12 grams of protein.

I urge you to track your food using a reliable food tracker. You will learn so much and be able to make better choices.

You are exactly right, of course.

For some reason I keep doing this...the chart that my surgeon's office gave me lists most high protein foods and the rough amount of protein they have. The chart shows how much they have in ONE ounce but some of the "serving sizes" are in TWO ounces. So for some reason I can't understand, my brain keeps thinking of everything in two ounces. So to be honest this isn't the first time I have freaked out about it and panicked about how little protein I'm getting and had it pointed out to me that, HELLO!! ONE ounce of chicken is roughly 7 grams of protein..so there are roughly 14 grams in TWO ounces!

I'm honestly not sure why my brain fails to retain this information. Maybe I'm still a little loopy from anesthesia. Who knows...

Anyway, now that ONCE AGAIN this information has been pointed out to me I can see that I am actually getting a little bit more protein than I thought. Still not enough without protein shakes and powders, but hey...I'm less than a month out so from what everyone is saying on here it seems like it won't be long before I can get most of my protein from food. Like a lot of you, I can see still drinking a shake for breakfast for a long time because I am never hungry in the morning, but it would be nice to reach a place where that was the only extra protein supplementing I was having to do.

Thanks for the input everyone! As usual y'all are tons of help and support!!!

[didishae]

Oh, and Ann2, I do have myfitnesspal and when I have the time, I use it. (Not as much since my surgery though... ) It really is a big help and I know it's very important and I should use it more but honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how to fit in more time for food and MYSELF at the moment. The great (not so great) thing about protein shakes is I can take them on the go with me so I can just sip them while I'm running errands or cooking, cleaning, chasing kiddos, etc. Myfitnesspal is AWESOME when you have a meal that you have already had because it takes seconds to log but logging in new things takes me forever...okay, not forever but precious time that I can't spare at the moment anyway. Maybe when the boys are in school (tomorrow!!) and my whiny toddler has his cast off and is back to being a little more independent I will get back on track with logging. I know it should be more of a priority for me but it's hard to decide where to slow down in order to add more time in the day. I know a lot of my food problems that got me into this shape stem from having to rush through meals and just shoving whatever was filling and available in my face so that is definitely something I have to learn to avoid. I feel like I have made a lot of improvement with that, but obviously I still have a long way to go.

Thanks for the advice and hopefully I can get back to tracking my food better soon!!

[jane_vsg_ayla]

I am 3.75 years out, and I have been weight lifting for about 1.5 years. I eat nearly 2000 calories a day (on purpose - yes its hard), and I average 160g protein. Obviously you dont need that much, but once you get into the habit, not really that hard. I dont cook either, at least not what normal people think of cooking

1) chicken and tuna of course. fixed any way you want. I heat chicken and throw it in a salad with cheese (more protein) and sometimes bacon bits for even more. Hot chicken in a cold salad is pretty awesome.

2) beef jerkey or bacon jerky or turkey jerky. Jack Link's - Kc Masterpiece Barbeque Beef Steak is awesome for a snack - 9g protein for 75 calories

3) powercrunch and quest and victory bars.

4) greek yogurt - either i eat the presweetened/flavored kind like Dannon light and fit or Yoplait 100, or I eat plain and add flavored protein powder and sugar free syrup to taste (egg nog is AWESOME). But either way, I also add BodyCrunch 360 Whey protein crunchies to it. They have 24g protein per serving (I use 1/4 to 1/2 serving in each yogurt for 6 or 12 g extra). They basically have no flavor but its like adding granola for crunch. Cant eat it plain anymore

5) Premier Protein ready to drink shakes... but i dont drink them (have not ever been too big on drinking protein). I use them in place of milk for EVERYTHING. Bowl of cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, recipes. Its vanilla flavored milk with 30g protein in 11oz. I go through 2 or so a day just adding them into stuff. For example, 40g oatmeal + 5oz Premier protein + cinnamon... put in fridge overnight. Heat the next day. The "milk" is sweet so no need even to add sweetener for me. The oatmeal has 5g protein, the 5oz "milk" has about 13g., so 18g in a small bowl of oatmeal. A bowl of any cold cereal is good for 4 or 5 oz (and I drink the remainder).

6) Same thing with pancakes... I use 1 scoop protein powder (not all works well ... Quest protein powder does and a few others... just have to test them out) plus 3oz Premier Protein. Stir, cook like pancake. Top with sugar free preserves and whipped cream. The powder usually has 24g protein per scoop and the 3oz PP adds another 8 or so giving the one pancake 31g protein.

7) If you have a smoothie king near you... The gladiator smoothie has *45* g protein in 20oz. Its two scoops of their protein powder, which you could make at home but it never comes out the same, so I go there regularly. You choose the powder flavor (choc, strawberry, vanilla) and then 1 or 2 fruits . My goto is Strawberry powder with one serving strawberries (not 2) and I ask them to rinse the strawberries first (they come in a heavy sugar syrup). It ends up about 250 calories, 46g protein and 10 carbs (no fat).

8) I use rice cakes in place of bread for everything. (I like the buttered popcorn flavor - its just salt and butter tasting). They only have 35 calories, and they make everything better. I put PBJ on them with whipped cream, or ham and cheese and BBQ sauce and heat it up, or pizza sauce and pepperoni or diced ham and cheese for a little pizza, or a fried egg on top, etc. You can really load up the protein toppings (think any meat and cheese or egg).

[bikrchk]

1 egg with a slice of cheese for breakfast pretty much every day. Chase that with a "protein latte" (or 2) about an hour later when I get to work, (1/2 scoop of whey and a dash of cinnamon in my coffee) for about 25g of protein. A mid morning snack with 5-15g. Lunch is typically 1/2c ish of chili or whatever leftover meat thing is in my fridge. If I'm out, a Chipolte taco or 4 Chick Filet nuggets, (yes, I know they're fried, but it's not a habit and there's great protein there). After lunch, PowerCrunch or Quest, (13-23g), followed by a hunk of meat for dinner if I'm home or appetizer splurge (typically NOT a righteous choice, but a girl's gotta live a little when she's gotten her protein in for the day). Other non-conventional ways I get protein... replace bread with P28 protein bread, mix protein powder in peanut butter, makes a nommy sammich. Replace traditional pasta with quinoa pasta or other high protein pasta when I do pasta. With all that, even if I make a not so righteous choice for one meal, I can get at least 80g in a day.

[missemily516]

Typical day:
Breakfast 1/2 cup Chobani Vanilla greek yogurt with 1/3 cup Nature Valley Protein granola - 20g protein
Lunch - Oscar Meyer Protein Pak (meat, cheese, & nuts) 12-14 g protein
snack - cheese stick 7g protein or hard boiled egg 6g protein
Dinner - 2-4oz steak, chicken, pork, fish, etc with veggies - approx. 30g protein

I also drink 4 17 oz bottles of water a day. Frozen grapes or frozen Gatorade for a late night snack. In 15 months I've lost 126 lbs and I don't feel like I am dieting, and I don't deny myself if I get a craving.

[AJsgotthis]

The responses here are sooooooo helpful...thank you all!

[JAG322]

I do still depend on protein shakes by premier...at 30g protein I drink 2 of those daily and have 1-2 quest bars daily too. They are 20 G protein and they taste good for the times you want sweet stuff. My hunger comes in waves of like every 2-3 hours and I eat whatever (I use this term loosely because it's not all about junk of course) usually it's some kind of protein like left over frittata...modified of course...lunch meat...string cheese...Greek yogurt...Popsicles...or make chicken/tuna salad with 5 ritz crackers. Most of the time when I get hungry I have like 3-4 bites then I'm full...im having a hard time with regular food. I think I still eat too fast...I've never taken an actual lunch break in all my careers so I don't know what it's like to sit and eat...when I go to dinner with my husband or family that's the only time I can actually sit and take my time with eating thus making everyne else sit and die of boredom...lol
I hope this helped and good luck with working it out.