I need protein advice

Currently I'm 15 pounds lost and about 20 left to go. I just started to exercise again because with the weight I had before I had alot of knee troubles. Now that I'm doing a vigorous workout each day, I was told I need some protein or at least ante my protein up. I realized my daily protein is low. What are some good foods for protein? I'm already a seafood lover and have fish almost every other day. What other foods including shakes or anything, I can take to get some more protein?

Thanks!

Chicken

Turkey

Beans

Tofu

Natural nut butters

Quinoa

I'm a big edamame (soybean) fan.  You can make them like they serve at a Japanese restaurant by buying the ones with the shells on, zapping them in the microwave, and coating them in kosher salt or soy sauce.

Other good sources: quinoa, lentils, eggs, protein powder (you can add to shakes), and nuts (but watch the serving size).

Greek yogurt!

Lowfat milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, natural peanut butter, tuna, salmon, chicken, fish, beef, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts and seeds, some whole grain breads and pasta, cottage cheese

Here is a guide that may help. http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Foods.h tml

not a lot but, special k2o water is 50cal has 5g protien and 5g fiber - good little way to add some of both and hydrate.

Just wondering, who said "insufficient protein" to you?  Bodybuilders sometimes take in, and recommend, up to 2g per lb per day for what you want to weigh, so some of them think they need 440g of protein per day.  Most of the medical profession thinks this is "overkill".

You can use Whey shakes before a workout, or maybe even better; Whey/Casein protein shakes for an easy, if not inexpensive way, to supplement protein intake.

A healthy diet can do the same, I'd agree on adding some quinoa, it "feels" like a carb, but has good levels of protein.  Nuts are high in protein, and calories, so in moderation I'd guess. 

If you're eating alot of fish, I'd say you should be getting alot of high quality protein now, perhaps some chunk light tuna recipes?

Original Post by littleshellys:

Lowfat milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, natural peanut butter, tuna, salmon, chicken, fish, beef, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts and seeds, some whole grain breads and pasta, cottage cheese

Here is a guide that may help. http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Foods.h tml

 little has great ideas. I eat about 1.5g of protein per lb of lean body mass per day (remember to up your fiber otherwise you'll never see the JOHN again! lol!). Here's my typical day:

• 6am: 4 egg whites, 1/2 cup fiber one, 1/4 cup bran buds, 1/2 cup light soymilk
• 9am: protein bar (MET-Rx, or Luna, or Pure Protein) or if I don't have it I'll grab a sando (2 slices whole wheat, 4 egg whites, 2 slices tomato, 1 slice kraft ff cheese)
• 12pm: 3-4oz Chicken breast, 1/2 cup (cooked) lentils or black beans, 1-2 oz cooked swiss chard or spinach
• 3pm: protein shake (MET-Rx or something similar), or a bar, or even a salad or something
• 6pm: Solid dinner - could be an egg white omelette (I'm addicted to eggs), seared ahi tuna on spinach salad, or sashimi w/ salmon or tuna with veggies, or "chicken parmasen" (chicken breast covered in spaghetti sauce and some low-fat cheese...mmm..)
• 9pm: cereal, or an apple, or something light.

I usually try to shoot for 1500 cals per day now since I am prego and don't work out much, but on my olden days of hardcore workouts I'd plan my meals around my workouts and add good carbs and fats (via nut butters or avocado) to bump it to like 2500-3k cals.

Just go slowly, I did this pretty quick and I had no clue about the need for carbs and fiber and fat. I ended up very painful for a couple weeks before I finally realized I was blocking myself! lol!!

Good luck!

I definitely agree with Donnie that people often think they need way too much protein and the only way to really tell is to take a nitrogen balance test (just a urine stick test like for diabetics). Too much protein can be hard on your kidneys and liver and cause other issue as well it will eventually be stored as fat if you don't need it for tissue or immediate energy needs.

Original Post by dabrock:

I definitely agree with Donnie that people often think they need way too much protein and the only way to really tell is to take a nitrogen balance test (just a urine stick test like for diabetics). Too much protein can be hard on your kidneys and liver and cause other issue as well it will eventually be stored as fat if you don't need it for tissue or immediate energy needs.

 

 I think this is only really true if you do not work out and also if you might be prone to liver/kidney issues in the first place. To be honest as long as you eat honestly and avoid most kinds of crap foods you'll find you take in a good amount of protein... but don't avoid eating 100-150g on the basis you're "overloading your kidneys" bc it's probably a big line of crap. Especially if you don't see ketones in your urine - which most never do unless they are doing atkins phase one or seriously depleting the bod of carbs.

Original Post by littlemalynda:

Original Post by dabrock:

I definitely agree with Donnie that people often think they need way too much protein and the only way to really tell is to take a nitrogen balance test (just a urine stick test like for diabetics). Too much protein can be hard on your kidneys and liver and cause other issue as well it will eventually be stored as fat if you don't need it for tissue or immediate energy needs.

 

 I think this is only really true if you do not work out and also if you might be prone to liver/kidney issues in the first place. To be honest as long as you eat honestly and avoid most kinds of crap foods you'll find you take in a good amount of protein... but don't avoid eating 100-150g on the basis you're "overloading your kidneys" bc it's probably a big line of crap. Especially if you don't see ketones in your urine - which most never do unless they are doing atkins phase one or seriously depleting the bod of carbs.

Sorry, but science doesn't agree with you, where the line of too much and ok is will depend on a lot of factors including how long you are on it for, but why go on such an unnatural diet in the first place? You can lose the weight on ANY diet but a healthy lifestyle isn't about fancy diet prescriptions that ignore our basic biology and evolution.

egg whites and cottage cheese. my protein would probably be below 15% without them. :P

Original Post by dabrock:

Original Post by littlemalynda:

Original Post by dabrock:

I definitely agree with Donnie that people often think they need way too much protein and the only way to really tell is to take a nitrogen balance test (just a urine stick test like for diabetics). Too much protein can be hard on your kidneys and liver and cause other issue as well it will eventually be stored as fat if you don't need it for tissue or immediate energy needs.

 

 I think this is only really true if you do not work out and also if you might be prone to liver/kidney issues in the first place. To be honest as long as you eat honestly and avoid most kinds of crap foods you'll find you take in a good amount of protein... but don't avoid eating 100-150g on the basis you're "overloading your kidneys" bc it's probably a big line of crap. Especially if you don't see ketones in your urine - which most never do unless they are doing atkins phase one or seriously depleting the bod of carbs.

Sorry, but science doesn't agree with you, where the line of too much and ok is will depend on a lot of factors including how long you are on it for, but why go on such an unnatural diet in the first place? You can lose the weight on ANY diet but a healthy lifestyle isn't about fancy diet prescriptions that ignore our basic biology and evolution.

 Dabrock, I see from your profile and comments youre new. I also see you blog a lot about cardio. Therefore my assumption is you care little about muscle building and more about weight loss... which is great if you are overweight or obese but for most muscle and strength training is important and vital. For myself, I do best on 1.5-2g protein for every pound of lean body mass. That, my friend, is a science, and is backed by nearly every body builder or sexy female fitness model. Now if I was a biker or runner (which I do from time to time) I need more carbs. I still enjoy healthy carbs but in comparision to the US Govm't reccomendations it's a far cry .

And for reference, fancy biology? lol, last I checked pasta and other enriched carbs are not wholefoods. Therefore science would say eat raw... so again you have me baffled. I saw eat meat, eat veggies, and eat fruit. That's a good NON FANCY, non-prescription, good way to go.

But then again I haven't heard didly about how much weight you lost. In fact, why don't you have any pics up?? hmmm. Beginning to doubt you. lol.

Protein has it's advantages, and you're unlikely to go into ketosis or damage your kidneys if you're drinking plenty of liquids and still have a healthy level of carbs daily.

tdpinder is stating they are trying to lose another 20lbs, not gain 20 lbs of lean muscle. 

I'm taking from this, you are trying to lose right now, so I'm unsure what effect you're hoping to get with the extra protein.  Building muscle while losing fat is the Holy Grail of bodybuilding, a knife edge balance of intake vs. output that almost everyone agrees is impossible to achieve.  For a very short period of time, maybe, and most people can do it just starting at the gym, but to sustain it, month after month, seems nearly impossible to most people.

To (best) gain muscle, you get a calorie surplus, to (best) lose weight, a calorie deficit.  The two are at odds, mathematically, +/-

This doesn't mean you can't get stronger and much healthier faster by adding weight training to your methods of reaching your goal weight.

Protein levels, everyone is different of course, and some competitive bodybuilders get by on 1g of protein per lb, while others state they require more, mostly to a maximum of 2g per lb..  If you keep your calorie intake where you need it to lose weight, then more protein is going to displace the carbs and/or fats in your diet.  USDA recommends a maximum protein intake of 0.45g per lb if I remember correctly.