I’m looking to clean up my diet a bit and it seems one of the toughest things for me is getting enough protein in my diet. On my best days it seems like I’m still 20g short of hitting my target with a 50-25-25 ratio of carbs, fats, proteins.
Is it a matter of supplementing with powder? How do ensure you get enough?
I use protein powder smoothie for breakfast usually. Sometimes during the day, if I’m still deficient, I’ll mix some up with water and sip it at work.
How many calories are you aiming for on the days where you don’t get enough protein?
Maybe 50-25-25 does not work. At least on these days.
I target 60-20-20 and on a big day is is tough to keep the ratio of protein.
My guess is that just eating a lot of protein is plenty. Even if it does not hit the %.
I target the percentage (and total calories) based upon no workouts. Then anything I burn is in addition to my goal, which like you say is probably a higher carb ratio day. I’m just trying to hit 25% of a base of 2100 calories a day.
That is still 130 grams of protein- shouldn’t be that hard to hit.
200 might be hard to hit.
I supplement my nutrition with hemp seed powder and vanilla Nitro Fusion powder (protein from pea, amaranth, quinoa and artichoke). A serving of each gives me 11g and 21g of additional protein respectively. If I need more, I just add more to water, juice or a smoothie.
I guess you and bootsie are right. Looking at my totals for today. I just hit 136g. I got there…by just adding a last scoop to some water.
Maybe its not so hard then if I’m vigilant. The nuts-for-snacks route just isn’t enough.
I generally hit about 80-90grams per day. Sometimes lower. Mostly plant-based (and hence lower bioavailability).
Whilst the literature is clear on what protein does for retention of muscle mass, recovery etc, personally I have a theory that it’s role is overstated for endurance athletes.
Try falling short of “targets”. What happens to recovery, performance and bodyweight.
Greek yogurt. Lots of it 
I hear you on adding that last scoop. What I’ve found is those ‘recommended servings’ on the protein powders (or any food for that matter) is the bare minimum to sustain life. I don’t have evidence to back this up, but, I’m sure those serving sizes are not listed for people who are very active in endurance sports (like tri’s and dus’s). Before and after a long or intense exercise session, I’ve found I need to add more than the ‘recommended serving’ for better recovery.
3 eggs every morning. Kiefer smoothie. Oatmeal with coconut oil, honey, and walnuts is how I start my morning. Work out or not.
I find that I personally need to shoot for 33-33-33 ratio. I need a lot more fat and protein than I originally thought when I first started training. My recovery and training gains have really gone up since making it more equal.
I dont have to work very hard to hit 200g of protein a day… but low carb, low FOMAD works for me (except I process dairy fine)
typical day:
three eggs, one italian sausage (50g)
two 0/2% greek yogurt cups. (20g)… why cant we get individual serving 18% greek yogurt cups?
hearty homemade soup + garden salad (30g)
half a can of tuna n crackers (20g)
cobb salad (50g)
post workout smoothie (30g)
(Yes, I don’t eat enough fruit)
For gods sake, eat some decent food to get a bit more protein. You don’t need powders.
And where did you get this crap about 50 - 25 - 25 ? Don’t tell me some stupid government guideline.
There are so many good healthy sources of protein there is absolutely no need to use powders.
Even vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of protein without resorting to powders.
I don’t find my protein needs to be that demanding. I get about 60g of protein from nuts and beans mostly in a vegan diet. Carb it up
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to getting in enough protein, particularly on a clean diet is -
Protein doesn’t just mean meat!
Yes meat is a dense source, but there are plenty of other sources.
To give an example, even some slices of bread give you 3.5g-4g per slice! I don’t have too much bread, but you get the idea.
Nuts, seeds etc. are other dense sources. Legumes etc. You get the idea?
I looked into this more when I was considering whether my midday (breakfast) smoothie was giving me enough protein as I had never really counted.
It loosely had
coconut milk, spinach/kale, flaxseed, mix of other seeds, 3 large eggs, a tonnes of spices such as tumeric and cinnamon (for gut and metabolic health) etc.
I was wondering whether I needed an extra shot of whey. The shake on its own came in at 35g at least, so having hit the 30g (and easily enough leucine to hit the leucine switch and tip me into muscle synthesis) there was no need for more.
For gods sake, eat some decent food to get a bit more protein. You don’t need powders.
And where did you get this crap about 50 - 25 - 25 ? Don’t tell me some stupid government guideline.
There are so many good healthy sources of protein there is absolutely no need to use powders.
Even vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of protein without resorting to powders.
+1
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to getting in enough protein, particularly on a clean diet is -
Protein doesn’t just mean meat!
Yes meat is a dense source, but there are plenty of other sources.
To give an example, even some slices of bread give you 3.5g-4g per slice! I don’t have too much bread, but you get the idea.
Nuts, seeds etc. are other dense sources. Legumes etc. You get the idea?
I looked into this more when I was considering whether my midday (breakfast) smoothie was giving me enough protein as I had never really counted.
It loosely had
coconut milk, spinach/kale, flaxseed, mix of other seeds, 3 large eggs, a tonnes of spices such as tumeric and cinnamon (for gut and metabolic health) etc.
I was wondering whether I needed an extra shot of whey. The shake on its own came in at 35g at least, so having hit the 30g (and easily enough leucine to hit the leucine switch and tip me into muscle synthesis) there was no need for more.
In 100 grams of pasta there is 13 grams of protein. There is 11 to 13 grams of protein in pizza dough depending on the sort.
But you don’t want to be eating too much of these refined carbs.
Don’t forget fish, shellfish, shrimps, crab, lobster are great for protein and vitamins, healthy fats and oils.
Then you have eggs and if you want protein in a drink there is milk, cows or goats.
100 grams of peanuts is 26 grams protein. 100 grams of cashew nuts is 18 grams protein. So if you need an easy to prepare snack and a drink within 30 seconds of training it is a lot easier to open a packet of nuts and a carton of milk than it is mixing powders. The nuts might even have electrolytes in them if you buy the special athletes packets.
Hunned thou bananas like alllllll day juice up on sum pineapple hit da starfruit rite quick skip dat powder bs ya all good bro rollin smooth just feelin it
.
Wut?
For gods sake, eat some decent food to get a bit more protein. You don’t need powders.
jesus, man, calm down. im just looking for some suggestions on getting some additional protein in my diet. save your anger for a lance thread or something.
And where did you get this crap about 50 - 25 - 25 ? Don’t tell me some stupid government guideline.
the 50-25-25 ratio or something close is just what ive read as a good mix of calories to aim for. i’m not sitting here waiting for congress to vote on a new regulation to change my diet.
There are so many good healthy sources of protein there is absolutely no need to use powders.
Even vegetarians and vegans can get plenty of protein without resorting to powders.
please elaborate. my wife is vegetarian meaning that i am very often vegetarian