Do you eat lots of protein?

[Iron-North]

I am a carb laoder....a LOT of fruits, veggies than whole wheat breads, cereals....all good carbs but I know my diet is low on protein. Oh and I have my sweets for sure.....and cheese....

What would make me eat more protein......I need to be told that it's a must if you want to see results!!

I am wasting my time trying to build on muscle is I don't eat much protein? I know you're suposed to have protein to help with muscle repair after a workout.

Ok for muscle building but what about for running? Do runners alone need lots of protein?

Do you eat a lot of protein?

What do you eat that is protein? I have a hard time eating meat. When ever I eat meat I think of muscle tissus from an animal...it just doesn't make sense in my head that we human eat muscle tissu.....Although I do like the taste of meat....I am confused??!!

What else is a good source of protein? Cheese I know, peanuts....

Protein!!!??? What do you know about it?

Helene

[Racer]

Helene!!

This is a timely topic for me!! I really need to eat more protein. I was even thinking to buy a (rice) protein powder supplement. I'm trying to add lentils into my diet too because they have lots of protein.

Here are some other good sources of protein:

cottage cheese
yogurt
soy milk
tofu
beans and lentils
cheese
eggs
nuts

Also if you like grains like amaranth and quinoa...they have lots of protein in them too (as well as iron).

I'm sure there are more things to add to this list, but that's all I can think of for now. Hope other people have some more suggestions.

[CAW]

another good source of protien, Helene, are legumes....like black beans, baked beans, Lima beans, etc. Also, cheeze, dairy, eggs, egg substitute. Soy, tofu are good too.

you might wanna check out some Vegetarian sites or cookbooks for alternate sources of protien....

Me? I'm a carb-o-holic...I like pasta, whole grain bread, cake, donuts, cake, M&Ms, cheeze cake...yeah, I need to go visit the Farewell to Crap thread again....

[Iron-North]

Thanks.

Which has more protein, soy milk or cow skim milk? And what about calories per cup? Any idea?

Tofu is a science on its own...I would need a crash course on how to cook that stuff. But....Vegetarians cookbook is an excellent idea. I know they have a few at the library.

Beans I have a problem with. I know our body has to adjust digesting them. But I get such cramps......How long would it take to get used to them? Probably a very slowly introduction to my diet....I guess... And lentils, are they classed as Gassy food also?? I never had any!! But I probably should try!

So Racer, why do you need more protein in your diet? Not eating enough? or you are weight training? Or you want to improve your performance?

Protein powder...what is good out there? I mean, they can sell "good nutritious food" that is full of c......so what's a person to know what product to buy?

Helene

[Racer]

Hi Helene,

You might want to start with green or brown lentils...they are less "soapy" than other beans and thus maybe less gassy. Also, you don't need to soak lentils overnight before cooking them and the cooking time is much shorter than for other beans. And if you buy canned beans, make sure you wash off all that soapy stuff as best you can (cause that will just add to the gas effect). And yes go s-l-o-o-o-o-o-w with adding them in. I don't think it will take too long for your body to adjust. Last year I could eat beans like there was no tomorrow....and they didn't bother me a single bit!! But then I quit eating them....and seems now I'm back to square one. yesterday and today I had half a cup of lentils. so far so good. You could even start with putting them in soup or something if you are that concerned. maybe buy some beano? I dunno if it works though. I've never tried it.

As for the calories in soy and cows milk? I don't think there is too much difference, at least if you get the plain or regular soy milk. Some of them are sweetened up just like chocolate milk. I think the protein is pretty equivalent as well.

As for protein powder? Hmm not too sure about this one. I was going for the rice protein because too much soy gives me migraines, and milk products are not an option for me. Maybe someone else knows more about the powders. The one I was looking at had rice protein only in it. I think probably the fewer the ingredients the better.

As for why am I increasing protein? hahaha....well for lots of reasons. lessee...because:

-my protein intake is pretty low
-I'm hoping it will help to even out my energy levels
-protein helps you to feel full longer so no more feeling hungry constantly
-I'm hoping it will improve my running
-I think I might have a problem with my blood sugar in that it gets me feeling really weak and faint when it drops low, so I'm hoping the protein will help to prevent that from happening
-I have lots of water retention all the time And I read that a low protein diet can make this all the worse.
-I read that runners need more protein to repair and build muscle tissue.

It all sounds good to me. Plus I got told the other day that if I want to do triathlon, I need more "muscle". So I'm hoping the protein (and maybe some pushups??) will help me with that.

[ultraslacker]

Which has more protein, soy milk or cow skim milk? And what about calories per cup? Any idea?

Check the labels at the store... they will both list those things. It seems to me that the last time I checked, the protein in both was about the same, but the fat content in the soy was actually higher. So I thought it was rather pointless and stuck with regular milk.

Protein powder...what is good out there? I mean, they can sell "good nutritious food" that is full of c......so what's a person to know what product to buy?

I like Genisoy. It has the best flavour and texture of the ones I've tried, and lots of vitamins and such. You can get it at save-on, london drugs, etc.

[CAW]

Check the labels at the store... they will both list those things. It seems to me that the last time I checked, the protein in both was about the same, but the fat content in the soy was actually higher. So I thought it was rather pointless and stuck with regular milk.

And soy milks don't have the same amount of calcium, unless you get one that is enriched with it....

I tried switching to soy milk a while back...until I read the lable...and realized that cows milk is no worse...and I hate milk, but I sure do like the cow's milk better...and hey, soy milk costs mondo $$ in comparison...at least on the east coast.

When it comes to beans though, I always wash off my canned beans...and when I make them at home, after I soak them I stir them around to get the "skins" off them, the skins are what contribute to the gas issues...

[Madame Bourette]

Thanks.

Which has more protein, soy milk or cow skim milk? And what about calories per cup? Any idea?

Tofu is a science on its own...I would need a crash course on how to cook that stuff. But....Vegetarians cookbook is an excellent idea. I know they have a few at the library.

Beans I have a problem with. I know our body has to adjust digesting them. But I get such cramps......How long would it take to get used to them? Probably a very slowly introduction to my diet....I guess... And lentils, are they classed as Gassy food also?? I never had any!! But I probably should try!

So Racer, why do you need more protein in your diet? Not eating enough? or you are weight training? Or you want to improve your performance?

Protein powder...what is good out there? I mean, they can sell "good nutritious food" that is full of c......so what's a person to know what product to buy?

Helene

Hélène, have a look at this. It's in french. http://veggie.free.fr/frameset%20sommaire.htm

[Iron-North]

Great now I am more convinced! I mean I knew I needed to do this but I have to hear it from other people.....

Racer thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions.

I now know that I will stick with skim milk but I still am going to read the labels at the grocery store just for fun.

Slow introduction of lentils is something I am willing to try. Sprinkle a few here and there in my meals.

Thanks Eric for the site but I only get a stiff page and it is not showing anything...I'll try again later.

This is great and I am taking notes of all your suggestions.

Helene

[Jwolf]

Most people don't have to worry about how much protein they eat. Even vegetarians get plenty-- there really is no need to change your diet.
Runners are not body builders, so a standard diet that is mostly carbs with some protein and fat is fine. Most healthy whole foods that contain carbs also contain protein. If you find your energy level spikes and falls during the day, you probably could benefit from balancing more protein in with those carbs... beans, soy, lentils, etc. are all good sources if you don't eat meat or dairy.

As for soy milk vs. cow milk... soy milk usually has about the same amount of protein, fat, and carbs (and therefore calories) as low-fat milk. There are some fat-free varieties, as well. There are some that are fortified to contain calcium and vitamins. Yes, check the label-- the different brands differ greatly (in taste, too). My favorites are the ones sold under the president's choice label-- they have a refrigerated one that is very good now. Rice milk should be considered more of a treat, because it is almost all carbs (read: sugar).

[QuickChick]

This article is interesting:

http://www.humankinetics.com/products/s ... pt_id=3657

It focusses on adolescents, so I'm not sure if protein needs are different for adults. It does give requirements based on weight, so I would think it would be similar if not the same for adults.

Basically it says if you're not training, you need .85-.95 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight.
If you are an endurance athlete (I would take that to mean marathoner/ultramarathoner/hard core triathlete) you apparently need 1.2-1.6 grams per kilo.

So apparently I need to eat 73 grams a day if I ate 1.2 grams per kilo. This sounds like a LOT... but I wonder if you don't need as much on days when you're not doing a long run. I think on a given day, I would take in MAYBE 50g (3 egg white omelette, sandwich, 2 yogurts, chicken breast or piece of fish). I have definitely noticed that I've recovered a lot faster from runs when I've had a lot of protein afterwards- a big piece of salmon, or a steak, or chicken breast. Running long distances definitely wears down your muscles, and I guess taking in protein would help repair them and ward off soreness.

I think it would be really difficult to get even close to 73 grams of protein if I didn't eat meat... without eating a ton of calories anyway.

[Jwolf]

The numbers from that article are pretty close for active adults.

I think it would be really difficult to get even close to 73 grams of protein if I didn't eat meat... without eating a ton of calories anyway.

It's really not as hard as you think... people think that foods that aren't from animals don't have enough protein, but most plant foods contain protein. You're eating much more protein over the course of the day than you realize... when you just add up the eggs, fish, etc., you're missing a lot of the protein. Breads and cereals, for example, give about 15-20% of their calories from protein. So even if all your calories came from, say Cheerios, you'd be getting enough protein for the day (if you're eating 2200 calories for the day you'd get more than the 73 grams of protein). Now it wouldn't be a good balance of the right amino acids, but a balanced diet of only grains, vegetables, and legumes would give that no problem. (I just use the Cheerios as an example, because most people wouldn't consider that a "high protein" food. It's not, but it has a good amount of protein.)
In contrast, people that eat diets heavy in animal products are generally getting WAY more protein than they really need. All that excess protein just goes toward giving your body energy (gets converted to glucose first), and any excess gets converted to fat (fat is the major source of energy storage in our bodies; we store some glucose in the form of glycogen; but our bodies do not store unused amino acids-- the building blocks of protein).

You do need some protein right after hard workouts (not just long runs) for optimal recovery, but not nearly as much as some people think. Mostly what you should be replacing is carbs so your body can make glycogen. The optimal ratio of carbs:protein after a hard workout is 4:1, about what you'd get in, you guessed it, dry Cheerios. If you feel better after a big meal of fish or meat after a long run, it's probably mostly because you're satisfying your body's need for calories. Doing a long run of 20+ kilometers burns a lot of calories! In general you don't need any higher ratio of protein:carbs on days that you do a "long" run, and without thinking about it too much and just eating good healthy foods, you'd be fine. If you replace all your calories with candy or carbohydrate gels, you won't get enough protein.

BTW- It's a total myth that vegetarian (and vegan) athletes can't get enough protein. If you guys know Ryne Melcher from the other site-- an ultramarathoner that runs about 200K/week... he's vegan.

[dgrant]

The numbers from that article are pretty close for active adults.

I think it would be really difficult to get even close to 73 grams of protein if I didn't eat meat... without eating a ton of calories anyway.

It's really not as hard as you think... people think that foods that aren't from animals don't have enough protein, but most plant foods contain protein. You're eating much more protein over the course of the day than you think... when you just add up the eggs, fish, etc., you're missing a lot of the protein. Breads and cereals, for example, give about 15-20% of their calories from protein. So even if all your calories came from, say Cheerios, you'd be getting enough protein for the day (if you're eating 2200 calories for the day you'd get more than the 73 grams of protein). Now it wouldn't be a good balance of the right amino acids, but a balanced diet of only grains, vegetables, and legumes would give that no problem. (I just use the Cheerios as an example, because most people wouldn't consider that a "high protein" food. It's not, but it has a good amount of protein.)
In contrast, people that eat diets heavy in animal products are generally getting WAY more protein than they really need. All that excess protein just goes toward giving your body energy (gets converted to glucose first), and any excess gets converted to fat (fat is the major source of energy storage in our bodies; we store some glucose in the form of glycogen; but our bodies do not store unused amino acids-- the building blocks of protein).

You do need some protein right after hard workouts (not just long runs) for optimal recovery, but not nearly as much as some people think. Mostly what you should be replacing is carbs so your body can make glycogen. The optimal ratio of carbs:protein after a hard workout is 4:1, about what you'd get in, you guessed it, dry Cheerios. If you feel better after a big meal of fish or meat after a long run, it's probably mostly because you're satisfying your body's need for calories. Doing a long run of 20+ kilometers burns a lot of calories! In general you don't need any higher ratio of protein:carbs on days that you do a "long" run, and without thinking about it too much and just eating good healthy foods, you'd be fine. If you replace all your calories with candy or carbohydrate gels, you won't get enough protein.

BTW- It's a total myth that vegetarian (and vegan) athletes can't get enough protein. If you guys know Ryne Melcher from the other site-- an ultramarathoner that runs about 200K/week... he's vegan.

I think people need to be very cautious when using plant sources for protein. Legumes, tofu, and whole wheat pasta are a source of protein, but kind of in the way that the beach is a source of dimes and quarters. They're not a good source of protein.

A man my size needs at least 100 grams of protein per day. A can of tuna will give me 28 grams of protein in just 130 calories. I get 28% of my protein requirement in only 5% of my day's calories. To get that same amount of protein from whole wheat, or tofu, or legumes, I would need to eat over 750 calories. There is simply no plant source of protein that compares to lean meat.

As Dr J says, it is possible to get enough protein from a vegetarian diet. If I ate 2600 calories of green peas or whole wheat pasta, I'd be getting my 96-100 grams of protein. But the catch is I'd have to be super disciplined to be only eating the best vegetarian sources of protein, and nothing else. As soon as I added fruit juice, or tomato sauce for my pasta, or a muffin, or a glass of wine, I'd be screwed. Whereas if I got a single good shot of protein from a lower calorie source, like tuna or chicken, I could go about the rest of my day not worrying too much about it.

I'm not knocking the vegetarian lifestyle necessarily, I'm just saying that a vegetarian needs to be ultra careful about what they eat. An omnivore who eats fish or chicken or skim milk can be much more carefree.

PS- I know there are lots of examples of competitive athletes who are vegetarians, but they are really few and far between. The vast majority of professional and Olympic athletes are omnivores.

[Jwolf]

I'm not knocking the vegetarian lifestyle necessarily, I'm just saying that a vegetarian needs to be ultra careful about what they eat. An omnivore who eats fish or chicken or skim milk can be much more carefree.

Most vegetarians are very healthy eaters, using foods like tofu and beans as healthy protein sources. You don't really have to be "ultra careful", you just have to eat healthy.

If I ate 2600 calories of green peas or whole wheat pasta, I'd be getting my 96-100 grams of protein. But the catch is I'd have to be super disciplined to be only eating the best vegetarian sources of protein, and nothing else. As soon as I added fruit juice, or tomato sauce for my pasta, or a muffin, or a glass of wine, I'd be screwed.

Really, it'a all about balance. You can have your wine if you eat other healthy foods. Fruit juice and wine should be considered extras in any diet since they are mostly empty calories (yes, I know fruit juice has some vitamins, and even wine has some nutrients, but you're getting a load of sugar and empty calories). Muffins and tomato sauce do contain protein!! If you ate tomato sauce on pasta all day you'd get enough protein. Really!!! Again, it's not the right balance of amino acids, but the volume is enough-- and getting those proteins from a balanced diet does the trick.

[Jwolf]

[A man my size needs at least 100 grams of protein per day. A can of tuna will give me 28 grams of protein in just 130 calories. I get 28% of my protein requirement in only 5% of my day's calories. To get that same amount of protein from whole wheat, or tofu, or legumes, I would need to eat over 750 calories.

Sorry-- I couldn't let this go. Your example shows that by eating the vegetarian sources of protein you'd get all the protein you need by eating 2250 calories of those foods. That leaves a bunch of calories for the "uncareful" stuff. Also, even if you eat that can of tuna for the protein, you're still going to need to eat a good dose of the grains and vegetables for other vital nutrients in your day's food.

I'm not saying that a vegetarian diet is necessarily better or worse than a non-vegeatarian diet. It's just that non-vegetarians generally think that it's not a healthy way to eat, and the protein myth is often cited. I'm also saying it's not as hard as you think to get that protein, and most meat-eaters eat much more protein than they think, and more than they really need.

[dgrant]

Sorry-- I couldn't let this go. Your example shows that by eating the vegetarian sources of protein you'd get all the protein you need by eating 2250 calories of those foods. That leaves a bunch of calories for the "uncareful" stuff. Also, even if you eat that can of tuna for the protein, you're still going to need to eat a good dose of the grains and vegetables for other vital nutrients in your day's food.

Well, not really. That 2250 calories of vegetable protein source only gives me about 85 grams of protein. So I need another 15 grams of protein from my day's last 350 calories, which takes some careful package reading. There's definitely no margin for error, and no room for juices or wine or any of the other uncareful stuff.

I don't disagree when you say a vegetarian can get enough protein. I do disagree when you say it can be achieved without much worry. I think a vegetarian does have to worry, and does have to be meticulous, in order to get enough protein. Since most people would struggle to eat perfectly, I think most vegetarians risk either getting the right number of calories but not enough protein, or the right amount of protein but way too many calories.

Again, I'm not saying vegetarianism is bad. I'm just saying it is unnatural and therefore requires careful planning.

[Racer]

Hey Helene!!

I'm going to do an experiment and increase my protein to see if I feel any better from it. I checked my protein intake per day and right now it's only in the 40-45 g range. I'm going to increase my protein by about 20 g a day and see if that helps. I think I will need to get a protein supplement to do this though, at least for now. It would help me to get in an extra 12 g of protein each day. Plus if I add in a half cup of beans or lentils, that's 6-9 g.

I'm sure I probably could meet the protein requirements without the supplement, and that's what I'll aim for eventually, but a massive overhaul of my diet is just too much right now. I'm the kind of person that needs to do this slowly and in steps or it won't happen at all.

OK this is exciting. haha an experiment of one.

[Stephan]

Here'sa good little dit:

"Animal protein contains all nine of the essential amino acids, so it has been referred to as a "complete" protein. The nine essential amino acids can also be found in plant proteins, however no single plant source contains all nine of them. Therefore, plant protein has been referred to as "incomplete."

It was once widely believed that vegetarians had to carefully combine plant protein sources in each meal in order to obtain all nine essential amino acids. However, scientific studies have shown that the human body can store essential amino acids and combine them as necessary. So, while combining beans and rice, or peanut butter and bread produces a complete protein, it’s not necessary to consciously do this at every meal. If you eat a varied diet and adequate calories, combining proteins is not an issue. "


http://www.compassionatespirit.com/protein.htm

[QuickChick]

Very interesting!
I've just gone and checked the labels on a lot of the foods I normally eat in a day (e.g. oatmeal, bread with my sandwich, etc) and it's true that I get way more protein than I thought! I didn't know, for example, that there are 5 grams in a slice of bread- so my sandwich is actually 20g when I thought it was only 10 (from the meat).

[Jwolf]

Very interesting!
I've just gone and checked the labels on a lot of the foods I normally eat in a day (e.g. oatmeal, bread with my sandwich, etc) and it's true that I get way more protein than I thought!

Hey, did dave see you write that?

By the way... Stephan's quote is true, but just so as to not mislead people... our bodies can store amino acids for a short amount of time, but not long-term. So we can eat different incomplete proteins over the course of the day or couple days, and get all we need (the proteins don't need to be "completed" to be used, but we do need to get all the essential amino acids). But in general, large amounts of excess protein in animal-food based diets get converted to glucose and burned off as energy, or later stored as fat.

[QuickChick]

I think it's also important to note that when we're talking about diets with NO animal protein, that it's not necessarily what all vegetarians would be eating. Vegans, who don't eat animal protein at all, only make up a portion of vegetarians. It's more common for people to not eat meat but eat dairy/eggs, or for people to not eat red meat, or to just eat fish. Those vegetarians probably wouldn't have to worry about their protein intake at all... it's vegans who would have to be more conscious about it.

[wrathy]

Just my story....

I have been phasing out meat slowly over the past few years and finally converted to a lacto-vegetarian diet at the beginning of this year. I did it for digestive issues, not because I don't like meat. I was finding that I was having trouble digesting flesh products.

Now I eat most dairy products (yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese), and drink soy milk instead of regular milk (just because of preference). I eat whole grains, lots of veggies, all types of beans, tofu, quinoa, etc. and get between 60-70 grams of protein a day. I have increased this a bit since I found out I was pregnant in order to account for extra requirements.

Last time I went to my doctor's for blood work she was amazed at the results. To quote her somewhat..." I exercise every day and eat a healthy diet, and still can't get results like this!"

You can be totally healthy and get all the nutrients you need from other protein sources.

Oh yeah - my aunt, who is a pure organic-vegan and therefore very strict, gave birth to two healthy children (10 and 11 lbs!!!) without any complications or nutritional deficiencies.

[QuickChick]

Kristina, congratulations on your pregnancy! How exciting!!
I don't mean to say that you can't get enough protein if you're vegan... just that you would have to think about it more.
Hope you're feeling well- when are you due?

[wrathy]

Kristina, congratulations on your pregnancy! How exciting!!
I don't mean to say that you can't get enough protein if you're vegan... just that you would have to think about it more.
Hope you're feeling well- when are you due?

Thanks!

I am due in March, so I just entered the second trimester. I am feeling much better now, August was full of nausea .

I did think about protein intake at the beginning when I switched, but now it is like second nature. I guess it would be the same if you went vegan....my aunt can quote off protein amounts per serving of a lot of her food, so you just learn a whole new set of numbers!

[CAW]

...my aunt can quote off protein amounts per serving of a lot of her food, so you just learn a whole new set of numbers!

Too much math for this lazy brain!

Cudos to those who do it though....If there was just some sort of switch I could hit so that I could eat healthier even lacto-ovo vegitarian...without having to pay attention to stuff like that I would....but I am not the right personality type to keep track of anything....I don't even keep track of my cycle! When Flo shows, she shows...but that is just me. I admire people who can make concious effort at calorie counting, and stuff like that.