Im 175lbs and doing a pretty heavy cut so I’m trying to hit 180g of protein so that I don’t lose a lot of muscle, but I cant for the life of me figure out how to do so.
This is a pretty standard day of eating, I try to center all my meals around protein but when I reach my 1500cal limit I only get around 100-120g of protein.
by lil_locomotor
20 Comments
I eat 1200 calories a day and hit 120-130 G protein, so 10 g of protein per 100 kcal consumed.
I eat a lot of quark, rul minced meat, shrimp, cottage cheese, egg white, chicken and sometimes protein powder (for ninja creami ice cream). I eat a lot of veggies as well.
I see you entered 100 g of chicken for 167 kcal. Try to look for chicken that has 100-114 kcal per 100 G, as this allows you to have more protein for the same amount of calories.
130 calories for soy milk is quite a lot. Swap it for skinny milk (30-35 kcal/100 ml) and make it into a protein shake.
430 kcal for the pasta and only 13 g of protein is the biggest issue. Add less pasta and more veggies or meat. Try to make a more high protein, low calorie sauce by using cottage cheese, less oil, less cheese, etc.
Just divide the calories by protein to get a protien per calorie ratio. You’ll see the pasta and fried drumstick get a relatively bad score.
Maybe stop eating fried chicken for breakfast 😂
You need lower calorie sources of protein. I don’t think you can hit those goals while eating fried food and creamy pasta, it’s too calorie dense and the protein content is not impressive.
e.g. you’re only getting 12g P from that 130g serve of 430 cal pasta… poor use of calories. In comparison, 130g of tofu has only 192 cal but 20g protein. 1 kilogram (lol) of asparagus has only 200 cal and 22g protein. Protein powders can have ~30g P for 100-200 cal (depends).
For lower cal protein sources try chicken breast, turkey, tuna, white fish, tofu, chickpeas, protein powder, Greek yogurt, edamame, and vegetables which you need (from memory i think some highest protein veg are asparagus, broccoli, green peas). Play around with adding food to your app as meal planning the day ahead before you eat or shop, so you know it will fit your goals.
Well first… the pasta is nearly 1/3 your entire calorie intake and so is the fried chicken lol. Eliminate those and focus on getting more chicken breast or a lean meat. 180g for 1500 requires lean protein because that’s incredibly difficult. You’re also only getting 6g for chocolate milk. Sub that for protein powder that’s chocolate. Easy 24g of protein for the same amount of calories
You’ll want to think about adding better sources of protein like shrimp, tuna, other seafood, turkey, even lean cuts of red meat. Fried chicken and fettuccine Alfredo are killing your calories
2 things
1) There are different takes on this, but you pretty much can’t process more than 10g per hour… And you can only frontload that about 3 hours. if you want max absorption, go for 30 grams every 3 hours.
2) Way too much fat if you want that balance. Alfredo is dairy based. Fried material on chicken blows up the fat. 200g protein alone is like 800 calories… So you need to aim for about protein*8=calories
Supermarket tofu for me.
Look up MrMom713 on YouTube and he did a video about three days ago called 5 SUPRISINGLY Easy Ways To INCREASE Your Protein! He shows how to get about 180 g of protein and it’s only about 1400 calories. I thought it was a pretty good video.
180g of protein is just over the top friend. Go for 120g. It takes a lot for your body to break down muscles. Even on a heavy cut.
Here’s my menu:
Breakfast: protein shake with coffee, 1 high protein dark slice of bread with low fat butter, 10% fat cheese, salad mix, 3 turkey slices
Lunch: 150-200g skinless grilled chicken breast rubbed with Thai curry paste with salad and Italian dressing (fat free). Or 1 portion protein porridge (ready mix).
Dinner: 200g pasta, 150g meat sauce, 150g zero fat cottage cheese melted on top.
Snacks: 1 protein bar.
That’s about 120g protein.
180g is too much since you’re supposed to calculate it per your lean body mass, not total body mass.
I’m trying to imagine fried chicken and chocolate milk for breakfast 😂
This isn’t a protein suggestion but I would really suggest adding in some fibre in your diet. More and more young people are getting colon cancer, so adding legumes, vegetables, fruit and seeds can really help. On my lower fibre days I make a sub 200 cal snack with 2 tbsp of chia seeds, half a cup of milk and some berries.
As for protein and calorie ratio, tuna has a high protein to low calorie ratio. Some protein bars or protein powders are also good. With a deficit like this (I’m in a similar one), I try not to eat too much creamy or fried foods except in moderation because it’s a lot of calories for very little satiety.
The pasta, Alfredo sauce and fried chicken are a lot of calories for the nutritional goals and deficit you’re in. If you like pasta, you can swap it with a tomato sauce for a lower calorie sauce, lentil or chickpea pasta for increased fibre and some protein and ground meat of your choice (like lean ground beef or ground turkey for a leaner protein).
Lower calorie meals being centred around protein usually require more creativity and some smart swaps for me so I’m not sacrificing any necessary nutrition within my deficit.
Air fry some chicken breast instead and switch the milk for a double scoop protein shake and you could hit 180g of protein with the same format
Hi, I am new to this community. What app do you use to log this?
Only commenting on the chocolate milk here because everyone else has already pointed out the pasta and fried chicken problem…if you can handle dairy switch to a chocolate protein shake. Or Carbmaster nonfat chocolate milk, only 80 calories per 8oz cup with 11g protein (much better than 130 calories with 6g protein and tastes way better too)
Also, try replacing your pasta with Carbe Diem (high protein, half calories) and an Alfredo sauce made with blended cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic, basil, and pepper. Then swap your fried chicken out for RealGood chicken in the air fryer. You are gonna save SO many calories and gain SO much protein with these swaps.
Protein requirements are based on your body’s lean weight in kg not lbs
Fried chicken, pasta, and Alfredo sauce are very caloric. Not that you can never have them, but they will make it harder to eat enough food to reach your protein goal. If you need to be able to eat a lot of meat/protein, it needs to be prepared in lower calorie ways. The fried chicken and Alfredo pasta can be more of an occasional thing or just not on the same day
General advice; the way you are eating now is really bad for you. It might make you look better (leaner, better muscle definition) because of the low calories.
I beg you to eat some fiber and to lower your saturated fats. Swap the fried chicken with chicken breast and mashed avocado. Add a couple of cups of steamed broccoli, green beans, peas, whatever vegetable you find tolerable. Snack on some berries during the day. It’ll hardly affect your calories for the day and greatly improve your health.
Don’t kill yourself over looking a bit better a bit faster
You can probably get by on 140 g of protein. You should also add a bit more fiber in for satiation. I think everyone else has made comments on where you can make swaps.