How to fit all that protein in?

[gtbmed]

I'm 180 lbs., trying to mostly maintain weight. I've read the stickies on this forum which advised something close to a 40/40/20 split for calories from carbs/proteins/fats.

My question is, how do you fit that protein into a diet? After doing some calculation (15 cals per lb. of bodyweight), I figured I'd have to get 270g of protein per day. Just seems a bit unrealistic to me. Anyone have any tips on some quick, high protein meals I could use, maybe right when I wake up and right before I go to bed?

 

[highpockets]

Chicken breasts, turkey, tuna, cottage cheese, eggs are the foundation of my protein intake. For example I buy 12 or 15 chicken breasts a week, grill all of them on Sunday afternoon and throw them in a zip-lock bag. Pretty easy!

 

[QuestionGuy]

ummm...easy...let me give you my curetn cutting diet....

11am- Protein shake
01PM- 250g chicken breast, 1 slice ff cheese
03pm- same as above (chicken)
05pm- same as above
07pm- post wokrout protein shake
about 8:30 - 9Pm Turkey or salmon burger (2 paties costco baught) two slices of wheat bread, 60g avocado and spicy brown mustard

12PM- muscle milk shake before bed
+100 calories from fish oil thurout the day

= 2270 calories a day
88g carbs a day
335g of protein

 

[QuestionGuy]

and dont fucking reply and give me pathetic excuses why you cant dedicate yourself to all that nast dry tasting chicken every day, you asked a question, you got an answer from a dedicated BB'er...so there you go...good luck dude!!

 

[Built]

I'm 180 lbs., trying to mostly maintain weight. I've read the stickies on this forum which advised something close to a 40/40/20 split for calories from carbs/proteins/fats.

My question is, how do you fit that protein into a diet? After doing some calculation (15 cals per lb. of bodyweight), I figured I'd have to get 270g of protein per day. Just seems a bit unrealistic to me. Anyone have any tips on some quick, high protein meals I could use, maybe right when I wake up and right before I go to bed?

I'm not a fan of ratio approaches to diet. 270g won't hurt you, but it might not be what you need. Is maintenance difficult for you? Do you have a hard time with hunger, or do you have a hard time getting it all in - and how lean are you?

 

[QuestionGuy]

Hey Anne, how are ya!

 

[Built]

Anne?

You talking to me?

 

[danzik17]

I would measure by grams per LBM (lean body mass), not a set ratio. And I would top out at around 2g protein/LBM at the max unless there is some overriding reason...I really haven't read about any benefits of going past that and as someone said (forget who), you'll just end up with the most expensive urine on the planet as you piss out the excess.

 

[Built]

Indeed. Outside of a burn-unit, the only reason I can see for keeping protein super duper high would be to enhance satiety.

 

[gtbmed]

OK, so 3 protein shakes a day will definitely help me get there. I've been taking 2 and trying desperately to get above 220g protein.

I'd estimate BF to be around 15%. I can see definition in my upper abs but I feel like more of my BF is stored in my lower body. Either way, that's just a guess.

Maintaining weight isn't really a problem. In fact, I feel like I don't have too much of a problem adding/maintaining my bulk, even when I'm not dieting that well (maybe I'm more of an endo or meso/endo). My main problem is fitting the right macros into a day. I'm a student so I'm not accustomed to eating 3-4 meals per day.

 

[Built]

How many meals are you accustomed to eating?

Getting back to the right macros - don't over complicate it. You have roughly 150 lbs LBM, so make sure you get in at least 150g protein and at least 75g fat. 25g of fibre is a good idea. Top up the rest of your calories from whatever combo of protein, carb and fat makes you comfortable, and eat as many or as few meals a day as you like. Read the link in my sig on getting started.

 

[highpockets]

Getting back to the right macros - don't over complicate it. You have roughly 150 lbs LBM, so make sure you get in at least 150g protein and at least 75g fat. 25g of fibre is a good idea. Top up the rest of your calories from whatever combo of protein, carb and fat makes you comfortable, and eat as many or as few meals a day as you like. Read the link in my sig on getting started.

This is very true! I've been cutting for almost 6 months and have dropped 42 lbs. I haven't cared too much about my macros except for the protein. My main concern was staying below maintenance on my calories. Actually it's been pretty easy to shed the weight so far. Now I have a few extra pounds to get rid of and I think they are going to be stubborn ones! Just watch the total calories and eat sensibly.

 

[Built]

Highpockets, that's awesome!

Drop me a PM if you need any help for the last bit.

 

[Dodge]

This is a damn good question, i wondered this.

I weigh roughly 95kg, which is i think about 210lbs, and if you have to eat 1-3g of protein per lb, 630g of protein is fucking insane! Thats like a tub of protein shake in a day. 210g of protein is about 9 shakes, if a shake is 25g of protein. How can such an intake be possible?

I just stick to 2 shakes, meat in a meal and alot of milk every day, mabe i get 70-100g of protein, which is reasonable.

 

[danzik17]

This is a damn good question, i wondered this.

I weigh roughly 95kg, which is i think about 210lbs, and if you have to eat 1-3g of protein per lb, 630g of protein is fucking insane! Thats like a tub of protein shake in a day. 210g of protein is about 9 shakes, if a shake is 25g of protein. How can such an intake be possible?

I just stick to 2 shakes, meat in a meal and alot of milk every day, mabe i get 70-100g of protein, which is reasonable.

No, no - you misunderstand. 1g protein per pound of LEAN body mass. That is the portion of your body that isn't fat.

If you weigh 210lbs but have 20% bodyfat, then you have 168lbs of LBM. That would make your protein intake somewhere between 168g-336g on the really high end. Most likely you would want to do around 240-250g protein.

 

[Dodge]

Ah thats a bit better, still alot but better. Thanks

 

[gtbmed]

I think I was undershooting my maintenence cals. I've lost some weight recently since starting to really track my diet, so I'm going to bump up my cals a bit.

 

[acaiberry01]

I would measure by grams per LBM (lean body mass), not a set ratio. And I would top out at around 2g protein/LBM at the max unless there is some overriding reason...