How do you get protein in your diet? Mine hovers around 20% and I would like to get it to 30%. Usually for breakfast I have either egg beaters or egg, ham, and cheese on an english muffin, which is pretty good for protein, and then lunch is usually a turkey or tuna sandwich...tuna is amazing for protein but I don't like to eat too much of it bc of mercury; I can even do canned salmon but eating a lot of salmon isn't great for the environment either. Dinner is usually whole wheat pasta with veggies and sauce and maybe a cut up gardenburger in the sauce. Whole wheat pasta has protein, but not a ton in ratio to the carbs. I'm thinking of adding ground turkey in, but I'm trying not to eat more meat.
Do you supplement with shakes or bars? I found a snickers marathon bar that is pretty good in terms of calories/protein/fiber, but it's still negligible in terms of increasing my protein. I'm trying to build muscle, but not too eager to go the protein shake route unless I have to...and I don't want an entire meal substitution if I do. Thoughts?
I follow a vegan diet and I eat about 15-20% protein.
My protein sources are various grains, beans and veggies. Quinoa and amaranth are really good sources of protein but I eat beans every day. Seitan is an option if you are looking to up your protein and it is really easy to make if you aren't gluten intolerant.
How many grams of protein are you getting per day? I'd aim for 40+ grams.
And if your protein is 20% and your calories are at minimum 1200, then that means you get at least 60 grams of protein per day which is above the RDA.
I read somewhere about a 40-30-30 diet being good for building muscle; I've been strength training for about 6 months and haven't been seeing much in the way of results, and was told (just by friends, not professionals) that increasing protein really made a difference for them. Maybe I don't need to get to 30%, but if there are ways I can get more in, I'd like to try it. Today I got 75 grams.
What kind of strength program are you doing? Are you with a personal trainer? Are you lifting heavy? Have you switched up your program? Protein is needed to build muscle but most people get more than enough protein and it is usually the weight training program that defines how much muscle you gain.
I do strength training and I see increases as long as I do heavy weights.
And I should say that occasionally I use Vega in the morning but really not to get extra protein (I think it has 23g per serving) but because I don't like eating in the morning but I do like shakes in the morning.
You seem to be getting enough protein though so I suspect it may be that you need to tweak your weight training program if you haven't already tried that.
Thanks for the advice! It might be that I need to lift heavier. I worked with a trainer a couple of times last year, but have been on my own since. It's good to hear that someone is making progress without protein overloading
forestroad - if you need a structured program, Body for Life and The New Rules of Lifting for Women are two pretty good programs that can give you some structure to your weight lifting program. Without increasing/changing things up, your body really just becomes efficient at what you are doing and you need to shock it a bit to get it to make further strides.
I agree with the first comment that you are consuming way too much protein as it is. The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends that we should consume 10% of our diet from protein... and not animal protein. I would stop focusing on the specific nutrient in your diet (ie, protein) and concentrate on getting ALL the nutrients your body needs to be healthy. This comes naturally with a whole-food, plant based diet. BTW, spinach and broccoli contain more protein per calorie than red meat, don't have any of the sat fat or cholesterol and also contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and less calories.
Protein--help from vegetarians?
