Hi all,

I was chatting with a customer at work last night, and I told him that I have recently started doing some weight training. The man I was talking to has a pretty intensive weight regimen, but he is not big and bulky--just lean and muscular. Anyway, the conversation segued into protein and I reported that according to Nutridiary, I tend to eat between 100% and 150% of my rda of protein each day. He asked how many grams that was, which I didn't know, and then he told me that it should be something like 1 gram for every pound of bodyweight. I checked with Nutridiary, and it seems to be suggesting that my rda is about 40 grams--well below the 140 grams recommended by the customer.

Is there any possible way that I need to be eating that much protein?! It just seems really excessive, and I've never really liked the idea of protein powder. I want to build some muscle to "tone" up and become a calorie-furnace, but I'm not trying to become a bodybuilder. But then, this customer isn't a big bodybuilder either, just a muscular middle-aged man.

What gives?

Ooops. Ok. It turns out that I am an idiot. The default for nutridiary is evidently for 10% of my calories to come from protein, not the 30% I had assumed. If I change the thing to 30%, then I should eat 131 grams daily. That is much closer. But so much protein! I dont quite know how to manage that!

HI! Make chicken and tuna your new best friend. Also, protein shakes aren't that bad especially if you have a little time to throw and mix in the blender. Chocolate with banana and/or peanut butter. Vanilla with berries or other fruit. Boiled eggs are also a great way to get that protein in. Do you like deviled eggs? Hope that helps a little.

Cottage cheese, beans, fish (like salmon with added benefit of Omega-3 oil). I love hard boiled eggs as a snack, just peel and eat. Nuts have some, but also have good oils, just watch the calories.

I can't do it without protein powder. I use plain stuff that I get at a bulk food store and mix it with fruit or sf chocolate syrup. However, ff cottage cheese is wonderful!

Talk to trainers or others who lift, and they will tell you that nutrition is an important part of the process of building muscle. And protein plays a key role.

As I understand it, when you lift weights you are actually making small tears in your muscles, which then need a couple of days to reknit (thus, the reason to wait 2 days before taxing the same muscle group again). Protein is a big factor in this "rekniting" process, and is used to help build muscle. Thus, if you lift, but don't eat enough protein, especially shortly after you lift, you aren't getting the full benefit of your weight routine.

And please, if someone more experienced could let me know if I misrepresented any part of the process I'd appreciate it -- I am still learning this myself.

BTW, I really have seen a lot of advancement in my own muscle development since I started paying attention to nutrition!

As a vegetarian and carb-lover, I really struggle to increase protein in my diet. (For me, 100 grams of protein is a really good day.)

I don't know how much it's affected my weight training, but I do know that the more protein I eat, the less I tend to overeat. I cook a lot with cottage cheese, egg whites, and soy-based artificial meat. (I think they taste pretty good, but then I haven't eaten any real meat for a lot of years.) I buy protein powder but can't make myself eat it, so no advice to offer there.

Good luck!

Lore

Try cooking with the protein powder, too. You can add it to oatmeal, protein muffins (do a search, I've posted them all over the forum), oatmeal-protein pancakes, etc.

Mel