Eating more protein when you don't like protein

[skillz]

I'm 5ft3.5, 170lbs (EDIT- sorry I meant 153! 170 was my SW) and starting a recomp journey/focussing more on weight training and eating at a slight deficit.

I do not have a strong affinity for protein based foods. I do try to incorporate it into every meal, but it seems like I need additional protein to make it up to about 75g a day. I think this would also help curb my cravings for snacks so I'm not going over my calories.

I seem to be somewhere between 44-62g naturally but the thought of intentionally eating more some days is off-putting. Yesterday I decided to eat a peice of chicken after dinner to make up some of the 25g I had left to eat. I couldn't finish it, could only get through half before I felt a bit sick.

Today I tried protein pudding made out of yoghurt and pea protein isolate. It was awful. I added berries and a chocolate cluster to make it tolerable. I only had under half a scoop of protein powder.

I can easily eat another snack of carbs and fats within my calories but I can't seem to stomach more protein than I naturally want.

Any snack suggestions that might help? I eat lamb, beef, chicken, fish. I don't do deli meats or meat sticks.

I maybe need to try a different protein powder to just have shakes. Having mild lactose intolerance, I was hesitant to try whey protein so I started with a vegan one, which I know tends to taste worse. I've been avoiding having the one I've got.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Edit: Someone's asked what I'd typically eat, I'll put it here (1500-1600 cal)

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs cooked in a quarter tsp butter, a hashbrown, tsp of ketchup. Lunch: Quinoa 70g cooked, with roast chicken about 60g, tomato onion cucumber, olive oil and lemon dressing. Dinner: basmati rice 130g, lamb curry 90g, brocolli, olives. Will only take about 1tbsp curry sauce. Snack: 2 cream crackers, 1 with Nutella and tea with Stevia and almond milk.

Other things I eat generally mealwise: oatmeal (just started eating this), chicken/fish/lamb/beef/prawn curry and rice, fish fingers with veggies potato waffles and gravy, roast chicken dinner with veg potatoes and gravy, egg fried rice with veg, tuna mayo salad in a pitta bread, mackerel in a wrap with cucumbers, spicy prawn wrap made with yoghurt and mayo dressing and salad, jacket potatoes with tuna mayo carrots and broccoli.

I think the amounts of protein per meal are not huge, I am trying to increase this e.g. eating 3 eggs instead of 2, eating more protein from the curries than I naturally want.

My snacks lack wildly though. Crackers, corn cakes and cream cheese, jelly pots, a peice of chocolate, carrots, tea with sweetener and almond milk. Boiled eggs I can only eat like 1 a day without feeling sick.

UPDATE: yesterday I tried upping protein in a meal - lamb curry and rice - by sticking to 90g lamb and making it an egg fried rice with 2 eggs, and I split it into half quinoa half rice. I really really didn't enjoy it. Felt forced.

Today I've meal planned out the day with small changes and adding better snacks. It's looking good. I've managed to add about 22g protein through the following from suggestions you gave. Adding baked beans to my breakfast eggs (just 1/4 tin, nothing overwhelming). Snacks, half a can chickpeas (I can make a nice south Asian type stir fry with these), natural yoghurt, berries, an apple, oatmeal with almond milk and a tbsp of peanut butter. Pretty shocked all this made a difference. I've noticed pitta breads and wraps also have more protein than rice. I eat them occasionally for dinner (I have rice most of the time) so I've planned to have tinned mackerel in a pitta today which is something I really like. (I prefer tinned fish to meats). I'm looking forward to this! Hopefully I enjoy it all. I'm at 82g with the above. Now if I find a protein shake I like I'll be doing even better.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! If there's any other small ways to sneak in protein that haven't been mentioned I'm keen to hear it!

UPDATE 2: Today has been great! I couldn't find tinned mackerel so I made tuna mayo salad instead, subbing half the light mayo for 50g natural yoghurt. I missed out on an egg because my partner wasn't used to me asking for 3 and forgetfully gave me 2. I'm currently at 85g protein. If I eat the chickpeas and apple I'll be at 91! I made a whole tins worth, I'll take a third to work as a snack. I still have 240 cal left for the day too. Thanks again everyone.

 

[taryn12]

@skillz Can you give us an example of what a day of eating looks like for you? That would make it easier to advise.

 

[johnc1953]

@skillz Whey doesn’t really have any lactose in it. I’m also intolerant and I have no issues with it. One of my go-to faves is whey, half a frozen banana, and some frozen berries and vanilla in a blender. It’s like a milkshake! So delicious. Lean white fish has tons of protein for little calories. Egg whites. (Can be added to many foods and barely noticeable.) Smoked salmon is high in protein if you are into that. Greek yogurt with fruit and honey. I also use Greek yogurt to bake and cook and you often can’t really taste it. A can of tuna is a great high protein lunch option. Soups stews and casseroles with chicken or ground turkey. You have to do some experimenting and trying recipes to find ways that work for you but it is possible. I used to feel just like you, but now I’m consistently over 100g/day.

 

[skillz]

@johnc1953 I think I should probably try a whey protein. Pea protein just taste so savoury and grainy.

 

[betterdays]

@skillz Try Fairlife! They have really good chocolate protein shakes. Like literally they taste like chocolate milk and I'm not exaggerating. They have 30g and 26g protein options.

I'm lactose intolerant and absolutely HATE protein powders. Even the plant based ones make me constipated and there's something about the flavor and texture that really turn me off.

Fairlife is smooth and sweet. It's the same as Lactaid imo. I drink 2 chocolate shakes per day to hit my protein goals and I'm still not sick of them.

 

[newkittens]

@skillz I really like whey isolate protein powders. It's the protein from whey isolated so it has no extra calories. It comes in fruity flavors that do well mixed in just water, so you don't get extra calories from milk. It's the bare minimum of added calories to get a lot more protein.

My current favorite is the Nectar, Roadside Lemonade, from Syntrax.

I drink it daily in water, but it's also really good mixed into greek yogurt with a little strawberry jam and some blueberries.

 

[johnc1953]

@skillz I order mine from z natural foods online. I like it because there’s basically no other ingredients. They have an unflavored one that’s pretty neutral flavored so you can add it to whatever you want. I use the vanilla flavored one which is sweetened with debittered stevia and very mild in flavor. Some people like the flavored ones that are around but I don’t tend to like the artificial flavors as I eat primarily whole foods.

 

[cindy2822]

@skillz Smoothies. Protein shakes you can buy at Walmart.

When it comes to actual meat/non liquid protein you can try different recipes, I've been covering my meat in gravy recently and it gets me to eat it lol. Usually not a huge fan of meat (though I love fish). You can also try tofu or beans for protein. Chili with rice!

Also for me personally I'm more capable of eating meat when I work out more. I end up actually being hungry so I'm less picky, but have always been the type to avoid meat unless it's a perfect steak or fish.

 

[sholay2011]

@skillz Do you like soup? I like to buy canned soups and add boiled shredded chicken to it. Zesty santa fe style chicken soup by progresso is usually my go to since it’s flavorful and only 160 calories for the whole can. But doing that is an easy way to eat more chicken with a variety of flavors and not get bored.

Also the lower carb options for stuff like bread or tortillas usually have more protein and fewer calories. Protein shakes make me nauseous if I drink one all at once so I drink one premier protein shake throughout the day (cake batter I think is the one I have now- it’s yummy) it has a screw on cap so stays fresh in the fridge.

Could you try starting your meals with protein first? Like eating the chicken before anything else. Pre logging my foods the day before on Cronometer helps me plan my meals around my protein intake for the next day and I like waking up with a plan knowing exactly what I’m going to eat and how much protein I’ll be getting. It makes it easier for me to not go overboard with calories or give in to cravings because I’m focused on sticking to the foods on the ‘checklist’.

 

[jaz2001]

@skillz I hate to rain on your parade but if you want to recomp and you’re 170lbs, you will need a lot more than 75g protein. Your absolute bare bottom minimum should be 100g but 120-140g would be a better goal. You say you don’t like protein but you like a bunch of meats and yogurt and eggs, etc. You just don’t like pea protein or cottage cheese.

This is what I eat a day and I usually get 140-150g easily:

1. Breakfast is plain Greek yogurt with a scoop of vanilla whey isolate, strawberries, and peanut butter granola
2. “Snack” is clear whey lemonade with creatine that I drink at the gym
3. Lunch is 50-60g protein from Costco lightly breaded chicken chunks, baby carrots, maybe some cottage cheese
4. Dinner is usually chicken based but I sometimes have beef or turkey, with rice or potatoes, and a veggie
5. If I’m low on protein for the day, I’ll make a dessert shake with Fairlife milk, vanilla whey, strawberry Hershey syrup, and a little vanilla ice cream

 

[skillz]

@jaz2001 I'm happy to try and increase my protein to 120g. I just don't know how so I thought I'll start at 75g as a minimum, given I'm sorely lacking even hitting that. I eat all those things as I say I just find it hard to eat more than a certain amount a day. E.g. I mentioned I eat roast chicken, but yesterday I tried to eat some as a snack after dinner, but I felt like I'd hit my limit for the day (I wasn't full, I could have easily eaten some more carb based snacks). I consciously try to eat all the proteins mentioned so far. Naturally I'd love to eat 0 - 2 meals of protein a day. I do eat protein I just don't particularly enjoy eating more than a limited amount. Before I started this journey I could easily be eating breakfast- 2 potato waffles and mayo, lunch: couscous salad with no proteins, dinner, rice and lentil curry. Most likely I'd eat eggs for breakfast only on the weekend, and most likely I would have some meat for dinner but 40g would do me. For now I need to try and hit 75 minimum and once I get used to that perhaps I can increase.

 

[jaz2001]

@skillz I’m sure it’s difficult if you don’t gravitate to it naturally. Good luck!

 

[amiel164]

@skillz Cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, deli sliced lean turkey or chicken, premier protein shakes, eggs or egg whites. I buy a carton of egg whites and I’ll scramble one egg with 1/2 cup for breakfast. I also find I have more success meeting my target when I make my earlier meals higher in protein. This morning I had a cup of siggi’s plain yogurt with a scoop of chocolate protein powder mixed in and topped with a sliced banana and strawberries, which was 56 g

 

[puddintain]

@skillz Greek yoghurt and tofu work for me. I choose cereal with higher protein too, like kashi. You can try adding protein powder to oats as well. I use chocolate flavoured, make thick oats with it and add pb. Tastes kinda like a pudding bowl.

 

[aanthony_a]

@skillz Is there any seafood you like? Shrimps are good source of protein. You can snack on edamame, chickpeas, fox nuts. Protein bars can be a good option. There are high protein variations of everyday items, bread, rice, noodles, pasta here in UK.

 

[abrahamictheist]

@skillz You haven't mentioned eggs that I can see? Hardboiled eggs are easy protein

 

[skillz]

@abrahamictheist I do eat eggs. Usually scrambled or fried. I went through a boiled egg phase but eventually I get turned off them, don't know why.

 

[nezsruiz]

@skillz Can you change some of the carbs you're eating to ones with more protein? For example, swap in a lentil or quinoa instead of rice and you'll naturally get some more protein without having to commit to more meat.

Also consider adding some nuts or seeds to things you already eat as a way to "sneak" more protein in (e.g. chopped nuts on oatmeal, chia seeds on yogurt parfait, pumpkin/sunflower seeds on salads).

Toast spreads can also give you a boost of protein - cream cheese, peanut butter, hummus are all a quick protein compared to putting butter or jam on your bread.

 

[curiouseeker]

@nezsruiz not OP but I share their struggle, and do all those things and the protein it adds is pretty minimal - cream cheese and hummus both only have 2g of protein per serving. Adding chia seeds to my yogurt or oatmeal only adds 4-5gs (and substantial calories).

 

[nezsruiz]

@curiouseeker Sure it's not the highest amounts, but adding 10g of protein over the course of the day when OP already said some days they're only eating 45g means a 22% increase, which is meaningful. (And swaps like quinoa instead of rice adds no extra calories)

OP already mentioned that simply adding more meat or protein powder wasn't working for them, so something is better than nothing.