Protein help!!

[tebah]

Hey all!

I'm currently eating on a deficit trying to cut my BF %. Those familiar with basic weightlifting/fitness knowledge know that protein nutrient requirements are ~.77-1g of protein per pound of body weight to maximize muscle growth. I weigh ~200 lbs, so I need to eat anywhere from 150-200g of protein a day. I try to eat in this range, but I'm finding it very difficult to hit this value while eating a deficit (if I was bulking I'd be totally fine.) I currently go to the gym four times a week and do yoga/play basketball on my off days. I'm trying to eat ~1800 calories a day which is 600 calories under my TDEE value (used a TDEE calc for this.) If you're wondering why 600 less see this link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq#wiki_other_q_and_a ("Can I lose fat and gain muscle at the same time").

My current diet looks like the following:

Morning: 300 calories, 30g protein

Vegan Protein powder (140 cals, 20g protein)

Protein+ Almond milk (70 cals, 10g protein)

Banana (~80 cals)

Lunch: 800 cals, 21g protein

Can of beans, i.e. Garbanzo, Kidney, Black beans, ... (385 cals, 21g protein)

Greens, i.e. baby kale or spinach (40-50 cals)

Olive oil (180 cals)

Cucumbers (100 cals)

Dinner: 1390 cals, 101g protein

Extra firm protein tofu (750 calories, 75 grams protein)

Lentils (360 cals, 26g protein)

Vegetables, i.e. Broccoli, Green Beans, Kale, Zucchini, ... (100 cals)

Olive oil (180 cals)

Total: 2490 calories, 151g protein

I tried to over estimate the amount of oil I use, and had to guess on the calories in the various vegetables I eat. What you can see from this is I'm eating almost 700 calories over my deficit value while BARELY getting enough protein. I've read up on different protein sources but I'm not sure how to squeeze in the protein while eating under my calories. I'm also not sure if I should simply be trying to prioritize protein over calories and rely on cardio or some other form of exercise to decrease my overall calorie intake. Even so, doing cardio 7 times a week seems unrealistic for me. Is there some magic food unbeknownst to me? I've dabbled with seitan quite a bit in the past, but I've recently read online that it actually isn't good for you and nutritionists don't recommend eating it. I'm open to any and all suggestions, also, let me know if you have any other questions for me.

 

[suomisidney]

@tebah Your breakfast is the weak link here.

You're not eating any whole food protein in the morning. Why is that?
It's very easy to include a legume/seed/grain meal in the morning that provides you with 30-40 grams of protein.

 

[tebah]

@suomisidney What do you mean when you say "whole food protein," I'm getting 30g which is pretty good for a single meal I think. Any recommendations on those "legumes/seeds/grains"?

 

[suomisidney]

@tebah By whole food protein I mean protein that comes from actual food, not supplements.

From the OP it looks like your only protein source in the morning is powder supplement. I don't see any whole foods like oats, chia seeds, buckwheat, etc.

Please clarify.

Morning: 300 calories, 30g protein

Vegan Protein powder (140 cals, 20g protein)

Protein+ Almond milk (70 cals, 10g protein)

Banana (~80 cals)

 

[tebah]

@suomisidney There is nothing to clarify. I'm relatively new to being vegan and nutrition conscious. The reason I asked is because I didn't know what you meant.

 

[suomisidney]

@tebah Ah, that makes sense now.

So what I think is that you should use a protein supplement as just that - a supplement to whole food protein.

For example, in the morning you can make a porridge (with oats, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds) that is 30 gram protein and on top of that you can mix in 30g protein powder for a total of 60 gram protein for breakfast.

In short: don't use protein powder alone. Mix it in with whole foods for a higher protein meal.

You're doing a good job, keep it up.

 

[tebah]

@suomisidney Ok I'll definitely look into that! Thanks again for the recommendations

 

[maniel]

@tebah I disagree with your basic premise of .77-1g/lb. The preferred amount is 1-1.4g/kg and/or 12-15% of calories when eating at maintenance or above. Also, frequency matters more than sheer amount; eating 100g at dinner is really not going to do very much for you because the kidneys cannot deal with that much at once so excess is gonna be used as calories instead of muscle building.

If you can hit 25-35g of protein 4x a day, you should be solid. That's what I recommend to all my patients who are trying to gain muscle.

Also switch out your olive oil for a spray olive oil (5-10 calories). Other than that, your food looks really great. I enjoy tofu Jerky, seitan Jerky, roasted chickpeas as snacks.

Your food looks really good, and you're getting a few grams of protein from the veggies too. I think you maybe miscalculated the Cala at lunch, too. Looks more like 600 than 800 to me.

If keep your meals about the same, maybe blend some berries into the morning shake. Cut out the oils or switch to spray. Have the tofu or another protein snack in the afternoon as a smaller portion (instead of at dinner). Then keep the rest of your dinner the same.

Signed, vegan dietitian nutritionist

 

[tebah]

@maniel Ah!! This is awesome advice and feedback, thanks for taking the time to write all this out. I'll check out those other snacks you mentioned. I've also read that the ingesting of protein throughout the day is a myth... but I've also read that it isn't a myth. I think the hardest part about fitness in the modern day is that you can read so many different opinions on things. Just for my own peace of mind, could you provide some evidence for the claims you make? (1-1.4g/kg and eating protein throughout the day) I figure that if you are a nutritionist you would have the best sources of information.

Also, where do you tend to buy your food? I almost exclusively shop at Whole Foods, but it can get a little pricey. I justify it by saying "you can't put a price on good health," but even then sometimes it stings

 

[maniel]

@tebah Well, a lot of my information is from my textbooks and the medical conferences I attend (PPOD, PBNHC, FNCE), so they're harder to quote. Some more approachable things would be a paper titled "fueling the vegetarian athlete" by Fuhrman and be aware it's towards extremely competitive athletes, so most people can stay on the lower ends of those recommendations. I also like the podcast breaking down nutrition and its episode on how much protein at a time can be used (with good sources in the notes). I know what you mean about conflicting opinions. It's tricky because they all seem like opinions but only some actually have much evidence; the others are just persuasive writers. I even went to a local conference and the class on protein was sponsored by the beef council so I immediately left. Sometimes it's also helpful to look at the lack of evidence - we don't have anything (as far as I know?) showing that more than 25-35ish grams of protein at a time leads to more muscle... so why force yourself to have more? This isn't the best thing to do since it could be that we just don't have the evidence yet, but sometimes we gotta go with the best that we have. I'm also a fan of rich roll who is one of the fittest people alive and only "rarely" has any protein supplements, with the majority of his diet from carbs.

I buy my food at Aldi, Giant, Trader Joe's, Target, occasionally Whole Foods.

Also go off your body: do you feel like you're making significantly more progress with the way you're currently eating?

 

[tebah]

@maniel I'll definitely be checking out that podcast and that paper. Again, thanks for the reply and guidance. It's people such as yourself which give me faith in the world. It may seem like a trivial response to someone on reddit, but really, seeing people help other's for no reason other than general selflessness is what I love most.

 

[dad83]

@maniel The info I have is that there's no benefits to going further than 1.6g/kg, not 1.4
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28698222

 

[georgerussell]

@tebah I add flaxseed and hemp seeds to my rice/quinoa/lentils for fats and a little extra protein. Also seasoning with nootch is 9g of protein/2 tbsp

 

[personalizedbook]

@tebah Keep in mind that protein requirements are based on ideal bodyweight, not current bodyweight. So if your goal weight is 180 lbs then you are only shooting for 0.8*180=145 grams daily.

 

[tebah]

@personalizedbook That’s good to keep in mind, thanks. In this case it’s not a huge factor though, only like 5g. But as misskinky pointed out the ratios are lower than I had originally thought

 

[dawn16]

@tebah You could throw in another scoop or two of the vegan protein powder.