Can we talk about nutrition?

[Jo]

As part of my renewed focus for 2019, I’m working on improving my eating. So far, I’m using MyFitnessPal to track calories, aiming for more fruits and veggies, and sort of trying to lower carbs and increase protein and fat. I’m doing ok with the calories part, and there’s a definite improvement in the fruits and vegetables department, but I’m finding it hard to shift to more protein. It’s hard because I’m not eating poorly, I just like things like apples and whole grain bread.

How do you eat? Are there goals you have for your nutrition in 2019? And do you have any tips for someone trying to improve their protein intake and decrease carbs? 

[Pibs]

I started similarly last year without a whole lot of success. By the end of January husband and I both started Renaissance Periodization diets for weight loss. Based on our workouts it tells us how much to eat for each meal. Once we knew how much of each macro we should eat, we just had to figure out food options that fit and it got to be a lot easier. They have Healthy Eating templates you can use that are similar but for people who don't weight train. I still totally eat fruit, bread, pasta & rice, but I just have to eat a lot less than I would like.

So for breakfast, I'll eat things like an egg white bake with veggies and turkey sausage, a protein shake, skinnytaste's breakfast taco scramble, or a non-fat latte with string cheese or Babybel. Lunch is usually leftovers from dinner, sometimes without the carbs I would normally get at dinner, but the protein is generally the same. Second lunch is something I make ahead in bulk like potsticker stirfry or picadillo, with or without carbs.

[oswin]

So from what I can tell, most of the reason to eat more protein is to help you feel full. So if you're eating the calories that you're targeting and not feeling hungry all the time, you may not need to increase protein. Your body doesn't do anything with it once it has enough. And if you're not lifting weights all the time, the amount that you actually need isn't all that much. Like, the amount advised by RP is way more than you need usually.

I've always been pretty hopeless at significantly increasing vegetable intake because I'll make a healthy meal that's got a lot of veggies in it and I'll feel full less than halfway (because of the bulk). But then I'm hungry half an hour later because I barely ate any calories. So I'm just struggling with finding a better balance. Also pretty much the only source of protein left to me is chicken, since I've recently figured out that I can't have eggs or dairy, I refuse to eat significant quantities of beef (to save the planet), and although I love ham and bacon, pork seems to make me extremely gassy in the smelliest way. So...I eat a lot of chicken and get tired of it quickly.

[itsme]

Like a few others here, I follow RP. I like to make soups and add my protein in after I weight it. Sometimes there’s carbs in it but if not, I have toast. I cook in bulk and then divvy everything up to ensure i’m Hitting the correct macros. For breakfast i’ve been loving scrambled egg whites (w/one yolk) with smoked salmon, and a little goat cheese with a slice of toast or half a bagel on the side. Veggies for breakfast are rough for me but if I think about it, I’ll add them to my eggs.

I’ve fallen off a bit this year so my plan is to get back to being strict and cut for 12 weeks.

[vcubergirl]

I use mfp as well which also tracks protein, fat, and carbs. Like everyone else, I am high in the carbs area, low in protein, and fat is usually about right. So I've tried to replace some fruit with other stuff like: eggs, nuts, beans, lentils, brown grains, yogurt, and cheese (although cheese tends to be higher in fat than protein). When I ate meat, I would also snack on lunch meat, shredded chicken, and salami.

If I am trying to build muscle, I'll also add a protein shake after a weight lifting workout.

I know high protein is really popular right now, but for me I've found that 60-70 grams of protein seems to be my sweet spot. For reference I weigh about 150 pounds, and eat a base of 1500 calories a day.

[mrshandy]

I tend to eat a decent amount of protein. I started a year and a half ago and it's made a huge difference. I strength train two days a week in addition to running. Since starting my higher protein diet, lower fat, I really do notice a difference in my body composition. My muscles are more defined. Also it helps me stay full. The ideal snack for me is high protein, lower calories. Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, Kashi Lean cereal, shredded chicken, protein bars (I love these Built Bars, they are seriously yummy builtbar.com/) are great sources of protein and I tend to eat one or all of these every day.

[electricmayhem]

I'm in a macro challenge right now, and as part of it, have really been focusing on increasing my daily protein intake while still hitting my daily calorie allotment.

Some things that works for me:
1.  Plan ahead.  Plan, plan, plan.  I can't eat it if I don't have it in the house.

2.  Look at the total grams of protein I want to hit each day and divide it by the number of meals I intend to have.  It is much more attainable, for me, to eat 1/4 or 1/5 at each meal then to have a high carb breakfast/lunch and then try to make up 50+ grams at dinner.

3.  Increase the protein servings you normally eat at each meal.  I don't know why this didn't occur to me, but when I saw someone on IG Stories demonstrate this on MFP, it was like a lightbulb.  Chicken for dinner?  Eat a 6 ounce serving instead of 4oz.  Pasta with meatballs?  Before, I'd be heavy on the macaroni and a single meatball; now: more meat with the pasta as more the side.  

4.  Easy, fast protein choices, that are lower in fat, especially since I don't like shakes. Cheese (light Babybel, cheese sticks, etc), deli ham with my snack, or greek yogurt (can't eat it plain, but Siggi's is lower carb, as are the Chobani blends). I also got a Rapid Dash egg cooker so I can have cooked egg whites and hard boiled eggs easy and fast to bring to work.

[wambam]

Jan 7, 2019 13:05:09 GMT -5 electricmayhem said:

greek yogurt (can't eat it plain, but Siggi's is lower carb, as are the Chobani blends)

I share this hack any chance I get lol. I spoon out plain Greek yogurt into a container, then put frozen cherries on top. By the time I eat it the next day, the cherries have melted and when you mix it the juice makes it (IMO) as good as cherry yogurt.