A bit frustated -- Need more protein?

[downtownfellow]

:( I have been on the PP for two months now. I've lost 20 lbs so far. I am a big guy, I started at 330 lbs, I am down to 311 but the problem is I lost about 15 of those pounds the first month and the last 4 weeks I have lost about 5 pounds only. I am eating about 80 to 90 grms of protein a day, and about 20 carbs. A friend suggested to add Whey protein to my diet. I went to check it out but it does have too much carbs, about 4 to 5 grms per spoon. How can I get more protein in my diet? I am eating very good and I am re learnign to eat, used to eat until I couldn't get more, now I eat enough to get full and I stop. But the weight lost is so slow, I am afraid I am doig it wrong. Thanks for the help

[Ammy]

Welcome DT fellow!

we need more info...

best thing to do is to tell us a typical day's meals, or a couple days.
Also, 80-90g of protein for a guy your size sounds kinda small???
I assume you did the PP calculations to get at that number?

Do you work out?
What are your carb levels?

[Seymour Spectacles]

There are some whey proteins that have fewer (than 4 to 5 grams) grams per scoop.

In fact, there are some that provide about 20 grams of protein and only one gram of carb.

Go to any good healh food store (or search online) and you'll be able to find several brands that should meet your needs.

A few products that I found when searching are:

+ Biochem Ultimate Lo Carb Whey Powder, Natural Flavor (20 grams of protein, 1 gram of carb)

+ Pure Nutrition Whey Protein Isolate, Pure Natural (26 grams protein, 1 gram of carb)

+ Natural Factors Whey Factors, 100% Natural Whey Protein, Unflavored (16 grams of protein, less than 1 gram of carb)

[maxlharris]

:( I have been on the PP for two months now. I've lost 20 lbs so far. I am a big guy, I started at 330 lbs, I am down to 311 but the problem is I lost about 15 of those pounds the first month and the last 4 weeks I have lost about 5 pounds only. I am eating about 80 to 90 grms of protein a day, and about 20 carbs. A friend suggested to add Whey protein to my diet. I went to check it out but it does have too much carbs, about 4 to 5 grms per spoon. How can I get more protein in my diet? I am eating very good and I am re learnign to eat, used to eat until I couldn't get more, now I eat enough to get full and I stop. But the weight lost is so slow, I am afraid I am doig it wrong. Thanks for the help

At 311, and sedentary, for 80g or protein to be enough, your LBM would be 133 lbs. I would be surprised to learn that this is the case. You should be eating more protein. If your minimum is 90g (which at 311 and sedentary would would be 150 lbs of LBM), you should not have days at 80g. It's a minimum, not an approximate target. If you are active, we're talking less LBM, and a greater odds that you've calced your protein needs incorrectly. It happens (a lot), so don't sweat it.

Whey protein, in and of itself, is carb free. The blend that you are looking at is not 100% pure whey (not many are, for good reason... 100% pure whey, mixed with water, tastes like cardboard... it's also very difficult to clean if you don't do it while it's liquid). You might look at a different brand. The Internet and your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe stock a wide variety, and will be able to help you find a protein shake (ready to drink or mixable) that will fit your need (protein at whatever level you want, carbs <2g/serve).

There are other ways to increase your protein. Have another egg. Have another egg white. Bigger steak. Extra beef patty. Extra pork chop. More cheese. Almonds. Etc.

Good luck and way to go on what you've lost already.

[Ammy]

There are other ways to increase your protein. Have another egg. Have another egg white. Bigger steak. Extra beef patty. Extra pork chop. More cheese. Almonds. Etc.

Yep, I second that...why add a powder when you can CHEW!!!!

[skwpt]

I'll throw in my vote for Optimum Nutrition, which shakes/mixes better than any PP I've used, and it has only around 4 grams of carb per scoop (and that's one big scoop). It is also sweetened with Splenda, not nutrasweet.

You can also mix your own and get various sizes at proteinfactory.com, where you choose the type of protein and sweetener (or none) that you want.

It's preferable to eat real food, but sometimes I just don't feel like all that chewing! And a pp shake a couple hours before bed is my way of sneaking in "dessert." I blend 8 ounces of Almond Breeze unsweetened chocolate almond milk with a 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder, a squirt of Davinci's sugar free chocolate syrup, and enough frozen raspberries to give the shake a nice frappe-like consistency. All for around 5 net grams of carb.

I can't imagine that 80-90 grams of protein is adequate for a 300 pound man. Even if you did ZERO exercise, your body is working hard to move you around, so you'd have to go into the moderately active category (which I think is 0.7 per lb of LBM). You must have at least 150 lbs of LBM, which would put your protein requirements closer to 143.

If you don't eat enough protein, you risk losing your lean body mass (weight loss not fat loss) and that will be counterproductive to your goals. But you already know this.

If you post up a summary of what a week's worth of meals looks like we can help you get more protein. Do you log your food into FitDay? If not, I recommend it, just until you get the hang of things. I log my meals the night before so I can tweak macros around.

You could do all the calculations in the PP book or you could do something easier if you don't know your LBM (and no one really does unless they've had a DEXA). Allow yourself up to 1 gram of protein per pound of your goal weight. That would be a target, not a minimum requirement, but it's an easy goal to strive for.

[Mal Lady]

My thought is your not eating enough carb. Up it to 30 - 40 per day.
JMHO!

That is what is recommended on pp.

Sharon

[Missy]

Downtown, I weight even more then you do...and what I do is double scope my Protein powder when I drink it. I could NEVER eat that much protein....:eek: BUT I gotta get it in somehow. So, I suggest you find a better carb value Protein powder and do what I do. Plus, when you double up your scoop per fluid it helps make it nice and thick! :)

And when I can, I 'double up' on my meat selection...even though I don't really like it..lol

[skwpt]

200 g of protein a day can get a little pricey, too!

[maxlharris]

200 g of protein a day can get a little pricey, too!

Take your typical protein shake. 25g protein per scoop, <$1/scoop. That's <$8 for 200g protein. Even so, other proteins aren't that expensive. They don't all have to be tenderloin.

[Seymour Spectacles]

You can find some economy-sized whey proteins (usually the 5 lbs size) that will run you under $.50 per 20-25 grams of protein serving. Shopping online can sometimes save you even more.

[DarleenMB]

We use Bioplex which is what was recommended in the first PP book. That's how we found it. I got a 10 pound tub of the stuff from www.vitaminlife.com the last time I ordered it. Just google bioplex. You'll find lots of suppliers on the net and some good prices.

Just check the price on 10 pounds at vitamin life and it's $65.96 w/o shipping.

[downtownfellow]

Thanks everyone for your answers. My typical day (M-F) starts with a Atkins milkshake (19 g of protein / 2 Carbs). At lunch I eaither eat a grilled chicken salad (20 g of protein / 5 carbs). Sometimes I eat a granola almond bar (9 carb / 9 protein). Dinner usually is a bit different depending on my wife's cooking (She tries to keep my carb intake to 10-15 per dinner). On weekends I have eggs for breakfast (3 or 4). I do drink coffee, green tea and lots of water. I averaging close to 80-90 gr of protein and no more than 30 carbs, sometimes it is about 20. Sometimes on weekends I eat a lot of grilled meat to complement the diet. But it seems I am stuck at my current weight, 2 weeks and no change. This would be great if I was at my desired weight and didn't need to loose or gain weight.

[Ammy]

Yep, I still agree...you need to eat more...

[downtownfellow]

:slywink: LOL .. I can't believe I am on a diet where I am not loosing weight becuase I am not eating more. I guess I will go back and re do my measurements and see where I went wrong. I guess the initial weight lost was mostly water. Thank you all !!!

[ndw]

When looking for protein powders, be sure to check for aspartame as a sweetener. Many companies are switching to Splenda, but there are still a lot that are sweetened with aspartame--which is not a good product to consume if you want to lose weight. There are also some brands that use stevia, not sure if this is good or bad for weight loss (I have not done any checking since I don't use it) We use a protein powder that has 2.5 g of net carb (3 g minus .5 g fiber) has 22 g of whey protein and is sweetened with sucralose---it is MRM brand Metabolic Whey. There are some good bodybuilding and vitamin sites that probably will have better prices than your local GNC.

Another option may be the slimfast low carb diet shakes--they are sweetened with splenda and have 2 g net carb with 20 g of whey protein, a good way to load up on other vitamins and minerals but generally are going to run more expensive than protein powders.

[downtownfellow]

Well, I went and got EAS protein shake powder. Got a great deal at Sam's Club. A 5 lbs bag is $30. I have added two milshakes at day (each is 46 proteing grams and 6 carbs). It is great because it helps with the cravings. Now to the bad news. It has been 3 weeks since I change my protein intake to 120 at day (roughly 40 per meals) most of them 97 coming from the milkshakes. Total weight lost - 1 pound !!! :(
I am about to quit this diet, this is very difficult diet without results. Any suggestions. I did read cheese is bad for some people, I eat lots of cheese. My carb intake is about 20 - 30 carbs a day depending on the day... :(

[Ammy]

So you added more protein, but how many calories are in those shakes??

I can't lose if I'm not getting enough calories...

Shakes don't usually give you too many calories, do they?

and a chicken salad at lunch is not exactly a "fatty" food...


so, calories and fat? How'ya doing on that end of the plan?

[Omlette]

How about adding more meat instead of so many shakes.

Maybe cans of chicken or tuna or grill a steak and eat it for breakfast. Have a bunless hamburger for breakfast. (if you a needing something fast) These are things that you can cook the night before and eat the next morning. Deviled eggs. Chicken salad rolled in a slice of deli meat.

I agree with Amy. You may have added protein, but did you add any healthy fat? Maybe your body doesn't respond well to something that is in the shake. Maybe it needs good old fashioned veggies and meat. Broil some fish.

JMO.

[Omlette]

One more thing, spread your meals out a little more. I noticed you said 120 grams per day (roughly 40 per meal), so with this I assume you are eating 3 meals per day. Try to get 5 meals in. This way you can actually eat a little more, rather than drink it.

If you find yourself still needs more protein at the end of the day, add a "dessert" shake.

Try not to go over 40-50 grams of protein at one meal. You body will not utilize it properly at that point.

[Ammy]

If I remember correctly, you're up in the 300 lb range?

It doesn't work to limit your food intake to extremes (as you're probably seeing). Don't be afraid to eat...just choose the right things..

Do you like ribs?? How about a big rack of ribs? Max speaks of them often...check out his rub recipe and grill em up...
Or the fattier pork chops...I think they're called rib chops, not the super lean tasteless ones, the fattier yummy chops.

Add some protein with fat and you may be amazed at how the scale drops for you!!

[maxlharris]

Welcome to this edition of:

Move the Scale with Max

1- Are you exercising? This will frequently help move the scale.
a- If yes, what are you doing? If you are doing the wrong things (flat cardio), this will frequently not help move the scale.

2- Are you logging your food in something like Fitday or The Daily Plate? You might be under or over estimating your intake. This can be a problem.
a- If you are, what is your total calorie number? How do the fat/carb/protein break down? More info is always helpful.

3- What are you drinking?
a- I'm reasonably convinced that a good portion of people cannot lose efficiently with diet soda.
b- How much water are you getting? It really works.
c- Green tea can be helpful based on how much caffeine and ECGC you get.

4- How are your meals patterned?
a- If you aren't eating breakfast, this isn't good.
b- If you aren't eating at least 3 a day, with a portion of protein up to/above your protein minimum for the meal and 7-10g of carb, you might want to start.
c- If you are eating 3, you might look into 5-6. Smaller. If you go 6, cut your protein min and carb ceiling in half.

5- Is the tape measure moving?
a- This won't move the scale, but might reveal larger movements.
b- How are you feeling on the diet? This is actually pretty key.

I hope this provides a framework that will be useful to you. Some history might be useful in getting you squared.

For what it's worth: Atkins Shakes have been known as stalling type things for a LONG time. They have reformulated, but I have never heard anyone ever say that Atkins Shakes worked wonders for them. I have frequently heard of people who are stalled that drink one or more a day.

Other worthwhile stuff: Cheese is a well known stall device. You might take a look at limiting yourself to an ounce at a sitting. You might also look at dumping cottage cheese and cream cheese for a while. Nigh impossible to portion control and carbier than aged cheeses as well. We're talking a couple weeks here.

Some final thoughts:
Don't eat the granola bar. I don't care if it's under 10g. If things were working, there'd be more room for debate.

Chicken salad for lunch, or is it a salad with grilled chicken? Either way, it's probably boneless skinless chicken breast, and basically not really worth your while. If you like chicken, take this phrase "skinless chicken breast" and replace it with this one "boneless chicken thigh." You can thank me later. They're better tasting and they are better for you. More protein in dark meat servings and better fat profile. Eat the skin. If you cook it properly, it's delicious.

You might check with your doctor to see if there are any underlying issues. Like hypothyroid. Adrenal burnout. Cortisol overproduction. There are a lot of hormonal issues that can f*!k with the proper function of the diet.

I hope you stick with it. I know it's tough when the scale isn't moving, but if you're feeling better and the weight is coming off slowly and you're getting healthier, I don't see a reason to quit, even if it's not moving quickly.