How much protein?

tech77

Hi.
I saw in another post someone saying that you need 1.5-2g of protein for every kg body weight.

For me that would be in the region of 120-160g protein per day.

But I just checked the nutritional info on some of the food in my house and it seems the amount of protein in them is miniscule:

e.g
Cod fillets: 13g per portion-WTF.
Beef burgers: 39g per portion.
(btw I don't eat beef-burgers that often, it's just what I had handy at the time)

So I'd have to eat in the region of 10-15 cod fillets (or their equivalent) to make up the RDA of protein with these, right?
WTF.
And i thought fish was full of protein.

It seems I have not been getting anywhere near my RDA for protein.
So what and how much should I be eating to make this protein up?

Thanks.

mack1

yeah, 120-160 sounds even a bit low - what do weigh?

They reckon 1.25g per lb of bodyweight - but it really depends on what you are doing - for muscle gain you may want 2g per lb etc.

If you are eating 5/6 meals a day and ingesting protein with every one then you should hit 160 easy enough.
If you are falling short you can add some things like eggs (or egg whites if you dont want to get fat!) a large egg has something like 6g of protein, I usually eat 3-5 egg whites a day.
There is always whey too!

tribulus

RDA and what's recommended here are two different things.

To get your protein up buy proper meat!

I get chicken fillets with a minimum cooked weight of 150g so that's 35-40g of protein a go. Don't forget milk, cheese, nuts etc have protein in them too.

And tuna, if you like it, cheap and 35g of protein a tin. I don't care about that mercury thing, i've been eating it for years.

For myself as an example, weighing about 91kg that's 180g of protein a day.
(I'll just include the protein portions of each meal)

Meal 1: Protein shake: 45g
Meal 2: Tuna: 35g
Meal 3: Tuna 35g
Meal 4: Chicken: 40g
Meal 5: Chicken 40g
Meal 6: Protein shake 22g

So that's over 200g. Getting the protein in isn't always easy (or cheap) so milk, nuts etc can be used to bump it up a bit if you want.

tech77

Thanks lads. I'm about 185lb. Basically i'm interested mainly in increasing muscle/strength and gaining a bit of weight (10kg maybe for starters) Christ sounds like a full time job though getting enough protein. I can't imagine eating 4-5 eggs but tuna sounds good. I'll try that. Even eating 2 chicken fillets sounds a lot. Fish is useless though is it? I think i'll have to buy some protein shakes to make the rest up tbh. @tribulus: cheese and milk don't seem to have an awful lot protein as far as I can see- 3g in 100ml milk isn't much tbh. Apart from tuna, nuts and chicken though, anything else ye'd recommend. Thanks again.

Hanley

185lb right???

I tend to aim for at least my weight in lb for g's of protein per day. So 200+

Right now as I type this (I'm just in from work), I'm sitting with a glass of water, 2 chopped up chicken fillets and a pint of milk. It's not easy, and it's not fun. But it'sthe way I get it done.

tribulus

Fish is great just don't buy battered birdseye crap!

Do you really only drink 100ml a go? Most people who drink it would have I'd say ~300ml in a glass. Like I said it's just to bump it up a bit if you want, I don't do it myself, hate milk.

Read the stickies to get the info you need. Without enough total cals and enough protein you'll find it very hard to get bigger and stronger, so make the effort and make sure you get the food into ya.

Edit: /\ /\

Hanley

300ml??

I won't drink anything less than a pint. It feels like a waste of time other wise.

Trib, msn me!

tech77

Hanley wrote: »

185lb right??? I tend to aim for at least my weight in lb for g's of protein per day. So 200+ Right now as I type this (I'm just in from work), I'm sitting with a glass of water, 2 chopped up chicken fillets and a pint of milk. It's not easy, and it's not fun. But it'sthe way I get it done.

Thanks.
Yeah 185 lb not kg.
Dunno what I was thinking..

So it really is about consciously overhauling your diet and not just a general "eat 3 healthy square meals a day and you'll be grand" kinda thing.
Wow.
I didn't realise that tbh.
I'll read the stickies as well.
Are you wasting your time though with weights if you don't get this into you everyday?

tribulus

Pretty much yeah if your goal is to get bigger and stronger, you just have to eat enough, there's no other way around it.

Don't stop lifting weights though, just start eating more

tech77

tribulus wrote: »

Do you really only drink 100ml a go? Most people who drink it would have I'd say ~300ml in a glass. Like I said it's just to bump it up a bit if you want, I don't do it myself, hate milk.

I drink about half a litre a day so yeah might bump it up a bit.

Hanley

tech77 wrote: »

I drink about half a litre a day so yeah might bump it up a bit.

BAH!! Drink more. Some people hate milk and seem to react badly to it, but I love it.

Get some chicken fillets. Cook 4 or 5 at a time, let them cool and stick them in the fridge. Eat 2 of them a day on top of what you'd normally eat.

The chicken and the milk should give you another 60-70g of protein over what you'd normally be eating in a day. So it's a good easy way to get it in.

tech77

Hanley wrote: »

BAH!! Drink more. Some people hate milk and seem to react badly to it, but I love it. Get some chicken fillets. Cook 4 or 5 at a time, let them cool and stick them in the fridge. Eat 2 of them a day on top of what you'd normally eat. The chicken and the milk should give you another 60-70g of protein over what you'd normally be eating in a day. So it's a good easy way to get it in.

OK thanks.

rubadub

tech77 wrote: »

I drink about half a litre a day so yeah might bump it up a bit.

that is a reasonable amount. I find it quite easy to get in protein. If you are reading packets work out the real portion size you will eat. Many packs quote tiny portion sizes so it appears to be low calorie. Most people looking at info want it to be low in numbers, not high like you want. Your cod does have a reasonable levels of protein. If it is fresh cod it will be expensive so the portion quoted is probably tiny.

TerrorFirmer

Also don't forget that there is protein in everything you eat, in most cases anyway. While it might not be in huge amounts, it does all add up. People tend to look at it, and analyze solely their meat and shake intake for how much protein their taking in.

rubadub

HavoK wrote: »

While it might not be in huge amounts, it does all add up. People tend to look at it, and analyze solely their meat and shake intake for how much protein their taking in.

True.

And as I had said portions are quoted small on packs

Cod fillets: 13g per portion-WTF

Fish is around 22% protein. So that is a 60g serving, ~2oz, a 1/4lb burger is 4oz, so half that. I wouldnt give that to a child! I eat around 200g minimum fish at a go, so ~44g protein. A medium chicken fillet is ~120-150g, again ~22% protein so ~30g protein.