Protein. How do I get enough in my diet ?

rom

I am 74Kg and something like 1.4grams of protein is what they say I need 103 grams of protein.

Large egg 8 grams
Chicken breast 30 grams

Anyone getting their quota and how ?

Clearlier

rom wrote: »

I am 74Kg and something like 1.4grams of protein is what they say I need 103 grams of protein.

Large egg 8 grams
Chicken breast 30 grams

Anyone getting their quota and how ?

If you have a halfway decent and varied diet you don't really need to worry about protein as a runner. It's in a much wider range of foods than many appreciate. There's an old myth about quality protein i.e. that which has all the amino acids but that that myth has been debunked. Think of the Kenyan diet, compare it to yours and see if you're still wondering if you get enough protein!

hardCopy

I'm 82.5kg, even aiming for 1 gram per kg of bodyweight I find it difficult to hit my target and stay in calorie deficit without cutting out carbs.

I don't want to cut out carbs so I just try to make sure everything meal has plenty of protein in it and try to balance the two.

If I have a wrap it's a small wrap with lots of chicken.
If I have a rice cake I put cottage cheese on it.
For dinner I try to have carrots instead of potato so I can add extra meat without adding to much to the calories.

Peanut butter, cottage cheese, low fat mozzarella, jerky all make decent snacks.

Eggs are great as well, lots of omelettes, they don't need to be loaded with cheese to be nice, I throw in a handful of Brady's Smokey Bacon flavoured Ham.

At the moment I'm trying to lose weight so it'll probably be easier to manage once I hit race weight, I'm not too worried about it though as I'm not trying to gain much muscle mass.

RandyMann

Clearlier wrote: »

If you have a halfway decent and varied diet you don't really need to worry about protein as a runner. It's in a much wider range of foods than many appreciate. There's an old myth about quality protein i.e. that which has all the amino acids but that that myth has been debunked. Think of the Kenyan diet, compare it to yours and see if you're still wondering if you get enough protein!

Would the Kenyans not eat better if they had the money and the resources to do so? I reckon if you switched to a Kenyan diet, you may start to have problems.

RandyMann

rom wrote: »

I am 74Kg and something like 1.4grams of protein is what they say I need 103 grams of protein.

Large egg 8 grams
Chicken breast 30 grams

Anyone getting their quota and how ?

Protein (whey) powder is a safe way of getting it. Thats what I do anyways..

Clearlier

RandyMann wrote: »

Would the Kenyans not eat better if they had the money and the resources to do so? I reckon if you switched to a Kenyan diet, you may start to have problems.

My point was not that the Kenyan diet is ideal* but that as a runner you really don't need to worry about having enough protein in order to run well.

*I'm not saying that it's a bad one either.

meijin

rom wrote: »

I am 74Kg and something like 1.4grams of protein is what they say I need 103 grams of protein.

Just to summarize the thread for you:
"Just run more" :P
"You don't need protein, your muscles don't get damaged when running" :rolleyes:

But seriously:
3 chicken breasts should cover your daily needs (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Or try some other meats for variety (beef, lamb, turkey, etc.) + some beans, nuts, etc.

Try Health & Fitness forum if you want more detailed answer.

clear thinking

Hemp seeds on porrige - about 55% protein by weight - goes well on salads too.

Dont forget nuts too, peanuts are highly under-rated and about 40% proetein so a very easy way to top up.

Soy / Milk - a pint a day will give you 15g.

ger664

Fish. Generally we dont eat enough of it.

Ososlo

Quinoa is high in protein and low in fat so it's a win win food:) Have it instead of rice/pasta/spuds with your din dins

PaulieC

Win-win ? I doubt some would agree

http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoa

Ososlo

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Win-win ? I doubt some would agree

http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoa

Ok i feel bad now...

tHE vAGGABOND

Ok i feel bad now...

Yea, I had no idea about that until I read a similar article to that..

that said, I still have two packs of Quinoa in my press at home...

PaulieC

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Yea, I had no idea about that until I read a similar article to that..

that said, I still have two packs of Quinoa in my press at home...

Eat them quick before the pitchfork and torch mob descend

Liam90

Get as much as you can with food, and then fill the blanks with this http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/whey-protein-concentrate-82-instantised.html

eldiva

Eat the likes of nut and seeds. Add chickpeas to some meals aswell

Rogue Runner

eldiva wrote: »

Eat the likes of nut and seeds. Add chickpeas to some meals aswell

Second that. Barley and Lentils are great as well.

rom

I have gone the route of rocky breakfast and breast of chicken with the salad for lunch. Same price as the 2 slices of turkey i was having. only thing is that I need to cook it the day before but it's all good.

ecoli

rom wrote: »

I have gone the route of rocky breakfast and breast of chicken with the salad for lunch. Same price as the 2 slices of turkey i was having. only thing is that I need to cook it the day before but it's all good.

Plenty of ways;

Breakfast
Bagel with Peanut butter,
Porridge (add seeds for extra protein)
Scrambled egg, French toast,boiled eggs etc
Smoothie (Natural yoghurt + fruit)
Fruit Cocktail (natural yoghurt + fruit)

Lunch
Salad (Chicken, quinoa, tomatoes, cucumber, green peppers, cheese, Ham)
Omelettes

Snacks
Nuts

Dinner
Chicken,
brown rice,
beans
Fish

Post workout
Smoothie
Choc milkshake

Aim to work on quality control in your diet and you should find its not that hard to get enough protein/carbs in your diet especially if you are in heavy training your body will tell you when needs to fuel so just make sure you are refueling with the right stuff after that I wouldnt get too worried

tHE vAGGABOND

Try making these homemade protien bars - a fraction of the cost of what you buy them for in shops, and a warm fuzzy feeling at having done them yourself!

Thread going since 2010, with over 31k views! I have made them twice, with two different kinds of protien powder, and think they are great

Krusty_Clown

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Try making these homemade protien bars - a fraction of the cost of what you buy them for in shops, and a warm fuzzy feeling at having done them yourself!

Thread going since 2010, with over 31k views! I have made them twice, with two different kinds of protien powder, and think they are great

Low in carbs though, so fine for someone looking for protein, but not quite as useful for a long distance runner (who supplements their diet with carbs). If you are a long distance runner, it would probably be an idea to increase the ratio of carbs (more oatflakes) or supplement the bars with some high carb food-stuffs. That's of course if you are from the school of thought were carbs are necessary for long distance running (which some people aren't).

rom

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Try making these homemade protien bars - a fraction of the cost of what you buy them for in shops, and a warm fuzzy feeling at having done them yourself!

Thread going since 2010, with over 31k views! I have made them twice, with two different kinds of protien powder, and think they are great

What is the cost of making them. As powder ain't cheap. I have seen similar marvels in the Precision Nutrition book

tHE vAGGABOND

If you check out the long, long thread, a lot of people have tweaked and changed the recipie, the version I made was one which someone added stuff to increase the carbs a fair bit...

So yes there are far "healthier" options to get protein and carbs on board, but when busy and on the move its a great option to have in the fridge.

re: Protein Powder - I generally keep an eye on health food shops in town, where they often have sales on different kinds of protein powder, as I take it as a breakfast shake a few times a week anyway. You can also get it cheaper [maybe] from one of the many [MANY!] online retailers selling this kind of stuff, but I am trying to do a lot of this kind of shopping in real shops around Dublin, as I dont want them to close due to me saving 2 quid getting stuff from germany or something [Example, HMV gone, Tower Records in trouble I hear as one in Dublin one of last ones in chain, Play.Com are even gone, so only show in town for music and DVD's is Amazon, who can now charge what they want]

Krusty_Clown

I searched through the thread and didn't see any higher carb options, but there's my tip right there. Add more rolled oats. Or just make flap-jacks (from rolled-oats). Same goes for your ultra question. If you can't stomach gels, make some flap-jacks; a great combination of simple and complex carbohydrates.