Any tips or ideas for getting more protein in my diet?

[Hobnobswantshernameback]

That's it really.
Looking at improving my diet and doing more strength work in the gym, advised I need to increase protein
Any ideas or advice welcome

I have been reading this thread with interest but for different reasons than the OP. We live with Fil and his doctors said he is pre diabetic and needs to increase his protein. He is an 85yo man certainly not an athlete, he has a million health issues etc and we feed him, so it’s a challenge for us.

The woman said that everything we / the NHS thought we knew about how to eat healthily is wrong, (good) fats are good, protein is especially good, and carbs and sugar are the enemy. She said we have too many carbs. We eat brown bread, pasta, rice and potatoes often and have been told to cut those back in favour of lots more protein.

Lots of helpful ideas in here so thanks everyone!

@Hobnobswantshernameback What would be a typical day's meals/snacks for you, before you were advised to eat more protein? If we know what you have been doing, it's easier to spot where you add/increase your protein.

Have you calculated how much you are having and how much you need?
Do you need a lot more or a little more?
0.75g/kilo is the RDA.

I think my biggest failing has been avoiding breakfast leading to mid morning snacking.
Im going to replace that snack with overnight oats or Greek yogurt and fruit on a work day.
Lunch varies from a sandwich or wrap to leftovers to soup.
Looking back the main component was always more carb or veg heavy so I think it's about looking at the balance of the meal not the content iyswim as they tend to be something like roast veg, cous cous and chicken or a tuna salad wrap.
Evening meals are a bit hit and miss with getting protein in or ensuring here's enough of it.
Think simple tweaks like adding chick peas to my cauliflower curry, extra kidney beans in the chilli type of thing will help.
And no one mess with my Chinese takeaway 😂😂😂

That's really helpful Kites
I had no idea

So I'm about 68kg
so that would be 51g
Is that right?

Just eat normal meals- make a food diary on Nutracheck or MFP if you want to check what nutrients you are having.

Unless you are strict vegan, following a very restricted calorie diet or going for Ms Universe you are unlikely to lack protein. It's just the latest food fad.

Aldi / Lidl protein puddings are so good. Low calorie and 25g of protein per serving. I have one for breakfast and one after dinner. They are really delicious.

Ok
There are various health reasons why I'm asking this
No fad diets here
thanks and all that

Just Google protein and the menopause or anything about muscle loss in and after the menopause and understand that no I don't want to be a body builder but I'm looking at my long term health and also trying to manage some pretty awful symptoms with every tool I can try

If you eat a palm sized helping of protein at each meal, you'll be fine. If you're looking to build muscle, have a protein snack too. That'll be fine for you.

Who advised you to eat more protein, based on what, and did they not make any suggestions to you? Generally as a PT, I'd have a chat with people about what they might do to their current diet to raise their intake... Have you just told a mate you want to build muscle, and they've said 'Oh, you'll need more protein', without looking at what you're already eating? 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight is a good baseline to work from, as is 1g per 1cm of height.

Yes, I make 51g too
You could have
Mackerel for lunch, chicken breast for dinner
Salad with chickpeas for lunch, beef stir fry for dinner
Prawn salad for lunch. Lentil cottage pie for dinner

All the above will give you at least 50g protein (probably more as this is per 100g meat and fish). Then add the lower levels in other foods then I reckon you are fine.

Unless you are very heavy and dieting or vegan or a low volume eater (such as elderly) there usually isn't a need to supplement.

Also fish, poiltry, meat and dairy are complete proteins (contain all 9 essential amino acids)

I feel horrid if I don't get enough protein so I make sure I have it with every meal and snacks. I either have porridge with oat milk and banana/almonds or Greek yoghurt with Lizzi's low sugar granola and fruit for breakfast. For snacks I have a pear/apple or oatcakes with a dollop of good quality peanut butter. I try and eat white meat or fish with every lunch and dinner with occasional red meat.

I'm doing this after a lot of reading and under the guidance of an experienced PT.
Just looking at simple healthy sustainable tweaks to my diet.

Absolutely this.

Thanks for your helpful input
I'll bear that in mind

Graham's yoghurts are nice. Sainsbury's sell them. 25g protein per pot, and no artificial sugars, which other high protein labelled stuff seem to be full of.

If you’re eating enough calories, then you’re eating enough protein. Your body doesn’t need protein to build or maintain muscle. It’s one of the biggest myths around - and one which a lot of PTs repeat unfortunately.

Unfortunately, a lot of people then turn to unhealthy food-like stuffs eg protein bars and powders, or UPF which claim to be healthy cause of protein content

Im sure your PT is great, @Hobnobswantshernameback , but I would take what they say about protein with a grain of salt.

If you’re interested in improving diet to support your health and exercise then it’s worth checking out the Zoe podcasts. Especially the ones about protein, and those about meno/peri-meno.

@SheWontSheCantShesLeft

If you’re eating enough calories, then you’re eating enough protein

How? What if we all live on chips?

Can you give us a bit of detail on this? It seems to be utter bollocks, when measured against every study I've ever read about macronutrient needs.

I work out 4 times a week and aim for around 120g protein per day in my diet.

Breakfast is protein yoghurt with fruit.

Chicken on a wrap with salad or chicken soup with Warburtons protein bagel for lunch.

Steak or pork with potatoes and veg or chilli / spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.

If need be, a protein bar as a snack. Fulfil are really nice especially the salted caramel but they have gone expensive. Tesco currently sell them for £2.90 per bar but you can buy them in bulk from Amazon.

I don't use protein powder and I have managed to get my daily intake purely through food.

As I said above
Im looking for healthy ways to improve my diet which I know is lacking in protein.
Im working at dealing with a snacking habit that has got out of hand
I'm taking advice from a wide range of sources and my aim is to deal with a lot of health issues at the minute and these are just little steps of a wider picture.
I posted for ideas
I will pick and choose what I think is healthy and will work for me
I am the least faddy person you could meet
now I'm off to my weights class

Most people do not get enough protein. It is absolutely not true that all calories are equal and you just need enough calories. Look around the UK and see how that’s working for people… protein is satiating and your body needs it to build and repair.
Vegetarian or vegan sources of protein obviously exist but do come with a lot of carbs. Meat, fish, eggs are best. Cottage cheese is surprisingly good if whizzed in a food processor with some frozen berries and vanilla, or added to a frittata or scrambled eggs, even if you don’t like it “naked”.

I'm (peri)menopausal and take supplements, magnesium and a B12 complex as advised by my PT.

Meh. If you ate 1.5k of chips you would.
I think @ShewontShecantShesLeft means if you are eating enough with a balanced diet.
Obviously poor diets leads to deficiencies in many macro and micro nutrients and possibly didn't require clarification for most people

I'm cheering you on, OP. Have a good session!