Protein and Fibre in Peri meno

[Ilovelowry]

Everything I read and listen to on podcasts seems to emphasise protein for women at this stage in life. But after a life of dieting and focussing specifically on calories and not the macros involved, I am really struggling to eat enough real protein. (I have no interest in protein powder...)

I do manage to get lots for breakfast but then it's all downhill. Usual breakfast is kefir and Greek yog and flax/chia/oats etc.

I have to eat over 30g of mixed soluble and insoluble fibre every day but in concentrating on this I struggle to eat enough protein.

I'm not big on eating an evening meal either.

Plus I try to keep to around 1600 cals to keep my weight in place.

Has anyone solved this conundrum?

How do you eat enough fibre and protein to stay healthy in mid life?

I track my macros but prioritise protein. I get about 130 gms in at least.
Have you tried Inulin? Works well for me but gave DH very loose stools.

@haveyouopenedyourbowelstoday are you in the bowel profession?! Brilliant username!

I haven't tried inulin, I don't struggle getting all the fibre. I can eat chia and flax and fruit and veg till the cows come home. Though I do sometimes lean more heavily on fruit and salad rather than actual veg. I don't have issues eating loads of fibre either in terms of bloating or gas.

I am currently on a symprove 12week plan suggested by GP to see if I can get on top of my reflux. Three months of omeprazole did bugger all except give me nausea and stomach pain.

Perhaps I am over thinking it then @JinglingSpringbells . Very happy to be wrong about it. ☺️

I am very easily influenced tbf 😂

Have you had an endoscopy to assess your reflux? Seen a gastroenterologist?
Sometimes it can be caused by a hiatus hernia rather than simply excess acid.

It's worth identifying the cause which can be a physical one (hernia) or other similar issues, then looking at excess acid production which can be partly down to stress, lifestyle, food, etc.

I don't think it is too difficult to get about 100g of protein daily. Here's what I have most days.

Breakfast is:
Porridge with milk - 9.5g
One egg - 6g
100g of zero fat greek yoghurt - 9.8g
Raspberries - not worth counting
Total: 24g

or I have a wrap:
Ham 2 slices - 8.8g
Protein Wrap - 9.6g
Hard boiled egg - 6g
Salad - not worth counting
Total: 24g

Lunch
Soup or wrap - again aim for 30g protein and will add chopped chicken or ham to achieve that.

Dinner:
Combination of meat / fish or vegetarian meat substitute and veg - usually 30g

So, I'm generally getting 80-90g from proper food.

I'll also have a snack of a protein mousse / pudding thing, which is another 15-20g - depending on which one I have. Or if I've done better on the real food front, it might just be a protein bar, which is about 10g or some greek yoghurt and fruit - again about 10g.

With all the porridge, salad and vegetables and a bit of fruit, I'll just about manage the 30g of fibre, although for me that is less of a concern for me.

@Ilovelowryi am taking a similar approach to you and have just rediscovered cottage cheese & Ryvita’s.
They would make an ideal quick evening meal.

yesterday I ate 92g protein & 23g fibre, approx 1200 cals

breakfast - Greek yoghurt, chopped nuts/seeds, chopped apple & berries
lunch - 3 ryvitas, half tub cottage cheese with chives,small pack chilli & paprika prawns, 1/2 avocado, small salad (this is 45g protein)
dinner - salmon fillet, 1/2 pack micro Cajun style lentils, salad

It’s good to hear how others are achieving this as it’s nice to have some variety

https://unprocess.substack.com/p/welcome-to-unprocess

Sounds like you'd be interested in Milli Hill's new book. There should be a link in here to her recent Times interview about the book and diet and menopause.

Your goal would not be 140g 🙃
1g per lb of LEAN BODY MASS. So this means deduct your fat mass. So if you have low average female body fat % of 25% you’d be aiming for 75% of 140 = 105g

This is why the broad brush recommendation is around 100g. Hopefully that feels more doable!

Im watching an interview with Dr Stacy Sims just now and she’s saying minimum 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, increasing to more as you get into menopause and above as your body doesn’t use it as well as it did before.

I’ve heard elsewhere 1 pound of TARGET body weight - ie if you’re obese you don’t count all your excess pounds, just the pounds that you would ideally weigh.

Not sure doing it by your lean mass as pp above suggests is that useful as very few people know how much of their body weight is muscle and how much is fat - even if you’ve got fancy scales they can only an approximation.

Anyway, however we calculate the exact amount, the main thing is that most of is should probably be eating more protein than we do.

AI is saying NHS advice is 45 g for a 60kg mass female.

AI Overview

The NHS recommends that healthy adults consume roughly 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. This translates to about 55g for men and 45g for women

Try a clear whey protein drink - it's like squash (I like MyProtein) - 20g protein, 84 cal.

Or a scoop of PHD Diet Whey in your yoghurt. 17g protein, 96 cals.

Tin of tuna - 24g protein, 108 cals.

Egg whites (Two Chicks) - I add 100g of those (11g protein, 48 cals) to a whole egg to make scrambled eggs.

Jason's Protein sourdough bread - 10g protein and 138 cals per slice.

Chicken or Turkey mince chilli with kidney beans for fibre.

This is basically starvation. Why do this to yourself?

Can you switch things around - maybe the yoghurt chia seed in the evening

Nuts and nut butters with carrot sticks as a snack

Eggs in the morning (could scramble and add ham or smoked salmon?)

@Summerhillsquare@Summerhillsquare I am definitely not starving. I'm a healthy muscly size ten with a wobbly stomach.

@Bowies I could, I think I would feel sick eating so much yoghurt later in the day though.

@Alltheyellowbirds if I went for that, I'd be aiming for 135g protein a day (I currently weigh about 142lbs). That's tons. I do like Stacy Sims and I briefly tried eating something before I exercise in the morning as she recommends. I lasted three days and realised it made me feel sick and once I started eating I found it very difficult to stop!

Yesterday I ended up on 35g fibre and 93g of protein.

What I have taken from this thread is reassurance that not everyone is worrying about this part of their diet!

Yoghurt Greek or strained to ensure higher protein and a couple of tablespoons is ok - better than toast (but you can obviously have with!)

Nut butters on toast too

I think quite a few of us use protein and collagen as well but obviously you didn’t want to go down that route

Could you have a scoop of cottage cheese on the side of your toast? It’s so light and fresh I find it quite easy to eat.

Protein is far more of an issue for older people (in their 70s and 80s) who are likely to experience muscle wastage through lack of exercise but also through not eating enough.

There used to be warnings about too much protein being bad for the kidneys (which work hard to deal with it) but I'm not sure if this is still the case or out of date.

However, all the medical sites online like the NHS and British Heart Foundation say it's around 0.75gm per kilo of weight although some sites do suggest 1gm/kilo.

In all honestly I think part of the push to get more protein came about from people selling protein powders etc/ fitness 'influencers' and creating the concern about getting enough. It's usually only an issue for professional athletes who are training very hard for hours a day.

I feel a bit concerned about you saying you're tired by 4pm and only want toast. That's not 'normal' - what's going on there?

Muscle wastage starts much younger than that. The whole point is to address it early enough that we don’t end up with sarcopenia later on - it’s almost impossible to build the muscle back at that point.

@JinglingSpringbells it is very normal for me to be tired then. I get up really early to exercise and do all my stuff before work. I just start to flop by mid/late afternoon! I can often have a nap after work before collecting the teenagers later on. I've been like this for many years, especially if I don't get a lunchtime nap because I'm at work 😂

@Alltheyellowbirds yes I had cottage cheese, avocado and wholemeal pitta for breakfast earlier this week and it was delicious. Big fan of cottage cheese (all of those weight watchers diets in the noughties!)

I would recommend a book called The 30g Plan by Emma Bardwell which is full of high protein and fibre recipes and use a variety of different fruit and veg ingredients. She is a nutritionist. Also has recipes on Instagram and does 2 week menu plans you can buy.

@BellaI thank you! I'll take a look now!