I need protein!!

[WopBopALooBop]

Agh, I just wrote a really long post and then for some reason my computer logged me out and didn't post the message.

ANYWAY I am in desperate need of protein-y snacks and lunches which I can eat at work, please. Earlier in the year I lost a few inches by low-carbing and doing a lot of exercise, but I ended up getting so sick of chicken and quorn sausages, which I used to have with veg for lunch, that I couldn't bring myself to continue.

All the carbs I am eating leave me feeling v sluggish and exhausted at the end of the day, so I have no energy for exercising ? and I love exercising! I am eating so many carbs as I become starving at work and the only snacks I can find in the shop that would fill me up are carbs or Babybels or processed chicken pieces [boak]. OR fruit, which I want to cut down on as so much sugar which I find is not good for my skin.

For example, here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfat: Bran flakes with sultanas in and skimmed milk
Snack: banana
Lunch: left over mash, cabbage, broccoli and peas
Snack: apple and a packet of mini cheddars I was just so hungry!
Dinner: 3-egg omelette with cheese. Would normally have a bowl of veg (peas/sweetcorn/carrots/broccoli) too.

Normally have couscous and veg for lunch if no leftovers to eat up.

So as you can see, v carby!

I have done the normal swap to wholemeal bread/pasta/rice, and eat sweet potatoes a lot instead of regular ones. But I just hate the way carbs make me feel but nothing else fills me up

So if you have any ideas for protein-rich lunches or snacks which I could eat at work, I?d be so grateful! I really don?t know how I did it when I was low-carbing earlier in the year ? I have no proteiny ideas these days!

I could eat hummus and crudités but would eat the whole pot of hummus no problem, and it?s fatty I think.
I used to have a muller light most days as a snack, but I stopped because of all the sugar.
I want to eat less fruit because of all the sugar ? I want veg-centric snacks!
I don?t really like nuts or seeds.
I find myself craving slices of ham and cheese
I basically want to get rid of carbs/eat more protein, but don?t want to have to eat loads of bacon and eggs.

I felt so much healthier and happier and energetic when I was eating better earlier in the year, but I have managed to keep the weight off so far, thankfully. I mainly want to reduce my sugar intake because it makes my skin awful and I get breakouts, and I am getting married in 4 weeks, so bad skin is not an option!

Sorry this post is so long, thanks if you?ve got this far.

Hope I?ve posted this in the right topic!

Eek, sorry for rambling on!

My favourite low-carb lunch is a big salad with loads of smoked salmon and a few crab sticks (they do contain sugar, so not too many!) with toasted pine nuts and avacado - keeps you going all day and takes away the 3pm biscuit cravings

I am awful at eating enough protein, but have found a few ways of sneaking it in:

1. Lentils - dal, any form of lentil curry, veggie chilli with lentils in - all feel pleasingly carby while still packing a bit of protein punch
2. Making my own trail mix/granola with seeds, dried banana and dark choc. A good way of sneaking seeds in
3. Wafer thin ham with everything. Yeah, it's processed and not ideal, but toss a couple of slices in every lunch and it adds some protein
4. Cottage cheese - add sugar and fruit and it's pudding, mix in with salad for main
5. Protein smoothies - make a smoothie with yoghurt, banana, flaxseed, peanut/seed butter, cottage cheese (I put this stuff in everything, it's great low fat protein), honey and cocoa. Not terribly low calorie, but a great protein/good fats hit
6. Fish - tinned sardines/mackerel with salad for lunch (like, a whole tin), white fish for dinner, smoked salmon for breakfast. It is a great cheap protein.
7. Quinoa porridge has slightly more protein than normal porridge, so quite a good breakfast.

My standard work lunch is cottage cheese and tuna, v easy, v high in protein.

As well as the tuna/tinned fish already suggested:

-Hard boiled eggs (snack)...or poached/scrambled for meals if you prefer. I have eggs every day, they are fantastic

-Raw nuts (no more than a palmful a day though)

-cooked turkey even better than chicken for protein

-Cooked prawns - M&S spicy ones are delicious

-miso soup..also apparently great for your mood and v low cal, full of minerals

-plain greek yoghurt - much higher protein than other yoghurts, not sure why

-Actual protein bars (from Holland & Barratt and the like)...some are quite nice, there's a chocolate and peanut butter one which is good.

-Protein shakes are great if you are in a rush before/after a workout and need something to keep you going til next meal and avoid getting so hungry you hit the carbs/sugar. Careful with these (and the bars) though, they are definitely not low calorie.

-if stuck having to buy lunch out try for salads or wraps rather than sandwiches, with the most protein rich fillings available...usually chicken/tuna.

For snacks you can eat Tesco ultra slim bars, I'm not sure about all nutritional content but they must have very low/no carbs as you can eat them and stay in ketosis on a low carb diet.

Cheddar cheese has 33g protein per 130g pack, obviously don't eat too much, fat content is huge but grated on a sandwich, omelette, pasta is a way to sneak more protein in.

This is where I struggle, I get sick of chicken and eggs - I'm not a meat lover nor do I really like cottage cheese etc....

Maybe you could get some whey protein milkshake from health/body building shops and have a small one each day.

I just got a kilo of unflavoured, unsweetened whey protein for 12.99 and it is actually quite delicious - I make a shake with banana and oat milk that comes in at 20g protein and is very filling.

I also got unflavoured, unsweetened pea protein isolate from the same place, it is great for stirring into soups and rice salads etc to boost protein up to about 20g.

It works out pretty cheap for serving as well, it is very high quality stuff without all the horrid artificial stuff you get in most protein powders.

Other things I do are tubs of cottage cheese eaten with fresh pineapple and tins of sardine fillets in oil eaten with salad. Plain greek yogurt.

Forgot to add, a favourite snack of mine is celery with peanut butter spread thinly, it's addictive :) The celery has 3g carbs per 100g and the peanut butter, although cals are high it has no trans fats and a lot of good fats that help lower cholesterol, another way to add to your protein intake too - something like 4g per 1 tbs but 3g of carbs. I probably use 1tbs on a full celery stick.

Don't be afraid of fat. Something with fat in it will keep you feeling full till dinner time:

Avocado! make home-made guacamole by adding chili, or a low-carb alternative to hummus by adding garlic. add lemon juice to keep it fresh.
Hard boil a few eggs, have them with a salad.
Sardines/Mackerel/Salmon that comes in a shallow tin - easy to eat it straight out of the tin with a fork.
Full-fat Greek yoghurt, with some fruit.

Thanks all! Some really great ideas. Am off to buy some Miso Soup and cottage cheese Celery & peanut butter too, sounds very nice! And will make homemade guacamole :) I'm going to be busy experimenting in the kitchen this weekend! :)

Thanks again.

I apologise now wopbop for the addiction you will soon have :) Mmmm