Ways to increase protein in my diet - no whey shakes please

[Needanewadventure2021]

Hiya

So I need some help. I went down the protein shake route to increase my protein intake hoping it would make me feel full and stop my snacking resulting in weight loss. I only have a stone to lose but my snacking is out of control! I'll admit, these last 2 days it has made me feel full. I haven't snacked. However I cannot get used to the taste. It's making me feel sick. I've tried it in shakes with skimmed milk and baked oats. It's not that it's horrendous, I just really don't like it! So as much as it's done a fantastic job in making me feel full I really can't stomach it and can't see me being able to keep it up.

I suppose my choice to use shakes was to increase protein but also keep calories down.

What other ways can I add protein to my diet without being too calorific? I really dont think I can have any more of this vanilla whey. Just the thought is making me feel sick.

TIA x

The reason you gained weight was not because of an excess/deficiency of any macros, but because you fell for the ultra-processed food, industrial food, fried food, in other words , the junk

Yes, but the reason people do that is because the junk is low protein. You are missing the point. If a person sits in front of the TV and eats crisps, they will crave more crisps. They will eat the whole large bag. If they sit in front of the TV and decide only to eat boiled eggs, they will stop eating when they're sated.

'All you need to do is change to a perfect diet' isn't genius advice, it's missing the point of why people fail to adhere to that advice. Eating a high carb/junk diet encourages the body to crave more carbs/junk. Obviously OP realises she needs to eat better foods, and eating more protein is a good way around this problem.

There's no need for shakes though. It really isn't hard to get enough protein; in fact it's easy to over-do it. I don't understand why OP thinks a supplement is necessary. @Needanewadventure2021, do you think protein is hard to come by naturally? How come you don't want to use a natural source?

Funny how all the high meat high protein countries are also the fattest, USA, Australia (where I live) , UK, ... I guess the protein don't work in satiating .

Japanese women eat high carb and are very slim. French women eat croissant without wondering about carb content and are very slim.

The difference is shocking when I go to New Caledonia, you have the French people all slim and at the beach with a book or a friend, and the Australians with family bags of Doritos they brought from Australia on their cruise. Adults do no snack in France and it has nothing to do with protein.

@Cormoran

It's the combinations of the macros. Your view is very simplistic. Protein is more filling. Try 100 kcal of carb and then try a boiled egg. It'll be evident to you immediately that protein does more for satiety and carbs do more to encourage carb cravings.

The French diet isn't 'a woman eating a croissant'. What else does she eat? The Japanese diet isn't 'a woman eating lots of carbs'. What else does she eat? International diet issues aren't represented accurately by who you saw at the beach.

I am from Monaco myself and have lived in more countries than I can count. The UK/USA/AUS way of eating is totally dysregulated and I don't think that by forcing one macro you will get any better. Might lose some weight, for a few months, and then back to square 1.

The reference to New Caledonia is because the difference of two culture, one which snacks , one which doesn't , one which obsesses about macros, one which doesn't give a damn, is shocking .

Many would gain at going simplistic and make it simple. Force protein down, they will end up on the hips if your body has no use of them. Eat normal protein, not unbalanced.

I sometimes have heck chicken sausages and eggs for breakfast which really kick starts my protein for the day!

Also meals with good veggie protein so cheese, lentils, chickpeas with meat really adds up quick. Just a little rice or small naan to soak up any sauce.

I love Grenade bars, 20g of protein and stops me reaching for chocolate.

And it's not necessarily high protein but lots of the crunchy graze snacks also work for my salty crisp craving and are good in fibre.

I will reply properly later when I am home but it's a mixture of things.

I accept I am poorly educated and to be honest dont think I will ever be fully over my disordered eating. Even a eating disorder clinic said they couldn't help me as my weight was still in a normal, albeit verging on overweight range. That was difficult to be discharged as I know I've been stuck in a starve/binge cycle since my teens and my relationship with food is poor.

I only eat one meal a day. Have done for 20 years that's hard to change. I suppose I fear food really. Not enough to stop eating it but I am conscious of the calorie content. I reach for low calorie foods for that reason, to eat but to ensure the calories remain low. Unfortunately due to poor mental health (low self confidence) and it not filling me up, it can escalate into binges.

I am time and money poor really. I wouldnt cook some chicken to eat the next day for example. I cant stand the taste of it cold or not freshly cooked. I also dont eat much meat and no fish. It would be alien of me to eat breakfast and lunch. But I know that this too is probably causing me problems.

I realise substituting my intake with shakes may seem stupid but it comes down to it being quick and easy and keeping calories pretty low but getting the protein intake to try and stop me picking. My knowledge of protein is that is keeps you feeling fuller for longer? It certainly did when I tried the shake and oats the other day!

Sorry if I don't make much sense but it comes from years of disordered eating, one meal a day and not being able to afford to eat a better quality diet.

That sounds hard OP maybe you might like the Purition shakes, the vegan ones are made with seeds and plant proteins. I like these. And maybe try little by little having other protein sources as well. I understand what you mean though. I'm vegetarian and find it tricky sometimes with protein. I do like greek yoghurt and skyr though..

healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-enough-protein-beans-7842.html

Throwing handfuls of beans into your food might be a good plan. Very cheap and filling.

Full fat greek yoghurt, Fage or Waitrose No 1. A small pot comes in the same calories as a MyProtein meal replacement and is much more filling, and a lot less sugar.

Others have already mentioned the high protein foods I would have.

As for protein powder I found it too sweet and chemical tasting and it ruined my oatmeal/yogurt/fruit snack.

However if I use vanilla or chocolate flavour and whiz it into cold milk with half a teaspoon of cacao and then add to strong coffee the resultant drink is quite pleasant. The cacao and the coffee kills the hideous sweetness.

@Needanewadventure2021 I am sorry you have an eating disorder for which you are unable to get help however you need to realise that by opting for shakes and similar you are crawling deeper into your disorder, you are alienating yourself even more from normal eating.

You already have an abnormal eating pattern in which you limit the amount of meals, but now you are considering embracing artificial foods as well. The more you distance yourself from normality, the harder it will be to come back.

There are charities that might be able to help you. You need someone to help you change. You starve all day and then binge in the evening. Money is not an excuse. You can eat healthy for very little money, certainly for less than the shakes.

There is an eating disorder board on MN www.mumsnet.com/Talk/eating_disorders maybe you can get directions on where to find help there.

"If you're vegetarian, things like Quorn are a good alternative to meat and fish. Beans, lentils and other pulses are also good protein sources."

It's pretty difficult to reach your protein goal just with beans and lentils though. I have to combine that with cheese, cottage cheese, skyr, etc.

"It really isn't hard to get enough protein; in fact it's easy to over-do it."

I track with MyFitnessPal and I struggle to get enough protein - I'm vegetarian. That's going by MFP's idea of how much I should be having. Lots of sources say dieters should have a bit more than that.
I don't see how I could over-do it.

Hsve you tried other flavours of whey? I find the vanilla disgusting but the strawberry tends to be nice and the chocolate palatable, even pleasant in porridge with almond milk.

You can also get protein pancake mix, or even better make them with whey powder and eggs, it’s very simple. Then Greek yoghurt and a few berries on top.

Turkey chilli with extra beans. Ups your veg intake too which given the protein effect is not a bad thing. Quinoa instead of rice. Tubs of cottage cheese eaten by the spoonful. Peanut butter on celery sticks. Carrot and houmous.

There used to be great recipes on bodybuilding.co.uk, like a cake made with baby apple purée and cottage cheese. It depends how you like to eat what will work for you.

@Gwenhwyfar

"It really isn't hard to get enough protein; in fact it's easy to over-do it."

I track with MyFitnessPal and I struggle to get enough protein - I'm vegetarian. That's going by MFP's idea of how much I should be having. Lots of sources say dieters should have a bit more than that.
I don't see how I could over-do it.

You're eating the wrong things then. It's really not hard.

www.forksoverknives.com/wellness/vegan-protein-guide-athletes/

I'm eating the things mentioned above Watchkeys and it's still hard to get enough every single day.
I don't need a guide for vegan athletes seeing as I am neither of those things.
I bet many vegans and vegetarians would realise it's hard if they actually tracked what they eat.

I didn't think you needed a vegan guide. I thought the guide might allow OP to see that there are other views than 'It's hard to get enough protein'.

You may find it hard. I find it hard handling spiders. It doesn't mean it objectively is hard.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60300079

Read this and thought of you, OP!

@Watchkeys

I didn't think you needed a vegan guide. I thought the guide might allow OP to see that there are other views than 'It's hard to get enough protein'.

You may find it hard. I find it hard handling spiders. It doesn't mean it objectively is hard.

If it was easy, they wouldn't even need the guide would they? The fact is that if you don't eat meat and fish, getting enough protein takes effort.

@Watchkeys

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60300079

Read this and thought of you, OP!

I loved the advert for protien supplements made from insects in that. Properly made me chortle. Crickets for breakfast

@Gwenhwyfar

If it was easy, they wouldn't even need the guide would they? The fact is that if you don't eat meat and fish, getting enough protein takes effort

The fact is, many self explanatory things come with guides. Read the guide, rather than criticising the need for a guide. It might guide you.

Maybe you'll find the satiety index interesting reading. Foods high in water and/or fibre are as filling as protein rich foods.

An earlier poster talked about how no one ever over ate boiled eggs - the same can surely be said for apples or boiled potatoes. Over eating of "carbs" means over eating highly refined carbs which are accompanied by fat and salt or sugar. This covers chocolate bars, burgers, cookies, pizza, cakes, biscuits, crisps - none of these are simply "carbs". By contrast, broccoli, green beans, apples and oranges are carbs - I've yet to hear of anyone gaining weight through over eating these carbs.

ernaehrungsdenkwerkstatt.de/fileadmin/user_upload/EDWText/TextElemente/Ernaehrungswissenschaft/Naehrstoffe/Saettigung_Lebensmittel_Satiety_Index.pdf

My concern with the protein shakes would be that they are encouraging bad eating habits and encouraging over consumption of highly refined junk food. If you could somehow learn to move away from refined foods to "real" home-cooked food,s you might start to find in time that your cravings start to lessen. This is definitely what I've found.

"Read the guide, rather than criticising the need for a guide."

Um. I'm not criticising the need for a guide. The guide is needed because it's difficult to get enough protein for vegans, and to a slightly lesser extent, vegetarians. That's because it's not easy as you claim.

Massive amounts of tuna!also give Jo Wickes a follow on IG as he makes alll sorts of lovely smoothies and porridge things with whey protein added. I can’t stomach a protein shake, bar or yogurt 🤢

@Gwenhwyfar

"Read the guide, rather than criticising the need for a guide."

Um. I'm not criticising the need for a guide. The guide is needed because it's difficult to get enough protein for vegans, and to a slightly lesser extent, vegetarians. That's because it's not easy as you claim.

Perhaps I phrased it badly. If you read the guide, you'll see that despite the fact that some people find it difficult, it's actually not too tricky. A bit like when people make scrambled eggs, some people need instructions, although it's really simple to do. I can see I'm banging my head against a wall here though. Not to worry. Keep finding it difficult, don't follow simple instructions, it's all the same to me.

All the best!