Need help with high protein & extra calories for weight loss !

[Rightpath1]

Hi, Struggling to get my head round the extra calories i need for a high protein diet 😩 i was on 1200 (low i know?) to try and lose some weight but nothing so i tried using the Jame Smith Macro Calculator and it says i need 1870 calories and 109g of protein.
I am worried about trying it incase i gain more weight, i’m from the Kate Moss era of the ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ moto so even more calories just seems crazy to me but it aparently works so any experience’s or advice would be amazing..

I lost 3 stone by sticking to 1500 calories a day.
1,200 is far too low to be sustainable. I don’t get too hung up on macros either tbh & you likely don’t need as much protein as that. Work out your tdee and reduce by 20% to get your calorie target and don’t eat exercise calories back.

https://tdeecalculator.net/

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/protein-diet_b_1882372

I've started having proper Greek yogurt with homemade raspberry, strawberry and cherry compote for lunch. It's 10g protein per 100g and I add 2g chia to it too along with honey otherwise it's sour and tart. I love it and have it for lunch every day. My protein intake is otherwise pretty rubbish. The yogurt keeps full for hours. I'm on around 1500 calories a day and losing weight steadily. I'm veggie so no meat or fish for protein and I don't eat eggs either unless they are in cake 😁 I don't think high protein is as important for weight loss as it's made out. Balance is the key. Ahh my ways has been but trends come and go: low fat, low carb, high fat-low carb, high protein, intermittent fasting, 5:2 etc.

I am on the same calories and veggie. I hit that much protein everyday easily

Protein shake for breakfast
Something egg based for lunch
Tofu for dinner

Protein chocolate yoghurt for dessert, protein plain yoghurt with muesli for snacks
Protein milk in the coffee bish bash bosh 120g protein in for the day

Usually come in at 1500 to 1800 calories

Absolutely disemmated chocolate cravings and late night snacking

Cheese is great for protein too

Is that high protein a substitute for carbs?

Kate Moss - Drugs, fags and an apple. Not much protein.

109g of protein is extremely high. Why do you feel you need that much? Are you doing a lot of strength training and weight lifting? If not - you simply don't need it. There's a huge fad for high protein diets but as @MyLifeIsFullOfLemons says, it's really not necessary and you need much less than you'd think.

You would do better sticking to a balanced diet and getting a decent amount of exercise.

Living a healthy life is really simple. People overcomplicate it hugely with calorie counting and macros - you don't need all of this. You need to look at the ingredients in your food - feed your body real whole foods (stay away from 'low fat' or ultra processed), and make sure you are moving and doing some strength work. That's all the average person needs, unless you are an athlete/ marathon runner etc.

I spent years on fad diets, calorie counting, tracking macros etc., it's all nonsense. I got a personal trainer and saw a nutritionist, educated myself, switched my diet to real foods, and stopped obsessing over calories. I've never been healthier or felt better and the weight fell off.

Oh my gym recovery time and weight lifting strength has improved so much. As a veggie we are missing amnio acids to Rebuild muscle

I love never feeling hungry and not having the 8pm munches

How active are you? Your protein and calorie requirements will depend on that. Higher protein diets seem to help with feeling full and making sure we don’t burn too much muscle when we reduce our calories.

It’s also not as simple as ‘don’t eat back your exercise calories’ - depends on how much exercise you do. Sure, don’t eat back the calories of a two mile run but if you’re more active you need to eat enough.

I eat around that amount of protein. Try to spread it out across all meals so aim for 25 g per meal over 4 meals. The easiest way to increase protein is to increase your portion size.

You could start by aiming for less eg 80g and building it up. Roughly I have eggs for breakfast, chicken at lunch and salmon at dinner then one other meal or snack that’s protein based.

Greek yoghurt 0% or Kvarg are high protein. Lindhals kvarg yoghurts are lovely. You can make a nice pudding using kvarg or yoghurt, meringue nest and fruit. Good volume, high protein, tasty.

I don’t use protein powders very often as I don’t like shakes. Sometimes I add it to yoghurt or put it in a smoothie. I just use the unflavoured one.

Fulfil protein bars are really nice and a good substitute for a chocolate bar.

@purplepapaya what do you eat on average and how did your nutritionist help you please

I'm working with a nutrition coach at the moment, she has me on 1900 calories and 150g of protein, which feels like loads! I don't get anywhere near that, I normally manage 80-100g protein. I don't eat meat which makes it a bit trickier and I hate protein shakes.

Things I've started eating that are high in protein:
Tesco's protein granola
Quark
Greek yogurt
Seeds to put on salads
Tuna and salmon
Black beans
Red lentil pasta
Warburtons protein bagels
Protein bars

@VioletCharlotte That's probably about 3x as much protein as your body needs. Are you doing 3x as much strength training, weight lifting or other exercise that needs so much protein? What qualifications does your nutrition coach have because I would be very dubious. Hardly anyone needs that much protein!

If you're doing high protein to lose weight, and you're fairly active, you should aim for about 1g protein per pound of body weight.

That's a myth that circulates amongst strength trainers/ body builders. Firstly its meant to be specifically for building muscle and not losing weight... secondly it's just not true that it's needed. It's been debunked several times.

It's not good advice and not based on science.

I mean it won't harm you and you can do what you like, just saying your body does not need it.

Couple of things about protein, it’s grams per kg of body weight not per pound of body weight. And a better start point is probably per kg of lean body weight if someone is obese.

Higher protein for fat loss makes lots of sense as it increases satiety, is more metabolically active, helps maintain muscle so it’s fat that’s lost not muscle. It’s a pretty solid way of structuring calories.

There are lots of articles on PubMed about protein requirements and the amount needed for health as ppl age. Most ppl don’t eat enough.

Lift weights, live longer, live better.

I've found that increasing my protein has made a big difference for me. Not so much for weight loss, but I generally feel better and have a lot more energy and no longer crave carbs or sugar. Because I have more energy, I'm doing more strength training and generally more active, so my shape has changed and I look more toned.

Brilliant 🤩

Meant to say, me too. Absolutely nothing beats feeling and being strong. 💪

Just coming back to this as the PP who is getting so exercised by high protein is wrong.

What the OP is planning is not a high protein split. It may be higher than previous way of eating but it’s not high protein, it is higher protein. It’s about 24% of calories from protein (4kcal per gram).

This article may be if interest as it refers to studies about maintaining muscle mass whilst losing fat when on a higher protein split. It’s fairly standard stuff and not at all new, it’s just become more mainstream.

https://www.ideafit.com/nutrition/the-science-behind-40-30-30/