Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Power Up Your Protein

I told you at the beginning of the week that I had some goals for myself
My goals are:
- at least 100 grams of protein per day
- more water! Aim: 80-100 oz per day
- no random snacking.
- log my food.
- Workout like a pro.

I'm happy to report the week has gone great thus far! 

Protein: I give myself an A- I've reached 90-100 grams each day and my meals have been first focused on the lean protein, and then surrounded by veggies with some quality whole grains.


Water: I give myself a B here. I'm definitely doing better, but I think I've reached 60-80 oz each day.


Snacking: A :) WAY better here. I've still reached for a few handfuls of my Kashi Go Lean Crunch as a snack, BUT I've logged every last bite. No calorie left behind. Which leads to...


Log My Food: A. Wow it helps me SO much when I do this. I can't even tell you. If you are feeling stuck. LOG YOUR FOOD.

Workouts: A+! My workouts have gone GREAT this week. I usually workout after all my morning clients, and I was on my way to workout and I started feeling really tired, and hungry...and in my head I thought...just go take a nap or eat lunch and then later before you go back to work you can get your workout in. It was like the devil and the angel on my shoulder. BUT I decided I should just start doing SOMETHING. I got there and saw some friends who ended up giving me some new burst of energy. I ended up doing a ROCKING 60 min interval session on the stairs that had me sweating like crazy and feeling great, along with some lifting. When I left I felt SO good, and I was SO SO SO glad I went and got it in. Another reminder that sometimes all we need to do is get started and then we'll be super glad we did!

I've had some of you asking how I'm getting my protein in. I've mentioned several times this is the hardest part for me. I don't like red meat, or pork. I hate fish, but I've surprisingly been eating tuna. Weird? Yes. I really don't loooove chicken because I don't like to prepare it. It has to be extremely clean, no fat/no veins, and very thin. This can create some problems.

So...here's what I've been doing...

I wanted to add a little more protein to my chocolate PB oatmeal, so in the morning instead of making it with 1/2 cup old fashioned oats 1 cup water. I have been making it with 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup water. & 1/2 cup skim milk. Adding the milk only adds 40 more calories and 4 more grams of protein, so my breakfast totals out at about 15 grams of protein for the bowl. It is so good, and the milk makes it a little more fluffy...Can oatmeal be fluffy?
 I have been loving these individual tuna packs. They have 80 calories and 18 grams of protein in them with only .5 grams of fat. hellooooo amazing. I love that they are portion controlled too.
I pair them up with one of my favorite La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortillas. 80 calories each, 8 grams of protein, 12 grams of fiber. AMAZING. I eat these once a day with something it seems like.
The whole wrap has 25 grams of protein in it.
One of my favorite go to snacks for some quick and delicious (and vegetarian might I add) protein is edamame sprinkled with a little bit of sea salt. I get the individual frozen packs you can get at Costco. Each bag is one serving. about 150 calories and 13 grams of protein.
I also have to have some portable snacks I can eat at work and for that I will often eat some almonds or a part skim mozerella string cheese. Each string cheese stick has about 80 calories and 7 grams of protein. This is just about the only cheese that I eat. I'm not a huge fan of it. 
I make a lot of protein shakes. Mine usually consist of 1/2 banana, frozen strawberries, vanilla whey protein powder, ice, skim milk, and LOTS of cinnamon. These have about 20-30 grams of protein in one shake.
I eat a lot of chicken as well. I usually just grill it up on the George Foreman. I will cut it up and put it in a salad, eat it with some quinoa, put it in a wrap, or just eat it with some grilled veggies. A chicken breast usually has 110 calories and around 25 grams of protein.
I have also been incorporating a lot of egg whites. I usually do one egg and an egg white if it's for a snack, sprinkle it with some fajita seasoning, and then fry it up with Pam. This is 83 calories and about 9 grams of protein. If I'm feeling like I'm not getting all my protein in I'll do one egg and three egg whites. This is 120 calories and 17 grams of protein.
If I am eating it as a meal I will do three egg whites and one whole egg with some spinach, a lil' bit of salsa wrapped up in a La Tortilla Factory Wrap. This has about 25 grams of protein in it and 200 calories.
 Sometimes at work in between clients I need to grab a quick snack or meal and I have been running over to the local Target, and having them shave up 3 oz of of lean deli turkey. I can just eat this straight up with a fork. Weird I know. For having the meat issues I do it's amazing I can just chomp this down. It's about 27 grams of lean protein and 135 calories. I try not to do this too often because it does contain a lot of sodium, but it's a better option. I am obsessed with Target BTW. I could spend hours there.
Other protein options...I add beans of all sorts to everything; pasta, salad, soup, wraps. I love beans they are great for you and contain both protein and fiber. I eat veggie burgers, deli turkey in wraps, and sometimes will eat protein bars if I absolutely can't get my protein in otherwise. I am picky about my protein bars and I don't like the excess sugar that comes with them.

How are you doing with your goals this week? Are you accomplishing all you hoped to accomplish? I hope so! I loved reading your comments on what you wanted to work on for the week! How do you get your protein in? Any awesome tricks we should know about?

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23 comments:

Julia said...

Thanks for the tips on the protein! I am always wondering how you do it! I am doing okay with goals this week...I want to push myself more than my body is ready for so that is kind of tough but hanging in there. Hope you are doing fabulously amazing :)

Edible Art said...

it takes a lot of dedication for this, i really admire your for that

Joseph said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
kay.tee. said...

You are such an amazing example, so inspiring. I love "Just Egg Whites" egg white powder. I put it in my smoothies, and it would be an easy addition to your morning oatmeal!

Nicole said...

Thanks for all of the tips and nutritional stats! I've been trying to focus more on protein and less on carbs, per your suggestion and others. I'm also weird about meat and was vegetarian for a year, so it's hard. Lately I've been doing tuna, protein shakes, and eggs. I've recently tried out a great black bean burger recipe from:
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/06/black-bean-burgers/
I found the cheese didn't really add anything so I omitted it the second time around and added a bit more lemon juice because originally they were dry along some hot sauce. I think it's a pretty decent and healthy recipe!

Erin@gosupermamago said...

Great job with your goals this week!

Like you I've been trying for a few weeks to increase my protein intake. I do a lot of similar things that you do like, 1/2 C(soy)milk in my oatmeal, protein shakes, egg whites, tuna, lots of beans (espcially black)etc.

I've been eating 2 egg whites with my oatmeal in the a.m. to bump up the protein with breakfast. And today I actually replaced oatmeal with oatbran, which was still pretty good and has a couple more grams of fiber per serving, one more gram of protein, and 30 less cals. Do you ever use greek yogurt? I add some to my protein smoothies, or add some mixings and eat it alone. 18g per serving. Do you like ground turkey? I like adding mine in a salad. Josephs makes several different types of high protein/low carb wraps, pitas, etc, and flat out wraps are good as well. I also make homemade granola bars and last time I added a scoop of protein powder, delish! The recipe is on my blog if you want to try it out!

Anonymous said...

I'm obsessed with target too :) I could live there!!
all of your meals still look absolutely amazing.
I crave desserts all the time so I take a frozen banana cut in chunks, throw it in the food processor with a dash of soy milk and 1/2 bag vega vanilla (or chocolate) protein powder. It tastes like cake batter!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, you are doing a great job on the protein. I really need to up mine once I get back to running. I struggle to eat non-meat protein, but you gave me some great ideas. Thanks!

Also, I am loving the spam comment by German up there. It's hilarious!

Katie said...

Thanks for the protein tips, I am trying to up mine as well :D I love Starkist tuna pouches! I also grab slices of turkey if I need a snack and am feeling low on protein. And edamame! lol

Also I've been eating canned chicken (just like the tuna) recently. I had 8 oz can of it yesterday for 240 cals and 48 g protein!!

Jen said...

Great ideas on protein especially if you don't like fish, red meat, or pork! We have a dozen hard boiled eggs in the fridge at all times for snacks. I love them.
Just so you know, I did your lunge squat routine yesterday and by number 8 thought, there's no way I'm going to be able to finish this! But I did and it was a good change from what I normally do. Thanks for the ideas!

Natalie Cates said...

Awesome job at reaching your goals this week! My goal this week was to increase my protein intake and the amount of leafy greens I eat. Protein has been good (75-90 grams per day except for yesterday), and I've been eating spinach in nearly EVERY meal and snack! I love the individual tuna pouches on la tortilla wraps - one of my favorite lunches! We eat seafood 2-3 nights per week, so that helps me get in the bulk of my protein. I also add egg whites to my oatmeal (I put it all in a blender before cooking - it gives it a very filling and somewhat fluffy consistency). I have been adding greek yogurt to everything as well (pastas, smoothies, oatmeal, etc) and I love it. My all time favorite protein is nut butter, but I have to limit myself because it's super easy to go overboard on the portions! :)

Rachelle Wardle said...

Thank you sooo much for sharing this. I definitely needed this. I run 50-60 miles a week and lift weights 4 days a week. Yesterday I added up my protein count and realized I am gettin less than 50 grams a day. EEeeeek!

I like you have a few issues with meat so thanks for sharing I am excited to try some new things. I will keep you updated. I am doing good with my goals this week but the weekend is the real test for me. Have a wonderful day!

Mrs. JM said...

getting enough protein is tough for me too. i'm glad to hear i'm not the only one who struggles with this. i can't stand any meat other than chicken but i get so tired of it! beans have some nasty side effects and i'm not crazy about eggs. gosh, i sound picky, don't i?! i guess i get my protein mostly from almond butter, chobani yogurt, protein shakes and chicken. not very impressive. looks like i have some more "trying" of things to do. thanks for the reminder.

Melissa said...

I've been tracking my food too...it makes you think twice about the whole mindless snacking thing! I'm working on the whole consume more protein and water thing too!

Mars said...

I used to eat just like you but right now my schedule is hard to allow that. Takes some major dedication, kudos to you! I'm trying and have done prettywell this week. Thats pretty much all the things I eat to get my protein.

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

those are great goals and i looove those tortillas!

Holley @ Lunges and Lashes said...

Thanks for posting your good ideas! Way to do so well on your goals this week! I am totally with you, when I log my food, I do so much better too!

Anonymous said...

well i'm surviving the week. so that's a plus ;)

you've probably already talked about this...but why so much protein? i think i eat a lot but i'm only eating ~75% of what you do.

ash & diz said...

You are amazing... I totally agree that food journaling/tracking (whatever you wanna call it) is the best way to lose/maintain weight. I've been doing so much better on WW this last week! :)

so excited for Monday. :) :)

Thisisme said...

quinoa quinoa quinoa!! it's my favorite. Also lots of salmon because we need those Omegas too!! (;

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