How much protein already?

Hello Team and others!

So the food logs are starting to come in and I wanted to address a few issues.

The first is protein requirements. There are thousands of recommendations on this and for this sort of thing, I like to give a range because some people need more protein then others. Just remember, if you are looking to gain weight, you need to eat more protein than someone just trying to maintain or someone trying to lose weight.

General Range: 1.8-3.0 grams/kg of bodyweight

So for me, this would be 174-291 grams of protein a day. Some also use the 1 gram/1 pound of bodyweight measurement which would put me at 215.

Here are just a few food items to give you an idea of where to get protein:

Half breast of chicken: 27 grams
One egg: 7 grams
One slice of bacon: 3 grams
3 ounces of salmon-21 grams
3 ounces of hamburger-21 grams
3 ounces beef-23-35 grams
3 ounces veal/lamb-29 grams
3 ounces shrimp: 18 grams
One ounce of Parmesan cheese: 12 grams
One ounce blue cheese/cheddar-6 grams
One cup of milk: 8 grams
8 ounces yogurt: 8-12 grams
Whey: 24 grams

So my typical day of protein looks like this :
Breakfast: 4 eggs, 4 slices of bacon, scoop of whey in a smoothie, yogurt in smoothie (maybe 4 oz.)
Lunch: one half chicken breast at lunch, some cheese (maybe 2 oz.)
Post WOD: whey with whole milk (3 cups)
Dinner: 8 oz. of steak, cheese (maybe 2 oz.)

That puts me somewhere in the 220 range and probably more than that as I get small amounts of protein from nuts (usually peanut butter...I didn't give a crap if it's not paleo) and other sources. Yes, I eat plenty of dairy. Thanks Great great great great grandpa for crapping your brains out so I could have lactose tolerance.

I did a previous post on this site http://nutritiondata.self.com/  It is a great resource to find out nutrient profiles of foods, just don't pay attention to their recommendations for healthy food. So do a little research on one day of your log and see if you are getting enough protein. My guess is some of you are not.

A couple other points.

I'm going to pick on Nathan because his log is full of egg whites. The whites have the protein. The yolks have pretty much everything else. The yolks are full of vitamins and minerals. As for the cholesterol myth, let's just say I have seen absolutely no conclusive evidence that animal cholesterol raises human cholesterol. In one study I read, they gave eggs to men and their cholesterol went DOWN. So unless you don't like the flavor or you just hate the color yellow (which I'm pretty sure is why Nathan is not eating them), eat your yolks people.

So far, I am seeing very little, if any, fish on the logs. I know fish isn't convenient and many people don't love it, but if you are not going to eat fish, you need to look into a high quality fish oil. I don't think anyone needs the fatty fish is good for you lecture.

Finally, I notice this every time there is a challenge with my clients or the gym...you need to seek out variety. If you eat the same thing every day, not only are you not getting a balanced nutrient profile, but you are likely to kill yourself. My breakfast is usually either one of two things(eggs and smoothie or leftover dinner), but lunches and dinners are extremely varied.