Protein: 220g a Day?!

Okay so i’ve been reading some. Apparently, I should be having 1g per bodyweight. For me, that would be 220 pds… or 220g of protein.

Now…

How in gods name can I possibly consume that much?! Thats a lot! Chicken breast dont even have that much… and Id have to live off bars and shakes for the whole day to get it.

Am I missing something? Yup, im a total noob but it seems hard to get that much protein in me!

220 is not hard to get. Eat 7 cans of tuna thats ~210 g (and costs less than $5). Eat 5-6 chicken breasts. Or 2 pounds of ground beef has ~160 grams. Gallon of milk has ~120g.

I hit 200g by noon. I think you can get in 220 by the end of the day.

I weigh around 155 i get 228 grams of protein a day.

you will have to eat many meals a day, and make sure they all have an ample amount of protein.

I’m going to suggest what almost everyone else will, and that is to MAN UP and keep a food log. By charting everything that you eat each day, you’ll realize that eating 220g of protein per day isn’t really that hard, especially if you have access to protein and bars (stay away from SOY protien too by the way, it’s bad for guys).

Also, don’t forget that total calorie intake matters, and that what those calories are matters as well!

I’m going to have to suggest you read all of John Berardi’s articles on nutrition, such as “Massive Eating Reloaded” which can be found in the archives, they will provide you a very good foundation to start eating as if you have a goal in mind!

hope this helps.

also, you might wanna post what your goals are and then people can help you out more specifically

Okay… so yes, by eating like a horse I can gt 220g per day. But obviously at the expensive of a lot of calories.

At the moment, I am attemptign to keep my calories lower.

Plus 7 cans of tuna… as much as I like tuna… would make me wanna vomit to eat that much! or drink that much milk.

Here, I thought it was a simple thign at first. I needed 220g a day and just naturally should get it.

I’ve always taken it as 1.5 gram per lean body weight. So that needs to be figured out. More if you’re bulking. And it’s very possible to eat that much. After a good work out I want to eat everything in the fridge! Try extra cans of tuna, Grow!, chicken. Try to eat protein every two hours. I love a pound or two of grilled chicken over fresh vegies with oil and vinegar. That does it, I’m hungry.

beef, chicken, eggs, dairy products, nuts and legumes, protein shakes… just keep a log as to what stallion said man. it really shouldn’t be that hard to meet your requirements. some protein shakes have up to 55gms per serving.

On an average day, I’ll eat about 750 grams of steak, 6 eggs, a chicken, and 3 shakes (30grams a serve). It’s not that hard once you realise that should be eating protein at every meal.

[quote]JMac10 wrote:
I weigh around 155 i get 228 grams of protein a day. [/quote]

same here.

keep a food log of some sort and you will see how fast things add up

[quote]T-Islander wrote:
Okay… so yes, by eating like a horse I can gt 220g per day. But obviously at the expensive of a lot of calories.

At the moment, I am attemptign to keep my calories lower.

Plus 7 cans of tuna… as much as I like tuna… would make me wanna vomit to eat that much! or drink that much milk.

Here, I thought it was a simple thign at first. I needed 220g a day and just naturally should get it.[/quote]

First, its not that hard… eat 6 meals a day (two or so could be shakes or bars)… 220/6 = approx 40 grams/meal… that is about 6 oz of chicken, a can of tuna, 2 scoops of protein powder, some eggs.

Second, 220 grams of protein is only 880 calories, now surely you will be below maintnance calories if you added 1000 calories of fat and carbs (read different diets here to see how that would work).

Currently, I am eating a very calorie restricted diet, and still getting 250 g of protein a day (more on days when i workout).

Well, everyone’s telling you to man up, I’ll try and be nice.

First let’s break it down. Since you should be having at least 6 meals a day that means around 40g per meal. That’s 2 Grow! servings, 4.5oz cooked chicken, 6 oz cooked steak, 1.5 cups egg whites, 1 can tuna, 1.5-2 cups cottage cheese.

If you marinade your meat it’s real easy to eat, even plain. I agree on the tuna thing, so that’s why I put the list above. Eggs are real easy, you can cook the egg whites omelet style for breakfast, or stick them in a quick shake, they’re sweet.

Just to let you know I went without protein powders or bars completely for awhile due to stomach difficulties and was still able to get 350g protein on a 2500 cal diet without too much difficulty. It may seem extensive at first considering most people are at like 60g intake. Just add a bit at a time or a meal at a time and it’ll become habit.

I remember when I first got serious about lifting that the recommended protein numbers blew me away, too. The trick was to stop trying to consume so much of it in traditional forms - I get a ton of it now from shakes. I currently get four two-scoop shakes of Grow! a day, and I think that’s 160g of protein right there in addition to being helpful with regards to fluid intake.

Throw in at least two primarily ‘meat’ meals (usually chicken, fish or deli turkey/lean ham) and a two-scoop serving of Surge and I clear 250g on those days without even noticing it.

Dude, 220/day is a walk in the park. Try 450-500/day, that’s some eatin!

Get some eggs down in the morning, 8 or so. Eat some cheese with it, and toast, and bacon, and milk.

Get down 3 Grow! shakes a day with 12oz skim milk and peanut butter, there’s 150grams on it’s own!

Get down a big dinner, 2 chicken breasts/steaks/salmon/veggies, etc.

Eat one fast shitty meal, 3 quarter pound double stacks with only have the bun. Double hamburgers are only a buck at mcdonalds. Only eat half the bun, that’s not a bad deal.

If you are worried about a big protien intake, you have to pretty much eat whatever you see. Hope this helps

Dude. I envy people with that kind of appetite. Must be easy to stay lean. I’m a meat lover, and my natural appetite would take me to 400+g at a bodyweight of ~180 lbs.

But yeah. My advice: switch around the protein source for variety, even in a single day, and moist meat is always easier to eat. Omlettes with chicken or ground beef can pack a lot of protein; tuna salads can seem refreshing with low meat content. Instead of a creamy or meaty sauce, something simpler with vinegars or fruits might be more palatable.

man i’m 175, i get 400+ a day… butch up and eat.

You’d be surprised how much protein you take in on a normal day. I thought I was getting around 180-200 a day til I did a food log and found that I was getting over 300. That said, you may find 1 g per lbs to be somewhat excessive. I’ve found that during periods of maintenance(no weight gain) I can get by on 100 grams with no problems or muscle loss.

220 A day no probs - A smll sample day for me is -

Breakfast - 1.5 cups Oats & protein shake - 50g
Snack - Pita bread & tuna - 40g
Lunch - Chicken & veges - 50g
Snack - Pita & Tuna - 40g
PreWO - Protein shake - 30g
PWO - Protein shake - 30g
Snack - Tortilla wrap & chicken - 40g
Dinner - meat n veg - 50g
Bed time shake - 30g

Total - 360 Grams (I weigh 185)

You just have to get in a habit, i follow this meal plan Mon - Fri, the weekend i’m not so strict, timing goes out the window but i still ensure adequate protein intake. If your training hard enough your body should be screaming out for it’s protein!

T-Islander (nice avatar),

Pardon me for questioning your premise, but…you say you weigh 220 and need to eat 220gP/day. What is your goal? Bulking? Maintaining? By some standards, you need 1-1.5g/KILOGRAM/day. By some standards, you need 1-2g per pound of Lean Body Mass.

It’s easy to consume lots of protein, but maybe you don’t need so much, depending on what you are trying to accomplish? I bring this up because in your first post you claim to be a newbie, so I want to make sure you’ve thought out your goal before you force yourself to do something that is difficult for you.

there are other ways… im convinced protein cycling might be better for you if you think that’s too hard to do…

see: http://t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459603

(Protein Cycling for Maximum Gains) by Dr. Marcus Jones.

in it you do 4 weeks of minimal protein intake (20-40) grams, and then 4 - 8 weeks of high (normal ) protein intake (220 grams in your case, should be enough).

in the minimal phase your body becomes super efficient at using low amounts of protein for muscle gains. consider this program if you think its easier for you.

as for me personally, i’m vegetarian, and i only take in 20 grams of protein a day, sometimes a bit more, and im progressing pretty damn nicely, just as much as i want… my strength keeps going up, my muscles keep growing… i think my body just became super efficient at using protein … ive been on 20 grams a day for 3 months now, so imagine if i up the intake to 100 grams a day or more for a month or two… my body, having become so efficient, might just double in muscle size or more! but i dont plan on doing that any time soon im very happy with my gains as they are.

20 grams a day! Surely you get more than that on a vegan diet?! What are you eating two nuts and a salad leaf?

  • Note -
    “Sufficient protein is needed to cover the daily nitrogen losses in the urine, feces, skin, hair, nails, perspirations, and other secretions. These losses amount to roughly 23 grams of protein a day.” Doh!