Timpani posted a couple of posts back about protein. I had some questions that we both answered in the "comments" section. I think it's good information, so I'm copying and pasting the comments for all to read here:
Hmm, interesting. I probably, well, no probably about it, I should eat more protein. AND I should start lifting weights too. I'm hitting that age where we all put on weight because we are losing muscle, hence our metabolism goes downhill. Argh, another thing to do. The only thing I worry about is that a diet (not that I'm some sort of expert. Far from it, I eat terrible stuff, and I know it.) that includes so much protein sounds a bit like an Atkins type diet. Is it? I honestly want to know. The whole Atkins thing is just to totally opposite of what the Word of Wisdom tells us we should eat, plus ANY nutritional anything would tell you that the whole no carb, much fat Adkins thing is bad. I could be WAY off base, I don't know. Clue me in, if you don't mind.
April 19, 2009 6:21 PM
timpani76 said...
I'm not excluding other healthy stuff, I'm just doubling my protein intake.The reason why the Atkins diet was so bad was because you got NO bread, and only 3 servings of vegetables (no fruit). It also limited your dairy too.I'm not limiting fruits & vegetables (in fact I try to get 5-6 of those a day) plus I actually added a milk serving (up to three servings) because milk has so much protein. I also limit myself to 2-3 breads a day, but I think they are recommending that for everyone now.Yeah, the Atkins Diet is not healthy, against the word of wisdom because you are severely limiting your variety and definitely not "eating meat sparingly" and you feel like poo the whole time you are on it. I tried it for like a week a few years ago. Yuck!
April 20, 2009 6:06 AM
Renae said...
I read up on protein, how much you need, and where you get from a bit. So, to answer my own question: The amount of protein you need varies widely based on how big you are and how active you are. The protein calculator thing that I used said that I need around 80 grams per day. However, amino acids are the parts of the proteins that our bodies use to make proteins. There are different ones. Apparently animal based proteins (including dairy products) are where you get complete proteins -ones with all of the essential amino acids. There are also incomplete proteins -ones with some of the essential amino acids in these foods:
Grains: Barley, Corn Meal, Oats, Rice, Pasta, Whole Grain Breads
Legumes: Beans, Lentils, Peas, Peanuts, Soy Products
Seeds & Nuts: Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Cashews, Other Nuts
Vegetables: Leafy Greens, Broccoli
When you eat a combination of the above foods, your body can put them together to make complete proteins. So, just as the W.O.W., and other nutritional sources state, it's important to eat a variety of healthy foods to get all of the stuff you need.I'm going to keep track of what I eat today and see if I can get my 80+ grams of proteins without going crazy. The thing to remember is, which ones are you eating that are complete, and to eat a variety of those that aren't. As with anything else, if you eat more protein than your body needs, it turns the extra into fat. So far today (just after breakfast) I've had 24.5 grams of protein, 14 of which are complete. Here's what I ate for breakfast:
1 hard boiled egg: 6 grams complete protein
1 3/4 cups Oatmeal Squares Cereal: 10.5 grams incomplete protein
1 cup skim milk: 8 grams complete protein
I've been looking at labels all around the house, and I think you might be surprised all the places that you find proteins. But, to make them count you have to eat many different kinds. I think they will add up. We'll see. I'll let you know at the end of the day how I did. Oh, and cereals have differing amounts. I checked the kinds I have in my house. Oatmeal Squares has 6 grams per cup. (But, who do you know that only eats one cup of cereal at a time?) Frosted Mini Wheats have 5 grams per cup. I thought Raisin Bran would be a good one, but it only has 3 grams. Also my kids' junk sugar cereal has 3 grams per serving. A piece of whole wheat bread has 2 grams. Anyway, I'm babbling. I'm just curious to see how many I eat without changing my diet drastically. And for the record: Atkins diet is still BAD.
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2 comments:
wow, thanks renae!! i was going to research that this week, because timpani got me thinking, and here you did all for me, lol! great info, and i'll be posting a link to your post so we can all peruse at our leisure without have to page back through the post. yes, definitly let us know how much protein you log in today. i'm very interested. :)
also, can you put some of your sources up? i'd like to find out just what kinds of protein are in what kinds of food, how much each food has, what the ideal balance is, yadda yadda. i'm a bit of a research nut. ;)
I found a whole grain flour on Amazon.com that I have been using for home cooking just because it has more protein. I only buy it once every couple of years because it costs 4 times as much as regular whole wheat flour. I keep trying to find it in health food stores, but have not found it yet.
It is called Teft flour and it has a sweet nutty flavor that is missing from whole wheat flour as well. Like I said, I only buy it when I save up amazon gift certificates or something because it is so expensive.
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