protein help needed

[nightlight]

Hi all,

I'm trying to go paleo, but I'm realizing that I don't like meat all that much. I mean, I LOVE meat, but eating so much, just feels like a chore, and I push it around my plate.

I want to go as paleo as possible, because I'm generally a carb addict, so I'm trying to cut that out. I'm also trying to lose weight, as I assume that makes a difference to my questions below.

A few questions I've been wondering about:

How many protein shakes are too many? For example, if I have one in the morning for breakfast, (or pre workout) and then one at the end of the night after dinner when I still need more protein, is that bad? Right now, I'm doing ON whey with water (one scoop) or syntrax nectar (one scoop) with water.

What do you do when you get in a protein rut? Usually I go to eggs, but I've been eating eggs for breakfast, so when it comes to dinner, the last thing I want is eggs.

Thanks for the help, and sorry for the whining!

[CapN_Tommy_Sunshine]

Not sure if I am the best help, since I love beef! As far as paleo goes, it isn't necessarily a meat heavy diet. Meat does play a big part, but a lot of the paleos tend to overemphasize the meat aspect, and seem to forget about veggies.

[nightlight]

ah, right. to clarify, i'm not getting enough protein (at least so says daily burn) it's hard for me to even crack 100g per day. so, i'm trying to supplement, and find different ways to make things interesting.

[Alethea]

You can drink shakes, certainly. The only issue I have with them.. well, 2 issues, are 1) They have all sorts of funny-sounding ingredients and I don't know what they are, so god knows what they do in large doses, and There are a lot of other good things in protein sources which you'll be missing out on if you get most of your protein from shakes.

Personally, I wouldn't go for more than 1 shake a day, and preferably less than that, but I know Spezzy drinks lots and lots. What are YOU comfortable with?

Interesting you say you're sick of meat. THere are so many different kinds and tastes, how are you sick of the whole thing? Chicken? Fish? Other seafoods? Beef? Pork? Dried jerky? With sauces? in stews? What if you have a double portion of meat with your meals, would that get you up to the right levels?

[spezzy]

yeah. protein shakes should be seen as a supplement, and just that.

you should be getting the majority of your protein from meat sources.

2 a day is definitely not bad.

i usually drink 3 or 4 a day, getting about... probably 75-100g of my 200-250g of protein a day from the shakes.

as for how many shakes is too many? you'll know. trust me. you'll know.

i drink that many because i simply can't eat enough meat to keep up with my protein needs.

i try my hardest to drink as few as possible, but people really start complaining when i bring cans of tuna to meetings (and yes, i've tried ).

almonds and avocado are two protein sources that are non meat. id be careful on the almonds though as you say your goal is weight loss.

you said you were doing dairy, theres protein there.

honestly, for protein, it just doesn't beat chicken, shrimp, steak, tuna, bacon...

[Gowaduv]

Ah meat... It's never too cold to grill, which I never get tired of. In fact the wife said she was gonna make steaks tonight and I offered to start the coals, but she said she just wanted to broil them again. Not the same, but since I don't have to do the cooking I'm not complaining There are a few butcher shops near me and they each carry hundreds of rubs and seasonings- there must be a reason Pork roasts are tasty. My wife is huge into fish, and sometimes I like it if it has the right kind of seasoning. Or sushi. If you can get grass-fed organic beef there's a huge difference in flavor (and how it needs to be cooked). Then there are unusuals, like buffalo and lamb/mutton.

There are some shakes that are close to pure protein. There's an information repository a few threads down.

[nightlight]

Personally, I wouldn't go for more than 1 shake a day, and preferably less than that, but I know Spezzy drinks lots and lots. What are YOU comfortable with?

Interesting you say you're sick of meat. THere are so many different kinds and tastes, how are you sick of the whole thing? Chicken? Fish? Other seafoods? Beef? Pork? Dried jerky? With sauces? in stews? What if you have a double portion of meat with your meals, would that get you up to the right levels?

i think i can do 1 but no more than 2 shakes a day. i really want to try to get everything from food, if i can. as for what i'm sick of, mostly chicken, turkey, and eggs. tonight i had beef, and it was tasty. i actually pulled a double portion tonight, which surprised me, because i usually can't stomach it. because i'm eating less carbs, i'm not getting the crazy low blood sugar hungry, so when i feel satiated by the fats, i'm DONE. and that's usually a single portion of meat or less.

almonds and avocado are two protein sources that are non meat. id be careful on the almonds though as you say your goal is weight loss.

honestly, for protein, it just doesn't beat chicken, shrimp, steak, tuna, bacon...

mmmm bacon. wish they made lean bacon. (and the real kind, not the canadian kind)

i think i'm going to have to start liking avocado..or trying to. alton brown makes a sandwich with avocado and sardines.. maybe i could do that sort of thing on salad. hmmm.

Ah meat... It's never too cold to grill.

yeah... if i had a grill, i think i'd be OK.

Thanks for the input everyone.