Hi all, I want to know how can one make sure of hitting the daily protein intake without counting calories, im kinda tired of counting and want to stop for some time and see how it goes, however my two concern are:
And
2. I don’t hit my calorie goal, but this can be easily fixed while using the scale and bodyweight trend.
Any recommendation would be appreciated, thanks.
I eat basically the same thing on weight training days and the same thing on non-weight training days. There is a little difference between the two days but it is minor. If you have counted calories and figured out a rough plan for what to eat every day, just eat that knowing you will have hit your calories and protein as you have done it a multitude of times before. I never found counting calories a problem doing that.
However, if daily dietary intake is based on what you have available to you or you have not planned, pre-cooked, etc, then, yes I can see it being a right pain.
As I bulk cook carbs (rice and pasta are go to for me), protein (eggs for brekkie + whey on non-trainign days, beef, pork, venison, chicken, steaks on the BBQ, ribs, slow cooked stuff, etc), and veggies (broccoli and asparagus), getting the scale out weighing out 200g of my protein source, 100g of my carb source, and veggies takes minutes. I guess I have set up a system which takes the guess work and uncertainty out of what and how much to eat. Doing so also allows me to splash out as if I know I am going out for steak and chips and mac and cheese, and mushies later, I cut back on carbs in a meal earlier in the day or maybe even skip a meal.
You could say that I am not counting calories, I am just cross checking ensuring the what I eat meets the plan, which has been pre-planned with calories counted. This I learned from my prior coach, John Meadows. I received a spreadsheet with foods (the calories and PCF counted) and all I had to do was eat what he told me to eat. Now I do the same myself.
I eat fairly similar on weekdays so there I don’t have much problem, on weekends I go eat out for lunch or dinner, what I have a little problem or don’t find comfortable is when I really don’t know how much protein/calories is in those meals, that’s why I wanted to be more relaxed and step away from tracking some time, but I don’t know
That comes with practice I guess. I have over time (not intentionally mind you) managed to learn and eye ball what 200g of protein looks like and what 100g of carbs (or whatever amount I am supposed to eat) looks like (bread is farken calorie dense and contains a lot more carbs than I thought). When out the rule of thumb I use is less is best. Why? Generally portions at restaurants and take away are hyooge.
If we go for burgers, I get just the burger no chips, if I want chips I get a naked burger. That sort of thing. Chinese take away? Only the shredded chicken, seaweed, and maybe some dumplings, not what I used to get being that plus Peking Duck and some stir fry with rice. That is the key, even if bulking as one can massively overshoot calories going out.
Try it, be a bit more moderate and track your weight every morning. After a meal out (particularity if salty) your weight will shoot up but it is predominantly water weight. Over the week track it and it will probably come down after 2 or 3 days.
There is a balance to be found. I somehow found it, but I do blow out some times as well. I want to hang out with my wife, kid, family, and friends and eating out is a great way to do so. I think portion control is the best tool. Trial and error my friend.
Yeah I’ve been learning how does it look X amount of protein/carb, I don’t have problem with carbs and some protein sources (like dairy and eggs) but when it comes to meat for example I still don’t know how a 4oz of lean meat looks likes.
When going out I really don’t have problem to order what I want, normally everyday I’m left with ~1000 calories so I can fit mostly everything I want, the problem is knowing how much is those 1000 calories, and the problem gets worse when the plate turns more complex, because estimating a burger calories/protein it’s easy, but when it’s a more complete plate it’s a little bit more tricky and inaccurate.
As for weighing myself every morning I do that since a long time, and my weight doesn’t varies too much from day to day, I’ll have to try to incorporate portion control in my diet to be a little less strict I think.
Thanks man!
@teddyd beat me to the “palm sized” recommendation which is straight from TBAB
[QUOTE=To Be a Beast]a palm-sized portion of meat or equivalent amount of whey, eggs, etc. This works out to be ~40g protein [/QUOTE]
Honestly, if I’m uncertian if the portion of chicken in the Mrs’s meal I just scooped on my plate is as much as that, I throw half a scoop of whey in my cup of water/milk, as I got over trying to weigh out her meals a couple years ago, and eating something other than the meal she prepaired/getting her to prepair strict TBAB style food was never an option.
So it’s better to go over a little bit to make sure, I think that’s what I’ve done lately that I haven’t been able to measure my portion sizes exactly.
Thanks manl.
I find that getting in a decent amount of protein first thing in the morning helps a long way. For me that is usually or primarily 2 scoops of whey protein + something, or 3 scoops whey. I aim for 70-90 grams of protein in the morning hours or for breakast, and using a whey source, keeps fats and carbs down, so I have some wiggle room throughout the day. It took some getting used to, as it isn’t really appetizing, but I want to reach my goals, ya know?
200-220 grams. Total calories at ~2600.
I also like to make sure I get lots of protein in the morning, however, since my daily protein intake isn’t that high, just around 140gr, I manage to evenly distribute it in 3 meals, my breakfast consists of at least 35-40gr, and lunch the same, and late at night I can eat a really big meal.