90 grams of protein/day?!!?

[m4star]

I have been going to a nutritionist since my colitis diagnosis in June. She is also a personal trainer so she compiled her dietary and exercise recommendations for me. I was totally shocked to have her recommend that I eat 1800-2000 calories per day and 90 grams of protein per day! I do lift weights but that seems like a lot of calories and protein. I am currently eating about 1600 calories per day and about 35 grams of protein per day.

Now my question is: how am I going to get all of that protein each day? DH and I are on a tight budget and can't afford to eat fish and meat each day. I am also lactose intolerant, so yogurt or cheese is out. I already eat beans several times per week...but am I supposed to eat them every day??

Help! I'm stuck without any ideas/thoughts on this.

melinda

[lindrusso]

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but is she recommending this large amount protein to help with the colitis or is it unrelated (as in are you also trying to lose weight)?? I'm just wondering, because if it's simply part of a weight loss effort, I'd be wary. If, on the other hand it is solely because of your colitis, that's a different story. If you don't mind my asking, how does more protein in your diet help with colitis (I'm not being critical, I'm just genuinely interested :) )?

Anyway, if it turns out that all of this protein really is beneficial for colitis, then I would look into soy protein. You can find cereals, tofu, soy milk, breakfast bars, etc. that are very high in protein. It may not help a lot in the expense department (these products don't tend to be particularly cheap), but they may be cheaper than meats and would at least provide some variety. The September CL has many suggestions on how to get soy protein.

Also, quinoa, a grain, has been mentioned on several threads on the Great Food board. This is loaded with complete protein and is very good for you to boot. Check out the Great Food board for several recipes:

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12931

http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12931

Good luck!

[emilycat]

Here's a great link from RW's Liz Applegate, which talks about how much protein you should be getting, and different ways to include it in your diet.
Hope it helps!

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition/home.html

[Alisa]

I've had a long day at work so excuse me if I've gotten something mixed up here...I don't think 90 grams of protein is very much actually. 1 oz = 28.6 grams, so 90grams is only about 3oz. I am on a restricted protein diet for Kidney Disease and even I am allowed to have 6oz of protein per day, so you shouldn't have trouble getting this much (assuming my crude calculations are correct) from eating a balanced diet.

[Don]

I must agree with Alisa. I had kidney failure in late July and was in the hospital for over a week. I was on a diet of 40g of protein, then 60g and now 80g. I have had to be extremely careful, because even 80g seems like so little. Two Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine dinners is usually around 50g, and they have such tiny pieces of meat in them. Actually, it doesn't take much meat to equal quite a bit of protein. You might want to ask your dietician to work out a meal plan for you. Other than meat, there's always tofu, and of course, beans. Another good source of protein that is cheap is eggs, although you might want to use egg substitute to avoid the cholesterol if you can fit it in your budget. Try a frittata or omelet for dinner. I would definitely ask the dietician for some ideas. I wish you the best. I know what a pain it is to have to read labels and calculate everything before you eat.

[Grace]

There are no governmental "Daily Value" guidelines set for protein. In doing a little research, 90 grams isn't that high. Dr. Dean Ornish (who has good research, but is a little bit extreme in the conservative direction) recommends 60 g of protein (15% of calories from protein) based on a 1500 calorie a day diet. The really high protein diets (Atkins, etc.) recommend double that (30% of calories from protein or 120g of protein on a 1500 calorie a day diet). I think that somewhere in the middle is reasonable, and 90 is right there in the middle. 35g of protein on a 1600 calorie a day diet is very, very low. Even lower than the extremist Dr. Dean Ornish. I don't think your nutritionist has recommended a high protein diet to you at all.

Adding more beans, quinoa, soy protein, etc. are all good suggestions that the others have already mentioned above. Good luck!

P.S., my sister once went on a very low protein diet, and she and her husband became very ill. (They tried to be vegetarians without working to put the protein they needed into their diet by a means other than the meat the removed.) This caused their bodies to become sluggish, they were tired, they got sick a lot. They started eating meat again and went back to normal. This isn't to say that vegetarians are unhealthy - absolutely untrue - but again, my sister didn't replace the proteins she cut out when she cut out meat with plant based proteins like she should have, and rather than figure that out, they just went back to eating meat. But the bottom line is, humans NEED at least some protein (plant or animal, whatever) to be healthy.

[lindrusso]

Yes, upon further reflection, 90 grams does not seem so high. For some reason, I was thinking of a much lower recommended amount.

However, according to the link that Emily provided, 3 ounces of meat = 26 grams of protein, not one ounce. That makes it a bit tougher to get the 90 grams. Maybe as a former meatless eater, it just seems like a lot to me! :)

[maizeyoats]

Emily,
That was such a great thread you posted. It was so informative. I have just spent a lot of time on it and will go back again. Thank You!:)

[emilycat]

I'm so glad it was helpful! Guess I should go back and read it more thoroughly, too. :o