Project Protein
So a few days ago I had a reader wondering if I give out a typical day of what I eat. I thought that sounded like fun, so yesterday I took pictures of everything that went in my mouth. Well, almost everything. My sister gave me a piece of dark chocolate when I was in bed…of course, there was no way I was going to get out of bed to take a picture.
Anyway, yesterday my goal was to eat lots of protein. I’ve mentioned before that I struggle with eating enough protein, so I thought that I’d make an extra big effort with it. My nutritionist says that with my height and fitness level that I should be getting in a good 80-90 grams a day. If you ask me, that’s like…intense.
At the end of the post, I’ll crunch my numbers and see if I made my goal…
I started my day with the magnificent shake above…the Cake-Batter Milkshake (no really, it’s healthy!) from Chocolate Covered Katie…flipping delicious! I actually had this two days in a row. With one of the milkshakes, I added frozen blueberries, which was a really nice addition.
I added to my breakfast, a bowl of fiber cereal with organic rice milk and a hard boiled egg. So far, I think the egg is the only thing was substantial protein. Gasp. This isn’t looking promising.
EmergenC packet in a tiny mug…this stuff is amazing. I was really sick of taking those orange chewy things…I like fizzy stuff.
Right. Onto lunch. This is where the protein comes in in full force. I had a bran muffin…well, half. I only had room for half after eating all this…
An egg and egg white scramble with Gouda cheese. Leftover beans with turkey bacon and lemon pepper. Pretty much amazing. I felt really satisfied after this meal, which must mean it was heavy on the protein.
Ah, yes. Dark chocolate. Just a few little pieces to get me through the mid-afternoon slump. Chocolate fixes everything.
For an afternoon munchie, I had half of an apple and 2 raw sesame/chocolate balls. I just remembered there is one more of those balls left…haha, after this post you know what I’ll be scrounging for.
On to din-din. A little bit of curry over whole wheat spaghetti. Technically, curry goes best with rice…but all I could find was white rice and I don’t like to eat that stuff too often. I wanted to make a side salad to go with it, but we were low on veggies. Okay, that was a lame excuse, I know. Here’s the real reason…I was lazy. I’m sure we all feel better now.
Please don’t be jealous that my sister makes the most insane chocolate cake in the world. She even hides veggies in it. I think there’s zucchini in this one…this is what I call the the “balance” part of my day. Besides, doesn’t chocolate cake have protein in it? Nevermind.
I wanted to do a run and a workout, but unfortunately I still am pretty injured from an accident I had at a floor hockey tournament a few days ago. It makes it painful to move my upper body. Despite that, I managed a 1.5-2 mile walk outside. I can’t wait for this injury to heal. I got a marathon to train for! But I guess I’ll be able to run sooner if I take it easy and just focus on healing.
The Grand Finale. Greek Yogurt, which, by the way, has a ton of protein in it. I topped it with almonds (more protein), blueberries, and Truvia. I had this as an evening snack while cuddling up with a book. A lovely way to end the day…BUT…did I reach my goal of at least 80 grams of protein?
I added it all up, and it’s crazy…even though I felt like I stuffed myself with protein…I just barely made my goal. It was pretty much approximately 80 grams, give or take a gram or two. But hey! I did it, all without counting it during the day and using my own common sense.
But I have to say, I’m sadly lacking in the veggie department yesterday. I guess I kind of forgot about it, since I was so focused on protein. Maybe in the next while, I’ll do a “Project Veggie” day and see what happens.
Thanks for tagging along in my day!
What are foods that you typically eat every day? Would you be interested in seeing more of these kinds of posts?
Category: Healthy Living | Tags: a day in the life, daily eats 7 comments »
Well, I just finished my sports nutrition book and here is some useful info about your case :)
An average person with regular activity (3 times per week fitness) needs 0.75 gr of protein per kg. For example 50 kg woman = 37.5 gr protein daily.
For endurance athlete (moderate or heavy training) 1.2 gr per kg body weight.
For strength and power athlete 1.4 gr per kg body weight. Do the math for your kg and sport activity level :)
Protein & vegan diet – a several studies prove that even the strength athletes can obtain enough protein from a vegan diet! It is also proved that our bodies have an amino acid pool and can form a complete proteins on it’s own :)
Best sources of vegan protein – pulses (beans, lentils, peas), grains (bread, pasta, rice, oats, corn, rye), nuts and seeds, quorn and soya products.
Best source of complete animal protein ever – eggs :)
My point after seeing your menu is… I don’t mind that you eat meat, my husband does too. But if you don’t want to – you don’t have to. You get enough protein from carbohydrates too. Just read a little bit more on protein, amino acids, etc :)
heyy! Could you, would you, pleaseeeee, email me the recipe for your sisters chocolate cake? puhleeeezzeeee!!!!! it looks amazing. :D
your beans and bacon lunch looks amazing. i’m going to have to try that.
Aww I’m so honored to be mentioned. Your photos are GORGEOUS! I want to eat the way you do… the shake, the curry, the cake… Oh heck, I’ll just take the cake. Forget everything else. Is your sister for rent? ;) ;)
Yeah, i’m with the PP! I want the cake recipe! LOL! Oh and btw, I’m addicted to those Emergen-C packets too! Funny! Thanks for your comments on my blog too, btw. Blogger is really horrible and I cant comment back to you! I would have if I could!! : )
Yeah, I remember, once I calculated for myself that I need about 70g protein. I don’t think I ever manage to get enough protein :( I had a period when I was really trying to get enough protein. However, eating eggs, tuna, cottage cheese and turkey would make me omit my other favourite eats. Oh I could hide some tofu in oats, shakes.. ;)
Lol I immediately recognised Katie’s spwinkle shake :)
Nadia~ Thanks so much…it’s fun to work out the numbers! I’m certainly trying to get my protein from as many vegan sources as I can do. Appreciate your comment so much!
Jenny and Tricia~ Haha, thanks so much! I’ll try to do a post on it sometime and then you shall have the recipe in full!
Choc-covered Katie~ No problem! How did I know you’d gravitate toward the cake? lol
Damjana~ Hey, I guess we have the same issue. Have you tried a vegan protein powder? I’m finding that helps me so much!
I’m with everyone else – that cake looks amazing! I’d love to know how you make the curry too, for me I’ll eat anything on noodles!