Getting enough protein?

So about 6-8 weeks ago I started reading Bernstein’s Diabetic Solution as well as started cutting back my carbs. Im at about 60 carbs a day now and am moving slowly through the eating style transition.

So heres my question. How do you get the amount of protein
that you need in a given day?

My target protein is about 150g protein a day. Take my breakfast this morning. 1 Slice of
toast with cheddar cheese and 3 slices of turkey (and Im full), when all calculated is 9.5
gram fat, 13 carbs, and 23 protein. if I eat meals that size for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Ill only
intake about 70-80 g of protein. If I supplement that with whey
protein Im still looking at 110 or so. So, how do you get all the
protein you need in a day?

I eat lots of meat, seafood and cheese. I often target much higher levels of protein and will supplement with whey protein. Costco sells a big bag of powdered protein supplement.

So, a lot of whey is the way to go. (pun!) What about fat requirements? Whey protein has 0 fat doesnt it? Also, are you concerned with animal fats vs vegetable fats?

I don’t eat meat or fish, but feel I get plenty of protein. I eat eggs every morning for breakfast with a small dish of refried black beans. For lunch I often have cheese. Dinner is very varied, and sometimes the meal with less protein but I do have beans, lentils, cheese, nuts in my salads, etc. I would think as a non-vegetarian protein would be easy!

The costco whey protein has a modest amount of fat. I do try to avoid excess veggie fats. I try to keep my omega-3 and omega-6 levels more balanced than the Standard American Diet (SAD).

go to bodybuilding.com and look at optimum whey… the taste is great they have a lot of useful stuff there also

Thanks Brian, Ill check it out. Let me ask you, I know there is like 300 different Whey protein products, what makes one stand out over others?

Im still fairly new to this, so pardon me for asking but can you elaborate a bit? Are veggie fats not as good as animal fats for some reason? I know there was that recent study that folks stated as malarkey. Also, how do you mean you keep your omegas in balance? Is that to say you dont go nuts like the recent craze? Thanks!

It is faily easy, to acquire prote. But, on a low carb diet the protein requirements can be higher than ones eating habits permit.

Take your example breakfast, your looking at about 18 carbs and 6g protein for 1 cup of the beans and about 1g carb and 12 grams of protein for the 2 eggs (just inet numbers mind you). So, that puts protein at a total 18g for breakfast. Close to what Im eating now. With my diet the current target is 150g of protein (another 7x that 18g meal). Too much food! =^)

It’s a personal preference thing with protein powders. You want to look for one that has no extra anything, no flavoring or sweetener, of course. You want 100% whey isolate protein powder, not the hydrolyzed form, or one that combines different types.

Brand I like is NOW brand. It dissolves instantly, has a slightly milky good taste, but nothing overpowering. One scoop is 25 grams of protein, but this is probably the same as most. I’ve used others that didn’t dissolve well. I also look at price because some are over-priced. If you use this for shakes, you can also throw in a raw egg for extra protein. I grew up on raw egg shakes because I didn’t like breakfast. My mother blended raw egg with milk, malt, wheat germ & vanilla.

With the salmonella problem in eggs, both on the shell and inside the egg, I would suggest using pasteurized raw eggs. I had some bacterial infection that was probably salmonella last year, and was horribly ill for an entire month. In fact, after the recall of billions of eggs, I’m using pasteurized now even for cooked eggs.

Why are you trying to eat more protein? I haven’t read Bernstein’s book but read a summary where he proposes a diet focused on proteins, fats and slow-acting carbs. Someone may control their blood sugar on it but no one can convince me that a diet focused on those things is healthier than a plant based diet.
For the people that eat a ton of cheese and meat…how’s your cholesterol?
Here’s an alternative book that could support stable blood sugars: Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD
Just offering an opposing perspective:)

Wow, talk about a drive by veggie bomb. For those that dont’ know Fuhrman is one of those animal rights activists, and a member of the PCRM and from the same PETA network as Neal Barnard and Gabriel Cousens. There is nothing wrong with eating lots of low carb plants and veggies, but I’ll decline to sacrifice my health in order to make a point about animal rights. Instead, I’ll try to buy grass-fed beef and eat cage free eggs. Richard Bernstein does make some recomendations for those that wish to make vegetarian choices (see pg 150 of Diabetes Solution), but the Bernstein diet is in almost total conflict with the Fuhrman high carb low fat recommendations.

ok…in defense of a low protein diet which is plant based but not totally vegetarian how about all the research reported by The China Study by Colin Campbell who was raised on a dairy farm and then spent years (while getting a Phd) trying to make sheep and cows grow faster…and so on and so on until he made some interesting discoveries and health and disease as related to protein consumption.
We have very basic opposing beliefs which is cool, but no one can convince me that a cow (grass fed of not) is good for my health or it’s milk, especially a diet focused on these things.

I eat a lot of protein a day! Helps level my blood sugar. And I’m vegan!

And i thought my mom made weird food! :slight_smile: Was your mom training you to be in a “Rocky” movie, Gerri? :slight_smile: LOL!

LOL! Come to think of it, she did make me run up & down stairs a lot in sweat pants!

What is a “drive by veggie bomb”? Doesn’t sound too supportive of the vegs on here bsc? Shame shame.:frowning:

Why does it matter that Neal Barnard and Gabriel Cousens are PETA members - that automatically ousts any of good nutritional info that may have to help someone and makes them bad?

“For those who don’t know Fuhrman is ‘one of THOSE’ animal rights activists”. No offense bsc, that sounds a bit hurtful to the vegs on here who are vegs for ethically reasons. Me, being one of them.I sure wouldn’t say anything like to someone who choose not to eat meat for religious reasons - why do people put it down for animal rights reasons? So I guess I am “one of THOSE”. ugh.

Just because isn’t ones cup of tea doesn’t mean its OK to bash it. I know you don’t really approve of vegs bsc but be a little more sensitive please. We have all kinds on here. Not everyone on here eats tons of meat and follows Bernstein. I actually don’t follow anyones diet - I do my own! LOL!

I could say the same thing about people who eat too much meat and dairy - I won’t sacrifice MY health or the lives of other innnocent creatures just to have high cholestorol some day. I don’t believe that I am sacrificing my health at all. I guess just don’t go by the believe that humans have more of a right to life an animals esp. when that short life they get is spent in suffering.

I have been veg for 20 years and I am still alive - if you think you are sacrificing your health to be veg well, that is your own thought and that is OK for you but that doesn’t mean that others that choose to be veg are. I certainly don’t believe I am! Lots of plants and non-meat foods have quality protein too. And protein isn’t the only thing that makes one healthy.

Sorry but I had to say my 2 cents on that. I hope it didn’t come off too beeochy. But No offense Ok?. I know you are a good guy and have great advice but sometimes your “I don’t approve of vegetarians” comes through a bit much in your posts. I respect your diet so please respect others on here please.

Let’s just say no one should be preachy at someone else about their choice of diet (whether ethical or otherwise), or telling them that their diet is unhealthy, or implying that their cholesterol must be crap because of their diet.

We all should do what works for us, as Diabetics. That’s going to be different for everyone – according to what they consider acceptable control. I don’t consider control on a low protein, low fat diet, to be acceptable. And yes, I have very LOW cholesterol, on a low carbohydrate, high fat/high protein diet.

While I don’t believe in veganism, I respect standing up for more fair treatment of animals. I believe we can be on a low carb diet, and be a vegan at the same time, if we so chose to do that… But to me, it is a myth perpetrated by the USDA and the AHA, that we all need to be on a low fat, high carb diet. Lots and lots of new evidence every day about how that is not working for us, and obesity has quadrupled.

I think we low carbers don’t appreciate being harassed about “our kidneys suffering, our brains starving, and our cholesterol being bad,” anymore than a vegan likes to be considered some kind of wacko radical. We all should try to learn more from each other, and keep the jabs to a minimum… Especially on such a sensitive topic…

Without attacking you for your diet choices, recent research seems to indicate that the deadly combination is saturated fat in the presence of excess insulin which is in turn caused by fast acting carbs like grains potatoes sugar etc. Eliminate the fast acting carbs and you’ll be OK.

I follow a low carb high fat diet (less that 50 grams of carbs per day) with yes plenty of meat and cheese, and my doc is happy with my blood lipids.

We are all different and there is more than one path.