How to Eat Enough Protein
Mark tries to eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of body mass each day and suggests many others do the same to maintain lean body mass. But what does 100-150 grams of protein look like in terms of actual food? Do you know how much protein is in a single chicken breast? How about a six ounce steak? Fish, nuts, eggs, even vegetables? We’ll shoot for a picture of 150 grams of protein and break this down to what it could look like in a given day. The numbers come from The Harvard School of Public Health and Northwestern University.
Meats
Beef (6 oz.) – 54 grams
Turkey, breast (6 oz.) – 51.4 grams
Pork Chop (6 oz.) 49 grams
Turkey, dark meat (6 oz.) – 48.6 grams
Hamburger (6 oz.) – 48.6 grams
Chicken, dark meat (6 oz.) – 47.2 grams
Tuna (6 oz.) – 40.1 grams
Broiled Beefsteak (6 oz.) – 38.6 grams
Chicken, breast (6 oz.) – 37.8 grams
Ham (6 oz.) – 35.4 grams
Salmon (6 oz.) – 33.6 grams
Dairy/Eggs
Cottage cheese (1 cup) – 28.1 grams
Yogurt, low fat (1 cup) – 10.7 grams
Skim milk (1 cup) – 8.3 grams
Whole milk (1 cup) – 8 grams
American cheese (1 oz.) – 7 grams
Soymilk (6 oz.) – 6.7 grams
Egg (1 large) – 6.3 grams
Meat Substitutes, Beans and Legumes, Nuts
Veggie Burger (6 oz.) – 51.4 grams
Tofu (6 oz.) – 13.8 grams
Peanut Butter (2 Tbsp.) – 8.1 grams
Almond Butter (2 Tbsp.) – 7 grams
Lentils (1/2 cup) – 9 grams
Split Peas (1/2 cup) – 8.1 grams
Kidney Beans (1/2 cup) – 7.6 grams
Sesame Seeds (1 oz.) – 7.5 grams
Black Beans (1/2 cup) – 7.5 grams
Garbanzo Beans (1/2 cup) – 7.3 grams
Green Peas (1/2 cup) – 4.1 grams
Fruits and Vegetables
Orange (large) – 1.7 grams
Banana (medium) – 1.2 grams
Green Beans (1/2 cup) – 1 gram
Carrots (1/2 cup) – .8 gram
Apple (large) – 0 grams
Obviously, the meats among the group are the best bet for protein. In looking at this list with the context of the 150 gram goal, it’s important to eat good protein sources at every meal. Check out our recipe posts for some ideas. We’d suggest giving a “protein” diary a shot if you’re concerned about protein intake.
So, tell us how you get your protein in each day and any other thoughts.
llerne Flickr Photo (CC)
Further Reading:
Pondering Protein: How much protein should I be eating?
How much protein should Apurva be eating?
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Posted By: Worker Bee
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I pretty much eat meat, fish, or eggs at every meal, with dairy as a protein supplement and variety. I do eat nuts, too, but more as a garnish or snack.
Despite all the earnest and helpful suggestions from vegetarians and vegans about plant proteins, there is no way I could get a tolerable amount of high quality protein from plant sources, let alone an optimal amount, because I also have to limit starches to keep my blood glucose in the normal range (to avoid going from prediabetic to diabetic). I also avoid soy (except occasional condiment sized servings of fermented soy, as in natural soy sauce and miso) because it is not good for my thyroid function. Even if that wasn’t a problem, I think there are a lot of other excellent reasons to avoid a high consumption of soy.
Anna–
Have you looked at plant proteins in supplement form? Like rice protein or hemp protein? They’re typically much less processed than soy or whey protein, and dont contain the GMO’s or other weird chemicals that most protein supplements have.
Meat…Eggs….Meat….limit seafood for less Mercury intake….chicken I don’t like too much, as I crave now more fat with my meat…and chicken is too lean.
I used to waste tons of money on Whey protein shakes….no longer.
“Have you looked at plant proteins in supplement form? ”
No, I haven’t. Rice or hemp protein would be preferable to whole food animal-origin protein because…?
Kyle,
I just read my reply to your suggestion and realized I might have sounded too flippant. Sorry, that wasn’t my intent, and you probably wouldn’t know about my goal to reduce my consumption of industrially processed & packaged foods. Nor would you know how much I really appreciate many forms of meat protein.
I just googled rice protein and hit on NutriBiotic brand rice protein powder, if only because I recognized the brand as sold at nearby stores. 1 heaping tablespoon (15 gm) serving = 12 grams protein.
Also, since rice is usually consumed with legumes or some other protein source to make a complete protein because it is lacking in some essential amino acids, I’m not sure it would contain all the amino acids in the right ratios for me.
I also tend to avoid hydrolyzed vegetable proteins.
I suppose it could work as a supplement or to fill in some protein gaps in a pinch, but I doubt it would be a good major source of protein for any length of time.
But thanks for the suggestion.
Mike OD,
I still waste tons of money on protein shakes. Half my friends say “don’t do soy” the other half say “don’t do whey.” Obviously natural sources are best, but I’m not Rocky, I can’t swallow 6 raw eggs for breakfast, and I don’t have enough time to scramble them up. Anyone want to “whey” in?
I am an Olympic athlete and have tried lots of protein powders and supplements. Vega Whole food optimizer is the BEST protein, plus, plus, plus powder on the market. Plus it is all natural. With minimal processing making it easy to digest and assimilate.
Hi,
I was wondering about this recently – I’ve often been trying to cram as much protein as possible into my diet, but sometimes as a result I end up stuffing down far too many total calories, seemingly more than than I could possibly burn on the 1-mile swim I typically do. Is this okay? Is it better to hit the protein quota, even if I feel overfull?
Here is the best diet advice I was given – eat real food, mostly plants, and not to much. Protein is essential to life, but try not to go overboard on animal proteins.
For the meats, are the weights listed cooked weight or precooked weight?
Hi Mark-
Few questions-
* Back in my weight lifting days, it was generally known to consume 1g/lb body weight/day. Is 150g your target because you weigh around that much and lift weights, or is that what the ‘average’ person should consume?
* I will admit, I am totally buying into your primal blueprint theory (only been reading for a few months). Maybe I should do some more research (send me a link if that’s the case), but in terms of Gork’s availabile animal protein – do you think he had that much animal protein available to consume that much everyday? Or is your current/recommended protein intake based on other theories/facts?
Thanks a bunch!
Ryan
I eat 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Right now I am eating around 250 grams of protein per day. This comes from chicken, fish, cottage cheese, whey protein, milk, eggs, ground beef (grass fed!), as well as from other sources like beans.
Of course, I lift weights, as should EVERYONE.
Stan – the problem with any whey based powder is it gets absorbed and is gone out of your system in an hour…hence you need like 10 shakes a day. Eating whole foods that have protein and fat (like steak and eggs) can take 4-6 hours to digest. You want that slow steady stream of amino acids all day long feeding those muscles. So eating more real food you actually need less protein overall…there are tons of people who can gain on 1g/lb of bodyweight with only real foods….but if you make it all powders then they need like 1.5g or higher. All our demands are different but hands down the whole food trumps any supplement…oh yeah since it provides other things like EFAs that actually increase nitrogen retention….hence less muscle loss. Funny how whole foods just work and supplements can’t compete…and cost 10x more. Eat more fat in your diet and you spare more muscle…so less dietary protein is needed. That and excessive protein oxidation will only lead to increase free radicals and accelerated ageing (I did a thing on about the dangers of high protein here: http://projectfit.org/iflifeblog/2008/03/31/too-much-protein-a-bad-thing/)
Transitiong from veganism to omnivorism has been difficult, and I still find myself rarely getting 1g protein per lb. of body weight. On those days that I actually track my protein consumption, it comes in somewhere around 80 to 90g, and that’s including one protein shake (pea or soy protein, which contains roughly 30g protein).
The amount of protein the the plant sources seems simply dismal, and my body, suffering from IBS as it is, can’t handle large amounts of tofu, tempeh, gluten or processed soy meat analogs.
It seems that, for now, at least, I’ll be stuck not getting enough protein until I can figure something else out. I’m reluctant to start eating red meat, poultry, fish, etc., and am currently limited to the occasional serving of Greek yogurt, eggs or scallops, my only sources of animal ingredients, other than infrequent use of honey.
I wish it were simpler to make the transition, but, since I was vegan for so long (roughly 10 years), it’s difficult to break from it completely all of a sudden. In light of MDA and Art’s blog, as well as Michael Pollan’s books, I no longer think veganism is the way to go, and am now of the opinion that humans probably should eat meat, as it is seemingly part and parcel of our design. However, I don’t think my family’s onboard with this platform, and it’s difficult to be the odd man out in such situations.
What’s had me more concered about getting enough protein lately, other than my research, is my beginning lifting weights. I started about a month ago and now lift 2 or 3 times per week, steadily increasing the weight each week. I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in strength since I began. Delayed onset muscle soreness has been minimal, as I think I’m still trying to learn to do the lifts properly, not going for very heavy weights. Most of the time, I notice that ancillary muscles are sore, not the main targets for my lift. I have yet to feel my quads fatigue from squats, mainly it’s my groin (abductors? adductors?), and I’ve noticed that just keeping my core tight throughout the lifts seems to cause more soreness than the targeted muscle groups, such that it’s mainly my posterior chain and butt that’s feeling fatigued. I guess that’s what you get for slouching at a desk for years.
I’m wondering if the lack of soreness and seemingly speedy recovery means my body is doing okay with the work load and my current protein consumption. If I required more protein than I’m getting now, wouldn’t I be sore longer and have difficulty recovering? Could it be I’m not getting enough but my body is not showing tell-tale signs of protein deprivation? I’m not sure, and, as such, I haven’t switched fully back into omnivorism (including the red meat, poultry, fish, etc.)
What veggie burger are they using that has 51 g of protein in it??? I’ve never seen a veg burger with more than 15. Is it a homemade veg burger? Can you post the recipe? Is it made with soy protein?
Thanks!
Mike Drew,
Have you ruled out a hernia causing that ancillary weight lifting discomfort? Just a thought.
Clearly one needs to eat meat to obtain satisfactory amounts of natural protein.
I side with whey over soy and do have a low-carb shake for breakfast on weekdays. It tides me through until lunch.
I’ve had a physical recently, and everything was fine. I think I’m just not used to performing the movements. The soreness was most intense a month ago, when I first started lifting. I just don’t think my body enjoyed using all these muscles it probably never has to use, being as I sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, admittedly, with poor posture. I find that when I lift, I’m forced to have good posture and forced to keep everything tight so that my form doesn’t degenerate, causing me to squat or deadlift with a hunched back. It’s training these seldom-used muscles that’s been more of a pain (literally) than training the target muscle groups.
My converter says 6 ounces is 170g. Not sure how this relates to the posts above
OB
Mike OD,
Wow man, thanks for the info. I had a feeling powder protein didn’t whey out right (okay, done with the puns). I recently bought some stuff called Nitro Xtreme 92(Xtreme!!!!!!!!!…!). The bottle has a little chart showing the four different types of whey included and how they nourish your body for up to four hours, but it doesn’t have any breakdown of the types of whey. I’m starting to feel like the label is pretty much hype.
Mike Drew, did it ever occur to you that maybe the gluten is causing your IBS? I am in the process of being tested for celiac/gluten intolerance and didn’t want an IBS diagnosis w/out ruling out other possibilities (I don’t know that I believe “IBS” is an actual disease, I think it means “I don’t know so I’ll pick some BS name and call it a disease”). Anyway, just thought I’d throw that out there for you to consider since you mentioned IBS and gluten. Gluten can do a number on a sensitive person.
To Nancy S: Yes, I’ve thought about the gluten angle before, and have had both a blood test for celiac disease and a biopsy of my small bowel during an endoscopy. Both tests were negative. I almost wish I were allergic to gluten, as the seemingly simple solution of eliminating wheat from my diet would be much easier than dealing with whatever phantoms haunt my digestive system.
I actually just met with my gastroenterologist last week, and he said that, by all the tests they’ve done so far (colonoscopy, endoscopy, small bowel series, blood tests [anemia, thyroid issues]) I’m perfectly healthy. Apparently my stomach and intestines just hate me.
I still try to stay away from seitan though. A piece of toast here and there doesn’t bother me at all, but seitan gives me serious indigestion.
Oops. I didn’t realize my wife was still logged in, so that Mel Practice post above is really from me.
This was really useful! I was surprised to see how little protein eggs have by comparison. Good to know as I often rely on one or 2 eggs to provide the protein at breakfast or in a salad.
Nice grub picture! But here are the juiciest grubs… on a stick!
http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/2008/02/get-your-grub-on.html
Green = FEAR = HATE = Violence = Suffering
I would like to know why 6 oz. of tuna is saying it’s only 13-15g of protein on the label, but posted on this site as having 40.1g?? Are you not speaking of canned tuna?? Another thing, this site says peanut butter is 8.1g, but, again, the label reads 7g. Are you speaking of regular peanut butter, or natural peanut butter(in which you have to mix the oil on top by stirring) One more thing, I thought the chicken breast contained more protein than its dark meat. Is what’s posted accurate, and if it is, why do most bodybuilders recommend chicken breast and not its dark meat??
Deakon-
See the links to Harvard School of Public Health and Northwestern University above. They are the sources of the figures. You may find answers to all of your questions there.
I eat beef everyday, 12-16 ounces, which pretty much takes care of my protein requirements. I could happily scarf a NY every night, and most nights I do. Other times it’s jerky or grass fed ground beef from my friend’s ranch. A lot of almonds, too. That’s a great list of protein amounts. Sometimes I think I should eat more chicken, but I’d have to buy the organic kind since I react badly to that sugar/chemical stuff they inject into most poultry and pork, and beef has more protein and calories anyhow. Does anyone who visits this site ever check out nutritiondata.com? They have an interesting blog on there about statins and that new report. But the main thing is that you can build a virtual pantry and then let their software analyze your micro- and macro- nutrients. It would get tedious if done often; I’m at the point where I know how to feed myself. But it’s nice for a “spot check” once in a while, since my diet is regularly [slowly] “evolving” (like Grok!) and it’s good to write down what I eat in a day once in awhile get a check-up on how it’s all adding up.
Mark,
I find it disconcerting that you eat consume so much protein. Especially since you are an advocate of an alkalizing diet. Are you not concerned about the harmful effects excessive animal protein can cause such as kidney damage and osteoporosis?
Now I’m not saying you derive the majority of your protein intake from animal sources, but I will venture to say that you consume a more than adequate amount. You of all people know that humans only need about 5-10% of caloric intake from protein. Do you subscribe to the popular trend, partly propagated by fitness media, that a highly physical individual must consume at least their body weight per pound in protein? Or is there real truth behind this?
Much of animal food is acidic in nature, isn’t it? Some more than others. Fish and whey are on the lower end of the acidic spectrum. Is not excessive protein counterproductive in maintaining a balances acid/alkaline environment as well as sustaining a proper bone-building environment?
Do you consume the majority of your protein from whey, nuts, legumes, and vegetables?
Please educate me.
Brian K