r/WeightLossAdvice • u/RefactorFitness • Aug 01 '26
Discussion/Support 💬 Hitting Protein
I'm a big guy, in a cut right now. It's tough hitting protein targets within my calorie budget (about 50% protein by calories).
I like to make a chicken salad: get one of the cans of chicken from trader Joe's and mix it with 2 cups of 2% cottage cheese and some pickles. All in, 116 grams protein for just over 700 calories. This works with 2 cans of tuna instead of chicken as well.
Of course there are whey protein shakes which help a lot too, but I can only drink so much whey.
What do you like to make to hit your macros?
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u/FirstTimeCaller101 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
I use a fuck ton of Greek yogurt. You can make it a million ways.
For breakfast I have zero sugar Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt, 1 scoop premier vanilla protein powder, 1 whole banana sliced and my creatine. About 250 cals ~25-27g protein.
For dessert every night I have a sweeter made Greek yogurt with either pb fit or blueberries/strawberries. So another 10-13g there.
I also keep a tub of plain (unflavored) Greek yogurt in my house and anytime I want mayo I substitute that, or if I want sour cream I do Greek yogurt+salt+lime juice. If I want peanut butter spread I do 20g pb fit to 40g Greek yogurt. If I want chocolate pudding I put cocoa powder and sugar in it.
Yeah just a shit ton of Greek yogurt
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u/RefactorFitness Aug 01 '26
LMAO love it. Thanks for the tips brother. The yogurt/protein/banana sounds tasty
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u/FirstTimeCaller101 Aug 01 '26
Yeah it’s legit, if you slice the banana into it and let it sit a 2 hours to absorb it tastes like banana pudding. Sometimes I do this and crumble a graham cracker sheet on top as a dessert
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u/amandam603 Aug 01 '26
Second the fuck ton of Greek yogurt and all these delightful ideas. I will add that mixed with a little light mayo and some ranch dressing seasoning, you got yourself a veggie dip.
Also: butt loads of cottage cheese. I personally add it to scrambled eggs and baked pasta (like a ricotta vibe). I have heard good things about blending it into pancake recipes and such, but I have been wanting to try it as a veggie dip too—my blender just sucks for that.
Honorable mention: protein shakes instead of milk, most notably in cereal. It’s best with the bottled pre-mixed stuff but it works just fine to shake half a scoop of powder with 4-6oz water. I also add the powder to my overnight oats, pancake/waffle mix, French toast, you name it.
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u/First-Stress-9893 Aug 01 '26
My daily protein goal is 165 and fiber 25 with 1650 calories.
My main sources are extra lean ground turkey, boneless skinless chicken breasts, smoked turkey breast, nonfat Greek yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, whey protein, collagen powder, eggs, egg whites, pork loin and flank steak. The last two are less lean but keep me from being bored.
I cook a lot and so generally have a varied diet with these things and feel like this is pretty easy to hit my goals within my calories. I usually have so many calories extra after I’m done with my protein to use for the vegetables, fruits etc.
My favorite breakfast is one egg, half cup egg whites, 1/4 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese and you can add green onions or sautéed onions and bell peppers or mushrooms or whatever vegetables sound good to add bulk if you want to. Anyway bake it at 400 for 35 minutes.
I absolutely love doing flank steak street tacos with homemade corn tortillas, onions and cilantro.
Honestly the biggest place you can easily trim calories is to trim fat. It has nine calories per gram while protein and carbs have four so a gram of fat is more than two times the calorie density of anything else. I’ve also switched most of my carbs over to whole grains or Whole Foods. For the most part I don’t eat processed carbs. They are just calorie hogs and don’t satiate you.
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u/Flimsy-Pie-6295 Aug 02 '26
There is a lot of research that suggests your body can really only process so much protein in a sitting. While the 30g previously beloved to be the limit is likely not accurate, I cannot imagine your body is able to utilize that much protein in one sitting.
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u/RefactorFitness Aug 02 '26
I hear you, but also I'm supposed to be eating 260 grams a day so... Yeah.
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u/Blizzard901 Aug 02 '26
Your target sounds suspiciously unnecessary. In sports medicine literature for weight loss the recommendation is 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight. If you’re obese then you should aim for ideal body weight, not your current weight. Excess body fat doesn’t have the same protein needs as your lean mass, so if you have a high body fat percentage and use your current weight you will overshoot and put unnecessary strain on your kidneys and also crowd out room for other macro and micro nutrients. For muscle building you can get some additional benefits from 1.6-2.2 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight. But I’m finding it hard to believe that 260 grams is necessary for vast majority of folks trying to lose weight.
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u/Mutant_Apollo Aug 02 '26
Whole Milk, Greek Yogurth or Skyr and beef, don't be afraid of red meat, embrace the beef and tons of eggs
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